Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

An environmentally friendly way to turn seafood waste into value-added products      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Reduce, reuse, recycle, and repurpose: These are all ways we can live more sustainably. One tricky aspect of recycling, though, is that sometimes the recycling process is chemically intensive, and this is the case for recycling one of the world's most abundant materials -- chitin. Researchers have tackled this problem and found a way to sustainably recover chitin from seafood waste.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Energy: Alternative Fuels Engineering: Nanotechnology Environmental: General Geoscience: Geochemistry Physics: General Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Revolutionary breakthrough in solar energy: Most efficient QD solar cells      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A research team has unveiled a novel ligand exchange technique that enables the synthesis of organic cation-based perovskite quantum dots (PQDs), ensuring exceptional stability while suppressing internal defects in the photoactive layer of solar cells.

Anthropology: Cultures Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology
Published

Did neanderthals use glue? Researchers find evidence that sticks      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Neanderthals created stone tools held together by a multi-component adhesive, a team of scientists has discovered. Its findings, which are the earliest evidence of a complex adhesive in Europe, suggest these predecessors to modern humans had a higher level of cognition and cultural development than previously thought.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Microbiology Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

Engineering a coating for disease-free produce      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Texas A&M researchers combine food-grade wax with essential oils to defend produce from bacteria.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Plastic recycling with a protein anchor      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Polystyrene is a widespread plastic that is essentially not recyclable when mixed with other materials and is not biodegradable. A research team has now introduced a biohybrid catalyst that oxidizes polystyrene microparticles to facilitate their subsequent degradation. The catalyst consists of a specially constructed 'anchor peptide' that adheres to polystyrene surfaces and a cobalt complex that oxidizes polystyrene.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Zoology Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Mystery solved: The oldest fossil reptile from the alps is an historical forgery      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Palaeontological analysis shows that a renowned fossil thought to show soft tissue preservation is in fact just paint. The fossil discovered in 1931 was thought to be an important specimen for understanding early reptile evolution. While not all of the celebrated fossil is a forgery, scientists urge caution in how the fossil is utilized in future.

Computer Science: General Energy: Technology Engineering: Nanotechnology Mathematics: General Mathematics: Modeling Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General Physics: Optics
Published

New chip opens door to AI computing at light speed      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Engineers have developed a new chip that uses light waves, rather than electricity, to perform the complex math essential to training AI. The chip has the potential to radically accelerate the processing speed of computers while also reducing their energy consumption.

Engineering: Graphene Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

First human trial shows 'wonder' material can be developed safely      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A revolutionary nanomaterial with huge potential to tackle multiple global challenges could be developed further without acute risk to human health, research suggests.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Developmental Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular Biology: Zoology Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Ancient retroviruses played a key role in the evolution of vertebrate brains      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers report that ancient viruses may be to thank for myelin -- and, by extension, our large, complex brains. The team found that a retrovirus-derived genetic element or 'retrotransposon' is essential for myelin production in mammals, amphibians, and fish. The gene sequence, which they dubbed 'RetroMyelin,' is likely a result of ancient viral infection, and comparisons of RetroMyelin in mammals, amphibians, and fish suggest that retroviral infection and genome-invasion events occurred separately in each of these groups.

Anthropology: General Archaeology: General Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology
Published

Anthropologists' research unveils early stone plaza in the Andes      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Located at the Callacpuma archaeological site in the Cajamarca Basin of northern Peru, the plaza is built with large, vertically placed megalithic stones -- a construction method previously unseen in the Andes.

Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General Archaeology: General Biology: General Biology: Zoology Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Some Pre-Roman humans were buried with dogs, horses and other animals      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Some people from an ancient community in what is now northern Italy were interred with animals and animal parts from species such as dogs, horses and pigs. The reasons remain mysterious, but might indicate an enduring companion relationship between these humans and animals, or religious sacrificial practices, according to a new study.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Chemistry: Biochemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

Nanoparticles that can light up the lymph node cancer cells otherwise undetectable by MRI      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed a new nanoparticle that can 'hitch a ride' on immune cells, or monocytes. Because of its tiny size, the particle can tag along directly into lymph nodes and help metastasis show up on MRIs where it would otherwise be too hard to detect. The process offers game-changing benefits for the early detection of cancer metastasis in the lymph nodes. While previously, metastasis could only be assessed by an increase in lymph node size; the new particles could lead to MRI contrast agents that can highlight metastatic cells in lymph nodes that may otherwise appear normal.

Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Great apes playfully tease each other      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Babies playfully tease others as young as eight months of age. Since language is not required for this behavior, similar kinds of playful teasing might be present in non-human animals. Now cognitive biologists and primatologists have documented playful teasing in four species of great apes. Like joking behavior in humans, ape teasing is provocative, persistent, and includes elements of surprise and play. Because all four great ape species used playful teasing, it is likely that the prerequisites for humor evolved in the human lineage at least 13 million years ago.

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

Exploring the effect of ring closing on fluorescence of supramolecular polymers      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The properties of supramolecular polymers are dictated by the self-assembled state of the molecules. However, not much is known about the impact of morphologies on the properties of nano- and mesoscopic-scale polymeric assemblies. Recently, a research team demonstrated how terminus-free toroids and random coils derived from the same luminescent molecule show different photophysical properties. The team also presented a novel method for purifying the toroidal structure.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology Physics: General
Published

Scientists study the behaviors of chiral skyrmions in chiral flower-like obstacles      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Chiral skyrmions are a special type of spin textures in magnetic materials with asymmetric exchange interactions. They can be treated as quasi-particles and carry integer topological charges. Scientists have recently studied the random walk-behaviors of chiral skyrmions by simulating their dynamics within a ferromagnetic layer surrounded by chiral flower-like obstacles. The simulations reveal that the system behaves like a topological sorting device, indicating its use in information processing and computing devices.

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

Can hydrogels help mend a broken heart?      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

You can mend a broken heart this valentine s day now that researchers invented a new hydrogel that can be used to heal damaged heart tissue and improve cancer treatments.

Anthropology: General Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Zoology Ecology: Nature Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Dinosaurs Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

The hidden rule for flight feathers -- and how it could reveal which dinosaurs could fly      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists examined hundreds of birds in museum collections and discovered a suite of feather characteristics that all flying birds have in common. These 'rules' provide clues as to how the dinosaur ancestors of modern birds first evolved the ability to fly, and which dinosaurs were capable of flight.