Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Wildfires
Published

Wildfires increasing across Eastern U.S.      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers examined 36 years of wildfire data in the eastern United States, focusing on fires that burned large areas. The overall trend for the region showed an increase in fire size, frequency, and shifts in seasonality and highlights a need for proactive management and individual preparedness for those living in this populous part of the country.  

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Ecology: General Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Environmental: Wildfires Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Wildfires also impact aquatic ecosystems      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have shown that the effects of wildfires are not limited to terrestrial ecosystems. Aquatic ecosystems are also undergoing rapid changes. The study found that fire debris transforms lakes and other aquatic ecosystems, with implications for fisheries and water quality.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Microbiology Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

Nanoprobe with a barcode      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Protein-splitting enzymes play an important role in many physiological processes. Such proteases are generally present in an inactive state, only becoming activated under certain conditions. Some are linked to diseases like infections or cancer, making it important to have methods that can selectively detect active proteases. Scientists have introduced a new class of protease-activity sensors: gold nanoparticles equipped with peptide DNA.

Ecology: Trees Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Wildfires Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Twenty-year study confirms California forests are healthier when burned -- or thinned      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A 20-year experiment in the Sierra Nevada confirms that different forest management techniques -- prescribed burning, restoration thinning or a combination of both -- are effective at reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfire in California. These treatments also improve forest health, making trees more resilient to stressors like drought and bark beetles, and they do not negatively impact plant or wildlife biodiversity within individual tree stands, the research found.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry
Published

Nanoparticle-delivered RNA reduces neuroinflammation in lab tests      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In mice and human cell cultures, researchers showed that novel nanoparticles can deliver a potential therapy for inflammation in the brain, a prominent symptom in Alzheimer's disease.

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

Climate change will increase wildfire risk and lengthen fire seasons      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Wildfires are some of the most destructive natural disasters in the country, threatening lives, destroying homes and infrastructure, and creating air pollution. In order to properly forecast and manage wildfires, managers need to understand wildfire risk and allocate resources accordingly.

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

First observation of structures resulting from 3D domain swapping in antibody light chains      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Antibodies hold promise as therapeutic agents. However, their tendency to aggregate poses significant challenges to drug development. In a groundbreaking study, researchers now provide novel insights into the structure formed due to 3D domain swapping of the antibody light chain, the part of the antibody contributing to antigen binding. Their findings are expected to lead to improvements in antibody quality and the development of novel drugs.

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

A fork in the 'rhod': Researchers unveil comprehensive collection of rhodamine-based fluorescent dyes      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

After more than a decade of developing fluorescent probes, a research team has now released the culmination of their years of work: A comprehensive collection of rhodamine-based dyes, the novel chemistry they developed to synthesize them and insights that provide a roadmap for designing future probes.

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

Chemists create organic molecules in a rainbow of colors      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Chemists have now come up with a way to make molecules known as acenes more stable, allowing them to synthesize acenes of varying lengths. Using their new approach, they were able to build molecules that emit red, orange, yellow, green, or blue light, which could make acenes easier to deploy in a variety of applications.

Environmental: General Environmental: Wildfires Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Wildfires have erased two decades' worth of air quality gains in western United States      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study concludes that wildfires originating in the western United States and Canada have erased air quality gains over the past two decades and caused an increase of premature deaths in fire-prone areas and downwind regions, primarily in the western U.S.

Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: Wildfires Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Strange burn: New research identifies unique patterns in Utah wildfires      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Utah's variable topography produces a tremendous range of wildfire behavior, according to new research.

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

Researchers decode aqueous amino acid's potential for direct air capture of CO2      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have made a significant stride toward understanding a viable process for direct air capture, or DAC, of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. This DAC process is in early development with the aim of achieving negative emissions, where the amount of carbon dioxide removed from the envelope of gases surrounding Earth exceeds the amount emitted.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Developmental Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry
Published

New technique efficiently offers insight into gene regulation      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed a new technique called MAbID. This allows them to simultaneously study different mechanisms of gene regulation, which plays a major role in development and disease. MAbID offers new insights into how these mechanisms work together or against each other.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry
Published

PicoRuler: Molecular rulers for high-resolution microscopy      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A team presents a groundbreaking advance for the world of high-resolution fluorescence microscopy: The innovative method enables researchers for the first time to use biomolecules as molecular rulers to calibrate the latest super-resolution microscopy methods, which have a resolution of just a few nanometers.

Biology: Marine Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Wildfires Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Ash can fertilize the oceans      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Flames roared through Santa Barbara County in late 2017. UC Santa Barbara canceled classes, and the administration recommended donning an N95, long before the COVID pandemic made the mask a household item. Smoke and ash choked the air, but the Thomas Fire's effects weren't restricted to the land and sky. Huge amounts of ash settled into the oceans, leaving researchers to wonder what effect it might have on marine life.  

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

Researchers reveal new process for making anhydride chemical compounds      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A collaborative research team has discovered a new process for making anhydrides that promises improvements in costs and sustainability.

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

Artificial intelligence paves way for new medicines      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed an AI model that can predict where a drug molecule can be chemically altered.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry
Published

Releasing brakes on biocatalysis      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Enzymes from microorganisms can produce hydrogen (H2) under certain conditions, which makes them potential biocatalysts for biobased H2 technologies. In order to make this hydrogen production efficient, researchers are trying to identify and eliminate possible limiting factors. These include formaldehyde, which occurs naturally as a metabolic product in cells and inhibits the particularly efficient [FeFe] hydrogenase.