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

Rivers and streams in the Andean Cordillera are hot spots for greenhouse gases emissions      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers show that rivers in the Andean mountains contribute 35% and 72% of riverine emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2 ) and methane (CH4 ) in the Amazon basin, the world's largest river.

Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

New study counts the environmental cost of managing Japanese knotweed      (via sciencedaily.com) 

New research has looked at the long-term environmental impact of different methods to control Japanese knotweed. Different ways of trying to control the invasive species have developed over the years but now, as sustainability becomes increasingly important, understanding the effect of these management methods is vital.This new study examines at the entire life cycle and long-term impacts of different management approaches.

Biology: Microbiology Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geochemistry Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Fossil site is 'Rosetta Stone' for understanding early life      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Leading edge technology has uncovered secrets about a world-renowned fossil hoard that could offer vital clues about early life on Earth. Researchers who analyzed the 400 million-year-old cache, found in rural north-east Scotland, say their findings reveal better preservation of the fossils at a molecular level than was previously anticipated.

Chemistry: General Engineering: Robotics Research Environmental: Water Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Electronic skin as flexible as crocodile skin      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A research team has developed a crocodile-skin-inspired omnidirectionally stretchable pressure sensor.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Environmental: Water Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

New approach to harvesting aerial humidity with organic crystals      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have reported a novel method of harvesting water from naturally occurring sources such as fog and dew.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

Major advance in super-resolution fluorescence microscopy      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Pushing the MINFLUX technique to higher spatial and temporal precision allows protein dynamics to be observed under physiological conditions.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology Engineering: Robotics Research Physics: Optics
Published

Researchers control the degree of twist in nanostructured particles      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Micron-sized 'bow ties,' self-assembled from nanoparticles, form a variety of different curling shapes that can be precisely controlled, a research team has shown.

Ecology: Nature Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography
Published

Recovering tropical forests offset just one quarter of carbon emissions from new tropical deforestation and forest degradation      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A pioneering global study has found deforestation and forests lost or damaged due to human and environmental change, such as fire and logging, are fast outstripping current rates of forest regrowth.

Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Designing more useful bacteria      (via sciencedaily.com) 

In a step forward for genetic engineering and synthetic biology, researchers have modified a strain of Escherichia coli bacteria to be immune to natural viral infections while also minimizing the potential for the bacteria or their modified genes to escape into the wild.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Air pollution impairs successful mating of flies      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A research team demonstrates that increased levels of ozone resulting from anthropogenic air pollution can degrade insect sex pheromones, which are crucial mating signals, and thus prevent successful reproduction. The oxidizing effect of ozone causes the carbon-carbon double bonds found in the molecules of many insect pheromones to break down. Therefore, the specific chemical mating signal is rendered dysfunctional. The researchers show this effect in the vinegar fly Drosophila melanogaster and nine other species of the genus Drosophila. Most remarkably, the disrupted sexual communication also led to male flies exhibiting unusual mating behavior towards ozonated males of their own species.

Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Developmental Biology: Genetics Biology: Molecular Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Mirror-image molecules can modify signaling in neurons      (via sciencedaily.com) 

With the aid of some sea slugs, chemists have discovered that one of the smallest conceivable tweaks to a biomolecule can elicit one of the grandest conceivable consequences: directing the activation of neurons. The team has shown that the orientation of a single amino acid -- in this case, one of dozens found in the neuropeptide of a sea slug -- can dictate the likelihood that the peptide activates one neuron receptor versus another. Because different types of receptors are responsible for different neuronal activities, the finding points to another means by which a brain or nervous system can regulate the labyrinthine, life-sustaining communication among its cells.

Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Microbiology Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

The 'Rapunzel' virus: an evolutionary oddity      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Extremely long tail provides structural window into how bacteria-infecting viruses called phages assemble.

Computer Science: General Computer Science: Quantum Computers Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Cleaning up the atmosphere with quantum computing      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Practical carbon capture technologies are still in the early stages of development, with the most promising involving a class of compounds called amines that can chemically bind with carbon dioxide. Researchers now deploy an algorithm to study amine reactions through quantum computing. An existing quantum computer cab run the algorithm to find useful amine compounds for carbon capture more quickly, analyzing larger molecules and more complex reactions than a traditional computer can.

Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Botany Biology: Cell Biology Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Ecology: Endangered Species Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Microneedle-based drug delivery technique for plants      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The agriculture industry is under pressure to adopt sustainable and precise agricultural practices that enable more efficient use of resources due to worsening environmental conditions resulting from climate change, an ever-expanding human population, limited resources, and a shortage of arable land. As a result, developing delivery systems that efficiently distribute micronutrients, pesticides, and antibiotics in crops is crucial to ensuring high productivity and high-quality produce while minimising resource waste. However, current and standard practices for agrochemical application in plants are inefficient. These practices cause significant detrimental environmental side effects, such as water and soil contamination, biodiversity loss and degraded ecosystems; and public health concerns, such as respiratory problems, chemical exposure and food contamination.

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

Switching to hydrogen fuel could prolong the methane problem      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Hydrogen is often heralded as the clean fuel of the future, but new research suggests that leaky hydrogen infrastructure could end up increasing atmospheric methane levels, which would cause decades-long climate consequences.

Biology: Marine Ecology: Nature Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Researchers find decaying biomass in Arctic rivers fuels more carbon export than previously thought      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new study found that plants and small organisms in Arctic rivers could be responsible for more than half the particulate organic matter flowing to the Arctic Ocean. That's a significantly greater proportion than previously estimated, and it has implications for how much carbon gets sequestered in the ocean and how much moves into the atmosphere.

Biology: Evolutionary Biology: Microbiology Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

Scientists transform algae into unique functional perovskites with tunable properties      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists have transformed single-cell algae into functional perovskite materials. The team has converted mineral shells of algae into lead halide perovskites with tunable physical properties. The new perovskites have unique nano-architectures unachievable by conventional synthetic production. The method can be applied to the mass production of perovskites with tunable structural and electro-optical properties from single-celled organisms.

Energy: Technology Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

Are piezoelectrics good for generating electricity? Perhaps, but we must decide how to evaluate them      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A 'best practice' protocol for researchers developing piezoelectric materials has been developed by scientists. The protocol was developed by an international team led by physicists in response to findings that experimental reports lack consistency. The researchers made the shocking discovery that nine out of 10 scientific papers miss experimental information that is crucial to ensure the reproducibility of the reported work.

Biology: Zoology Ecology: Nature Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geology
Published

Changing landscapes alter disease-scapes      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new study has?highlighted?how and when?changes to the environment result in?animal-borne disease?thresholds?being breeched, allowing for?a?better understanding and?increased?capacity to?predict?the?risk of?transmissions.