Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology Offbeat: General
Published

The medicine of the future could be artificial life forms      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Imagine a life form that doesn't resemble any of the organisms found on the tree of life. One that has its own unique control system, and that a doctor would want to send into your body. It sounds like a science fiction movie, but according to nanoscientists, it can—and should—happen in the future.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

New research may make future design of nanotechnology safer with fewer side effects      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study may offer a strategy that mitigates negative side effects associated with intravenous injection of nanoparticles commonly used in medicine.

Environmental: Wildfires Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Simultaneous large wildfires will increase in Western U.S.      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Simultaneous outbreaks of large wildfires will become more frequent in the Western United States this century as the climate warms, putting major strains on efforts to fight fires, according to new research. The most severe wildfire seasons will become at least twice as frequent.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Zoology Ecology: Invasive Species Environmental: General Environmental: Water Environmental: Wildfires Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Extreme fires and heavy rainfall driving platypuses from their homes      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Australia's emerging pattern of severe mega bushfires and heavy rainfall may be driving platypuses from their homes, a new study has shown. Analysis of platypus DNA in rivers and creek water samples collected before and after the Black Summer 2019-2020 megafires suggest Australia's beloved semi-aquatic monotremes might be abandoning severely bushfire-affected areas for up to 18 months after a fire, especially if heavy rainfall has followed the fire.

Environmental: General Environmental: Wildfires Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Controlled burns help prevent wildfires; Climate change is limiting their use      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Climate change means the American West will have 17% fewer safe days to light prescribed fires for wildfire management, according to new research. Winter, however, will see a net 4% increase in the number of favorable days. Implementing controlled burns in the West will require changes to policy and the availability of firefighters.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

Bioengineering breakthrough increases DNA detection sensitivity by 100 times      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have pushed forward the boundaries of biomedical engineering one hundredfold with a new method for DNA detection with unprecedented sensitivity.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

Wearable sensor to monitor 'last line of defense' antibiotic      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have combined earlier work on  painless microneedles with nanoscale sensors to create a wearable sensor patch capable of continuously monitoring the levels of a ‘last line of defense’ antibiotic.

Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General Ecology: General Environmental: General Environmental: Wildfires Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Severe Weather Paleontology: Climate
Published

Climate and human land use both play roles in Pacific island wildfires past and present      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

It’s long been understood that human settlement contributes to conditions that make Pacific Islands more susceptible to wildfires, such as the devastating Aug. 8 event that destroyed the Maui community of Lahaina. But a new study from fire scientist shows that climate is an undervalued part of the equation.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Energy: Technology Engineering: Graphene Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

Researchers dynamically tune friction in graphene      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The friction on a graphene surface can be dynamically tuned using external electric fields, according to researchers.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology Physics: General Physics: Optics
Published

3D-printed plasmonic plastic enables large-scale optical sensor production      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed plasmonic plastic -- a type of composite material with unique optical properties that can be 3D-printed. This research has now resulted in 3D-printed optical hydrogen sensors that could play an important role in the transition to green energy and industry.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology Offbeat: General
Published

Strength is in this glass's DNA      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists were able to fabricate a pure form of glass and coat specialized pieces of DNA with it to create a material that was not only stronger than steel, but incredibly lightweight.

Biology: Botany Ecology: Nature Ecology: Trees Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Wildfires Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Scientists reveal what fuels wildfires in Sierra Nevada Mountains      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Wildfires in California, exacerbated by human-driven climate change, are getting more severe. To better manage them, there's a growing need to know exactly what fuels the blazes after they ignite. Scientists now report that one of the chief fuels of wildfires in California's Sierra Nevada mountains is the decades-old remains of large trees.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

Crystallization as the driving force      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists have successfully developed nanomaterials using a so-called bottom-up approach. They exploit the fact that crystals often grow in a specific direction during crystallization. These resulting nanostructures, which appear as 'worm-like and decorated rods,' could be used in various technological applications.

Biology: Botany Biology: Microbiology Ecology: General Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Wildfires Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

By air, rain and land: How microbes return after a wildfire      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Ecological disturbances like wildfires disrupt microbial communities. Researchers found that dispersal played a pivotal role in re-establishing surface-level communities.

Energy: Technology Engineering: Nanotechnology Environmental: General Environmental: Water Physics: General
Published

Nanofluidic device generates power with saltwater      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

There is a largely untapped energy source along the world's coastlines: the difference in salinity between seawater and freshwater. A new nanodevice can harness this difference to generate power.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Microbiology Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Engineering: Nanotechnology Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Nanoparticles made from plant viruses could be farmers' new ally in pest control      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Engineers have devised a new solution to control a major agricultural menace, root-damaging nematodes. Using plant viruses, the researchers created nanoparticles that can deliver pesticide molecules to previously inaccessible depths in the soil. This 'precision farming' approach could potentially minimize environmental toxicity and cut costs for farmers.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

Scaling up the power of nanotechnology      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers created a proof of concept of a nanocapsule -- a microscopic container -- capable of delivering a specific 'payload' to a targeted location. While beyond the scope of this study, the discovery could one day impact how drugs, nutrients and other types of chemical compounds are delivered within humans or plants.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Engineering: Graphene Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

Making contact: Researchers wire up individual graphene nanoribbons      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have developed a method of 'wiring up' graphene nanoribbons (GNRs), a class of one-dimensional materials that are of interest in the scaling of microelectronic devices. Using a direct-write scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) based process, the nanometer-scale metal contacts were fabricated on individual GNRs and could control the electronic character of the GNRs. The researchers say that this is the first demonstration of making metal contacts to specific GNRs with certainty and that those contacts induce device functionality needed for transistor function.

Engineering: Nanotechnology Physics: General
Published

Stabilizing precipitate growth at grain boundaries in alloys      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Materials are often considered to be one phase, but many engineering materials contain two or more phases, improving their properties and performance. These two-phase materials have inclusions, called precipitates, embedded in the microstructure. Alloys, a combination of two or more types of metals, are used in many applications, like turbines for jet engines and light-weight alloys for automotive applications, because they have very good mechanical properties due to those embedded precipitates. The average precipitate size, however, tends to increase over time-in a process called coarsening-which results in a degradation of performance for microstructures with nanoscale precipitates.

Environmental: General Environmental: Wildfires Geoscience: Geography
Published

Socially vulnerable populations are disproportionately exposed to wildfires in the Western US      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

People experiencing a high degree of social vulnerability are also more exposed to wildfires in Oregon and Washington as wildfire risk increases, a new study shows.