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Categories: Chemistry: Organic Chemistry, Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published Novel hydrogel finds new aptamers, or 'chemical antibodies,' in days



A new method uses a hydrogel -- a polymer network that holds its shape and can expand when it takes in a large amount of water -- to retain 'high-affinity,' or well-fitting, aptamers while the rest of the aptamer candidates leave the gel in 60 hours.
Published Researchers develop organic nanozymes suitable for agricultural use



Nanozymes are synthetic materials that mimic the properties of natural enzymes for applications in biomedicine and chemical engineering. They are generally considered too toxic and expensive for use in agriculture and food science. Now, researchers have developed a nanozyme that is organic, non-toxic, environmentally friendly, and cost effective.
Published Rising seas will tighten vise on Miami even for people who are not flooded, says study



A new study that examines both the physical and socioeconomic effects of sea-level rise on Florida's Miami-Dade County area finds that in coming decades, four out of five residents may face disruption or displacement, whether they live in flood zones or not. As inundation spreads, the effects will be felt predominantly by lower-income people as habitable areas shrink and housing prices rise, says the study. Only a small number of affluent residents will be able relocate from low-lying or waterfront properties, while many others without sufficient means may be trapped there, it says.
Published New study confirms presence of flesh-eating and illness-causing bacteria in Florida's coastal waters following Hurricane Ian



When Hurricane Ian struck southwest Florida in September 2022, it unleashed a variety of Vibrio bacteria that can cause illness and death in humans, according to a new study.
Published Management zone maps of little use to corn growers



A multiyear analysis tested whether management zone maps based on soil conditions, topography or other landscape features can reliably predict which parts of a cornfield will respond best to higher rates of seeding or nitrogen application. The study found that -- contrary to common assumptions -- crop-plot responses to the same inputs vary significantly from year to year. The most unpredictable factor -- the weather -- seemed to have the biggest impact on how the crops responded to these inputs.
Published Novel catalyst for green production of fine chemicals and pharmaceuticals



Scientists have developed an innovative catalyst that achieves a significantly lower carbon footprint, paving the way for greener chemical and pharmaceutical manufacturing processes.
Published How weather phenomena affect ocean circulation



A new study has investigated how future changes in weather patterns could affect the tropical Pacific Ocean and its ecosystems. The research, based on complex computer models, has shown that these changes will have far-reaching consequences for ocean circulation. The authors stress the need to take this more into account in future climate models.
Published An electrical switch to control chemical reactions



New pharmaceuticals, cleaner fuels, biodegradable plastics: in order to meet society's needs, chemists have to develop new synthesis methods to obtain new products that do not exist in their natural state. A research group has discovered how to use an external electric field to control and accelerate a chemical reaction, like a 'switch'. This work could have a considerable impact on the development of new molecules, enabling not only more environmentally friendly synthesis, but also very simple external control of a chemical reaction.
Published Experts warn of risk of civil unrest in UK due to food shortages



Food shortages caused by extreme weather could lead to civil unrest in the UK, according to a new study which has surveyed some of the country’s leading food experts.
Published Rivers may not recover from drought for years



Lack of rainfall is not the only measure of drought. New research shows that despite a series of storms, the impact of drought can persist in streams and rivers for up to 3.5 years.
Published Warm summers and wet winters yield better wine vintages



Wine quality is notorious for varying from year to year, but what makes for a 'good year?' Researchers show that weather plays an important role in determining wine quality. By analyzing 50 years’ worth of wine critic scores from the Bordeaux wine region in relation to that year’s weather, the researchers showed that higher quality wine is made in years with warmer temperatures, higher winter rainfall, and earlier, shorter growing seasons—conditions that climate change is predicted to make more frequent.
Published Experiencing record-breaking heat days affects perception of weather trends



Research finds that experiencing days in which the temperature exceeds previous highs for that time of year affects people’s perception of weather trends.
Published Paleoclimatologists use ancient sediment to explore future climate in Africa



With global warming apparently here to stay, a team of paleoclimatologists are studying an ancient source to determine future rainfall and drought patterns: fossilized plants that lived on Earth millions of years ago.
Published Researchers identify largest ever solar storm in ancient 14,300-year-old tree rings



An international team of scientists have discovered a huge spike in radiocarbon levels 14,300 years ago by analyzing ancient tree-rings found in the French Alps. The radiocarbon spike was caused by a massive solar storm, the biggest ever identified. A similar solar storm today would be catastrophic for modern technological society – potentially wiping out telecommunications and satellite systems, causing massive electricity grid blackouts, and costing us billions. The academics are warning of the importance of understanding such storms to protect our global communications and energy infrastructure for the future.
Published The Gulf Stream is warming and shifting closer to shore



The Gulf Stream is intrinsic to the global climate system, bringing warm waters from the Caribbean up the East Coast of the United States. As it flows along the coast and then across the Atlantic Ocean, this powerful ocean current influences weather patterns and storms, and it carries heat from the tropics to higher latitudes as part of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. A new study now documents that over the past 20 years, the Gulf Stream has warmed faster than the global ocean as a whole and has shifted towards the coast. The study relies on over 25,000 temperature and salinity profiles collected between 2001 and 2023.
Published Climate-driven extreme heat may make parts of Earth too hot for humans



If global temperatures increase by 1 degree Celsius (C) or more than current levels, each year billions of people will be exposed to heat and humidity so extreme they will be unable to naturally cool themselves, according to interdisciplinary research. Results indicated that warming of the planet beyond 1.5 C above preindustrial levels will be increasingly devastating for human health across the planet.
Published Researchers create a neural network for genomics -- one that explains how it achieves accurate predictions



A team of computer scientists has created a neural network that can explain how it reaches its predictions. The work reveals what accounts for the functionality of neural networks--the engines that drive artificial intelligence and machine learning--thereby illuminating a process that has largely been concealed from users.
Published Climate change brings earlier arrival of intense hurricanes



New research has revealed that since the 1980s, Category 4 and 5 hurricanes (maximum wind speed greater than 131 miles per hour) have been arriving three to four days earlier with each passing decade of climate change.
Published Discovery made about Fischer Tropsch process could help improve fuel production



A fundamental discovery about the Fischer Tropsch process, a catalytic reaction used in industry to convert coal, natural gas or biomass to liquid fuels, could someday allow for more efficient fuel production. Researchers discovered previously unknown self-sustained oscillations in the Fischer Tropsch process. They found that unlike many catalytic reactions which have one steady state, this reaction periodically moves back and forth from a high to a low activity state. The discovery means that these well-controlled oscillatory states might be used in the future to control the reaction rate and the yields of desired products.
Published The medicine of the future could be artificial life forms



Imagine a life form that doesn't resemble any of the organisms found on the tree of life. One that has its own unique control system, and that a doctor would want to send into your body. It sounds like a science fiction movie, but according to nanoscientists, it can—and should—happen in the future.