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Categories: Chemistry: Organic Chemistry, Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology
Published Golden ball mills as green catalysts
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A gold-coated milling vessel for ball mills proved to be a real marvel: without any solvents or environmentally harmful chemicals, the team was able to use it to convert alcohols into aldehydes. The catalytic reaction takes place at the gold surface and is mechanically driven. The vessel can be reused multiple times. 'This opens up new prospects for the use of gold in catalysis and shows how traditional materials can contribute to solving modern environmental problems in an innovative way,' says Borchardt.
Published Molecular sponge for the electronics of the future
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source An international research team has succeeded in developing a new type of material in the rather young research field of covalent organic frameworks. The new two-dimensional polymer is characterized by the fact that its properties can be controlled in a targeted and reversible manner. This has brought the researchers a step closer to the goal of realizing switchable quantum states.
Published Ancient polar sea reptile fossil is oldest ever found in Southern Hemisphere
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source An international team of scientists has identified the oldest fossil of a sea-going reptile from the Southern Hemisphere -- a nothosaur vertebra found on New Zealand's South Island. 246 million years ago, at the beginning of the Age of Dinosaurs, New Zealand was located on the southern polar coast of a vast super-ocean called Panthalassa. 'The nothosaur found in New Zealand is over 40 million years older than the previously oldest known sauropterygian fossils from the Southern Hemisphere.
Published Reduction of esters by a novel photocatalyst
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A ubiquitous compound, called ester can be broken down to produce desirable alcohols and other chemicals for use across industries including pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, but the process can be costly, both financially and in terms of the environment. Researchers developed a novel photocatalyst 'N-BAP.' When irradiated with blue light, the photocatalyst reduces esters in the presence of oxalate, a negatively charged molecule found widely in nature, resulting in the desired alcohols.
Published Self-assembling and disassembling swarm molecular robots via DNA molecular controller
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have succeeded in developing a DNA-based molecular controller. Crucially, this controller enables the autonomous assembly and disassembly of molecular robots, as opposed to manually directing it.
Published Sharks have depleted functional diversity compared to the last 66 million years
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New research has found that sharks retained high levels of functional diversity for most of the last 66 million years, before steadily declining over the last 10 million years to its lowest value in the present day.
Published Scientists preserve DNA in an amber-like polymer
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source With their 'T-REX' method, researchers developed a glassy, amber-like polymer that can be used for long-term storage of DNA, such as entire human genomes or digital files such as photos.
Published The rotation of Earth's inner core has slowed, new study confirms
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The new study provides unambiguous evidence that the inner core began to decrease its speed around 2010, moving slower than the Earth's surface.
Published Paleontology: New fossil fish genus discovered
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Paleontologists have identified a new genus of fossil goby, revealing evolutionary secrets of a lineage that stretches back millions of years.
Published 'Synthetic' cell shown to follow chemical directions and change shape, a vital biological function
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source In a feat aimed at understanding how cells move and creating new ways to shuttle drugs through the body, scientists say they have built a minimal synthetic cell that follows an external chemical cue and demonstrates a governing principle of biology called 'symmetry breaking.'
Published A 'liquid battery' advance
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A team aims to improve options for renewable energy storage through work on an emerging technology -- liquids for hydrogen storage.
Published A mountainous mystery uncovered in Australia's pink sands
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Deposits of deep-pink sand washing up on South Australian shores shed new light on when the Australian tectonic plate began to subduct beneath the Pacific plate, as well as the presence of previously unknown ancient Antarctic mountains.
Published No bones about it: 100-million-year-old bones reveal new species of pterosaur
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New research has identified 100-million-year-old fossilized bones discovered in western Queensland as belonging to a newly identified species of pterosaur, which was a formidable flying reptile that lived among the dinosaurs.
Published Ritual sacrifice at Chichén Itzá
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Rising to power in the wake of the Classic Maya collapse, Chichen Itz was among the largest and most influential cities of the ancient Maya, but much about its political connections and ritual life remain poorly understood. Close kin relationships, including two pairs of identical twins, suggests a connection to the Maya origin myths of the Popol Vuh.
Published Algae offer real potential as a renewable electricity source
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The need to transition away from fossil fuels to more sustainable energy production is critical. That's why a team of researchers is looking at a potential power source that not only produces no carbon emissions but removes carbon as it works: algae.
Published Scientists unlock secrets of how archaea, the third domain of life, makes energy
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source An international scientific team has redefined our understanding of archaea, a microbial ancestor to humans from two billion years ago, by showing how they use hydrogen gas. The findings explain how these tiny lifeforms make energy by consuming and producing hydrogen. This simple but dependable strategy has allowed them to thrive in some of Earth's most hostile environments for billions of years.
Published The solar system may have passed through dense interstellar clouds 2 million years ago, altering Earth's climate
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Astrophysicists calculate the likelihood that Earth was exposed to cold, harsh interstellar clouds, a phenomenon not previously considered in geologic climate models.
Published Novel Genetic Clock discovers oldest known marine plant
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source An international research team has discovered the oldest known marine plant using a novel genetic clock. This 1400-year-old seagrass clone from the Baltic Sea dates back to the Migration Period. The research project is a significant step towards better understanding and protecting marine ecosystems.
Published Changes Upstream: RIPE team uses CRISPR/Cas9 to alter photosynthesis for the first time
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists used CRISPR/Cas9 to increase gene expression in rice by changing its upstream regulatory DNA. While other studies have used the technology to knock out or decrease the expression of genes, this study, is an unbiased gene-editing approach to increase gene expression and downstream photosynthetic activity. The approach is more difficult than transgenic breeding, but could potentially preempt regulatory issues by changing DNA already within the plant, allowing the plants to get in the hands of farmers sooner.
Published Tiny new species of great ape lived in Germany 11 million years ago
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Ancient apes in Germany co-existed by partitioning resources in their environment, according to a new study.