Energy: Batteries
Published

New battery could prevent post-hurricane electric vehicle fires      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A researcher has developed technology that could prevent electric vehicle fires, like those caused by saltwater flooding from Hurricane Ian. The technology, an aqueous battery, replaces the volatile and highly flammable organic solvents found in electric vehicle lithium-ion batteries with saltwater to create a battery that is safer, faster charging, just as powerful and won't short circuit during flooding.

Energy: Batteries
Published

Lithium-sulfur batteries are one step closer to powering the future      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A research team has built and tested a new interlayer to prevent dissolution of the sulfur cathode in lithium-sulfur batteries. This new interlayer increases Li-S cell capacity and maintains it over hundreds of cycles.

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

DNA from archaeological remains shows that immigration to Scandinavia was exceptional during the Viking period      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new study based on 297 ancient Scandinavian genomes analysed together with the genomic data of 16,638 present day Scandinavians resolve the complex relations between geography, ancestry, and gene flow in Scandinavia -- encompassing the Roman Age, the Viking Age and later periods. A surprising increase of variation during the Viking period indicates that gene flow into Scandinavia was especially intense during this period.

Energy: Batteries
Published

Efficient sodium-ion battery anode for energy storage      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Lithium is expensive and limited, necessitating the development of efficient energy storage systems beyond lithium-ion batteries. Sodium is a promising candidate. However, sodium ions, being large and sluggish, hamper sodium-ion battery (SIB) anode performance. Researchers have recently developed pyrolyzed quinacridones, new carbonaceous SIB anode materials, that are efficient, easily prepared, and exhibit excellent electrochemical properties, including high sodium-ion storage performance and cycling stability.

Energy: Batteries
Published

Development of next-generation solid electrolyte technology, 'stable' even when exposed to the atmosphere      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Engineers have announced the development of solid electrolytes with enhanced atmospheric stability.

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

The other paleo diet: Rare discovery of dinosaur remains preserved with its last meal      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Microraptor was an opportunistic predator, feeding on fish, birds, lizards -- and now small mammals. The discovery of a rare fossil reveals the creature was a generalist carnivore in the ancient ecosystem of dinosaurs.

Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Fossil CSI: Giant extinct marine reptile graveyard was likely ancient birthing grounds      (via sciencedaily.com) 

An international research team examines a rich fossil bed in the renowned Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park in Nevada's Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, where many 50-foot-long ichthyosaurs (Shonisaurus popularis) lay petrified in stone. The study offers a plausible explanation as to how at least 37 of these marine reptiles came to meet their ends in the same locality -- a question that has vexed paleontologists for more than half a century. The research presents evidence that these ichthyosaurs died at the site in large numbers because they were migrating to this area to give birth for many generations across hundreds of thousands of years.

Energy: Batteries Engineering: Robotics Research
Published

Designing better battery electrolytes      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists give the lay of the land in the quest for electrolytes that could enable revolutionary battery chemistries.

Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology
Published

Ancient grammatical puzzle solved after 2,500 years      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A grammatical problem which has defeated Sanskrit scholars since the 5th Century BC has finally been solved by a PhD student.

Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology
Published

Early humans may have first walked upright in the trees      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Human bipedalism -- walking upright on two legs -- may have evolved in trees, and not on the ground as previously thought, according to a new study.

Geoscience: Geology Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Fossil site reveals giant arthropods dominated the seas 470 million years ago      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Discoveries at a major new fossil site in Morocco suggest giant arthropods -- relatives of modern creatures including shrimps, insects and spiders -- dominated the seas 470 million years ago.

Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology
Published

Precise solar observations fed millions in ancient Mexico      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Without clocks or modern tools, ancient Mexicans watched the sun to maintain a farming calendar that precisely tracked seasons and even adjusted for leap years.

Archaeology: General Ecology: Endangered Species Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

True giant wombat gives Diprotodon podium a wobble      (via sciencedaily.com) 

While the Diprotodon -- the extinct megafauna species that is distantly related to wombats but was the size of a small car -- is commonly (but incorrectly) thought of as Australia's 'giant wombat', researchers have shed light on a large species that does belong in the modern-day wombat family. The complete skull of this true fossil giant wombat, found in a Rockhampton cave in Queensland, Australia and estimated to be around 80,000 years old, has been described for the first time.

Energy: Batteries
Published

Ingestible biobatteries could allow new view of digestive system      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new biobattery could power ingestible cameras in the small intestine.

Energy: Batteries Engineering: Graphene
Published

New life flashed into lithium-ion anodes      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Chemists use flash Joule heating to recover graphite anodes from spent lithium-ion batteries at a cost of about $118 per ton.

Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Paleontology: Dinosaurs Paleontology: General
Published

Dinosaur teeth reveal what they didn't eat      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scratches on dinosaur teeth could reveal what they really ate. Dental microwear texture analysis (DMTA) has now been used to infer the feeding habits of large theropods, including Allosaurus and T. rex. By taking 3D images of individual teeth and analyzing the pattern of marks scratched into them, researchers could reason which dinosaurs may have frequently crunched on hard bone and which may have regularly eaten softer foods and prey. This technique opens up a new avenue of research for paleontology, helping us to better understand not only dinosaurs themselves but also the environment and communities in which they lived.

Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Smilodon's sabre teeth      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have tested the biting efficiency of Smilodon, an extinct species of carnivore close to the extant felines. Using high-precision 3D scans and simulation methods, the team has just revealed how these animals managed to bite despite the impressive length of their teeth.

Ecology: Endangered Species Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Paleontology: Climate Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Discovery of world's oldest DNA breaks record by one million years      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Two-million-year-old DNA has been identified -- opening a 'game-changing' new chapter in the history of evolution. Microscopic fragments of environmental DNA were found in Ice Age sediment in northern Greenland. Using cutting-edge technology, researchers discovered the fragments are one million years older than the previous record for DNA sampled from a Siberian mammoth bone. The ancient DNA has been used to map a two-million-year-old ecosystem which weathered extreme climate change.

Chemistry: Thermodynamics Energy: Batteries
Published

Flameproofing lithium-ion batteries with salt      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A polymer-based electrolyte makes for batteries that keep working -- and don't catch fire -- when heated to over 140 degrees F.