Biology: Botany Biology: Microbiology Ecology: General Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Wildfires Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

By air, rain and land: How microbes return after a wildfire      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Ecological disturbances like wildfires disrupt microbial communities. Researchers found that dispersal played a pivotal role in re-establishing surface-level communities.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry
Published

Unraveling the mysteries of glassy liquids      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A collaborative study builds a novel theory to explain the puzzling collective behavior of glass-forming liquids at low temperatures, a phenomenon with widespread implications in fields like material science and biology.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

Scaling up the power of nanotechnology      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers created a proof of concept of a nanocapsule -- a microscopic container -- capable of delivering a specific 'payload' to a targeted location. While beyond the scope of this study, the discovery could one day impact how drugs, nutrients and other types of chemical compounds are delivered within humans or plants.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

New recycling method fights plastic waste      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Almost 80% of plastic in the waste stream ends up in landfills or accumulates in the environment. Scientists have now developed a technology that converts a conventionally unrecyclable mixture of plastic waste into useful chemicals, presenting a new strategy in the toolkit to combat global plastic waste.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Energy: Batteries Energy: Technology Engineering: Graphene Physics: General
Published

One-atom-thick ribbons could improve batteries, solar cells and sensors      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers created nanoribbons made of phosphorus and tiny amounts of arsenic, which they found were able to conduct electricity at temperatures above -140 degrees Celsius, while retaining the highly useful properties of the phosphorus-only ribbons.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Engineering: Graphene Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

Making contact: Researchers wire up individual graphene nanoribbons      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have developed a method of 'wiring up' graphene nanoribbons (GNRs), a class of one-dimensional materials that are of interest in the scaling of microelectronic devices. Using a direct-write scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) based process, the nanometer-scale metal contacts were fabricated on individual GNRs and could control the electronic character of the GNRs. The researchers say that this is the first demonstration of making metal contacts to specific GNRs with certainty and that those contacts induce device functionality needed for transistor function.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Offbeat: General
Published

Researchers make sand that flows uphill      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Engineering researchers have discovered that sand can actually flow uphill. A corresponding video shows what happens when torque and an attractive force is applied to each grain -- the grains flow uphill, up walls, and up and down stairs.

Environmental: General Environmental: Wildfires Geoscience: Geography
Published

Socially vulnerable populations are disproportionately exposed to wildfires in the Western US      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

People experiencing a high degree of social vulnerability are also more exposed to wildfires in Oregon and Washington as wildfire risk increases, a new study shows.

Environmental: General Environmental: Wildfires Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography
Published

Alarming results from world first study of two decades of global smoke pollution      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The world's first study of the increase in pollution from landscape fires across the globe over the past two decades reveals that over 2 billion people are exposed to at least one day of potentially health-impacting environmental hazard annually -- a figure that has increased by 6.8 per cent in the last ten years.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Physics: Optics
Published

Novel organic light-emitting diode with ultralow turn-on voltage for blue emission      (via sciencedaily.com) 

An upconversion organic light-emitting diode (OLED) based on a typical blue-fluorescence emitter achieves emission at an ultralow turn-on voltage of 1.47 V. The technology circumvents the traditional high voltage requirement for blue OLEDs, leading to potential advancements in commercial smartphone and large screen displays.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Molecular Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Physics: General
Published

Imaging the smallest atoms provides insights into an enzyme's unusual biochemistry      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A team has used neutron crystallography to image all of the atoms in a radical intermediate of a copper amine oxidase enzyme. They disclosed previously unknown details, such as precise conformational changes, that help to explain the enzyme's biochemistry. This work might help researchers engineer enzymes that facilitate unusual chemistry or are highly efficient at room temperature that are useful in chemical industry.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Space Space: Cosmology Space: General
Published

New recipes for origin of life may point way to distant, inhabited planets      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Life on a faraway planet -- if it's out there -- might not look anything like life on Earth. But there are only so many chemical ingredients in the universe's pantry, and only so many ways to mix them. Scientists have now exploited those limitations to write a cookbook of hundreds of chemical recipes with the potential to give rise to life. Their ingredient list could focus the search for life elsewhere in the universe by pointing out the most likely conditions -- planetary versions of mixing techniques, oven temperatures and baking times -- for the recipes to come together.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

Precisely arranging nanoparticles      (via sciencedaily.com) 

In the incredibly small world of molecules, the elementary building blocks -- the atoms -- join together in a very regular pattern. In contrast, in the macroscopic world with its larger particles, there is much greater disorder when particles connect. A research team has now succeeded in achieving the same precise arrangement of atoms shown in molecules, but using nanometer-sized particles, known as 'plasmonic molecules' -- combinations of nanoscale metallic structures that have unique properties.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Physics: Optics
Published

Novel ligands for transition-metal catalysis of photoreactions      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Transition metals exchange electrons with supporting ligands to form complexes that facilitate reaction catalysis in several industries, like pharmaceutical production. Both the metal center and the ligand moiety have pivotal roles in enabling catalysis. While numerous transition metal-catalyzed photoreactions have been developed, only a few new ligands have been reported. Researchers from Chiba University have now developed novel ligands to create transition metal complexes, defining new reaction capabilities.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Computer Science: General Energy: Technology Physics: General
Published

Engineers grow full wafers of high-performing 2D semiconductor that integrates with state-of-the-art chips      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have grown a high-performing 2D semiconductor to a full-size, industrial-scale wafer. In addition, the semiconductor material, indium selenide (InSe), can be deposited at temperatures low enough to integrate with a silicon chip.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Physics: General Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

New clues to the nature of elusive dark matter      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A team of international researchers has uncovered further clues in the quest for insights into the nature of dark matter. The key to understanding this mystery could lie with the dark photon, a theoretical massive particle that may serve as a portal between the dark sector of particles and regular matter.

Biology: General Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: General Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Ecology: Trees Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Wildfires Geoscience: Geography
Published

Almost half of koala habitats will be under high bushfire threat by 2070      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The research team generated a series of fire susceptibility maps. These show the proportion of Australia experiencing 'high' or 'very high' fire susceptibility increasing from 14.9% now to 15.66% by 2070 -- while fire susceptibility of areas suitable for the plants that koalas depend on is tipped to jump from 39.56% to 44.61% by 2070.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Energy: Technology Environmental: General
Published

Golden future for thermoelectrics      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers discover excellent thermoelectric properties of nickel-gold alloys. These can be used to efficiently convert heat into electrical energy.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Physics: General Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: Exploration Space: General
Published

Carbon atoms coming together in space      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Lab-based studies reveal how carbon atoms diffuse on the surface of interstellar ice grains to form complex organic compounds, crucial to reveal the chemical complexity in the universe.