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Categories: Energy: Alternative Fuels, Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology
Published Fossil feces infested with parasites from over 200 million years ago
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Fossilized feces preserve evidence of ancient parasites that infected an aquatic predator over 200 million years ago, according to a new study.
Published Drops of seawater contain traces of an ancient world
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New research links chemical changes in seawater to volcanic activity and changes.
Published AuNi alloy on Au electrodes for hydrogen evolution reaction: Towards a cleaner tomorrow
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Gold (Au)-based electrocatalysts used for hydrogen production via water electrolysis exhibit high chemical stability but low hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) activity. Alloying them with nickel (Ni) can improve their HER activity. A recent study investigated the HER activity and surface properties of AuNi alloy prepared on single crystal Au surfaces, revealing the atomic structural changes and surface sites responsible for enhanced HER activity of AuNi/Au catalyst during electrolysis.
Published Whale-like filter-feeding discovered in prehistoric marine reptile
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A remarkable new fossil from China reveals for the first time that a group of reptiles were already using whale-like filter feeding 250 million years ago.
Published New photocatalytic system converts carbon dioxide to valuable fuel more efficiently than natural photosynthesis
(via sciencedaily.com) A research team recently developed a stable artificial photocatalytic system that is more efficient than natural photosynthesis. The new system mimics a natural chloroplast to convert carbon dioxide in water into methane, a valuable fuel, very efficiently using light. This is a promising discovery, which could contribute to the goal of carbon neutrality.
Published Sun 'umbrella' tethered to asteroid might help mitigate climate change
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Earth is rapidly warming and scientists are developing a variety of approaches to reduce the effects of climate change. An astronomer has proposed a novel approach -- a solar shield to reduce the amount of sunlight hitting Earth, combined with a tethered, captured asteroid as a counterweight. Engineering studies using this approach could start now to create a workable design that could mitigate climate change within decades.
Published 'Time-traveling' pathogens in melting permafrost pose likely risk to environment
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Ancient pathogens that escape from melting permafrost have real potential to damage microbial communities and might potentially threaten human health, according to a new study.
Published Solar batteries: New material makes it possible to simultaneously absorb light and store energy
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers are making progress on the design of a solar battery made from an abundant, non-toxic and easily synthesized material composed of 2D carbon nitride.
Published Fusion model hot off the wall
(via sciencedaily.com) Heat load mitigation is critical to extending the lifetime of future fusion device. Researchers have found a way to explain the rotational temperatures measured in three different experimental fusion devices in Japan and the United States. Their model evaluates the surface interactions and electron-proton collisions of hydrogen molecules.
Published Wormlike animals are first amphibians shown to pass microbes to their offspring
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Caecilians are an illusive type of snakelike amphibian that live in aquatic and subterranean environments. In some species, mothers produce a special type of nutrient-rich skin that juveniles consume, similar to the way in which humans breastfeed their children. A new study shows this behavior passes on microbes to juvenile caecilians, inoculating them to jump-start a healthy microbiome.
Published Renewable solar energy can help purify water, the environment
(via sciencedaily.com) Chemists have demonstrated that water remediation can be powered in part -- and perhaps even exclusively -- by renewable energy sources.
Published Paleontologists identify two new species of sabertooth cat
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Sabertooth cats make up a diverse group of long-toothed predators that roamed Africa around 6-7 million years ago, around the time that hominins -- the group that includes modern humans -- began to evolve. By examining one of the largest global Pliocene collections of fossils in Langebaanweg, north of Cape Town in South Africa, researchers present two new sabertooth species and the first family tree of the region's ancient sabertooths. Their results suggest that the distribution of sabertooths throughout ancient Africa might have been different than previously assumed, and the study provides important information about Africa's paleoenvironment.
Published Device makes hydrogen from sunlight with record efficiency
(via sciencedaily.com) Engineers have created a device that turns sunlight into hydrogen with record-breaking efficiency by integrating next-generation halide perovskite semiconductors with electrocatalysts in a single, durable, cost-effective and scalable device.
Published Unusual fossil shows rare evidence of a mammal attacking a dinosaur
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have described an unusual fossil from around 125 million years ago in China that shows a dramatic moment in time when a carnivorous mammal attacked a larger plant-eating dinosaur. The two animals are locked in mortal combat, and it's among the first evidence to show actual predatory behavior by a mammal on a dinosaur. The fossil's presence challenges the view that dinosaurs had few threats from their mammal contemporaries during the Cretaceous, when dinosaurs were the dominant animals.
Published Bifacial perovskite solar cells point to higher efficiency
(via sciencedaily.com) A bifacial perovskite solar cell, which allows sunlight to reach both sides of the device, holds the potential to produce higher energy yields at lower overall costs.
Published All about the Benjamins: Researchers decipher the secrets of Benjamin Franklin's paper money
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source During his career, Benjamin Franklin printed nearly 2,500,000 money notes for the American Colonies using what the researchers have identified as highly original techniques.
Published Improving high-temperature stability of perovskite solar cells
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers have found a way to significantly improve the operational stability of perovskite solar cells at high temperatures, which is necessary for their use in terawatt power grids.
Published Titanium oxide material lets sunlight drive green hydrogen production
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source As part of ongoing efforts to develop materials that could enable alternative energy sources, researchers have produced a titanium oxide nanofilament material that can harness sunlight to unlock the ubiquitous molecule's potential as a fuel source.
Published Ice Age saber-tooth cats and dire wolves suffered from diseased joints
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Ice Age saber-tooth cats and dire wolves experienced a high incidence of bone disease in their joints, according to new research.
Published Supercomputer used to simulate winds that cause clear air turbulence
(via sciencedaily.com) Using Japan's most powerful supercomputer, researchers reproduced cases of clear air turbulence around Tokyo. They simulated the fine vortices responsible for this dangerous phenomenon. The usefulness of the simulation in predicting turbulence was confirmed by comparing simulation data with data from aircraft recordings. This research should improve the forecasting of turbulence.