Production of Carbon Fibers Using a Molten Cu-In Catalyst for Methane Pyrolysis.

Molten metal catalysts for methane pyrolysis and dry reforming are becoming recognized for their potential in decarbonization efforts. Their use in bubble column reactors facilitates continuous operation by allowing the produced carbon to float to the surface for removal. While most reported molten metals produce low-value amorphous carbon or graphitic sheets containing some metals, our study introduces a Cu-In alloy that selectively produces high-purity carbon nanofibers.

Methanolation of Olefins: Low-Pressure Synthesis of Alcohols by the Formal Addition of Methanol to Olefins.

Methanolation of olefins is introduced as a new low-pressure synthetic pathway to C1 elongated alcohols. Formally, HCOH is added to the C=C bond in a 100 % atom efficient manner. Mechanistically, the overall transformation occurs as a tandem reaction sequence by combining the dehydrogenation of methanol to syngas at a CO : H ratio of 1 : 2 with subsequent hydroformylation to the corresponding aldehyde and its final hydrogenation to the alcohol.

Collective search in ants: Movement determines footprints, and footprints influence movement.

Collectively searching animals might be expected to coordinate with their groupmates to cover ground more evenly or efficiently than uncoordinated groups. Communication can lead to coordination in many ways. Previous work in ants suggests that chemical 'footprints', left behind by individuals as they walk, might serve this function by modulating the movement patterns of following ants.

Clinically approved immunomodulators ameliorate behavioral changes in a mouse model of hereditary spastic paraplegia type 11.

We have previously demonstrated that neuroinflammation by the adaptive immune system acts as a robust and targetable disease amplifier in a mouse model of Spastic Paraplegia, type 11 (SPG11), a complicated form of Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia (HSP). While we identified an impact of neuroinflammation on distinct neuropathological changes and gait performance, neuropsychological features, typical and clinically highly relevant symptoms of complicated HSPs, were not addressed. Here we show that the corresponding SPG11 mouse model shows distinct behavioral abnormalities, particularly related to social behavior thus partially reflecting the neuropsychological changes in patients.