Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Engineering: Graphene Engineering: Nanotechnology Physics: General Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Physicists discover transformable nano-scale electronic devices      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The nano-scale electronic parts in devices like smartphones are solid, static objects that once designed and built cannot transform into anything else. But physicists have reported the discovery of nano-scale devices that can transform into many different shapes and sizes even though they exist in solid states.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry
Published

Researchers successfully establish a strong mechanical bond of immiscible iron and magnesium      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Transport relies heavily on steel. But steel is heavy, and scientists are turning to alternatives to lessen the transportation industry's carbon emissions. Magnesium alloys are one such alternative. But developing bonding technology that bonds magnesium alloys with structural steels has been severely limited because magnesium and iron are immiscible. Now, a research group has established a dealloying bonding technology that obtains a strong mechanical bond between iron and magnesium.

Anthropology: General Archaeology: General
Published

Ancient DNA reveals the multiethnic structure of Mongolia's first nomadic empire      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The Xiongnu, contemporaries of Rome and Egypt, built their nomadic empire on the Mongolian steppe 2,000 years ago, emerging as Imperial China's greatest rival and even inspiring the construction of China's Great Wall. In a new study, researchers find that the Xiongnu were a multiethnic empire, with high genetic diversity found across the empire and even within individual extended elite families. At the fringes of the empire, women held the highest positions of power, and the highest genetic diversity was found among low-status male servants, giving clues to the process of empire building that gave rise to Asia's first nomadic imperial power.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Thermodynamics Energy: Alternative Fuels Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Gentle method allows for eco-friendly recycling of solar cells      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

By using a new method, precious metals can be efficiently recovered from thin-film solar cells. The method is also more environmentally friendly than previous methods of recycling and paves the way for more flexible and highly efficient solar cells.

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

Chemists redesign biological PHAs, 'dream' biodegradable plastics      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

They've been called 'dream' plastics: polyhydroxyalkanoates, or PHAs. Already the basis of a fledgling industry, they're a class of polymers naturally created by living microorganisms, or synthetically produced from biorenewable feedstocks. They're biodegradable in the ambient environment, including oceans and soil.

Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General Biology: General Environmental: Ecosystems Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Apes may have evolved upright stature for leaves, not fruit, in open woodland habitats      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Anthropologists have long thought that our ape ancestors evolved an upright torso in order to pick fruit in forests, but new research from the University of Michigan suggests a life in open woodlands and a diet that included leaves drove apes' upright stature.

Anthropology: General Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Oldest bat skeletons ever found described from Wyoming fossils      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have described a new species of bat based on the oldest bat skeletons ever recovered. The study on the extinct bat, which lived in Wyoming about 52 million years ago, supports the idea that bats diversified rapidly on multiple continents during this time.

Anthropology: General Archaeology: General Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General
Published

Dairy foods helped ancient Tibetans thrive in one of Earth's most inhospitable environments      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The question of how prehistoric populations obtained sustainable food in the barren heights of the Tibetan Plateau has long attracted academic and popular interest. A new study highlights the critical role of dairy pastoralism in opening the plateau up to widespread, long-term human habitation.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Physics: Optics
Published

Luminous molecules      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Twisted molecules play an important role in the development of organic light-emitting diodes. A team of chemists has managed to create these compounds with exactly the three-dimensional structure that they wanted. In so doing, they are smoothing the path for new and better light sources.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Your fork could someday be made of sugar, wood powders and degrade on-demand      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Single-use hard plastics are all around us: utensils, party decorations and food containers, to name a few examples. These items pile up in landfills, and many biodegradable versions stick around for months, requiring industrial composting systems to fully degrade. Now, researchers have created a sturdy, lightweight material that disintegrates on-demand -- and they made it from sugar and wood-derived powders.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Ecology: Sea Life Engineering: Nanotechnology Physics: Optics
Published

Pollution monitoring through precise detection of gold nanoparticles in woodlice      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers introduce a novel imaging method to detect gold nanoparticles in woodlice. Their method, known as four-wave mixing microscopy, flashes light that the gold nanoparticles absorb. The light flashes again and the subsequent scattering reveals the nanoparticles' locations. With information about the quantity, location, and impact of gold nanoparticles within the organism, scientists can better understand the potential harm other metals may have on nature.

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

Scientists use peroxide to peer into metal oxide reactions      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers to get a better look at how peroxides on the surface of copper oxide promote the oxidation of hydrogen but inhibit the oxidation of carbon monoxide, allowing them to steer oxidation reactions.

Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Environmental: Ecosystems Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Woolly mammoths evolved smaller ears and woolier coats over the 700,000 years that they roamed the Siberian steppes      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A team of researchers compared the genomes of woolly mammoths with modern day elephants to find out what made woolly mammoths unique, both as individuals and as a species. The investigators report that many of the woolly mammoth's trademark features -- including their woolly coats and large fat deposits -- were already genetically encoded in the earliest woolly mammoths, but these and other traits became more defined over the species' 700,000+ year existence. They also identified a gene with several mutations that may have been responsible for the woolly mammoth's miniscule ears.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Physics: Optics
Published

Toward tunable molecular switches from organic compounds      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Newly synthesized organic molecules can be tuned to emit different colors depending on their molecular structures in crystal form.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology Mathematics: Modeling Physics: General
Published

New atomic-scale understanding of catalysis could unlock massive energy savings      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In an advance they consider a breakthrough in computational chemistry research, chemical engineers have developed a model of how catalytic reactions work at the atomic scale. This understanding could allow engineers and chemists to develop more efficient catalysts and tune industrial processes -- potentially with enormous energy savings, given that 90% of the products we encounter in our lives are produced, at least partially, via catalysis.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Energy: Technology Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Long-forgotten equation provides new tool for converting carbon dioxide      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

To manage atmospheric carbon dioxide and convert the gas into a useful product, scientists have dusted off an archaic -- now 120 years old -- electrochemical equation.

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

Two-dimensional nanoparticles with great potential      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A research team has discovered how catalysts and many other nanoplatelets can be produced in an environmentally friendly way from readily available materials and in sufficient quantities.

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

Discovery of ferroelectricity in an elementary substance      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have discovered a new single-element ferroelectric material that alters the current understanding of conventional ferroelectric materials and has future applications in data storage devices.