Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

New research explains 'Atlantification' of the Arctic Ocean      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research by an international team of scientists explains what's behind a stalled trend in Arctic Ocean sea ice loss since 2007. The findings indicate that stronger declines in sea ice will occur when an atmospheric feature known as the Arctic dipole reverses itself in its recurring cycle. The many environmental responses to the Arctic dipole are described in a recent article. This analysis helps explain how North Atlantic water influences Arctic Ocean climate. Scientists call it Atlantification.

Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Antarctic ice shelves thinner than previously thought      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

As global ice dams begin to weaken due to warming temperatures, a new study suggests that prior attempts to evaluate the mass of the huge floating ice shelves that line the Antarctic ice sheet may have overestimated their thickness.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Chemistry: Thermodynamics Energy: Alternative Fuels
Published

Striking gold with molecular mystery solution for potential clean energy      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Hydrogen spillover is exactly what it sounds like. Small metal nanoparticles anchored on a thermally stable oxide, like silica, comprise a major class of catalysts, which are substances used to accelerate chemical reactions without being consumed themselves. The catalytic reaction usually occurs on the reactive -- and expensive -- metal, but on some catalysts, hydrogen atom-like equivalents literally spill from the metal to the oxide. These hydrogen-on-oxide species are called 'hydrogen spillover.'

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Physics: Optics
Published

Growing triple-decker hybrid crystals for lasers      (via sciencedaily.com) 

By controlling the arrangement of multiple inorganic and organic layers within crystals using a novel technique, researchers have shown they can control the energy levels of electrons and holes (positive charge carriers) within a class of materials called perovskites. This tuning influences the materials' optoelectronic properties and their ability to emit light of specific energies, demonstrated by their ability to function as a source of lasers.

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

Coastal fisheries show surprising resilience to marine heat waves      (via sciencedaily.com) 

New research found that marine heat waves -- prolonged periods of unusually warm ocean temperatures -- haven't had a lasting effect on the fish communities that feed most of the world. The finding is in stark contrast to the devastating effects seen on other marine ecosystems cataloged by scientists after similar periods of warming, including widespread coral bleaching and harmful algal blooms.

Chemistry: Organic Chemistry
Published

New blood test for noncoding RNA significantly improves cancer detection      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A lab is developing more accurate and powerful liquid biopsy technologies that take advantage of signals from RNA 'dark matter,' an understudied area of the genome.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Physics: General Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Taking photoclick chemistry to the next level      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have been able to substantially improve photoclick chemistry. They were able to boost the reactivity of the photoclick compound in the popular PQ-ERA reaction through strategic molecular substitution. They now report a superb photoreaction quantum yield, high reaction rates and notable oxygen tolerance.

Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Using evidence from last Ice Age, scientists predict effects of rising seas on coastal habitats      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The rapid sea level rise and resulting retreat of coastal habitat seen at the end of the last Ice Age could repeat itself if global average temperatures rise beyond certain levels, according to an analysis by an international team of scientists.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Direct formation of sulfuric acid in the atmosphere      (via sciencedaily.com) 

In the atmosphere, gaseous sulfuric acid can form particles that influence the physical properties of clouds. Thus, the formation of sulfuric acid in the gas phase directly affects the radiative forcing and Earth's climate. In addition to the known formation from sulfur dioxide, researchers have now been able to demonstrate through experiments that there is another formation pathway that has been speculated about for decades. Sulfuric acid in the atmosphere can also be formed directly by the oxidation of organic sulfur compounds. This new production pathway can be responsible for up to half of the gaseous sulfuric acid formation over the oceans and is thus of high importance for climate projections -- especially over the oceans of the Southern Hemisphere.

Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Energy: Alternative Fuels Physics: General
Published

Energy storage in molecules      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Molecular photoswitches that can both convert and store energy could be used to make solar energy harvesting more efficient. A team of researchers has used a quantum computing method to find a particularly efficient molecular structure for this purpose. Their procedure was based on a dataset of more than 400,000 molecules, which they screened to find the optimum molecular structure for solar energy storage materials.

Chemistry: Organic Chemistry
Published

Neural network helps design brand new proteins      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A scientist combines attention neural networks with graph neural networks to better understand and design proteins. The approach couples the strengths of geometric deep learning with those of language models to predict existing protein properties and envision new proteins that nature has not yet devised. The model turns numbers, descriptions, tasks, and other elements into symbols for neural networks to use.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Organic Chemistry
Published

Overcoming the challenges to synthesising iron--sulfur proteins outside the glovebox      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Iron--sulfur (Fe--S) proteins, essential to all life forms, are difficult to synthesise due to the complicated molecular machinery involved and sensitivity of Fe--S clusters to oxygen. In a new study, a team of researchers devised an innovative protocol for synthesising mature Fe--S proteins, by bringing together a recombinant sulfur assimilation (SUF) system and an oxygen-scavenging system, thereby, paving the way for new technologies and a better understanding of the evolution of life.

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

A first for ferrocene: Organometallic capsule with unusual charge-transfer interactions      (via sciencedaily.com) 

An organometallic capsule that can reversibly assemble and disassemble in response to chemical stimuli was recently developed by chemists. Comprising ferrocene-based bent amphiphiles, this new capsule can act as a host for various types of guest molecules, such as electron acceptors and dyes. Thanks to the controllable release of its cargo, the capsule would find applications in catalysis, medicine, and biotechnology.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Energy: Alternative Fuels Energy: Fossil Fuels Energy: Technology Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Direct power generation from methylcyclohexane using solid oxide fuel cells      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Methylcyclohexane is very promising as a hydrogen carrier that can safely and efficiently transport and store hydrogen. However, the dehydrogenation process using catalysts has issues due to its durability and large energy loss. Recently, researchers have succeeded in using solid oxide fuel cells to generate electricity directly from methylcyclohexane and recover toluene for reuse. This research is expected to not only reduce energy requirements but also explore new chemical synthesis by fuel cells.

Biology: Marine Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Sea Life Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

New species of marine bacteria isolated from a deep-sea cold seep      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have isolated a new strain of marine bacteria with unique characteristics from the ocean seabed.

Biology: Marine Ecology: Sea Life Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Historic red tide event of 2020 fueled by plankton super swimmers      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A major red tide event occurred in waters off Southern California in the spring of 2020, resulting in dazzling displays of bioluminescence along the coast. Now, for the first time, a study has pinpointed how the plankton species Lingulodinium polyedra -- a dinoflagellate -- was able to create such an exceptionally dense bloom. The answer lies in dinoflagellates' remarkable ability to swim, which lends them a competitive advantage over other species of phytoplankton.

Chemistry: Organic Chemistry
Published

The physics of fat droplets reveal DNA danger      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have looked beyond biochemistry to publish groundbreaking work on the physics of fat droplets found inside many types of cells, revealing them to be a potential threat to a cell's nucleus.They have discovered fat-filled lipid droplets' surprising capability to indent and puncture the nucleus, the organelle which contains and regulates a cell's DNA. The stakes of their findings are high: a ruptured nucleus can lead to elevated DNA damage that is characteristic of many diseases, including cancer.

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

Due to sea-ice retreat, zooplankton could remain in the deep longer      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Due to intensifying sea-ice melting in the Arctic, sunlight is now penetrating deeper and deeper into the ocean. Since marine zooplankton respond to the available light, this is also changing their behavior -- especially how the tiny organisms rise and fall within the water column. As an international team of researchers has now shown, in the future this could lead to more frequent food shortages for the zooplankton, and to negative effects for larger species including seals and whales.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Physics: General Physics: Optics Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Scientists use quantum device to slow down simulated chemical reaction 100 billion times      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Using a trapped-ion quantum computer, the research team witnessed the interference pattern of a single atom caused by a 'conical intersection'. Conical intersections are known throughout chemistry and are vital to rapid photo-chemical processes such as light harvesting in human vision or photosynthesis.

Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Developmental Biology: Microbiology Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Physics: Optics
Published

Scientists invent new way to sort cells by type using light      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have developed and demonstrated a new method for high-throughput single-cell sorting that uses stimulated Raman spectroscopy rather than the traditional approach of fluorescence-activated cell sorting. The new approach could offer a label-free, nondestructive way to sort cells for a variety of applications, including microbiology, cancer detection and cell therapy.