Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography
Published

Incorporating humidity improves estimations of climate impacts on health      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Governments, medical institutions and other bodies require accurate models on health-related matters in order to better organize their activities. Climate change has measurable impacts on society, including on human mortality. However, current models to assess the health impacts of climate change do not account for every environmental parameter, especially humidity, which could influence heat stress perceived by the human body, leaving room for improvement. Researchers have now incorporated humidity data from hundreds of cities into so-called heat stress indicators (HSIs) and assessed their performances in predicting heat-related deaths.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry
Published

A new reaction to enhance aromatic ketone use in chemical synthesis      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers develop a one pot process to transform aromatic ketones to esters, offering advancements in pharmaceutical synthesis and materials science.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry
Published

Investigating the interplay of folding and aggregation in supramolecular polymer systems      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have developed photoresponsive supramolecular polymers that can undergo both intrachain folding and interchain aggregation.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Energy: Technology
Published

Using AI to find the polymers of the future      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Finding the next groundbreaking polymer is always a challenge, but now researchers are using artificial intelligence (AI) to shape and transform the future of the field.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology
Published

Evidence stacks up for poisonous books containing toxic dyes      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Some of the attractive hues of brightly colored, cloth-bound books from the Victorian era come from dyes that could pose a health risk to readers, collectors or librarians. The latest research on these 'poison books' used three techniques -- including one that hasn't previously been applied to books -- to assess dangerous dyes in a university collection and found some volumes had levels that might be unsafe.

Biology: Biochemistry Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Researchers develop index to quantify circular bioeconomy      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

As the world faces the challenges of mitigating climate change and providing resources for a growing population, there is increasing focus on developing circular economies for sustainable production. But to evaluate strategies and impacts, it is necessary to have reliable metrics. Researchers have now developed a Circularity Index that provides a comprehensive method to quantify circularity in bioeconomic systems. In a new paper, they outline the method and apply it to two case studies -- a corn/soybean farming operation and the entire U.S. food and agriculture system.

Ecology: General Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography
Published

Forest loss intensifies climate change by increasing temperatures and cloud level, which leads to decrease of water      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers report that deforestation during the last two decades induced a higher warming and cloud level rise than that caused by climate change, which threatens biodiversity and water supply in African montane forests.

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

Morphable materials: Researchers coax nanoparticles to reconfigure themselves      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A view into how nanoscale building blocks can rearrange into different organized structures on command is now possible with an approach that combines an electron microscope, a small sample holder with microscopic channels, and computer simulations, according to a new study.

Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography
Published

Nitrogen interventions as a key to better health and robust ecosystems      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An international research team combined multidisciplinary methods to evaluate how nitrogen interventions could improve air quality and reduce nitrogen deposition. Their study found that interventions, such as improving fuel combustion conditions, increasing agricultural nitrogen use efficiency, and reducing food loss and waste, could significantly lower premature deaths attributed to air pollution, crop losses, and ecosystems risks.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry
Published

Researchers develop new chemical method to enhance drug discovery      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers developed a novel reagent that enhances the precision of drug synthesis. This innovative method introduces a new sulfur fluoride exchange (SuFEx) reagent that allows for highly controlled production of crucial sulfur-based molecules, including sulfinamides, sulfonimidamides and sulfoximines.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Why isn't Colorado's snowpack ending up in the Colorado River? New research suggests the problem might be the lack of spring rainfall      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The Colorado River and its tributaries provide water for hydropower, irrigation and drinking water in seven U.S. states and Mexico. But since 2000, water managers have struggled to predict how much water will come from the snowpack. The problem lies with the lack of rainfall in the spring, according to new research.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry
Published

Versatile fluidic platform for programmable liquid processing      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Society relies heavily on diverse fluidic technologies. The ability to precisely capture and release various chemical and biological fluids plays a fundamental role in many fields. A long-standing challenge is to design a platform that enables the switchable capture and release of liquids with precise spatial and temporal control and accurate volumes of the fluid. Recently, researchers have invented a new method to effectively overcome this challenge.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Energy: Batteries Energy: Technology Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

Research provides a roadmap for improving electrochemical performance      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A study expands understanding on how electrons move through the conductive parts of complex fluids found in electrochemical devices such as batteries. This work can help overcome existing knowledge gaps for engineers seeking to improve the performance of these devices.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry
Published

New technique prints metal oxide thin film circuits at room temperature      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have demonstrated a technique for printing thin metal oxide films at room temperature, and have used the technique to create transparent, flexible circuits that are both robust and able to function at high temperatures.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry
Published

Enhancing electron transfer for highly efficient upconversion OLEDs      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Electron transfer is enhanced by minimal energetic driving force at the organic-semiconductor interface in upconversion (UC) organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs), resulting in efficient blue UC-OLEDs with low extremely turn-on voltage, scientists show. Their findings deepen the understanding of electron transfer mechanisms in organic optoelectronic devices and can lead to the development of efficient new optoelectronics without energy loss.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Fracking frenzy in India: A water crisis in the making?      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

India's plans to scale up fracking operations without robust regulations could spell disaster for the country's finely balanced water security, according to research.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

Scientists create material that can take the temperature of nanoscale objects      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists recently discovered a one-dimensional nanoscale material whose color changes as temperature changes.

Biology: Microbiology Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Hydrometeorology and location affect hospitalizations for waterborne infectious diseases in the US      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An analysis of 12 years of data collected from over 500 hospitals in 25 different states shows that weather, geographic location, and urban or rural location all appear to influence hospitalizations for waterborne infectious diseases.