ScienceDaily: All - April 29, 2025
Today's top research news
Personality traits shape our prosocial behavior
Why do some people do more for the community than others? A new study now shows that personality traits such as extraversion and agreeableness correlate with volunteering and charitable giving.
Researchers have developed a new catalyst design capable of pushing the projected fuel cell catalyst lifespans to 200,000 hours. The research marks a significant step toward the widespread adoption of fuel cell technology in heavy-duty vehicles, such as long-haul tractor trailers. While platinum-alloy catalysts have historically delivered superior chemical reactions, the alloying elements leach out over time, diminishing catalytic performance. The degradation is further accelerated by the demanding voltage cycles required to power heavy-duty vehicles. To address this challenge, the team has engineered a durable catalyst architecture with a novel design that shields platinum from the degradation typically observed in alloy systems.
New research shatters long-held beliefs about asteroid Vesta
For decades, scientists believed Vesta, one of the largest objects in our solar system's asteroid belt, wasn't just an asteroid and eventually concluded it was more like a planet with a crust, mantle and core. Now, new research flips this notion on its head. Astronomers reveals Vesta doesn't have a core. These findings startled researchers who, until that point, assumed Vesta was a protoplanet that never grew to a full planet.
Evolution of pugs and Persians converges on cuteness
Through intensive breeding, humans have pushed breeds such as pug dogs and Persian cats to evolve with very similar skulls and 'smushed' faces, so they're more similar to each other than they are to other dogs or cats.
Brain decoder controls spinal cord stimulation
A lab develops brain wave decoder that may help in spinal cord injury rehabilitation.
Billion-year-old impact in Scotland sparks questions about life on land
New research has revealed that a massive meteorite struck northwestern Scotland about 200 million years later than previously thought, in a discovery that not only rewrites Scotland's geological history but alters our understanding of the evolution of non-marine life on Earth.