Anthropology: Cultures Archaeology: General Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology
Published

Long-distance weaponry identified at the 31,000-year-old archaeological site of Maisières-Canal      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The hunter-gatherers who settled on the banks of the Haine, a river in southern Belgium, 31,000 years ago were already using spearthrowers to hunt their game. The material found at the archaeological site of Maisières-Canal permits establishing the use of this hunting technique 10,000 years earlier than the oldest currently known preserved spearthrowers. This discovery is prompting archaeologists to reconsider the age of this important technological innovation.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Energy: Alternative Fuels Energy: Batteries
Published

Photo battery achieves competitive voltage      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed a monolithically integrated photo battery using organic materials. The photo battery achieves an unprecedented high discharge potential of 3.6 volts. The system is capable of powering miniature devices.

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

Charged 'molecular beasts' the basis for new compounds      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Mass spectrometers are high-tech machines that play an important role in our society. They are highly sensitive analytical instruments that are indispensable in areas such as medical diagnostics, food quality control and the detection of hazardous chemical substances. A research group is working to modify mass spectrometers so that they can be used for a completely different purpose: the chemical synthesis of new molecules.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Energy: Technology Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Self-powered microbial fuel cell biosensor for monitoring organic freshwater pollution      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Biodegradable waste from plant and animal sources released into freshwater ecosystems is a significant environmental concern. Nonetheless, current methods for assessing water quality seem more or less impractical due to their complexity and high costs. In a promising development, a team of researchers has successfully constructed a self-sustaining and buoyant biosensor using inexpensive carbon-based materials for monitoring water quality at the inlets of freshwater lakes and rivers.

Geoscience: Earthquakes Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology
Published

Hebrew prayer book fills gap in Italian earthquake history      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The chance discovery of a note written in a 15th century Hebrew prayer book fills an important gap in the historical Italian earthquake record, offering a brief glimpse of a previously unknown earthquake affecting the Marche region in the central Apennines.  

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

Chemists make breakthrough in drug discovery chemistry      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Chemists offer two new methods to develop a way to easily replace a carbon atom with a nitrogen atom in a molecule.  The findings could make it easier to develop new drugs.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Developmental Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Marine Biology: Microbiology Biology: Zoology Ecology: Sea Life Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Where is a sea star's head? Maybe just about everywhere      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study that combines genetic and molecular techniques helps solve the riddle of sea star (commonly called starfish) body plans, and how sea stars start life with bilateral body symmetry -- just like humans -- but grow up to be adults with fivefold 'pentaradial' symmetry.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry
Published

Breakthrough discovery sheds light on heart and muscle health      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The human heart, often described as the body's engine, is a remarkable organ that tirelessly beats to keep us alive. At the core of this vital organ, intricate processes occur when it contracts, where thick and thin protein-filaments interact within the sarcomere, the fundamental building block of both skeletal and heart muscle cells. Any alterations in thick filament proteins can have severe consequences for our health, leading to conditions such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and various other heart and muscle diseases.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Developmental Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry
Published

New Nijmegen method reveals hidden genetic variations      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Many hidden genetic variations can be detected with Chameleolyser, a new method. The information is already yielding new patient diagnoses and may also lead to the discovery of as yet unknown disease genes.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Energy: Alternative Fuels Energy: Batteries Energy: Fossil Fuels Energy: Technology Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Efficient biohybrid batteries      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Formic acid, which can be produced electrochemically from carbon dioxide, is a promising energy carrier. A research team has now developed a fast-charging hybrid battery system that combines the electrochemical generation of formic acid as an energy carrier with a microbial fuel cell. This novel, fast-charging biohybrid battery system can be used to monitor the toxicity of drinking water, just one of many potential future applications.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Physics: Optics
Published

New frequency comb can identify molecules in 20-nanosecond snapshots      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed a device that can detect the presence of specific molecules in a sample every 20 nanoseconds, or billionths of a second. With this new capability, researchers can potentially use frequency combs to better understand the split-second intermediate steps in fast-moving processes ranging from the workings of hypersonic jet engines to the chemical reactions between enzymes that regulate cell growth.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

'Plug and play' nanoparticles could make it easier to tackle various biological targets      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Engineers have developed modular nanoparticles that can be easily customized to target different biological entities such as tumors, viruses or toxins. The surface of the nanoparticles is engineered to host any biological molecules of choice, making it possible to tailor the nanoparticles for a wide array of applications, ranging from targeted drug delivery to neutralizing biological agents.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Marine Ecology: Sea Life Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

New species of mosasaur named for Norse sea serpent      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have discovered a new species of mosasaur, large, carnivorous aquatic lizards that lived during the late Cretaceous. With 'transitional' traits that place it between two well-known mosasaurs, the new species is named after a sea serpent in Norse mythology, Jormungandr, and the small North Dakota city Walhalla near to where the fossil was found.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Energy: Alternative Fuels Environmental: General
Published

How to protect biocatalysts from oxygen      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

There are high hopes for hydrogen as the key to the energy transition. A specific enzyme group found in algae and in bacteria can produce molecular hydrogen simply by catalyzing protons and electrons. However, the enzyme group is so sensitive to oxygen that commercial use of the hydrogen produced by this process as a green energy source is not yet possible. Researchers have now increased the oxygen stability of a hydrogen-producing enzyme by genetically generated channel blockages.

Archaeology: General Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology
Published

Cold War spy satellite imagery reveals Ancient Roman forts      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study analyzing declassified Cold War satellite imagery reveals 396 previously undocumented Roman forts and reports that these forts were constructed from east to west, spanning from what is now western Syria to northwestern Iraq. The analysis refutes Father Antoine Poidebard's claim that the forts were located along a north-south axis.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Energy: Technology Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

DNA Origami nanoturbine sets new horizon for nanomotors      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers introduce a pioneering breakthrough in the world of nanomotors -- the DNA origami nanoturbine. This nanoscale device could represent a paradigm shift, harnessing power from ion gradients or electrical potential across a solid-state nanopore to drive the turbine into mechanical rotations. The core of this pioneering discovery is the design, construction, and driven motion of a 'DNA origami' turbine, which features three chiral blades, all within a minuscule 25-nanometer frame, operating in a solid-state nanopore. By ingeniously designing two chiral turbines, researchers now have the capability to dictate the direction of rotation, clockwise or anticlockwise.