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Categories: Ecology: Trees, Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published Tree mortality in the Black Forest on the rise -- climate change a key driver



Climate impacts such as dry, hot summers reduce the growth and increase the mortality of trees in the Black Forest because they negatively influence the climatic water balance, i.e., the difference between precipitation and potential evapotranspiration. That is the central finding of a long-term study of the influence of climate and climate change on trees in the Black Forest.
Published Biodiversity protects against invasions of non-native tree species


Researchers combined human and ecological factors to analyze the global scale of non-native tree species invasions. Human activity in hotspots of global trade, such as maritime ports, is linked to an increased likelihood of non-native tree species invasions. However, a high diversity of native tree species can help to curb the intensity of such invasions.
Published Listening to nanoscale earthquakes


A recent study presents an exciting new way to listen to 'the crackling' noise of atoms shifting at nanoscale when materials are deformed, providing potential improved methods for discontinuities in novel, new materials, such as those proposed for future domain-wall electronics. 'Crackling noise microscopy' presents a new opportunity for generating advanced knowledge about nanoscale features across a wide range of applications and material systems.
Published The trio -- nickel, palladium, and platinum -- for enhanced hydrogen evolution


A research team enhanced hydrogen evolution catalyst through stepwise deposition.
Published Fire, disease threatening sanctuary plants for Australian wildlife



New research has revealed Australia's iconic grasstrees -- known as 'yaccas' -- play a critical role in protecting wildlife from deadly weather extremes, thereby ensuring their survival. But the grasses themselves are under threat due to back burning, clearing and disease.
Published REBURN: A new tool to model wildfires in the Pacific Northwest and beyond



Researchers have developed a new tool, REBURN, that can simulate large forest landscapes and wildfire dynamics over decades or centuries under different wildfire management strategies. The model can simulate the consequences of extinguishing all wildfires regardless of size, which was done for much of the 20th century and has contributed to a rise in large and severe wildfires, or of allowing certain fires to return to uninhabited areas to help create a more 'patchwork' forest structure that can help lessen fire severity. REBURN can also simulate conditions where more benign forest landscape dynamics have fully recovered in an area.
Published Without aggressive climate action, U.S. property values will take a hit from escalating wildfire risk and tree mortality, study finds



Research attempts to quantify the value of U.S. property at risk in forested areas exposed to increased ecological disturbance associated with climate change, such as wildfire and tree mortality. Property exposed to such climate risks, especially in California, is project to climb substantially if emission-reduction measures are not taken.
Published Stabilizing precipitate growth at grain boundaries in alloys


Materials are often considered to be one phase, but many engineering materials contain two or more phases, improving their properties and performance. These two-phase materials have inclusions, called precipitates, embedded in the microstructure. Alloys, a combination of two or more types of metals, are used in many applications, like turbines for jet engines and light-weight alloys for automotive applications, because they have very good mechanical properties due to those embedded precipitates. The average precipitate size, however, tends to increase over time-in a process called coarsening-which results in a degradation of performance for microstructures with nanoscale precipitates.
Published Cleaning water with 'smart rust' and magnets


Pouring flecks of rust into water usually makes it dirtier. But researchers have developed special iron oxide nanoparticles called 'smart rust' that actually makes it cleaner. The magnetic nanoparticles attract different pollutants by changing the particles' coating and are removed from water with a magnet. Now, the team is reporting a smart rust that traps estrogen hormones, which are potentially harmful to aquatic life.
Published Decoding how molecules 'talk' to each other to develop new nanotechnologies


Scientists recreate and compare molecular languages at the origin of life -- opening new doors for the development of novel nanotechnologies.
Published Carbon-based quantum technology


Graphene nanoribbons have outstanding properties that can be precisely controlled. Researchers have succeeded in attaching electrodes to individual atomically precise nanoribbons, paving the way for precise characterization of the fascinating ribbons and their possible use in quantum technology.
Published Gold buckyballs, oft-used nanoparticle 'seeds' are one and the same


Chemists have discovered that tiny gold 'seed' particles, a key ingredient in one of the most common nanoparticle recipes, are one and the same as gold buckyballs, 32-atom spheres that are cousins of the Nobel Prize-winning carbon buckyballs discovered in 1985.
Published Nanoscale material offers new way to control fire


High-temperature flames are used to create a wide variety of materials -- but once you start a fire, it can be difficult to control how the flame interacts with the material you are trying to process. Researchers have now developed a technique that utilizes a molecule-thin protective layer to control how the flame's heat interacts with the material -- taming the fire and allowing users to finely tune the characteristics of the processed material.
Published Arrays of quantum rods could enhance TVs or virtual reality devices


Using scaffolds of folded DNA, engineers assembled arrays of quantum rods with desirable photonic properties that could enable them to be used as highly efficient micro-LEDs for televisions or virtual reality devices.
Published Tattoo technique transfers gold nanopatterns onto live cells


For now, cyborgs exist only in fiction, but the concept is becoming more plausible as science progresses. And now, researchers are reporting that they have developed a proof-of-concept technique to 'tattoo' living cells and tissues with flexible arrays of gold nanodots and nanowires. With further refinement, this method could eventually be used to integrate smart devices with living tissue for biomedical applications, such as bionics and biosensing.
Published Quantum material exhibits 'non-local' behavior that mimics brain function


New research shows that electrical stimuli passed between neighboring electrodes can also affect non-neighboring electrodes. Known as non-locality, this discovery is a crucial milestone toward creating brain-like computers with minimal energy requirements.
Published Discovery in nanomachines within living organisms -- cytochromes P450 (CYP450s) unleashed as living soft robots



A new study suggests that Cytochromes P450 (CYP450s) enzymes can sense and respond to stimuli, acting like soft robots in living systems.
Published In the treetops: Ecologist studies canopy soil abundance, chemistry



Ecologists examined the distribution patterns of canopy soils, and their soil properties, across Costa Rican forests. The researchers suggest canopy soil may store more carbon than previously thought. Consideration of the time needed for reforestation of system with tree canopies should include the time needed for canopy mat regrowth.
Published Single drop of ethanol to revolutionize nanosensor manufacture


Engineers have developed a breakthrough technique to make the processing of nanosensors cheaper, greener and more effective by using a single drop of ethanol to replace heat processing of nanoparticle networks, allowing a wider range of materials to be used to make these sensors.
Published Tropical trees use social distancing to maintain biodiversity



Tropical forests can harbor hundreds of species of trees in one square mile. Researchers reveal key factors in the spatial distribution of adult trees.