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Categories: Chemistry: Organic Chemistry, Environmental: Ecosystems
Published Combined effects of plastic pollution and seawater flooding amplify threats to coastal plant species



A new study highlights how a combination of environmental stressors -- namely plastic pollution and seawater flooding -- can increase the threats faced by plants in some of the planet's critical ecosystems. It showed that both stressors had some effects on the species tested, but being exposed to both microplastics and flooding together -- a threat likely to increase as a result of climate change and plastic use -- had a more pronounced impact on their resource allocation.
Published Climate change may lead to shifts in vital Pacific Arctic fisheries



Commercially important marine fish and invertebrate species will likely shift northwards under a warmer climate, according to new research.
Published Warming stops tiny organisms working together



Hotter conditions prevent two tiny organisms working together for mutual benefit, new research shows.
Published The next generation of RNA chips



An international research team has succeeded in developing a new version of RNA building blocks with higher chemical reactivity and photosensitivity. This can significantly reduce the production time of RNA chips used in biotechnological and medical research. The chemical synthesis of these chips is now twice as fast and seven times more efficient.
Published 3D models provide unprecedented look at corals' response to bleaching events



Marine biologists are providing a glimpse into coral 'bleaching' responses to stress, using imaging technology to pinpoint coral survival rates following multiple bleaching events off the island of Maui. Using a time series of coral reef 3D models from Maui, the researchers tracked the bleaching response of 1,832 coral colonies from 2014 to 2021. The seven-year data set provided detailed imagery of the reefs year-by-year, allowing the team to identify patterns of coral growth and survivorship through sequential bleaching events that occurred in 2015 and 2019.
Published Scientists devise method to secure Earth's biodiversity on the moon



New research led proposes a plan to safeguard Earth's imperiled biodiversity by cryogenically preserving biological material on the moon. The moon's permanently shadowed craters are cold enough for cryogenic preservation without the need for electricity or liquid nitrogen.
Published What's the weather like in the deep sea?



A new study has revealed how even the deepest seafloors are affected by the daily back-and-forth of the tides, and the change of the seasons, and that currents at the bottom of the ocean are far more complicated than previously thought. These findings are helping us understand the deep-sea pathways of nutrients that support important deep-sea ecosystems, assess where microplastics and other pollutants accumulate in the ocean, and reconstruct past climate change.
Published Unraveling a key junction underlying muscle contraction



Using powerful new visualization technologies, researchers have captured the first 3-D images of the structure of a key muscle receptor, providing new insights on how muscles develop across the animal kingdom and setting the stage for possible future treatments for muscular disorders.
Published Scientists discover entirely new wood type that could be highly efficient at carbon storage



Researchers undertaking an evolutionary survey of the microscopic structure of wood from some of the world's most iconic trees and shrubs have discovered an entirely new type of wood.
Published Mucus-based bio-ink could be used to print and grow lung tissue



Lung diseases kill millions of people around the world each year. Treatment options are limited, and animal models for studying these illnesses and experimental medications are inadequate. Now, researchers describe their success in creating a mucus-based bioink for 3D printing lung tissue. This advance could one day help study and treat chronic lung conditions.
Published Injury dressings in first-aid kits provide a new technique to reveal shark species after bite incidents



Scientists have revealed that injury dressings found in first-aid kits can reliably be used to identify shark species involved in bite incidents by deploying medical gauze to gather DNA samples from aquatic equipment, such as surfboards.
Published Precise genetics: New CRISPR method enables efficient DNA modification



A research group has developed a new method that further improves the existing CRISPR/Cas technologies: it allows a more precise and seamless introduction of tags into proteins at the gene level. This technology could significantly improve research on proteins in living organisms and opens up new possibilities for medical research.
Published North Sea oil and gas extraction spikes pollution by 10,000 percent, study finds



North Sea oil and gas extraction can cause pollution to spike by more than 10,000 percent within half a kilometer around off-shore sites, a study has found. The research has uncovered the true impact on Britain's seabed life -- with the number of species plummeting nearly 30 percent near platforms.
Published Organic nanozymes have broad applications from food and agriculture to biomedicine



Nanozymes are tiny, engineered substances that mimic the catalytic properties of natural enzymes, and they serve a variety of purposes in biomedicine, chemical engineering, and environmental applications. They are typically made from inorganic materials, including metal-based elements, which makes them unsuitable for many purposes due to their toxicity and high production costs. Organic-based nanozymes partially overcome some of these problems and have the potential for a broader range of applications, including food and agriculture, but they are still in the early stages of development. A new paper provides an overview of the current state of organic nanozymes and their future potential.
Published Local food production saves costs and carbon



Emphasizing local food production over imported substitutes can lead to significant cost and carbon savings, according to data from the Inuvialuit Settlement Region in the Canadian Arctic. The research shows potential annual savings of more than 3.1 million Canadian dollars and roughly half the carbon emissions when locally harvested food is used instead of imported food. The study underscores the importance of climate change policies that take local food systems into account. Weakening of these local systems could lead to increased emissions and jeopardize the health and food security of remote communities.
Published Bold moves needed for California agriculture to adapt to climate change



California needs urgent and bold measures to adapt its $59 billion agriculture sector to climate change as the amount of water available for crops declines, according to a new report. The report provides a roadmap for more water capture, storage, and distribution systems that are in harmony with climate projections and ecosystems. It further considers how runoff and groundwater can be used repeatedly as it flows generally from mountainsides to coastal lands.
Published New additive process can make better -- and greener -- high-value chemicals



Researchers have achieved a significant breakthrough that could lead to better -- and greener -- agricultural chemicals and everyday products. Using a process that combines natural enzymes and light, the team developed an eco-friendly way to precisely mix fluorine, an important additive, into chemicals called olefins -- hydrocarbons used in a vast array of products, from detergents to fuels to medicines. This groundbreaking method offers an efficient new strategy for creating high-value chemicals with potential applications in agrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, renewable fuels, and more.
Published Pioneering measurement of the acidity of ionic liquids using Raman spectroscopy



A study has made it possible to estimate experimentally the energy required to transfer protons from water to ionic liquids.
Published 'Miracle' filter turns store-bought LEDs into spintronic devices



Scientists transformed existing optoelectronic devices into ones that can control electron spin at room temperature, without a ferromagnet or magnetic field. Researchers replaced the electrodes of store-bought LEDs with a patented spin filter made from hybrid organic-inorganic halide perovskite.
Published How molecular interactions make it possible to overcome the energy barrier



Non-reciprocal interactions allow the design of more efficient molecular systems. Scientists now propose a mechanism on how energy barriers in complex systems can be overcome. These findings can help to engineer molecular machines and to understand the self-organization of active matter.