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

Research explores ways to mitigate the environmental toxicity of ubiquitous silver nanoparticles      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have taken a key step toward closing the silver nanoparticles knowledge gap with a study that indicates the particles' shape and surface chemistry play key roles in how they affect aquatic ecosystems.

Chemistry: Thermodynamics Energy: Technology Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

Transforming common soft magnets into a next-generation thermoelectric conversion materials by 3 minutes heat treatment      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A research team has demonstrated that an iron-based amorphous alloy, widely used as a soft magnetic material in transformers and motors, can be transformed into a 'transverse' thermoelectric conversion material that converts electric and thermal currents in orthogonal directions, with just a short period of heat treatment. This is the first example that highlights the importance of microstructure engineering in the development of transverse thermoelectric conversion materials, and provides new design guidelines for materials development to realize environmentally friendly power generation and thermal management technologies using magnetic materials.

Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Take cover! Survey shows tornado warnings widely misunderstood      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A study showed that about half of those surveyed in the mid-South could not accurately identify a tornado warning.

Environmental: General Environmental: Wildfires Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Improved wildfire smoke model identifies areas for public health intervention      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The Canadian wildfires of June 2023 exposed a large portion of the Northeastern United States to unprecedented levels of smoke. A new model that combines wildfire smoke forecasts and data from ground-based sensors may help public health officials plan targeted interventions in areas most at risk for the negative health effects of unexpected smoke events and air pollution, according to scientists.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology Engineering: Robotics Research Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Swarms of miniature robots clean up microplastics and microbes, simultaneously      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

When old food packaging, discarded children's toys and other mismanaged plastic waste break down into microplastics, they become even harder to clean up from oceans and waterways. These tiny bits of plastic also attract bacteria, including those that cause disease. Researchers describe swarms of microscale robots (microrobots) that captured bits of plastic and bacteria from water. Afterward, the bots were decontaminated and reused.

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

'Better than graphene' material development may improve implantable technology      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Move over, graphene. There's a new, improved two-dimensional material in the lab. Borophene, the atomically thin version of boron first synthesized in 2015, is more conductive, thinner, lighter, stronger and more flexible than graphene, the 2D version of carbon. Now, researchers have made the material potentially more useful by imparting chirality -- or handedness -- on it, which could make for advanced sensors and implantable medical devices.

Engineering: Nanotechnology Physics: General Physics: Optics
Published

Researchers 'unzip' 2D materials with lasers      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers used commercially available tabletop lasers to create tiny, atomically sharp nanostructures in samples of a layered 2D material called hexagonal Boron Nitride (hBN). The new nanopatterning technique is a simple way to modify materials with light--and it doesn't involve an expensive and resource-intensive clean room.

Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Turbid waters keep the coast healthy      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

To preserve the important intertidal areas and salt marshes off our coasts for the future, we need more turbid water. That is one of the striking conclusions from a new study.

Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

AI to make crop production more sustainable      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Drones monitoring fields for weeds and robots targeting and treating crop diseases may sound like science fiction but is actually happening already, at least on some experimental farms. Researchers are working on driving forward the smart digitalization of agriculture and have now published a list of the research questions that will need to be tackled as a priority in the future.

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

Sister cities can help communities better navigate the climate crisis      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Anthropologists suggest in a new study that establishing networks of 'sister cities' dedicated to addressing the impact of natural disasters can mitigate the devastation wrought by climate change.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Climate change amplifies severity of combined wind-rain extremes over the UK and Ireland      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Climate change will cause an increase in extreme winter storms combining strong winds and heavy rainfall over the UK and Ireland, new research has shown.

Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

Towards transparent and antimicrobial surfaces for touch displays      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers report the development of a durable and transparent antimicrobial surface containing copper nanoparticles. The nanostructured surface was obtained by dewetting ultrathin metal copper films on a glass substrate.

Chemistry: General Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

Nanotubes, nanoparticles, and antibodies detect tiny amounts of fentanyl      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A research team has developed a fentanyl sensor that is six orders of magnitude more sensitive than any electrochemical sensor for the drug reported in the past five years. The portable sensor can also tell the difference between fentanyl and other opioids.

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

Wildfires in wet African forests have doubled in recent decades      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Climate change and human activities like deforestation are causing more fires in central and west Africa's wet, tropical forests, according to the first-ever comprehensive survey there. The fires have long been overlooked.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Sugar-based catalyst upcycles carbon dioxide      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New catalyst is made from an inexpensive, abundant metal and table sugar. Catalyst converts carbon dioxide (CO2) into carbon monoxide, a building block for producing a variety of useful chemicals including syngas. With recent advances in carbon capture technologies, post-combustion carbon capture is becoming a plausible option to help tackle the global climate change crisis. But how to handle the captured carbon remains an open-ended question. The new catalyst potentially could provide one solution for disposing the potent greenhouse gas by converting it into a more valuable product.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology Engineering: Robotics Research Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Activity in a room stirs up nanoparticles left over from consumer sprays      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Common household products containing nanoparticles -- grains of engineered material so miniscule they are invisible to the eye -- could be contributing to a new form of indoor air pollution, according to a new study.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Details of hurricane Ian's aftermath captured with new remote sensing method      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Using aerial imagery data and LiDAR, a study remotely identified the hardest-hit areas of Southwest Florida's Estero Island in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian. Researchers estimated the extent of structural damage and compared pre- and post-storm beach structural changes. They identified 2,427 structures that were impacted. The value of the heavily damaged structures was estimated at more than $200 million. The study has applied an advanced multi-faceted approach that links damage assessment to post-storm change in the structure of barrier islands.

Engineering: Nanotechnology Physics: Optics
Published

Speeding up spectroscopic analysis      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Ultrafast laser spectroscopy allows the ascertainment of dynamics over extremely short time scales, making it a very useful tool in many scientific and industrial applications. A major disadvantage is the considerable measuring time this technique usually requires, which often leads to lengthy acquisition times spanning minutes to hours. Researchers have now developed a technique to speed up spectroscopic analysis.

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

Imaging technique shows new details of peptide structures      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers outline how they used a chemical probe to light up interlocking peptides. Their technique will help scientists differentiate synthetic peptides from toxic types found in Alzheimer's disease.