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Categories: Energy: Alternative Fuels, Paleontology: General
Published Scientists unveil fire-safe fuel



Chemical engineers have designed a fuel that ignites only with the application of electric current. Since it doesn't react to flames and cannot start accidental fires during storage or transport, it is a 'safe' liquid fuel.
Published A turtle time capsule: DNA found in ancient shell



Paleontologists discover possible DNA remains in fossil turtle that lived 6 million years ago in Panama, where continents collide.
Published New study removes human bias from debate over dinosaurs' demise



Researchers tried a new approach to resolve the scientific debate over whether it was a giant asteroid or volcanoes that wiped out the dinosaurs -- they removed scientists from the debate and let the computers decide. The researchers created a model powered by 130 interconnected processors that, without human input, reverse-engineered the Cretaceous-Paleogene mass extinction until they reached a scenario that matched the fossil record. The model determined that while a meteorite contributed to the cataclysm, the outpouring of climate-altering gases from the nearly 1-million-year eruptions of volcanoes in western India's Deccan Traps would have been sufficient to trigger the extinction and clear the way for the ascendance of mammals.
Published How organic solar cells could become significantly more efficient



The sun sends enormous amounts of energy to the earth. Nevertheless, some of it is lost in solar cells. This is an obstacle in the use of organic solar cells, especially for those viable in innovative applications. A key factor in increasing their performance: Improved transport of the solar energy stored within the material. Now a research group has shown that certain organic dyes can help build virtual highways for the energy.
Published New research reveals extreme heat likely to wipe out humans and mammals in the distant future



A new study shows unprecedented heat is likely to lead to the next mass extinction, akin to when the dinosaurs died out, eliminating nearly all mammals in some 250 million years time.
Published Pollen analysis suggests peopling of Siberia and Europe by modern humans occurred during a major Pleistocene warming spell



A new study appearing in Science Advances compares Pleistocene vegetation communities around Lake Baikal in Siberia, Russia, to the oldest archeological traces of Homo sapiens in the region. The researchers use the 'remarkable evidence' to tell a compelling story from 45,000-50,000 years ago with new detail: how the first humans migrated across Europe and Asia.
Published Efficient fuel-molecule sieving using graphene


A research team has successfully developed a new method that can prevent the crossover of large fuel molecules and suppress the degradation of electrodes in advanced fuel cell technology using methanol or formic acid. The successful sieving of the fuel molecules is achieved via selective proton transfers due to steric hindrance on holey graphene sheets that have chemical functionalization and act as proton-exchange membranes.
Published Dinosaur feathers reveal traces of ancient proteins



Palaeontologists have discovered X-ray evidence of proteins in fossil feathers that sheds new light on feather evolution.
Published Predicting the sustainability of a future hydrogen economy


As renewable energy sources like wind and solar ramp up, they can be used to sustainably generate hydrogen fuel. But implementing such a strategy on a large scale requires land and water dedicated to this purpose.
Published Sustainable energy for aviation: What are our options?


Scientists and industry leaders worldwide are looking for answers on how to make aviation sustainable by 2050 and choosing a viable sustainable fuel is a major sticking point. Aerospace engineers took a full inventory of the options to make a data-driven assessment about how they stack up in comparison. He reviewed over 300 research projects from across different sectors, not just aerospace, to synthesize the ideas and draw conclusions to help direct the dialogue about sustainable aviation toward a permanent solution.
Published Efficient next-generation solar panels on horizon following breakthrough


A scientific breakthrough brings mass production of the next generation of cheaper and lighter perovskite solar cells one step closer.
Published Slow growth in crocodile ancestors pre-dated their semi-aquatic lifestyle



A groundbreaking study is reshaping our understanding of crocodile evolution by pinpointing the onset of slow growth rates to the Late Triassic period, much earlier than the previously assumed Early Jurassic timeline. The research highlights newly discovered fossil crocodile ancestors (known as crocodylomorphs) that exhibited slow growth rates, similar to modern-day crocodilians. Intriguingly, these early crocodylomorphs were not the lethargic, semi-aquatic creatures we are familiar with today; they were small, active, and fully terrestrial. The study also suggests that this slow-growth strategy was not a mere evolutionary quirk but a survival mechanism, as only the slow-growing crocodylomorphs managed to survive the End-Triassic mass extinction. This stands in stark contrast to the fast-growing dinosaurs of the same era, setting the stage for the divergent evolutionary paths that would later define their modern descendants.
Published Chameleon-inspired coating could cool and warm buildings through the seasons


As summer turns to fall, many people will be turning off the air conditioning and firing up heaters instead. But traditional heating and cooling systems are energy intensive, and because they typically run on fossil fuels, they aren't sustainable. Now, by mimicking a desert-dwelling chameleon, a team has developed an energy-efficient, cost-effective coating. The material could keep buildings cool in the summers -- or warm in the winters -- without additional energy.
Published New Si-based photocatalyst enables efficient solar-driven hydrogen production and biomass refinery


A research team has achieved a significant breakthrough in the development of a hybrid silicon photocatalyst.
Published Prehistoric fish fills 100 million year gap in evolution of the skull



X-rays of an ancient jawless fish shows earliest-known example of internal cartilage skull, unlike that of any other known vertebrate.
Published Tall buildings could be built quicker if damping models were correct, study finds


Multi-story buildings are assembled over-cautiously to withstand wind strengths, researchers have found.
Published Cheap and efficient catalyst could boost renewable energy storage


Storing renewable energy as hydrogen could soon become much easier thanks to a new catalyst based on single atoms of platinum.
Published How wind turbines react to turbulence


The output of wind turbines can rise or fall by 50 per cent in a matter of seconds. Such fluctuations in the megawatt range put a strain on both power grids and the turbines themselves. A new study presents a new stochastic method that could help to mitigate these sudden swings and achieve a more consistent electricity production.
Published RNA for the first time recovered from an extinct species



A new study shows the isolation and sequencing of more than a century-old RNA molecules from a Tasmanian tiger specimen preserved at room temperature in a museum collection. This resulted in the reconstruction of skin and skeletal muscle transcriptomes from an extinct species for the first time. The researchers note that their findings have relevant implications for international efforts to resurrect extinct species, including both the Tasmanian tiger and the woolly mammoth, as well as for studying pandemic RNA viruses.
Published Predictive model could improve hydrogen station availability


Consumer confidence in driving hydrogen-fueled vehicles could be improved by having station operators adopt a predictive model that helps them anticipate maintenance needs, according to researchers.