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Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Energy: Alternative Fuels Energy: Technology Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: Water
Published

Highly durable, nonnoble metal electrodes for hydrogen production from seawater      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The water electrolysis method, a promising avenue for hydrogen production, relies on substantial freshwater consumption, thereby limiting the regions available with water resources required for water electrolysis . Researchers have developed highly durable electrodes without precious metals to enable direct hydrogen production from seawater.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Space: Astronomy Space: Exploration Space: General Space: The Solar System
Published

Potential solvents identified for building on moon and Mars      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have taken the first steps toward finding liquid solvents that may someday help extract critical building materials from lunar and Martian-rock dust, an important piece in making long-term space travel possible. Using machine learning and computational modeling, researchers have found about half a dozen good candidates for solvents that can extract materials on the moon and Mars usable in 3D printing. The powerful solvents, called ionic liquids, are salts that are in a liquid state.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Marine Biology: Molecular Environmental: Water Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography
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Toxic algae blooms: Study assesses potential health hazards to humans      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Water samples from 20 sites were tested using a panel of immortalized human cell lines corresponding to the liver, kidney and brain to measure cytotoxicity. Results show that each control toxin induced a consistent pattern of cytotoxicity in the panel of human cell lines assayed. Known toxins were seen only during blooms. Because cell toxicity was seen in the absence of blooms, it suggests that there might be either emergent toxins or a combination of toxins present at those times. Findings suggest that other toxins with the potential to be harmful to human health may be present in the lagoon.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Exploration Space: General Space: The Solar System
Published

NASA's Webb discovers dusty 'cat's tail' in Beta Pictoris System      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Beta Pictoris, a young planetary system located just 63 light-years away, continues to intrigue scientists even after decades of in-depth study. It possesses the first dust disk imaged around another star -- a disk of debris produced by collisions between asteroids, comets, and planetesimals. Observations from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope revealed a second debris disk in this system, inclined with respect to the outer disk, which was seen first. Now, a team of astronomers using NASA's James Webb Space Telescope to image the Beta Pictoris system (Beta Pic) has discovered a new, previously unseen structure.

Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
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PFAS flow equally between Arctic Ocean and Atlantic Ocean      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The frigid Arctic Ocean is far removed from the places most people live, but even so, 'forever chemicals' reach this remote landscape. Now, research suggests that per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) won't stay there indefinitely. Instead, they are transported in a feedback loop, with the Arctic Ocean potentially exporting as many PFAS to the North Atlantic Ocean as it receives, circulating the compounds around the world.

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

Only 18% of the global land area that is needed for human well-being and biodiversity is currently protected      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An international group of researchers finds that conserving about half of global land area could maintain nearly all of nature's contributions to people and still meet biodiversity targets for tens of thousands of species. But the same priority areas are at risk of conflict with human development with only 18% of that land area protected.

Biology: Biochemistry Ecology: General Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Severe Weather
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'Carbon vault' peat suffers greatly from drought      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Peatlands are affected more by drought than expected. This is concerning, as these ecosystems are an important ally in the fight against climate change. Following long periods of drought, peat is able to absorb little to no extra carbon (CO2). Increasing biodiversity also does little to make peat more drought-resilient.

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

Climate change behind sharp drop in snowpack since 1980s      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study confirms that spring snowpacks across the Northern Hemisphere have shrunk significantly over the past 40 years due to human-driven climate change, putting hundreds of millions of people worldwide at risk of a water crisis. The Southwestern and Northeastern U.S. saw among the steepest declines, with more than 10% of the spring snowpack lost per decade, which the researchers expect will accelerate with further warming. Many heavily populated snow-dependent watersheds are dangerously near what they call a 'snow-loss cliff,' wherein once average winter temperatures exceed 17 degrees Fahrenheit, snow loss accelerates even with only modest increases in temperature.

Biology: Marine Biology: Zoology Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Acidity of Antarctic waters could double by century's end, threatening biodiversity      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Without drastically reducing global emissions, the Antarctic Ocean could become too acidic for hundreds of species living there, many already endangered by rising temperatures and sea ice loss.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
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NASA's Webb finds signs of possible aurorae on isolated brown dwarf      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Astronomers have found a brown dwarf (an object more massive than Jupiter but smaller than a star) with infrared emission from methane, likely due to energy in its upper atmosphere. This is an unexpected discovery because the brown dwarf, W1935, is cold and lacks a host star; therefore, there is no obvious source for the upper atmosphere energy. The team speculates that the methane emission may be due to processes generating aurorae.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Unlocking the secrets of a 'Hot Saturn' and its spotted star      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A team of astronomers has unraveled the enigmatic atmosphere of the exoplanet HAT-P-18 b, shedding light on its intriguing blend of gases, clouds, and even the effects of its star's activity.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

'Blob-like' home of farthest-known fast radio burst is collection of seven galaxies      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In summer 2022, astronomers detected the most powerful and most distant fast radio burst (FRB) ever observed. Now, astronomers have pinpointed the extraordinary object's birthplace -- and it's rather curious, indeed. Using images from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, the researchers traced the FRB back to not one galaxy but a group of at least seven galaxies.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

The rock that creates clouds      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Felspar dust in the air can create clouds. The feldspar particles act as nucleation sites to which water molecules can attach extremely efficiently. Why this is the case has remained a mystery for a long time. Scientists have now studied feldspar using a special atoimic force microscope and managed to explain this remarkable property of feldspar on an atomic level. The atomic structure is just right to create a layer of OH-groups which in turn can connect to water molecules perfectly.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earthquakes Geoscience: Geography
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Is natural spa water a fossil of water? Uncover the real ultra-deep water cycles      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have made a groundbreaking discovery regarding the origins of non-meteoric water in natural spa waters located in central Japan. Based on numerical modeling, their results suggest that this water has been confined within the lithosphere for an extensive period of 1.5-5 million years. They identified three primary sources for this ancient water: the Philippine Sea Plate, the Pacific Plate, and ancient seafloor sediments, particularly in the Niigata and southwest Gunma regions.

Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues
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Arsenic may raise diabetes risk for males      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Chronic exposure to arsenic, often through contaminated groundwater, has been associated with Type 2 diabetes in humans, and there are new clues that males may be more susceptible to the disease when exposed.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features
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Final supernova results from Dark Energy Survey offer unique insights into the expansion of the universe      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In the culmination of a decade's worth of effort, scientists analyzed an unprecedented sample of more than 1,500 supernovae classified using machine learning. They placed the strongest constraints on the expansion of the universe ever obtained with the DES supernova survey. While consistent with the current standard cosmological model, the results do not rule out a more complex theory that the density of dark energy in the universe could have varied over time.

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

Bottled water can contain hundreds of thousands of previously uncounted tiny plastic bits      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In recent years, there has been rising concern that tiny particles known as microplastics are showing up basically everywhere on Earth, from polar ice to soil, drinking water and food. Formed when plastics break down into progressively smaller bits, these particles are being consumed by humans and other creatures, with unknown potential health and ecosystem effects. One big focus of research: bottled water, which has been shown to contain tens of thousands of identifiable fragments in each container. Now, using newly refined technology, researchers have entered a whole new plastic world: the poorly known realm of nanoplastics, the spawn of microplastics that have broken down even further. For the first time, they counted and identified these minute particles in bottled water. They found that on average, a liter contained some 240,000 detectable plastic fragments -- 10 to 100 times greater than previous estimates, which were based mainly on larger sizes.