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Categories: Energy: Batteries, Paleontology: General
Published Eco-friendly and affordable battery for low-income countries
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A battery made from zinc and lignin that can be used over 8000 times. This has been developed with a vision to provide a cheap and sustainable battery solution for countries where access to electricity is limited.
Published Human activity is making it harder for scientists to interpret oceans' past
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New research shows human activity is significantly altering the ways in which marine organisms are preserved, with lasting effects that can both improve and impair the fossil record.
Published Disorder improves battery life
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source What determines the cycle life of batteries? And, more importantly, how can we extend it? An international research team has discovered that local disorder in the oxide cathode material increases the number of times Li-ion batteries can be charged and discharged.
Published Did a magnetic field collapse trigger the emergence of animals?
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers uncovered compelling evidence that Earth's magnetic field was in a highly unusual state when the macroscopic animals of the Ediacaran Period -- 635 to 541 million years ago -- diversified and thrived. Their study raises the question of whether these fluctuations in Earth's ancient magnetic field led to shifts in oxygen levels that may have been crucial to the proliferation of life forms millions of years ago.
Published Cost-effective, high-capacity, and cyclable lithium-ion battery cathodes
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Charge-recharge cycling of lithium-superrich iron oxide, a cost-effective and high-capacity cathode for new-generation lithium-ion batteries, can be greatly improved by doping with readily available mineral elements.
Published Rock solid evidence: Angola geology reveals prehistoric split between South America and Africa
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A research team has found that ancient rocks and fossils from long-extinct marine reptiles in Angola clearly show a key part of Earth's past -- the splitting of South America and Africa and the subsequent formation of the South Atlantic Ocean.
Published Revised dating of the Liujiang skeleton renews understanding of human occupation of China
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have provided new age estimates and revised provenance information for the Liujiang human fossils, shedding light on the presence of Homo sapiens in the region. Using advanced dating techniques including U-series dating on human fossils, and radiocarbon and optically stimulated luminescence dating on fossil-bearing sediments, the study revealed new ages ranging from approximately 33,000 to 23,000 years ago. Previously, studies had reported ages of up to 227,000 years of age for the skeleton.
Published The double-fanged adolescence of saber-toothed cats
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source How did North America's saber-toothed cats hunt without breaking their unwieldy saber-like canines, which are vulnerable to sideways bending stresses? A paleontologist provides mechanical evidence that during adolescence, when young cats were learning to hunt, their baby teeth remained in place for up to 30 months to laterally buttress the emerging permanent sabers. By the time the baby teeth fell out, presumably the adult cat knew how to protect its sabers during attacks.
Published T. Rex not as smart as previously claimed
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Dinosaurs were likely as smart as reptiles but not as intelligent as monkeys.
Published How electric vehicle drivers can escape range anxiety
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Two of the biggest challenges faced by new and potential electric vehicle (EV) drivers are range anxiety and speed of charging, but these shouldn't have to be challenges at all. Researchers discovered that a change in refueling mindset, rather than improving the size or performance of the battery, could be the answer to these concerns.
Published This salt battery harvests osmotic energy where the river meets the sea
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Estuaries -- where freshwater rivers meet the salty sea -- are great locations for birdwatching and kayaking. In these areas, waters containing different salt concentrations mix and may be sources of sustainable, 'blue' osmotic energy. Researchers report creating a semipermeable membrane that harvests osmotic energy from salt gradients and converts it to electricity. The new design had an output power density more than two times higher than commercial membranes in lab demonstrations.
Published Researchers find oldest undisputed evidence of Earth's magnetic field
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study has recovered a 3.7-billion-year-old record of Earth's magnetic field, and found that it appears remarkably similar to the field surrounding Earth today.
Published Critical minerals recovery from electronic waste
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A nontoxic separation process recovers critical minerals from electronic scrap waste.
Published Fossil frogs share their skincare secrets
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Palaeontologists have solved a hundred-year-old mystery of how some fossil frogs preserve their fleshy parts -- it's all down to their skin. Palaeontologists studied 45-million-year-old fossil frogs from the Geiseltal site in central Germany. Remarkably, the fossils show full body outlines of the soft tissues. The team discovered that the excellent condition of the fossil frogs is due to preservation of ancient skin remnants.
Published More economical and sustainable rechargeable batteries
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Lithium salts make batteries powerful but expensive. An ultralow-concentration electrolyte based on the lithium salt LiDFOB may be a more economical and more sustainable alternative. Cells using these electrolytes and conventional electrodes have been demonstrated to have high performance. In addition, the electrolyte could facilitate both production and recycling of the batteries.
Published The biggest barrier to a vibrant second-hand EV market? Price
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source As early adopters of electric vehicles (EVs) trade up for the latest models, the used EV market is beginning to mature in the United States. Yet many potential buyers, particularly low-income drivers, are skeptical of EV's conveniences and are put off by the price.
Published Mess is best: Disordered structure of battery-like devices improves performance
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The energy density of supercapacitors -- battery-like devices that can charge in seconds or a few minutes -- can be improved by increasing the 'messiness' of their internal structure. Researchers used experimental and computer modelling techniques to study the porous carbon electrodes used in supercapacitors. They found that electrodes with a more disordered chemical structure stored far more energy than electrodes with a highly ordered structure.
Published Ice age climate analysis reduces worst-case warming expected from rising CO2
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A detailed reconstruction of climate during the most recent ice age, when a large swath of North America was covered in ice, provides information on the relationship between CO2 and global temperature. Results show that while most future warming estimates remain unchanged, the absolute worst-case scenario is unlikely.
Published Paleontologists unearth what may be the largest known marine reptile
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The fossilized remains of a second gigantic jawbone measuring more than two meters long has been found on a beach in Somerset, UK.
Published Marine plankton behavior could predict future marine extinctions
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Marine communities migrated to Antarctica during the Earth's warmest period in 66 million years long before a mass-extinction event.