Showing 20 articles starting at article 501

< Previous 20 articles        Next 20 articles >

Categories: Chemistry: Organic Chemistry, Ecology: Research

Return to the site home page

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Re-establishing plantings of trees, grasses and other vegetation is essential for restoring degraded ecosystems, but a new survey of almost 2,600 restoration projects from nearly every type of ecosystem on Earth finds that most projects fail to recognize and control one of the new plants' chief threats: hungry critters that eat plants.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Biodegradable waste from plant and animal sources released into freshwater ecosystems is a significant environmental concern. Nonetheless, current methods for assessing water quality seem more or less impractical due to their complexity and high costs. In a promising development, a team of researchers has successfully constructed a self-sustaining and buoyant biosensor using inexpensive carbon-based materials for monitoring water quality at the inlets of freshwater lakes and rivers.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study provides the first characterization of the coral microbiome under hypoxia, insufficient oxygen in the water.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Chemists offer two new methods to develop a way to easily replace a carbon atom with a nitrogen atom in a molecule.  The findings could make it easier to develop new drugs.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The human heart, often described as the body's engine, is a remarkable organ that tirelessly beats to keep us alive. At the core of this vital organ, intricate processes occur when it contracts, where thick and thin protein-filaments interact within the sarcomere, the fundamental building block of both skeletal and heart muscle cells. Any alterations in thick filament proteins can have severe consequences for our health, leading to conditions such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and various other heart and muscle diseases.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Many hidden genetic variations can be detected with Chameleolyser, a new method. The information is already yielding new patient diagnoses and may also lead to the discovery of as yet unknown disease genes.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Formic acid, which can be produced electrochemically from carbon dioxide, is a promising energy carrier. A research team has now developed a fast-charging hybrid battery system that combines the electrochemical generation of formic acid as an energy carrier with a microbial fuel cell. This novel, fast-charging biohybrid battery system can be used to monitor the toxicity of drinking water, just one of many potential future applications.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed a device that can detect the presence of specific molecules in a sample every 20 nanoseconds, or billionths of a second. With this new capability, researchers can potentially use frequency combs to better understand the split-second intermediate steps in fast-moving processes ranging from the workings of hypersonic jet engines to the chemical reactions between enzymes that regulate cell growth.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Deforestation in the Amazon causes land surfaces up to 100 kilometers away to get warmer, suggests a new study.   The research suggests that tropical forests play a critical role in cooling the land surface -- and that effect can play out over considerable distances. 

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Engineers have developed modular nanoparticles that can be easily customized to target different biological entities such as tumors, viruses or toxins. The surface of the nanoparticles is engineered to host any biological molecules of choice, making it possible to tailor the nanoparticles for a wide array of applications, ranging from targeted drug delivery to neutralizing biological agents.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

There are high hopes for hydrogen as the key to the energy transition. A specific enzyme group found in algae and in bacteria can produce molecular hydrogen simply by catalyzing protons and electrons. However, the enzyme group is so sensitive to oxygen that commercial use of the hydrogen produced by this process as a green energy source is not yet possible. Researchers have now increased the oxygen stability of a hydrogen-producing enzyme by genetically generated channel blockages.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Cat hair could be the purr-fect way to catch criminals, according to researchers.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed a framework that can help scientists understand trends in biodiversity by using data from well-characterized species to provide insights on data-deficient species. The framework provides a how-to guide for researchers and practitioners to implement.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers introduce a pioneering breakthrough in the world of nanomotors -- the DNA origami nanoturbine. This nanoscale device could represent a paradigm shift, harnessing power from ion gradients or electrical potential across a solid-state nanopore to drive the turbine into mechanical rotations. The core of this pioneering discovery is the design, construction, and driven motion of a 'DNA origami' turbine, which features three chiral blades, all within a minuscule 25-nanometer frame, operating in a solid-state nanopore. By ingeniously designing two chiral turbines, researchers now have the capability to dictate the direction of rotation, clockwise or anticlockwise.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Existing air pollution regulations will reduce thousands of premature adult deaths in the UK, but even the most effective technically feasible actions, which will save thousands more lives, will do little to protect the country's sensitive ecosystems, find researchers.  

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A team has identified several factors to help answer a fundamental ecological question: why is there a ridiculous abundance of species some places on earth and a scarcity in others? What factors, exactly, drive animal diversity? They discovered that what an animal eats (and how that interacts with climate) shapes Earth's diversity.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A team of researchers has developed a software tool that provides a way for the safer design of genome editing in all organisms with a transcriptome. For about a decade, researchers have used the CRISPR technology for genome editing. However, there are some challenges in the use of CRISPR. The new analysis system overcomes these challenges and allows researchers to perform safer on- and off-target assessments without a reference genome. It holds the potential for applications in medicine, agriculture, and biological research.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research unveils the cascading effects of periodical cicada emergence events on forest ecosystems ahead of an historic convergence of broods set to emerge spring of 2024.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An international team of scientists has recently developed a novel type of nano engine made of DNA. It is driven by a clever mechanism and can perform pulsing movements. The researchers are now planning to fit it with a coupling and install it as a drive in complex nano machines.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have discovered the deepest known evidence of coral reef bleaching, more than 90 metres below the surface of the Indian Ocean. Identified during a research cruise, the damage to the deeper reefs in the Central Indian Ocean has been attributed to significant changes in the region's ocean temperature caused by the Indian Ocean Dipole. The researchers have also warned such incidences are only likely to increase as a result of present and future climate change.