Engineering: Nanotechnology Engineering: Robotics Research
Published

Chemists create the microspine with shape-transforming properties for targeted cargo delivery at microscale      (via sciencedaily.com) 

With the goal of advancing biomimetic microscale materials, the research team has developed a new method to create microscale superstructures, called MicroSpine, that possess both soft and hard materials which mimic the spine structure and can act as microactuators with shape-transforming properties. This breakthrough was achieved through colloidal assembly, a simple process in which nano- and microparticles spontaneously organize into ordered spatial patterns.

Engineering: Nanotechnology Physics: Quantum Computing
Published

Researchers grow precise arrays of nanoLEDs      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new platform enables researchers to 'grow' halide perovskite nanocrystals with precise control over the location and size of each individual crystal, integrating them into nanoscale light-emitting diodes.

Energy: Batteries Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

Nanosheet technology developed to boost energy storage dielectric capacitors      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A research group has used nanosheet technology to develop a dielectric capacitor for advanced electronic and electrical power systems. Innovations in energy storage technology are vital for the effective use of renewable energy and the mass production of electric vehicles. The capacitor has the highest energy storage density recorded. It has a short charging time, high output, long life, and high temperature stability, making it a major advancement in technology.

Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

Chemists discover why photosynthetic light-harvesting is so efficient      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Chemists have measured the energy transfer between photosynthetic light-harvesting proteins. They discovered that the disorganized arrangement of light-harvesting proteins boosts the efficiency of the energy transduction.

Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

Researchers demonstrate single-molecule electronic 'switch' using ladder-like molecules      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have demonstrated a new material for single-molecule electronic switches, which can effectively vary current at the nanoscale in response to external stimuli. The material for this molecular switch has a unique structure created by locking a linear molecular backbone into a ladder-type structure. A new study finds that the ladder-type molecular structure greatly enhances the stability of the material, making it highly promising for use in single-molecule electronics applications.

Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

Chemists develop new method to create chiral structures      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In trying to produce artificial chirality in the lab, chemists have found that the distribution of a magnetic field is itself chiral.

Engineering: Graphene Engineering: Nanotechnology Offbeat: Computers and Math
Published

'Electronic skin' from bio-friendly materials can track human vital signs with ultrahigh precision      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have used materials inspired by molecular gastronomy to create smart wearables that surpassed similar devices in terms of strain sensitivity. They integrated graphene into seaweed to create nanocomposite microcapsules for highly tunable and sustainable epidermal electronics. When assembled into networks, the tiny capsules can record muscular, breathing, pulse, and blood pressure measurements in real-time with ultrahigh precision.

Chemistry: Thermodynamics Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

Squid-inspired soft material is a switchable shield for light, heat, microwaves      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

With a flick of a switch, current technologies allow you to quickly change materials from being dark to light, or cold to hot, just by blocking or transmitting specific wavelengths. But now, inspired by squid skin, researchers report a soft film that can regulate its transparency across a large range of wavelengths -- visible, infrared and microwave -- simultaneously. They demonstrated the material in smart windows and in health monitoring and temperature management applications.

Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geochemistry Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

How urea may have been the gateway to life      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Urea reacts extremely quickly under the conditions that existed when our planet was newly formed. This new insight furthers our understanding of how life on Earth might have begun.

Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography Paleontology: Climate
Published

There may be good news about the oceans in a globally warmed world      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An analysis of oxygen levels in Earth's oceans may provide some rare, good news about the health of the seas in a future, globally warmed world. A study analyzing ocean sediment shows that ocean oxygen levels in a key area were higher during the Miocene warm period, some 16 million years ago when the Earth's temperature was hotter than it is today.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Research in a place where geological processes happen before your eyes      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Taiwan experiences some of the world's fastest rates of mountain building -- they are growing at a faster rate than our fingernails grow in a year. The mountains also see frequent and significant earthquakes, the region experiences about four typhoons per year on average, and in some places, it receives upwards of several meters of rain annually.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Energy: Technology Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Physics: General
Published

Don't wait, desalinate: A new approach to water purification      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A water purification system separates out salt and other unnecessary particles with an electrified version of dialysis. Successfully applied to wastewater with planned expansion into rivers and seas, the method saves money and saps 90% less energy than its counterparts.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Act now to prevent uncontrolled rise in carbon footprint of computational science      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have set out principles for how computational science -- which powers discoveries from unveiling the mysteries of the universe to developing treatments to fight cancer to improving our understanding of the human genome, but can have a substantial carbon footprint -- can be made more environmentally sustainable.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography
Published

Study of Earth's stratosphere reduces uncertainty in future climate change      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research reduces uncertainty in future climate change linked to the stratosphere, with important implications for life on Earth. A significant source of uncertainty relates to future changes to water vapor in the stratosphere, an extremely dry region of the atmosphere 15--50 km above the Earth's surface. Future increases in water vapor here risk amplifying climate change and slowing down the recovery of the ozone layer, which protects life on Earth from harmful solar ultraviolet radiation.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Study of deep-sea corals reveals ocean currents have not fuelled rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Pioneering analysis of deep-sea corals has overturned the idea that ocean currents contributed to increasing global levels of carbon dioxide in the air over the past 11,000 years.

Biology: Biochemistry Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Investing in nature improves equity, boosts economy      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study shows that current trends in environmental degradation will lead to large economic losses in the coming decades, hitting the poorest countries hardest. But there is hope: investing in nature can turn those losses into gains.

Engineering: Nanotechnology Physics: General Physics: Optics Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Nanophotonics: Coupling light and matter      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed a metasurface that enables strong coupling effects between light and transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs).

Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Volcanoes
Published

Effect of volcanic eruptions significantly underestimated in climate projections      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have found that the cooling effect that volcanic eruptions have on Earth's surface temperature is likely underestimated by a factor of two, and potentially as much as a factor of four, in standard climate projections.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Marine Biology: Microbiology Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Nature Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Are viruses keeping sea lice at bay in wild salmon?      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

More than 30 previously unknown RNA viruses in sea lice have been identified. Sea lice are parasitic copepods (small crustaceans) found in many fresh and saltwater habitats, and have been implicated in the decline of wild salmon populations. The research sheds greater light on the types of viruses being carried by sea lice, and how the viruses and host are interacting.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Will engineered carbon removal solve the climate crisis?      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study explored fairness and feasibility in deep mitigation pathways with novel carbon dioxide removal, taking into account institutional capacity to implement mitigation measures.