Biology: Marine Biology: Zoology Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Hotter sand from microplastics could affect sea turtle development      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research has found that extreme concentrations of microplastics could increase the temperature of beach sand enough to threaten the development of incubating sea turtles.

Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Geologists challenge conventional view of Earth's continental history, stability with new study      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The seemingly stable regions of the Earth's continental plates -- the so-called stable cratons -- have suffered repetitive deformation below their crust since their formation in the remote past, according to new research from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. This hypothesis defies decades of conventional plate tectonics theory and begs to answer why most cratons have remained structurally stable while their underbellies have experienced significant change.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Energy: Batteries
Published

A novel, completely solid, rechargeable air battery      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Solid-state batteries use solid electrodes and solid electrolytes, unlike the more commonly known lithium-ion batteries, which use liquid electrolytes. Solid-state batteries overcome various challenges associated with liquid-based batteries, such as flammability, limited voltage, unstable reactants, and poor long-term cyclability and strength. Making advances in this field, researchers recently demonstrated an all-solid-state rechargeable air battery composed of a redox-active organic negative electrode and a proton-conductive polymer electrolyte.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Energy: Alternative Fuels Engineering: Nanotechnology Physics: Optics
Published

New material transforms light, creating new possibilities for sensors      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new class of materials that can absorb low energy light and transform it into higher energy light might lead to more efficient solar panels, more accurate medical imaging and better night vision goggles.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry
Published

New model offers a way to speed up drug discovery      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A model known as ConPLex can predict whether potential drug molecules will interact with specific protein targets, without having to perform the computationally intensive calculation of the molecules' structures. By applying a language model to protein-drug interactions, researchers can quickly screen large libraries of potential drug compounds.

Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: Water Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Eddies: Circular currents and their influence on the world's hottest ocean      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Water from the Pacific Ocean flows into the Indian Ocean via the Indonesia Archipelago thanks to a vast network of currents that act as a conveyor belt, transporting warmth and nutrients. Currents can sometimes form circular motions and these are known as eddies. An international group of researchers has modeled the impacts of eddies on the currents that carry water from the Pacific Ocean to the Indian Ocean.

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

Sustainable technique to manufacture chemicals      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A newly published study details a novel mechanochemistry method that can produce chemicals using less energy and without the use of solvents that produce toxic waste.

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

Breakthrough: Scientists develop artificial molecules that behave like real ones      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have developed synthetic molecules that resemble real organic molecules. A collaboration of researcher can now simulate the behavior of real molecules by using artificial molecules.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Developmental Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Marine Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Water Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

When water temperatures change, the molecular motors of cephalopods do too      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Working with live squid hatchlings, scientists find the animals can tune their proteome on the fly in response to changes in ocean temperature via the unique process of RNA recoding. The findings inspire new questions about basic protein function.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry
Published

A new way to develop drugs without side effects      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Have you ever wondered how drugs reach their targets and achieve their function within our bodies? If a drug molecule or a ligand is a message, an inbox is typically a receptor in the cell membrane. One such receptor involved in relaying molecular signals is a G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR). About one-third of existing drugs work by controlling the activation of this protein. Researchers now reveal a new way of activating GPCR by triggering shape changes in the intracellular region of the receptor. This new process can help researchers design drugs with fewer or no side effects.

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

More complex than expected: Catalysis under the microscope      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Usually, catalytic reactions are analyzed by checking which chemicals go into a chemical reactor and which come out. But as it turns out, in order to properly understand and optimize catalysts, much more information is necessary. Scientists developed methods to watch catalytic reactions with micrometer resolution under the microscope -- and the process is much more complex than previously thought.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry
Published

Illuminating the molecular ballet in living cells      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed one of the world's fastest cameras capable of detecting fluorescence from single molecules.

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

Whales not to be counted on as 'climate savers'      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Do whales increase the removal of carbon from the atmosphere? Despite some hope that this would be the case, a new study has found the amount of potential carbon capture by whales is too little to meaningfully alter the course of climate change. The team found the amount potentially sequestered by the whales was too minimal to make significant impact on the trajectory of climate change.

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

Flat fullerene fragments attractive to electrons      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have gained new insights into the unique chemical properties of spherical molecules composed entirely of carbon atoms, called fullerenes. They did it by making flat fragments of the molecules, which surprisingly retained and even enhanced some key chemical properties.

Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Oceanography Geoscience: Volcanoes
Published

Petit-spot volcanoes involve the deepest known submarine hydrothermal activity, possibly release CO2 and methane      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Underwater volcanism and its hydrothermal activity play an important role in marine biogeochemical cycles, especially the carbon cycle. But the nature of hydrothermal activity at 'petit-spot' volcanoes have not been revealed at all. Now, scientists reveal that petit-spot hydrothermal activity occurs on the deepest seafloor known to date and could release carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane, which may have implications for the global carbon cycle.