Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Engineering: Graphene Engineering: Nanotechnology Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General
Published

A single atom layer of gold: Researchers create goldene      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

For the first time, scientists have managed to create sheets of gold only a single atom layer thick. The material has been termed goldene. According to researchers, this has given the gold new properties that can make it suitable for use in applications such as carbon dioxide conversion, hydrogen production, and production of value-added chemicals.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Can animals count?      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have made a groundbreaking discovery regarding number sense in animals by confirming the existence of discrete number sense in rats, offering a crucial animal model for investigating the neural basis of numerical ability and disability in humans.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Developmental Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Unlocking the 'chain of worms'      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An international team of scientists has published a single-cell atlas for Pristina leidyi (Pristina), the water nymph worm, a segmented annelid with extraordinary regenerative abilities that has fascinated biologists for more than a century.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Physics: Optics
Published

New colorful plastic films for versatile sensors and electronic displays      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have synthesized triarylborane (TAB) compounds that exhibit unusual optical responses upon binding to certain anions. They also synthesized thin polymer films that incorporate the TAB and retain the sensing as well as the light emission properties of the TAB. This work is an important advance in plastic research and has applications in analyte sensing as well as electronic display technologies.

Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Zoology Ecology: Nature Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Evolution's recipe book: How 'copy paste' errors cooked up the animal kingdom      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A series of whole genome and gene duplication events that go back hundreds of millions of years have laid the foundations for tissue-specific gene expression, according to a new study. The 'copy-paste' errors allowed animals to keep one copy of their genome or genes for fundamental functions, while the second copy could be used as raw material for evolutionary innovation. Events like these, at varying degrees of scale, occurred constantly throughout the bilaterian evolutionary tree and enabled traits and behaviours as diverse as insect flight, octopus camouflage and human cognition.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Microbiology Biology: Zoology Ecology: Sea Life Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Even the simplest marine organisms tend to be individualistic      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Sport junkie or couch potato? Always on time or often late? The animal kingdom, too, is home to a range of personalities, each with its own lifestyle. Biologists report on a surprising discovery: even simple marine polychaete worms shape their day-to-day lives on the basis of highly individual rhythms. This diversity is of interest not just for the future of species and populations in a changing environment, but also for medicine.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Researchers study effects of solvation and ion valency on metallopolymers      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers analyzed the effects of solvation and ion valency on metallopolymers, with implications for critical materials recovery and recycling, and environmental remediation.

Biology: General Biology: Zoology Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Leptanilla voldemort, a ghostly slender new ant species from the dark depths of the underground      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In the sun-scorched Pilbara region of north-western Australia, scientists have unearthed a mysterious creature from the shadows -- a new ant species called Leptanilla voldemort.

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

A new spin on organic shampoo makes it sudsier, longer lasting      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

While there's no regulation in the U.S. for what's in organic shampoos, they tend to contain ingredients perceived as safe or environmentally friendly. However, these 'clean' shampoos separate and spoil faster than those made with synthetic stabilizers and preservatives. Now, researchers demonstrate that a simple process -- spinning organic shampoo at high speeds -- improved the final products' shelf lives and ability to clean hair.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Energy: Alternative Fuels Engineering: Nanotechnology Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Nanoscale movies shed light on one barrier to a clean energy future      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research is shedding light on one barrier to a clean energy future: corrosion. Using nanoscale imaging techniques, researchers have captured high-resolution videos of tiny crystals of ruthenium dioxide -- a key ingredient used to produce clean-burning hydrogen -- as they are eaten away by their acidic environment. The research could pave the way to more durable catalysts and dramatically extend the lifetime of devices needed to turn hydrogen green.

Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Zoology Ecology: Extinction Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Oxidant pollutant ozone removes mating barriers between fly species      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers show that ozone levels, such as those found in many places on hot summer days today, destroy the sex pheromones of fruit fly species. As a result, some natural mating boundaries maintained by species-specific pheromones no longer exist. The research team has shown in experiments that flies of different species mate when exposed to ozone and produce hybrid offspring. Since most of these offspring are unable to reproduce, the results could provide another explanation for the global decline of insects.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

Nothing is everything: How hidden emptiness can define the usefulness of filtration materials      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Voids, or empty spaces, exist within matter at all scales, from the astronomical to the microscopic. In a new study, researchers used high-powered microscopy and mathematical theory to unveil nanoscale voids in three dimensions. This advancement is poised to improve the performance of many materials used in the home and in the chemical, energy and medical industries -- particularly in the area of filtration.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry
Published

New 3D-printing method makes printing objects more affordable and eco-friendly      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A team of scientists has unveiled a method for 3D printing that allows manufacturers to create custom-made objects more economically and sustainably.

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

New strategy for assessing the applicability of reactions      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Chemists show that a machine-based method prevents widespread 'bias' in chemical publications.

Ecology: Animals Ecology: General Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

'Teacher Toads' can save native animals from toxic cane toads      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists from Macquarie University have come up with an innovative way to stop cane toads killing native wildlife by training goannas to avoid eating the deadly amphibians.

Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Microbiology Biology: Zoology Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Sea Life Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Dinosaurs Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Do some mysterious bones belong to gigantic ichthyosaurs?      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Several similar large, fossilized bone fragments have been discovered in various regions across Western and Central Europe since the 19th century. The animal group to which they belonged is still the subject of much debate to this day. A study could now settle this dispute once and for all: The microstructure of the fossils indicates that they come from the lower jaw of a gigantic ichthyosaur. These animals could reach 25 to 30 meters in length, a similar size to the modern blue whale.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Zoology Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Mediterranean marine worm has developed enormous eyes      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists are amazed at the discovery of a bristle worm with such sharp-seeing eyes that they can measure up to those of mammals and octopuses. The researchers suspect that these marine worms may have a secretive language, which uses UV light only seen by their own species. The advanced vision of such a primitive creature helps to finally settle an epic debate about the evolution of eyes.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Mathematics: Statistics
Published

How scientists are accelerating chemistry discoveries with automation      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have developed an automated workflow that could accelerate the discovery of new pharmaceutical drugs and other useful products. The new automated approach could analyze chemical reactions in real time and identify new chemical-reaction products much faster than current laboratory methods.