Chemistry: Thermodynamics Energy: Alternative Fuels Energy: Technology Engineering: Nanotechnology Geoscience: Environmental Issues Physics: Optics
Published

Passive radiative cooling can now be controlled electrically      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Energy-efficient ways of cooling buildings and vehicles will be required in a changing climate. Researchers have now shown that electrical tuning of passive radiative cooling can be used to control temperatures of a material at ambient temperatures and air pressure.

Biology: Evolutionary Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

319-million-year-old fish preserves the earliest fossilized brain of a backboned animal      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The CT-scanned skull of a 319-million-year-old fossilized fish, pulled from a coal mine in England more than a century ago, has revealed the oldest example of a well-preserved vertebrate brain.

Energy: Alternative Fuels
Published

Seawater split to produce 'green' hydrogen      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have successfully split seawater without pre-treatment to produce green hydrogen.

Energy: Alternative Fuels Geoscience: Environmental Issues Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

Thin, lightweight layer provides radiation barrier for perovskites in space, protection from elements on Earth      (via sciencedaily.com) 

An ultrathin protective coating proves sufficient to protect a perovskite solar cell from the harmful effects of space and harden it against environmental factors on Earth, according to newly published research.

Energy: Alternative Fuels
Published

Stability of perovskite solar cells reaches next milestone      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Perovskite semiconductors promise highly efficient and low-cost solar cells. However, the semi-organic material is very sensitive to temperature differences, which can quickly lead to fatigue damage in normal outdoor use. Adding a dipolar polymer compound to the precursor perovskite solution helps to counteract this. The solar cells produced in this way achieve efficiencies of well above 24 %, which hardly drop under rapid temperature fluctuations between -60 and +80 Celsius over one hundred cycles. That corresponds to about one year of outdoor use.

Energy: Alternative Fuels Geoscience: Geology Space: Astronomy Space: The Solar System
Published

Meteorites reveal likely origin of Earth's volatile chemicals      (via sciencedaily.com) 

By analyzing meteorites, researchers have uncovered the likely far-flung origin of Earth's volatile chemicals, some of which form the building blocks of life.

Biology: Evolutionary Geoscience: Environmental Issues Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Climate Paleontology: General
Published

What crocodile DNA reveals about the Ice Age      (via sciencedaily.com) 

What drives crocodile evolution? Is climate a major factor or changes in sea levels? Determined to find answers to these questions, researchers discovered that while changing temperatures and rainfall had little impact on the crocodiles' gene flow over the past three million years, changes to sea levels during the Ice Age had a different effect.

Energy: Alternative Fuels Energy: Batteries Energy: Fossil Fuels Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

How plants are inspiring new ways to extract value from wastewater      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists are drawing inspiration from plants to develop new techniques to separate and extract valuable minerals, metals and nutrients from resource-rich wastewater.

Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Dinosaurs Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: General
Published

Researchers uncover 92 fossil nests belonging to some of India's largest dinosaurs      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The discovery of more than 250 fossilized eggs reveals intimate details about the lives of titanosaurs in the Indian subcontinent, according to a new study.

Anthropology: General Archaeology: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Fossils
Published

Mummified crocodiles provide insights into mummy-making over time      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Crocodiles were mummified in a unique way at the Egyptian site of Qubbat al-Hawa during the 5th Century BC, according to a new study.

Energy: Alternative Fuels
Published

Harnessing solar energy: New method improves readings of double-sided panels      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A laboratory in photonics and renewable energy has developed a new method for measuring the solar energy produced by bifacial solar panels, the double-sided solar technology which is expected to meet increased global energy demands moving forward.

Energy: Alternative Fuels
Published

Hydrogen's place in an increasingly connected energy web shows need for regulatory change      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Capturing the potential profits and jobs offered by a growing hydrogen industry may need as much innovation in regulatory agencies as it does in the research laboratories, according to new research.

Energy: Alternative Fuels Engineering: Nanotechnology Space: Astrophysics Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

The world in grains of interstellar dust      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Understanding how dust grains form in interstellar gas could offer significant insights to astronomers and help materials scientists develop useful nanoparticles.

Energy: Alternative Fuels
Published

Interfacial interactions of the lead-free perovskite for efficient hydrogen production      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The conversion of solar energy into hydrogen energy represents a promising and green technique for addressing the energy shortage and reducing fossil fuel emissions. A research team recently developed a lead-free perovskite photocatalyst that delivers highly efficient solar energy-to-hydrogen conversion.

Energy: Alternative Fuels
Published

Theoretical computations identify a solid-state hydrogen storage material's key bottleneck      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Magnesium hydride has long been touted for its potential to store large amounts of hydrogen, something essential if hydrogen is to play a role in powering a sustainable future. Yet, sluggish dehydrogenation kinetics and the high temperature required to decompose and produce hydrogen from the material have stymied its use. Now, researchers have identified why this is so, paving the way for future design guidelines and widespread commercial use.

Ecology: Extinction Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Paleontology: Dinosaurs Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Fossils reveal dinosaurs of prehistoric Patagonia      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A study is providing a glimpse into dinosaur and bird diversity in Patagonia during the Late Cretaceous, just before the non-avian dinosaurs went extinct. The fossils represent the first record of theropods -- a dinosaur group that includes both modern birds and their closest non-avian dinosaur relatives -- from the Chilean portion of Patagonia. The researchers' finds include giant megaraptors with large sickle-like claws and birds similar to todays ducks and geese.

Chemistry: Thermodynamics Energy: Alternative Fuels
Published

Improving perovskite solar cell resistance to degradation      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Despite their huge potential, the way perovskite solar cells respond to external stimuli -- such as heat or moisture -- has a considerable impact on their stability. Researchers have identified the cause of degradation and developed a technique to improve stability, bringing us closer to widespread adoption of these cost-effective and efficient solar cells.

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

Ancient Siberian genomes reveal genetic backflow from North America across the Bering Sea      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The movement of people across the Bering Sea from North Asia to North America is a well-known phenomenon in early human history. Nevertheless, the genetic makeup of the  people who lived in North Asia during this time has remained mysterious due to a limited number of ancient genomes analyzed from this region. Now, researchers describe genomes from ten individuals up to 7,500 years old that help to fill the gap and show geneflow from people moving in the opposite direction from North America to North Asia.

Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Space: Exploration Space: The Solar System
Published

Origins of the building blocks of life      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new study posits that interstellar cloud conditions may have played a significant role on the presence of key building blocks of life in the solar system.