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Categories: Engineering: Nanotechnology, Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published Air pollution from oil and gas production responsible for $77 billion in annual US health damages, contributes to thousands of early deaths, childhood asthma cases nationwide



A new study found that air pollution from the oil and gas sector in the United States has substantial adverse impacts on air quality, human health, and health costs. The findings show that the pollutants nitrogen oxide (NO2), fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and ozone (O3) from U.S. oil and gas production contributed to 7,500 excess deaths, 410,000 asthma attacks, and 2,200 new cases of childhood asthma across the U.S. in 2016.
Published Leaky-wave metasurfaces: A perfect interface between free-space and integrated optical systems



Researchers have developed a new class of integrated photonic devices -- 'leaky-wave metasurfaces' -- that convert light initially confined in an optical waveguide to an arbitrary optical pattern in free space. These are the first to demonstrate simultaneous control of all four optical degrees of freedom. Because they're so thin, transparent, and compatible with photonic integrated circuits, they can be used to improve optical displays, LIDAR, optical communications, and quantum optics.
Published Tiny microbes could brew big benefits for green biomanufacturing



Scientists find new route in bacteria to decarbonize industry. The discovery could reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the manufacturing of fuels, drugs, and chemicals. A research team has engineered bacteria to produce new-to-nature carbon products that could provide a powerful route to sustainable biochemicals.
Published Archaea in a warming climate become less diverse, more predictable



Using a long-term multifactor experimental field site researchers showed that experimental warming of a tallgrass prairie ecosystem significantly altered the community structure of soil archaea and reduced their taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity.
Published AI could run a million microbial experiments per year



Automation uncovers combinations of amino acids that feed two bacterial species and could tell us much more about the 90% of bacteria that humans have hardly studied. An artificial intelligence system enables robots to conduct autonomous scientific experiments -- as many as 10,000 per day -- potentially driving a drastic leap forward in the pace of discovery in areas from medicine to agriculture to environmental science.
Published Scientists begin to unravel global role of atmospheric dust in nourishing oceans



New research begins to unravel the role dust plays in nourishing global ocean ecosystems while helping regulate atmospheric carbon dioxide levels.
Published New catalyst transforms carbon dioxide into sustainable byproduct



-Electrocatalyst achieves record-breaking selectivity toward desired product, a key step in expanding production -Acetic acid, found in vinegar, is traditionally extracted from fossil fuels for use in paint and other product feedstock.
Published 'Devastating' fungal infections wiping out crops and threatening global food security, experts warn



Worldwide, growers lose between 10 and 23 per cent of their crops to fungal infection each year, despite widespread use of antifungals. An additional 10-20 per cent is lost post harvest. In a commentary in Nature, academics predict those figures will worsen as global warming means fungal infections are steadily moving polewards, meaning more countries are likely to see a higher prevalence of fungal infections damaging harvests.
Published Researchers capture elusive missing step in the final act of photosynthesis



Photosynthesis plays a crucial role in shaping and sustaining life on Earth, yet many aspects of the process remain a mystery. One such mystery is how Photosystem II, a protein complex in plants, algae and cyanobacteria, harvests energy from sunlight and uses it to split water, producing the oxygen we breathe. Now researchers have succeeded in cracking a key secret of Photosystem II.
Published Engineers tap into good vibrations to power the Internet of Things



In a world hungry for clean energy, engineers have created a new material that converts the simple mechanical vibrations all around us into electricity to power sensors in everything from pacemakers to spacecraft.
Published World tour for model boat inspiring citizen science against environmental pollution



A model sailing boat which represents a key part of a project working to banish single use plastics has embarked on a global tour that will help its message reach thousands more people and communities across the planet.
Published A touch-responsive fabric armband -- for flexible keyboards, wearable sketchpads



It's time to roll up your sleeves for the next advance in wearable technology -- a fabric armband that's actually a touch pad. Researchers say they have devised a way to make playing video games, sketching cartoons and signing documents easier. Their proof-of-concept silk armband turns a person's forearm into a keyboard or sketchpad. The three-layer, touch-responsive material interprets what a user draws or types and converts it into images on a computer.
Published Self-folding origami machines powered by chemical reaction



Scientists have harnessed chemical reactions to make microscale origami machines self-fold -- freeing them from the liquids in which they usually function, so they can operate in dry environments and at room temperature.
Published A stormy, active sun may have kickstarted life on Earth



The first building blocks of life on Earth may have formed thanks to eruptions from our Sun, a new study finds. A series of chemical experiments show how solar particles, colliding with gases in Earth's early atmosphere, can form amino acids and carboxylic acids, the basic building blocks of proteins and organic life.
Published Toys demonstrate how biological machines move



By connecting small self-propelling toys in a chain, researchers have found the key to studying the movement of microscopic organisms and molecular motors inside our cells.
Published Researchers discover that the ice cap is teeming with microorganisms



Greenlandic ice is teeming with life, both on the surface and underneath. There are microscopic organisms that until recently science had no idea existed. There is even evidence to suggest that the tiny creatures color the ice and make it melt faster.
Published Machine learning helps scientists identify the environmental preferences of microbes



A machine-learning approach can give scientists insight into the environmental preferences of microbes, based only on their genes. The approach has practical research implications: it could help researchers more efficiently grow bacteria in the laboratory. It could also lead to smarter use of microbes in agriculture, ecological restoration, and even probiotics.
Published Previously unknown intercellular electricity may power biology



Researchers have discovered that the electrical fields and activity that exist through a cell's membrane also exist within and around another type of cellular structure called biological condensates. Like oil droplets floating in water, these structures exist because of differences in density. Their foundational discovery could change the way researchers think about biological chemistry. It could also provide a clue as to how the first life on Earth harnessed the energy needed to arise.
Published Mushrooms and their post-rain, electrical conversations



Certain types of fungi can communicate with each other via electrical signals. But much remains unknown about how and when they do so. A group of researchers recently headed to the forest to measure the electrical signals of Laccaria bicolor mushrooms, finding that their electrical signals increased following rainfall.
Published Engineers 'grow' atomically thin transistors on top of computer chips



A new method enables 2D-material semiconductor transistors to be directly integrated onto a fully fabricated 8-inch silicon wafer, which could enable a new generation of transistor technology, denser device integration, new circuit architectures, and more powerful chips.