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

New wood-based technology removes 80% of dye pollutants in wastewater      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have developed a new method that can easily purify contaminated water using a cellulose-based material. This discovery could have implications for countries with poor water treatment technologies and combat the widespread problem of toxic dye discharge from the textile industry.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Environmental: General Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Photosynthesis 'hack' could lead to new ways of generating renewable energy      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have 'hacked' the earliest stages of photosynthesis, the natural machine that powers the vast majority of life on Earth, and discovered new ways to extract energy from the process, a finding that could lead to new ways of generating clean fuel and renewable energy.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology Physics: General Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Semiconductor lattice marries electrons and magnetic moments      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A model system created by stacking a pair of monolayer semiconductors is giving physicists a simpler way to study confounding quantum behavior, from heavy fermions to exotic quantum phase transitions.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Microbiology Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Next epidemic could be spotted early in wastewater      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers behind the UK's first pilot public health surveillance system based on analysis of wastewater say that routine monitoring at sewage treatment works could provide a powerful early warning system for the next flu or norovirus epidemic, alerting hospitals to prepare and providing public health agencies with vital health information.

Biology: Zoology Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

New animal welfare scoring system could enable better-informed food and farming choices      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists have come up with a system of measuring animal welfare that enables reliable comparison across different types of pig farming.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

The devil is in the details: Re-imagining fertilizer precursor synthesis      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have improved the Faradaic efficiency of the nitrogen reduction reaction into ammonia by straightforward optimization of chemical process parameters. They found that trace water was the probable source of the high selectivity by facilitating incorporation of lithium oxide into the solid electrolyte interphase. These findings will also aid optimization of other analogous reactions, and thus help the chemicals industry optimize the sustainability of one of the most carbon-intensive reactions globally.

Engineering: Nanotechnology Space: Exploration Space: General
Published

Ultra-lightweight multifunctional space skin created to withstand extreme conditions in space      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new nano-barrier coating could help protect ultra-lightweight carbon composite materials from extreme conditions in space, according to a new study.

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

Synthesis gas and battery power from sunlight energy      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Plants use photosynthesis to harvest energy from sunlight. Now researchers have applied this principle as the basis for developing new sustainable processes which in the future may produce syngas (synthetic gas) for the large-scale chemical industry and be able to charge batteries.

Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Human and ocean health impacts of ocean plastics      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers from the fields of healthcare, ocean science, and social science have collaborated to quantify plastic's considerable risks to all life on Earth. The Minderoo-Monaco Commission on Plastics and Human Health report presents a comprehensive analysis showing plastics as a hazard at every stage of their life cycle.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Energy: Batteries Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

Batteries: Passivation layer mystery solved      (via sciencedaily.com) 

In our daily lives, lithium-ion batteries have become indispensable. They function only because of a passivation layer that forms during their initial cycle. As researchers found out via simulations, this solid electrolyte interphase develops not directly at the electrode but aggregates in the solution. Their findings allow the optimization of the performance and lifetime of future batteries.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
Published

'Inkable' nanomaterial promises big benefits for bendable electronics      (via sciencedaily.com) 

An international team of scientists is developing an inkable nanomaterial that they say could one day become a spray-on electronic component for ultra-thin, lightweight and bendable displays and devices.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Energy: Nuclear Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Nitrate can release uranium into groundwater      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A team has experimentally confirmed that nitrate, a compound common in fertilizers and animal waste, can help transport naturally occurring uranium from the underground to groundwater. The new research backs a previous study showing that aquifers contaminated with high levels of nitrate -- including the High Plains Aquifer residing beneath Nebraska -- also contain uranium concentrations far exceeding a threshold set by the Environmental Protection Agency. Uranium concentrations above that EPA threshold have been shown to cause kidney damage in humans, especially when regularly consumed via drinking water.

Biology: Botany Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Trees Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Douglas-fir in Klamath Mountains are in 'decline spiral'      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Increases in mortality among Douglas-fir in the Klamath Mountains are the result of multiple factors that have the iconic tree in a 'decline spiral' in parts of the region.

Biology: General Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Recycling: Researchers separate cotton from polyester in blended fabric      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers found they could separate blended cotton and polyester fabric using enzymes -- nature's tools for speeding chemical reactions. Ultimately, they hope their findings will lead to a more efficient way to recycle the fabric's component materials, thereby reducing textile waste.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

'Fishing' for biomarkers      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have devised a tiny, nano-sized sensor capable of detecting protein biomarkers in a sample at single-molecule precision. Fittingly coined as 'hook and bait,' a tiny protein binder fuses to a small hole created in the membrane of a cell -- known as a nanopore ­-- which allows ionic solution to flow through it. When the sensor recognizes a targeted molecule, the ionic flow changes. This change in flow serves as the signal from the sensor that the biomarker has been found.

Biology: General Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Extinction Ecology: General Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Coffee plantations limit birds' diets      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new study explores a record of birds' diets preserved in their feathers and radio tracking of their movements to find that birds eat far fewer invertebrates in coffee plantations than in forests, suggesting that the disturbance of their ecosystem significantly impacts the birds' dietary options.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

Nanotechnology could treat lymphedema      (via sciencedaily.com) 

When lymphatic vessels fail, typically their ability to pump out the fluid is compromised. Researchers have now developed a new treatment using nanoparticles that can repair lymphatic vessel pumping. Traditionally, researchers in the field have tried to regrow lymphatic vessels, but repairing the pumping action is a unique approach.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computer Science: General Engineering: Graphene Engineering: Nanotechnology Engineering: Robotics Research
Published

Mind-control robots a reality?      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have developed biosensor technology that will allow you to operate devices, such as robots and machines, solely through thought control.