Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Recovering rare earth elements in environmental water      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A research group has succeeded in selectively recovering trace rare earth elements in synthetic seawater and environmental water, such as hot spring water, using baker's yeast with a phosphate group added. The phosphorylated yeast is expected to be utilized as a material for recovering useful metals and removing toxic metals, thereby contributing to the realization of a metal resource-circulating society.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Thermodynamics Energy: Alternative Fuels Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Microwaves advance solar-cell production and recycling      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New technology advances solar-cell production and recycling. New microwave technology will improve the manufacture of solar cells and make them easier to recycle.

Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Microbiology Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Air pollution is not just a human problem -- it's also changing the gut of British bumblebees      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Human activity is contributing to pollution that is affecting our health. According to WHO estimates, atmospheric air pollution is estimated to cause 4.2 million premature deaths worldwide per year. Scientists and the public alike are well aware of how human activity and pollution is affecting our heath, but new research has identified how bumblebees may be caught in the crossfire.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Thermodynamics Energy: Alternative Fuels Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Gentle method allows for eco-friendly recycling of solar cells      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

By using a new method, precious metals can be efficiently recovered from thin-film solar cells. The method is also more environmentally friendly than previous methods of recycling and paves the way for more flexible and highly efficient solar cells.

Biology: General Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Thermodynamics Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Chemists redesign biological PHAs, 'dream' biodegradable plastics      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

They've been called 'dream' plastics: polyhydroxyalkanoates, or PHAs. Already the basis of a fledgling industry, they're a class of polymers naturally created by living microorganisms, or synthetically produced from biorenewable feedstocks. They're biodegradable in the ambient environment, including oceans and soil.

Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

Implantable device shrinks pancreatic tumors      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Nanomedicine researchers have found a way to tame pancreatic cancer -- one of the most aggressive and difficult to treat cancers -- by delivering immunotherapy directly into the tumor with a device that is smaller than a grain of rice.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Energy: Technology Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Engineers devise technology to prevent fouling in photobioreactors for CO2 capture      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new, inexpensive technology can limit the buildup of algae on the walls of photobioreactors that can help convert carbon dioxide into useful products. Reducing this fouling avoids costly cleanouts and allows more photosynthesis to happen within tanks.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Microbiology Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Researchers warn of tick-borne disease babesiosis      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists report the first high-quality nuclear genome sequence and assembly of the pathogen B. duncani. The team also determined the 3D genome structure of this pathogen that resembles Plasmodium falciparum, the malaria-causing parasite.

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

The hidden culprit behind nitrogen dioxide emissions      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A research team assesses neighborhood-scale NO2 exposure using a European satellite. High-rise apartment complexes are a significant source of emissions that should be considered in the development of clean air policies.

Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geology Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: General Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

How did Earth get its water?      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Our planet's water could have originated from interactions between the hydrogen-rich atmospheres and magma oceans of the planetary embryos that comprised Earth's formative years.

Ecology: General Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geology Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Exploration Space: General Space: The Solar System
Published

Humans need Earth-like ecosystem for deep-space living      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Can humans endure long-term living in deep space? The answer is a lukewarm maybe, according to a new theory describing the complexity of maintaining gravity and oxygen, obtaining water, developing agriculture and handling waste far from Earth.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Microbiology Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Dancing in the mud: Cut cable puts an end to bacterial party      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

You can still be celebrated, even if you're buried in mud. A new study shows that innumerable other bacteria flock around cable bacteria in the oxygen-free seabed in something that looks like a dance. They apparently use the cable bacteria as an electrical lifeline for oxygen. Video recordings show that the dance stops abruptly if you cut the cable bacteria in half.

Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography
Published

World's biggest cumulative logjam, newly mapped in the Arctic, stores 3.4 million tons of carbon      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Throughout the Arctic, fallen trees make their way from forests to the ocean by way of rivers. Those logs can stack up as the river twists and turns, resulting in long-term carbon storage. A new study has mapped the largest known woody deposit, covering 51 square kilometers (20 square miles) of the Mackenzie River Delta in Nunavut, Canada, and calculated that the logs store about 3.4 million tons (about 3.1 million metric tons) of carbon.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Ecology: Sea Life Engineering: Nanotechnology Physics: Optics
Published

Pollution monitoring through precise detection of gold nanoparticles in woodlice      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers introduce a novel imaging method to detect gold nanoparticles in woodlice. Their method, known as four-wave mixing microscopy, flashes light that the gold nanoparticles absorb. The light flashes again and the subsequent scattering reveals the nanoparticles' locations. With information about the quantity, location, and impact of gold nanoparticles within the organism, scientists can better understand the potential harm other metals may have on nature.

Chemistry: General Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Severe Weather Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astrophysics Space: Exploration Space: General Space: The Solar System
Published

Lightning strike creates phosphorus material      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A lightning strike in New Port Richey, Florida, led to a chemical reaction creating a new material that is transitional between space minerals and minerals found on Earth. High-energy events, such as lightning, can cause unique chemical reactions. In this instance, the result is a new material -- one that is transitional between space minerals and minerals found on Earth.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Energy: Fossil Fuels Energy: Nuclear Energy: Technology Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Shutting down nuclear power could increase air pollution      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study shows that if U.S. nuclear power plants are retired, the burning of coal, oil, and natural gas to fill the energy gap could cause more than 5,000 premature deaths.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Energy: Alternative Fuels Environmental: General Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Solar cells charging forward      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An environmentally friendlier solution to solar cell production with enhanced performance utilizes PEDOT:PSS/silicon heterojunction solar cells. This hybrid type is made of organic-inorganic material, which could potentially ease the production process compared to conventional silicon-only solar cells. It avoids manufacturing solar cells in vacuums and high-temperature processes, which require large and expensive equipment and a great amount of time.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Genetics Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Rooting out how plants control nitrogen use      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Nitrogen is such a crucial nutrient for plants that vast quantities of nitrogen-containing fertilizers are spread on farmlands worldwide. However, excess nitrogen in the soil and in drainage run-off into lakes and rivers causes serious ecological imbalances. A recent study has uncovered the regulatory mechanisms at work when plants utilize nitrogenous fertilizers in their roots, a positive step in the quest to generate crops that require less fertilizer while still producing the yields needed to feed the world.