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Categories: Anthropology: Early Humans, Energy: Fossil Fuels
Published New reactor could save millions when making ingredients for plastics and rubber from natural gas
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new way to make an important ingredient for plastics, adhesives, carpet fibers, household cleaners and more from natural gas could reduce manufacturing costs in a post-petroleum economy by millions of dollars, thanks to a new chemical reactor.
Published Recyclable reagent and sunlight convert carbon monoxide into methanol
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have demonstrated the selective conversion of carbon dioxide (CO2) into methanol using a cascade reaction strategy. The two-part process is powered by sunlight, occurs at room temperature and at ambient pressure, and employs a recyclable organic reagent that's similar to a catalyst found in natural photosynthesis.
Published The atlas of unburnable oil in the world
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source In order to limit the increase in global average temperature to 1.5 C, it is essential to drastically reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere. This would mean not exploiting most of the existing coal, conventional gas and oil energy resources in regions around the world, according to new research. The study presents the atlas of unburnable oil in the world, a world map designed with environmental and social criteria that warns which oil resources should not be exploited to meet the commitments of the Paris Agreement signed in 2015 to mitigate the effects of climate change.
Published An evolutionary mystery 125 million years in the making
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Plant biologists have uncovered an evolutionary mystery over 100 million years in the making. It turns out that sometime during the last 125 million years, tomatoes and Arabidopsis thaliana plants experienced an extreme genetic makeover. Just what happened remains unclear. But the mystery surrounds CLV3, a gene key to healthy plant growth and development.
Published Scientists ID burned bodies using technique used for extracting DNA from woolly mammoths, Neanderthals
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A technique originally devised to extract DNA from woolly mammoths and other ancient archaeological specimens can be used to potentially identify badly burned human remains, according to research.
Published Did neanderthals use glue? Researchers find evidence that sticks
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Neanderthals created stone tools held together by a multi-component adhesive, a team of scientists has discovered. Its findings, which are the earliest evidence of a complex adhesive in Europe, suggest these predecessors to modern humans had a higher level of cognition and cultural development than previously thought.
Published Vittrup Man crossed over from forager to farmer before being sacrificed in Denmark
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Vittrup Man was born along the Scandinavian coast before moving to Denmark, where he was later sacrificed, according to a new study.
Published Some Pre-Roman humans were buried with dogs, horses and other animals
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Some people from an ancient community in what is now northern Italy were interred with animals and animal parts from species such as dogs, horses and pigs. The reasons remain mysterious, but might indicate an enduring companion relationship between these humans and animals, or religious sacrificial practices, according to a new study.
Published Great apes playfully tease each other
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Babies playfully tease others as young as eight months of age. Since language is not required for this behavior, similar kinds of playful teasing might be present in non-human animals. Now cognitive biologists and primatologists have documented playful teasing in four species of great apes. Like joking behavior in humans, ape teasing is provocative, persistent, and includes elements of surprise and play. Because all four great ape species used playful teasing, it is likely that the prerequisites for humor evolved in the human lineage at least 13 million years ago.
Published Greenhouse gas repurposed
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Cutting-edge research converted waste carbon dioxide into a potential precursor for chemicals and carbon-free fuel.
Published Innovation in stone tool technology involved multiple stages at the time of modern human dispersals
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study illuminates the cultural evolution that took place approximately 50,000 to 40,000 years ago, coinciding with the dispersals of Homo sapiens across Eurasia. The insights gleaned from their examination of stone tool technology challenge the widely held notion of a rapid cultural and technological 'revolution' that enabled anatomically modern humans to surpass Neanderthals and other archaic humans. Instead, the research suggests a nuanced evolutionary process, unfolding gradually over an extended period, with changes occurring at various times. These findings challenge the conventional theory on the timing and nature of cultural transitions during this pivotal period in human history.
Published Inexpensive, carbon-neutral biofuels are finally possible
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source When it comes to making fuel from plants, the first step has always been the hardest -- breaking down the plant matter. A new study finds that introducing a simple, renewable chemical to the pretreatment step can finally make next-generation biofuel production both cost-effective and carbon neutral.
Published Japan's electric vehicle transition by 2035 may be insufficient to combat the climate crisis, but there are solutions
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers report that Japan's policy of banning the sale of new gas vehicles by 2035 may be insufficient to reduce the country's CO2 emissions. The team's analysis showed that to effectively reach their climate goals, Japan must also implement policies that extend vehicle lifetime, implement more renewable energy into its energy sector, and decarbonize the manufacturing process of vehicles.
Published Thailand's Iron Age Log Coffin culture
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A mortuary practice known as Log Coffin culture characterizes the Iron Age of highland Pang Mapha in northwestern Thailand. Between 2,300 and 1,000 years ago, individuals were buried in large wooden coffins on stilts, mostly found in caves and rock shelters.
Published Improving fuel cell durability with fatigue-resistant membranes
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source In hydrogen fuel cells, electrolyte membranes frequently undergo deformation and develop cracks during operation. A research team has recently introduced a fatigue-resistant polymer electrolyte membrane for hydrogen fuel cells, employing an interpenetrating network of Nafion (a plastic electrolyte) and perfluoropolyether (a rubbery polymer). This innovation will not only improve fuel cell vehicles but also promises advancements in diverse technologies beyond transportation, spanning applications from drones to desalination filters and backup power sources.
Published Ammonia attracts the shipping industry, but researchers warn of its risks
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Switching to ammonia as a marine fuel, with the goal of decarbonization, can instead create entirely new problems. This is shown in a study where researchers carried out life cycle analyses for batteries and for three electrofuels including ammonia. Eutrophication and acidification are some of the environmental problems that can be traced to the use of ammonia -- as well as emissions of laughing gas, which is a very potent greenhouse gas.
Published Neanderthals and humans lived side by side in Northern Europe 45,000 years ago
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Archaeologists have debated whether Neanderthals or modern humans made stone tools that are found at sites across northern Europe and date from about 40,000 years ago. A new excavation at one site in Germany turned up 45,000-year-old bone fragments that, when analyzed for mitochondrial DNA, proved to be from Homo sapiens. This is the earliest evidence that modern humans overlapped with Neanderthals in northwest Europe, thousands of years before Neanderthals went extinct.
Published How did humans learn to walk? New evolutionary study offers an earful
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study, which centers on evidence from skulls of a 6-million-year-old fossil ape, Lufengpithecus, offers important clues about the origins of bipedal locomotion courtesy of a novel method: analyzing its bony inner ear region using three-dimensional CT-scanning. The inner ear appears to provide a unique record of the evolutionary history of ape locomotion.
Published Major climate benefits with electric aircraft
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have performed the world's first life cycle assessment (LCA) of an existing, two-seater, all-electric aircraft, with a direct comparison to an equivalent fossil fuel-powered one. According to the study, after just one quarter of the expected lifespan of the electric aircraft, the climate impact is lower than that of the fossil fuel-based aircraft, provided that green electricity is used. The downside, however, is increased mineral resource scarcity.
Published A non-proliferation solution: Using antineutrinos to surveil nuclear reactors
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Antineutrinos generated in nuclear fission can be measured to remotely monitor the operation of nuclear reactors and verify that they are not being used to produce nuclear weapons, report scientists. Thanks to a newly developed method, it is now possible to estimate a reactor's operation status, fuel burnup, and fuel composition based entirely on its antineutrino emissions. This technique could contribute massively to nuclear non-proliferation efforts and, in turn, safer nuclear energy.