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Categories: Energy: Alternative Fuels, Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology
Published The encounter between Neanderthals and Sapiens as told by their genomes
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source About 40,000 years ago, Neanderthals, who had lived for hundreds of thousands of years in the western part of the Eurasian continent, gave way to Homo sapiens, who had arrived from Africa. This replacement was not sudden, and the two species coexisted for a few millennia, resulting in the integration of Neanderthal DNA into the genome of Sapiens. Researchers have analyzed the distribution of the portion of DNA inherited from Neanderthals in the genomes of humans (Homo sapiens) over the last 40,000 years. These statistical analyses revealed subtle variations in time and geographical space.
Published World may have crossed solar power 'tipping point'
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The world may have crossed a 'tipping point' that will inevitably make solar power our main source of energy, new research suggests.
Published Harnessing molecular power: Electricity generation on the nanoscale
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers tested a molecular energy harvesting device that captures the energy from the natural motion of molecules in a liquid. Their work showed molecular motion can be used to generate a stable electric current. To create the device, they submerged nanoarrays of piezoelectric material in liquid, allowing the movement of the liquid to move the strands like seaweed waving in the ocean, except in this case the movement is on the molecular scale, and the strands are made of zinc oxide. When the zinc oxide material waves, bends, or deforms under motion, it generates electric potential.
Published Solar design would harness 40% of the sun's heat to produce clean hydrogen fuel
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Engineers have designed a system that can efficiently produce 'solar thermochemical hydrogen.' It harnesses the sun's heat to split water and generate hydrogen -- a clean fuel that emits no greenhouse gas emissions.
Published Extinct ape gets a facelift, 12 million years later
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study has reconstructed the well-preserved but damaged skull of a great ape species that lived about 12 million years ago. The species, Pierolapithecus catalaunicus, may be crucial to understanding great ape and human evolution.
Published The effects of preheating on vehicle fuel consumption and emissions appear minimal
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study found that the benefits of car preheating for both fuel economy and emissions are minimal. The researchers focused on vehicle fuel consumption and emissions under cold winter conditions. Of particular interest were cold start emissions and their relation to preheating.
Published Mummified feces reveals pre-Columbian cultures of the Caribbean consumed a diversity of plants
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source DNA analysis of mummified feces reveals two pre-Columbian Caribbean cultures ate a wide variety of plants, like maize, sweet potato, and peanuts -- and tobacco and cotton traces were detected too, according to a new study.
Published Evolutionary secrets of 'Old Tom' and the killer whales of Eden revealed by genetic study
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Evolutionary biologists have for the first time decoded the genetic lineage of a famous killer whale and a pod that once worked alongside whale hunters off the coast of Australia. In the Australian tradition of claiming New Zealand's celebrities as its own, Old Tom, the leader of a pod of killer whales that famously helped whalers hunt baleen whales in the 20th century, has ancestral links to modern-day killer whales in New Zealand, according to new DNA research. Old Tom also shared a common ancestor with killer whales from Australasia, the North Pacific, and North Atlantic Oceans, but is most similar to modern New Zealand killer whales. However, most of Tom's DNA code is not found in other killer whales globally suggesting that the killer whales of Eden may have become extinct locally.
Published Neanderthal gene variants associated with greater pain sensitivity
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source People who carry three gene variants that have been inherited from Neanderthals are more sensitive to some types of pain, according to a new study.
Published Modular dam design could accelerate the adoption of renewable energy
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have developed a new modular steel buttress dam system designed to resolve energy storage issues hindering the integration of renewable resources into the energy mix. The new modular steel buttress dam system facilitates the rapid construction of paired reservoir systems for grid-scale energy storage and generation using closed-loop pumped storage hydropower, cutting dam construction costs by one-third and reducing construction schedules by half.
Published Ginger pigment molecules found in fossil frogs
(via sciencedaily.com) Palaeontologists discover molecular evidence of phaeomelanin, the pigment that produces ginger coloration. Phaeomelanin is now toxic to animals – this discovery may be first step in understand its evolution.
Published Oldest fossil human footprints in North America confirmed
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New research reaffirms that human footprints found in White Sands National Park, NM, date to the Last Glacial Maximum, placing humans in North America thousands of years earlier than once thought. In September 2021, scientists announced that ancient human footprints discovered in White Sands National Park were between 21,000 and 23,000 years old. This discovery pushed the known date of human presence in North America back by thousands of years and implied that early inhabitants and megafauna co-existed for several millennia before the terminal Pleistocene extinction event. In a follow-up study, researchers used two new independent approaches to date the footprints, both of which resulted in the same age range as the original estimate.
Published New type of tiny wasp comes with mysterious, cloud-like structures at ends of antennae
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Fossil researchers have discovered a novel genus and species of tiny wasp with a mysterious, bulbous structure at the end of each antenna.
Published Scientists unveil fire-safe fuel
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source 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 How organic solar cells could become significantly more efficient
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source 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 Efficient fuel-molecule sieving using graphene
(via sciencedaily.com) 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
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source 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
(via sciencedaily.com) 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 Ritual use of human remains dating from the Neolithic
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source An international study has documented post-mortem bone modifications not linked to consumption.
Published Sustainable energy for aviation: What are our options?
(via sciencedaily.com) 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.