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Categories: Anthropology: Cultures, Energy: Alternative Fuels

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Using water for morphology control of active layer thin films, researchers develop large-area, high-performance organic solar cells.

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Tiny crystals in ancient animal dung serve as key evidence in a new analysis suggesting the possibility that hunter-gatherers at Abu Hureyra, Syria, may have tended small numbers of animals just outside their dwellings between 12,800 and 12,300 years ago.

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Researchers have developed an analytical instrument that uses an ultrafast laser for precise temperature and concentration measurements of hydrogen. Researchers describe a new coherent Raman spectroscopy instrument, made possible due to a setup that converts broadband light from a laser with short (femtosecond) pulses into extremely short supercontinuum pulses, which contain a wide range of wavelengths. Their new approach could help advance the study of greener hydrogen-based fuels for use in spacecraft and airplanes.

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Transitioning to a decarbonized energy system by around 2050 is expected to save the world at least $12 trillion compared to continuing our current levels of fossil fuel use, according to a new study.

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To combat the hazards of ice, a mechanical engineer has developed a sprayable ice-shedding material that is 100 times stronger than any others. It's been tested by Boeing under erosive rain conditions at 385 miles per hour and outperformed current state-of-the-art aerospace coating technologies.

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Scientists have gotten bacteria to spontaneously take up fluorescent carbon nanotubes for the first time. The breakthrough unlocks new biotechnology applications for prokaryotes, such as near-infrared bacteria tracking and 'living photovoltaics' -- devices that generate energy using light-harvesting bacteria.

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A team of researchers has discovered a way to convert 100% of carbon dioxide captured from industrial exhaust into ethylene, a key building block for plastic products.

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Researchers report that strain caused by just a 2% reduction in the distance between atoms when deposited on a surface leads to a whopping 99.999% decrease in the speed at which the materials conduct hydrogen ions, greatly reducing the performance of solid oxide fuel cells. Developing methods to reduce this strain will help bring high-performance fuel cells for clean energy production to a wider number of households in the future.

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The question of what makes modern humans unique has long been a driving force for researchers. Comparisons with our closest relatives, the Neanderthals, therefore provide fascinating insights. The increase in brain size, and in neuron production during brain development, are considered to be major factors for the increased cognitive abilities that occurred during human evolution. However, while both Neanderthals and modern humans develop brains of similar size, very little is known about whether modern human and Neanderthal brains may have differed in terms of their neuron production during development. Researchers now show that the modern human variant of the protein TKTL1, which differs by only a single amino acid from the Neanderthal variant, increases one type of brain progenitor cells, called basal radial glia, in the modern human brain.

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Researchers have made a technological breakthrough and constructed a perovskite solar cell with the dual benefits of being both highly efficient and highly stable.

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Scientists describe the formation of a superdense monolayer of hydrogen on highly ordered mesoporous silica near the boiling temperature. Theoretical studies and simulations confirm the experimental observations of the unusually high hydrogen density in the adsorbed layer and may also open new possibilities for enhancing the volumetric capacity of cryogenic hydrogen storage systems.

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Solar cells manufactured from materials known as 'perovskites' are catching up with the efficiency of traditional silicon-based solar cells. At the same time, they have advantages of low cost and short energy payback time. However, such solar cells have problems with stability -- something that researchers have now managed to solve. The results are a major step forwards in the quest for next-generation solar cells.

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Accelerating demand for renewable energy and electric vehicles is sparking a high demand for the batteries that store generated energy and power engines. But the batteries behind these sustainability solutions aren't always sustainable themselves. Scientists have now create a zinc battery with a biodegradable electrolyte from an unexpected source -- crab shells.

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A vast paleogenetic study reveals insights on migration patterns, the expansion of farming and language development from the Caucasus over western Asia and Southern Europe from the early Copper Age until the late middle ages.

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A modern scientific analysis of ancient stone tools is challenging long-held beliefs about what caused radical change on the island of Crete, where the first European state flourished during the Bronze Age: the 'Minoan civilization.'

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Research has established that there are traces of Neandertal DNA in the genome of modern humans. Now an exploratory study that assessed the facial structure of prehistoric skulls is offering new insights, and supports the hypothesis that much of this interbreeding took place in the Near East -- the region ranging from North Africa to Iraq.

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Wind power is an increasingly popular form of renewable energy. But when it's time to replace the huge turbine blades that convert wind into electricity, disposal is a problem. Today, scientists report a new composite resin for making these behemoths that could later be recycled into new turbine blades or many other products, including countertops, car taillights, diapers and even gummy bears.

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Wind energy continues to see strong growth, solid performance, and attractive prices in the U.S., according to a recent report.

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A new study into the multipurpose uses of boomerangs has highlighted the hardwood objects were used to shape the edges of stone tools used by Australian Indigenous communities.  The research demonstrated how boomerangs could function as lithic (or stone) tool retouchers by investigating the use-wear generated on the boomerangs' surfaces during retouching activities. It was found that these use-wear impacts on boomerangs comparable to those observed on Paleolithic bone retouching tools, which date back to more than 200,000 years ago.

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Orchestral ensembles have faced many challenges when starting to perform again during the COVID pandemic, and contamination is a chief concern: specifically, whether wind instruments are vectors of contamination through aerosol dispersion. Researchers worked with musicians to deepen our understanding of how much aerosol is produced and dispersed by wind instruments. They used visualization to characterize the flow, tracked fog particles in the air, and measured aerosol concentration from wind instruments with a particle counter. Then they combined these to develop an equation to describe aerosol dispersion.