Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Computer Science: General Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR) Mathematics: Modeling
Published

Drug discovery on an unprecedented scale      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Boosting virtual screening with machine learning allowed for a 10-fold time reduction in the processing of 1.56 billion drug-like molecules. Researchers teamed up with industry and supercomputers to carry out one of the world's largest virtual drug screens.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

New study definitively confirms Gulf Stream weakening, understanding the changes could help predict future trends in extreme events      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The Gulf Stream transport of water through the Florida Strait has slowed by 4% over the past four decades, with a 99% certainty that this weakening is more than expected from random chance, according to a new study.

Biology: Marine Ecology: Nature Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: Water Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Ocean acidification makes ecologically important seaweed species fragile      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Ocean acidification will likely almost triple by the end of the century -- a drastic environmental change that could impact important marine species like fleshy seaweeds, algae that grow vertically and promote biodiversity in more than a third of the world's coastline. To get a better idea of how seaweeds might fare in a rapidly acidifying ocean, a team of marine scientists subjected a common fleshy seaweed species to the acidification levels expected by the end of the century. They report that increased acidification impacted the seaweed's chemical balance, made both its structure and its tissues weaker, and reduced its overall chances of survival.

Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Energy: Alternative Fuels Energy: Fossil Fuels Engineering: Graphene
Published

Efficient fuel-molecule sieving using graphene      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A research team has successfully developed a new method that can prevent the crossover of large fuel molecules and suppress the degradation of electrodes in advanced fuel cell technology using methanol or formic acid. The successful sieving of the fuel molecules is achieved via selective proton transfers due to steric hindrance on holey graphene sheets that have chemical functionalization and act as proton-exchange membranes.

Environmental: Water Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

New development model for the world's third-longest river      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers reveal rapid fluvial incision attributed to the growth of high topography in China's Yangtze River.

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

Split gene-editing tool offers greater precision      (via sciencedaily.com) 

To make a gene-editing tool more precise and easier to control, engineers split it into two pieces that only come back together when a third molecule is added.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Long-lasting La Nina events more common over past century      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Multiyear La NiƱa events have become more common over the last 100 years, according to a new study. Five out of six La Nina events since 1998 have lasted more than one year, including an unprecedented triple-year event.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Marine Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: Water Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Mussels able to adjust heart rate to cope with marine heatwaves      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research shows that mussels are pretty crafty sea creatures: able to withstand marine heatwaves by adjusting their heart rate and other physiological functions, boding well for their survival in future decades as the world heats up.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Energy: Technology
Published

Researchers reveal the origins of zirconium nitride's superior performance      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A group of researchers have unraveled the mysteries behind a recently identified material -- zirconium nitride (ZrN) -- that helps power clean energy reactions. Their proposed framework will help future designs for transition metal nitrides, paving a path for generating cleaner energy.

Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Riddle of varying warm water inflow in the Arctic now solved      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In the 'weather kitchen,' the interplay between the Azores High and Icelandic Low has a substantial effect on how much warm water the Atlantic transports to the Arctic along the Norwegian coast. But this rhythm can be thrown off for years at a time. Experts finally have an explanation for why: Due to unusual atmospheric pressure conditions over the North Atlantic, low-pressure areas are diverted from their usual track, which disrupts the coupling between the Azores High, the Icelandic Low and the winds off the Norwegian coast. This finding is an important step toward refining climate models and more accurately predicting the fate of Arctic sea ice in the face of progressing climate change.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Molecular Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Physics: General
Published

Imaging the smallest atoms provides insights into an enzyme's unusual biochemistry      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A team has used neutron crystallography to image all of the atoms in a radical intermediate of a copper amine oxidase enzyme. They disclosed previously unknown details, such as precise conformational changes, that help to explain the enzyme's biochemistry. This work might help researchers engineer enzymes that facilitate unusual chemistry or are highly efficient at room temperature that are useful in chemical industry.

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

Fast-track strain engineering for speedy biomanufacturing      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Using engineered microbes as microscopic factories has given the world steady sources of life-saving drugs, revolutionized the food industry, and allowed us to make sustainable versions of valuable chemicals previously made from petroleum. But behind each biomanufactured product on the market today is the investment of years of work and many millions of dollars in research and development funding. Scientists want to help the burgeoning industry reach new heights by accelerating and streamlining the process of engineering microbes to produce important compounds with commercial-ready efficiency.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Space Space: Cosmology Space: General
Published

New recipes for origin of life may point way to distant, inhabited planets      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Life on a faraway planet -- if it's out there -- might not look anything like life on Earth. But there are only so many chemical ingredients in the universe's pantry, and only so many ways to mix them. Scientists have now exploited those limitations to write a cookbook of hundreds of chemical recipes with the potential to give rise to life. Their ingredient list could focus the search for life elsewhere in the universe by pointing out the most likely conditions -- planetary versions of mixing techniques, oven temperatures and baking times -- for the recipes to come together.

Ecology: General Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Polar experiments reveal seasonal cycle in Antarctic sea ice algae      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Results provide the first measurements of how sea-ice algae and other single-celled life adjust to the dramatic seasonal rhythms in the Southern Ocean. The results provide clues to what might happen as this ecosystem shifts under climate change.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Physics: General Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: Exploration Space: General
Published

Carbon atoms coming together in space      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Lab-based studies reveal how carbon atoms diffuse on the surface of interstellar ice grains to form complex organic compounds, crucial to reveal the chemical complexity in the universe.

Biology: Marine Biology: Microbiology Biology: Zoology Ecology: General Ecology: Research Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Scientists find good places to grow long-spined sea urchins, a starting point to restore 'the lawn mowers of the reefs'      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists are trying to raise as many urchins as possible because they eat algae that could otherwise smother reef ecosystems and kill corals. Researchers have identified algae on which larval sea urchins grow into juveniles in a lab setting.

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

Scientists invent a bright way to upcycle plastics into liquids that can store hydrogen energy      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists have created a process that can upcycle most plastics into chemicals useful for energy storage, using light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and a commercially available catalyst, all at room temperature. The new process is very energy-efficient and can be easily powered by renewable energy in the future, unlike other heat-driven recycling processes like pyrolysis. Currently, only nine per cent of plastics globally are recycled and the rest are typically discarded in landfills or incinerated.

Environmental: Water Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Landslides Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

100-year floods could occur yearly by end of 21st century      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Most coastal communities will encounter '100-year floods' annually by the end of the century, even under a moderate scenario where carbon dioxide emissions peak by 2040, according to a new study. And as early as 2050, regions worldwide could experience 100-year floods every nine to fifteen years on average.