Environmental: Water Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Barriers designed to prevent saltwater intrusion may worsen inland flooding      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Building protection barriers without accounting for potential inland flooding risks from groundwater can eventually worsen the very issues they aim to solve.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Physics: Optics
Published

Green hydrogen: 'Artificial leaf' becomes better under pressure      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Hydrogen can be produced via the electrolytic splitting of water. One option here is the use of photoelectrodes that convert sunlight into voltage for electrolysis in so called photoelectrochemical cells (PEC cells). A research team has now shown that the efficiency of PEC cells can be significantly increased under pressure.

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

Unraveling a key junction underlying muscle contraction      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

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.

Environmental: Water
Published

New collaborative research generates lessons for more adaptive lake management      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A professor gathered feedback from 26 Colorado River Basin managers and experts took on water user roles to discuss consuming, banking and trading Colorado River water.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry
Published

Mucus-based bio-ink could be used to print and grow lung tissue      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

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.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Microbiology Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Injury dressings in first-aid kits provide a new technique to reveal shark species after bite incidents      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

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.

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

Precise genetics: New CRISPR method enables efficient DNA modification      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

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.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Organic nanozymes have broad applications from food and agriculture to biomedicine      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

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.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water
Published

New more sustainable method for manufacturing microchips and other nanoscale devices      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers develop a more environmentally friendly approach to manufacturing nano-scale microchip devices using water as a solvent in place of toxic chemicals. The method not only cleans up the manufacturing waste stream, but also enables the integration of electronic and biological components.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Developmental Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

How researchers turn bacteria into cellulose-producing mini-factories      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have modified certain bacteria with UV light so that they produce more cellulose. The basis for this is a new approach with which the researchers generate thousands of bacterial variants and select those that have developed into the most productive.

Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Bold moves needed for California agriculture to adapt to climate change      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

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.

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

Plant-inspired polymers for water purification      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have synthesized a bio-inspired polymer for water purification. The polymer was designed to mimic phytochelatin, a plant protein that selectively captures and neutralizes harmful heavy metal ions. The hyperconfinement of the polymer enabled a flow-through system and effectively removed cadmium ions from contaminated water, making it safe to drink. The system was selective for heavy metals and provides a new way to remove specific contaminants from water.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Organic Chemistry
Published

New additive process can make better -- and greener -- high-value chemicals      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

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.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Volcanoes
Published

New study disputes Hunga Tonga volcano's role in 2023-24 global warm-up      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research is exploring the climate impact of the 2022 Hunga Tonga volcano eruption and challenging existing assumptions about its effects in the process.

Biology: Zoology Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Nature Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography
Published

Thousands of birds and fish threatened by mining for clean energy transition, study finds      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Our increasing demand for metals and minerals is putting over four thousand vertebrate species at risk, with the raw materials needed for clean energy infrastructure often located in global biodiversity hotspots, a study has found.

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

Pioneering measurement of the acidity of ionic liquids using Raman spectroscopy      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A study has made it possible to estimate experimentally the energy required to transfer protons from water to ionic liquids.

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

'Miracle' filter turns store-bought LEDs into spintronic devices      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

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.

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

Nitrogen emissions have a net cooling effect: But researchers warn against a climate solution      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An international team of researchers has found that nitrogen emissions from fertilizers and fossil fuels have a net cooling effect on the climate. But they warn increasing atmospheric nitrogen has further damaging effects on the environment, calling for an urgent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions to halt global warming.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Physics: General
Published

How molecular interactions make it possible to overcome the energy barrier      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

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.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

Researchers explore the interplay between high-affinity DNA and carbon nanotubes      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) hold promise for biomedicine and nanoelectronics, yet the functionalization with single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) remains a challenge. Researchers using high-affinity ssDNA sequences identified through high-throughput selection. They demonstrated the effectivity and stability of these constructs using molecular dynamics simulations. Machine-learning models were used to accurately predict patterns that govern ssDNA-SWCNT binding affinity. These findings provide valuable insights into the interactions between ssDNA and SWCNTs.