Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology Offbeat: General
Published

The medicine of the future could be artificial life forms      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Imagine a life form that doesn't resemble any of the organisms found on the tree of life. One that has its own unique control system, and that a doctor would want to send into your body. It sounds like a science fiction movie, but according to nanoscientists, it can—and should—happen in the future.

Chemistry: General Environmental: General Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Successful morphing of inorganic perovskites without damaging their functional properties      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A research team has successfully morphed all-inorganic perovskites at room temperature without compromising their functional properties. Their findings demonstrate the potential of this class of semiconductors for manufacturing next-generation deformable electronics and energy systems in the future.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

New research may make future design of nanotechnology safer with fewer side effects      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study may offer a strategy that mitigates negative side effects associated with intravenous injection of nanoparticles commonly used in medicine.

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

Climate intervention technologies may create winners and losers in world food supply      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A technology being studied to curb climate change – one that could be put in place in one or two decades if work on the technology began now – would affect food productivity in parts of planet Earth in dramatically different ways, benefiting some areas, and adversely affecting others, according to new projections.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Two-dimensional compounds can capture carbon from the air      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Some of the thinnest materials known to humankind -- MXene and MBene compounds -- may provide solutions to scientists in their quest to curb the effects of global warming. These substances are only a few atoms thick, making them two-dimensional. Because of their large surface area, the materials have the potential to absorb carbon dioxide molecules from the atmosphere, which could help reduce the harmful effects of climate change by safely sequestering carbon dioxide, according to a review study.

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

Staying dry for months underwater      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed a superhydrophobic surface with a stable plastron that can last for months under water. The team’s general strategy to create long-lasting underwater superhydrophobic surfaces, which repel blood and drastically reduce or prevent the adhesion of bacterial and marine organisms such as barnacles and mussels, opens a range of applications in biomedicine and industry.

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

Ancient carbon in rocks releases as much carbon dioxide as the world's volcanoes      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research has overturned the traditional view that natural rock weathering acts as a carbon sink that removes CO2 from the atmosphere. Instead, this can also act as a large CO2 source, rivaling that of volcanoes.

Chemistry: General Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Volcanoes
Published

Volcanic ash effects on Earth systems      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

To bridge the knowledge gap between volcanologists and atmospheric scientists working on climate change and observing global systems, researchers have characterized volcanic ash samples from many explosive eruptions of a broad compositional range.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

New pipeline makes valuable organic acid from plants -- saving money and emissions      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In a breakthrough for environmentally friendly chemical production, researchers have developed an economical way to make succinic acid, an important industrial chemical, from sugarcane. The team has created a cost-effective, end-to-end pipeline for this valuable organic acid by engineering a tough, acid-tolerant yeast as the fermenting agent, avoiding costly steps in downstream processing. Succinic acid is a widely used additive for food and beverages and has diverse applications in agricultural and pharmaceutical products. This same pipeline can be used to produce other industrially important organic acids from crops rather than petroleum-based processes, significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

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

Carbon-capture tree plantations threaten tropical biodiversity for little gain, ecologists say      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The increasingly urgent climate crisis has led to a boom in commercial tree plantations in an attempt to offset excess carbon emissions. However, authors argue that these carbon-offset plantations might come with costs for biodiversity and other ecosystem functions. Instead, the authors say we should prioritize conserving and restoring intact ecosystems.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Thermodynamics Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
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Carbon capture method plucks CO2 straight from the air      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Even as the world slowly begins to decarbonize industrial processes, achieving lower concentrations of atmospheric carbon requires technologies that remove existing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere — rather than just prevent the creation of it.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

Bioengineering breakthrough increases DNA detection sensitivity by 100 times      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have pushed forward the boundaries of biomedical engineering one hundredfold with a new method for DNA detection with unprecedented sensitivity.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

Wearable sensor to monitor 'last line of defense' antibiotic      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have combined earlier work on  painless microneedles with nanoscale sensors to create a wearable sensor patch capable of continuously monitoring the levels of a ‘last line of defense’ antibiotic.

Biology: General Biology: Microbiology Ecology: General Ecology: Research Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Geochemistry
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Viruses dynamic and changing after dry soils are watered      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Viruses in soil may not be as destructive to bacteria as once thought and could instead act like lawnmowers, culling older cells and giving space for new growth, according to research.

Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General Ecology: General Environmental: General Environmental: Wildfires Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Severe Weather Paleontology: Climate
Published

Climate and human land use both play roles in Pacific island wildfires past and present      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

It’s long been understood that human settlement contributes to conditions that make Pacific Islands more susceptible to wildfires, such as the devastating Aug. 8 event that destroyed the Maui community of Lahaina. But a new study from fire scientist shows that climate is an undervalued part of the equation.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
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Researchers propose a unified, scalable framework to measure agricultural greenhouse gas emissions      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Increased government investment in climate change mitigation is prompting agricultural sectors to find reliable methods for measuring their contribution to climate change. With that in mind, scientists have proposed a supercomputing solution to help measure individual farm field-level greenhouse gas emissions.

Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Geology Paleontology: Climate
Published

Ancient plant wax reveals how global warming affects methane in Arctic lakes      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In a new study, researchers examined the waxy coatings of leaves preserved as organic molecules within sediment from the early-to-middle Holocene, a period of intense warming that occurred due to slow changes in Earth's orbit 11,700 to 4,200 years ago. They found that warming potentially could lead to a previously under-appreciated flux in methane emissions from lakes.

Chemistry: General Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Geochemistry Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Ultrasound may rid groundwater of toxic 'forever chemicals'      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research suggests that ultrasound may have potential in treating a group of harmful chemicals known as PFAS to eliminate them from contaminated groundwater.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Energy: Technology Engineering: Graphene Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

Researchers dynamically tune friction in graphene      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The friction on a graphene surface can be dynamically tuned using external electric fields, according to researchers.