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The world is one step closer to secure quantum communication on a global scale      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have brought together two Nobel prize-winning research concepts to advance the field of quantum communication. Scientists can now efficiently produce nearly perfect entangled photon pairs from quantum dot sources.

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Quantum interference could lead to smaller, faster, and more energy-efficient transistors      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists made a single-molecule transistor using quantum interference to control electron flow. This new design offers high on/off ratio and stability, potentially leading to smaller, faster, and more energy-efficient devices. Quantum interference also improves the transistor's sensitivity to voltage changes, further boosting its efficiency.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Invasive Species Environmental: Biodiversity
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Product that kills agricultural pests also deadly to native Pacific Northwest snail      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A product used to control pest slugs on farms in multiple countries is deadly to least one type of native woodland snail endemic to the Pacific Northwest, according to scientists who say more study is needed before the product gains approval in the United States.

Biology: General Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Extinction Ecology: General Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Earth Science
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Species diversity promotes ecosystem stability      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

What maintains stability within an ecosystem and prevents a single best competitor from displacing other species from a community? Does ecosystem stability depend upon the presence of a wide variety of species, as early ecologists believed, or does diversity do the exact opposite, and lead to instability, as modern theory predicts? A new study suggests an answer to this question that has been a subject of debate among ecologists for half a century.

Biology: General Biology: Zoology Ecology: General Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geography
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Forest, stream habitats keep energy exchanges in balance, global team finds      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Forests and streams are separate but linked ecosystems, existing side by side, with energy and nutrients crossing their porous borders and flowing back and forth between them. For example, leaves fall from trees, enter streams, decay and feed aquatic insects. Those insects emerge from the waters and are eaten by birds and bats. An international team has now found that these ecosystems appear to keep the energy exchanges in balance -- a finding that the scientists called surprising.

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Cleaning up environmental contaminants with quantum dot technology      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was focused on quantum dots -- objects so tiny, they're controlled by the strange rules of quantum physics. Quantum dots used in electronics are often toxic, but their nontoxic counterparts are being explored for uses in medicine and in the environment, including water decontamination. One team of researchers has specially designed carbon- and sulfur-based dots for these environmental applications.

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Quantum talk with magnetic disks      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Quantum computers promise to tackle some of the most challenging problems facing humanity today. While much attention has been directed towards the computation of quantum information, the transduction of information within quantum networks is equally crucial in materializing the potential of this new technology. Addressing this need, a research team is now introducing a new approach for transducing quantum information: the team has manipulated quantum bits, so called qubits, by harnessing the magnetic field of magnons -- wave-like excitations in a magnetic material -- that occur within microscopic magnetic disks.

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Spectroscopy and theory shed light on excitons in semiconductors      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have made very fast and very precise images of excitons -- in fact, accurate to one quadrillionth of a second and one billionth of a meter. This understanding is essential for developing more efficient materials with organic semiconductors.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: General Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: Water
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Artificial streams reveal how drought shapes California's alpine ecosystems      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have used a series of artificial stream channels to mimic the behavior of headwater creeks under future climate change scenarios. They found that drier conditions shifted the life cycles of the algae and insects that form the base of the alpine food web. However, because species adjusted to the shifts in a variety of ways, the stream ecosystems were generally resilient to the changing conditions.

Biology: General Biology: Zoology Ecology: Nature Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Water Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
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Eyes open and toes out of water: How a giant water bug reached the island of Cyprus      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new visitor was reported on the coast of Cyprus, thanks to the growing power of citizen science. Researchers collected information and specimens through personal communication with amateur naturalists, but also through the internet, in order to compose the mosaic of repeated appearances of a giant water bug on the eastern shoreline of the island.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Energy: Fossil Fuels Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography
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The atlas of unburnable oil in the world      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In order to limit the increase in global average temperature to 1.5 C, it is essential to drastically reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere. This would mean not exploiting most of the existing coal, conventional gas and oil energy resources in regions around the world, according to new research. The study presents the atlas of unburnable oil in the world, a world map designed with environmental and social criteria that warns which oil resources should not be exploited to meet the commitments of the Paris Agreement signed in 2015 to mitigate the effects of climate change.

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Scientists use novel technique to create new energy-efficient microelectronic device      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have created a new material that uses 'redox gating' to control the movement of electrons in and out of a semiconducting material.

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Staying in the loop: How superconductors are helping computers 'remember'      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

To advance neuromorphic computing, some researchers are looking at analog improvements -- advancing not just software, but hardware too. Research shows a promising new way to store and transmit information using disordered superconducting loops.

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Satellites for quantum communications      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Through steady advances in the development of quantum computers and their ever-improving performance, it will be possible in the future to crack our current encryption processes. To address this challenge, researchers are developing encryption methods that will apply physical laws to prevent the interception of messages. To safeguard communications over long distances, the QUICK space mission will deploy satellites.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography
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Exploring arctic plants and lichens: An important conservation baseline for Nunavut's newest and largest territorial park      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A comprehensive study of the floristic diversity of Agguttinni Territorial Park, Nunavut's newest and largest Territorial Park, has documented 141 vascular plant, 69 bryophyte, and 93 lichen species from this unique protected area on northern Baffin Island. Through a combination of extensive fieldwork in 2021 and examination of hundreds of existing herbarium specimens, the authors have documented species newly reported for Baffin Island and have crafted a biodiversity baseline important for park management and conservation.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Environmental: Biodiversity Geoscience: Geography
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Rice paddy snake diversification was driven by geological and environmental factors in Thailand, molecular data suggests      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study of rice paddy snakes in Southeast Asia gives key details to their diversification and natural history, adding molecular evidence that the rise of the Khorat Plateau and subsequent environmental shifts in Thailand may have altered the course of the snakes' evolution some 2.5 million years ago.

Biology: Botany Biology: General Ecology: General Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Ecology: Trees Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General
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Rainforest's next generation of trees threatened 30 years after logging      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Rainforest seedlings are more likely to survive in natural forests than in places where logging has happened -- even if tree restoration projects have taken place, new research shows.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Nature Environmental: Biodiversity Geoscience: Geography
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Pronghorn population declining due to human development      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new article looked at 40 years of data collected on 40 pronghorn herds residing in the Wyoming Basin Shrub Steppe. Overall, 80% of the herds saw a decrease in productivity, and nearly 43% saw a significant decrease. After looking at a number of variables that could potentially contribute to the decline, the researchers identified the two most strongly associated: development of oil and gas resources and woody encroachment.