Biology: Botany Biology: General Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Environmental: Biodiversity Geoscience: Geography
Published

Invasive plant time bombs: A hidden ecological threat      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Invasive plants can stay dormant for decades or even centuries before rapidly expanding and wreaking ecological havoc, finds a new study.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Harmful 'forever chemicals' removed from water with new electrocatalysis method      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have developed new electrochemical approaches to clean up pollution from 'forever chemicals' found in clothing, food packaging, firefighting foams, and a wide array of other products. A new study describes nanocatalysts developed to remediate per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS.

Ecology: Nature Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
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We know the Arctic is warming -- What will changing river flows do to its environment?      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists recently combined satellite data, field observations and sophisticated numerical modeling to paint a picture of how 22.45 million square kilometers of the Arctic will change over the next 80 years. As expected, the overall region will be warmer and wetter, but the details -- up to 25% more runoff, 30% more subsurface runoff and a progressively drier southern Arctic, provides one of the clearest views yet of how the landscape will respond to climate change.

Biology: Botany Biology: General Ecology: Endangered Species Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Plant Lavender, Marjoram and Ivy on your green wall to clean up the air      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Green walls can strip pollution from the air -- and some plants do it better than others, according to new research. Researchers planted 10 species on a custom-built 1.4m green wall.

Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Antarctica's coasts are becoming less icy      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists found unexpected evidence the area of polynyas around Antarctica is increasing dramatically, and it follows an intriguing cycle, growing and shrinking roughly every 16 years.

Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Botany Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Endangered Species Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

An evolutionary mystery 125 million years in the making      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Plant biologists have uncovered an evolutionary mystery over 100 million years in the making. It turns out that sometime during the last 125 million years, tomatoes and Arabidopsis thaliana plants experienced an extreme genetic makeover. Just what happened remains unclear. But the mystery surrounds CLV3, a gene key to healthy plant growth and development.

Chemistry: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Geochemistry
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Evolution-capable AI promotes green hydrogen production using more abundant chemical elements      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A research team has developed an AI technique capable of expediting the identification of materials with desirable characteristics. Using this technique, the team was able to discover high-performance water electrolyzer electrode materials free of platinum-group elements -- substances previously thought to be indispensable in water electrolysis. These materials may be used to reduce the cost of large-scale production of green hydrogen -- a next-generation energy source.

Biology: Microbiology Chemistry: General Environmental: General Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Researchers create coating solution for safer food storage      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Galvanized steel containers and surfaces are used for harvested produce because of their durability, strength and lower cost compared to stainless steel. However, bacteria residing in storage containers can cause corrosion. The new coating will reduce corrosion by at least 70 percent, researchers say.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Botany Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Marine Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular Ecology: Sea Life Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Convergent evolution of algal CO2-fixing organelles      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers identified the proteins of a CO2-fixing organelle, namely, 'pyrenoid,' in the marine algal group Chlorarachniophyta and revealed various pyrenoid-associated proteins among algal groups, suggesting the independent evolution of pyrenoids in different algal groups.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geology Paleontology: Climate Paleontology: General
Published

Mercury rising: Study sheds new light on ancient volcanoes' environmental impact      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Massive volcanic events in Earth's history that released large amounts of carbon into the atmosphere frequently correlate with periods of severe environmental change and mass extinctions. A new method to estimate how much and how rapidly carbon was released by the volcanoes could improve our understanding of the climate response, according to an international team.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Nature Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Paleontology: Climate
Published

Microbial viruses act as secret drivers of climate change      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have discovered that viruses that infect microbes contribute to climate change by playing a key role in cycling methane, a potent greenhouse gas, through the environment.

Biology: Botany Ecology: General Ecology: Research Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography
Published

Lake ecosystems: Nitrogen has been underestimated      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An ecological imbalance in a lake can usually be attributed to increased nutrient inputs. The result: increased phytoplankton growth, oxygen deficiency, toxic cyanobacterial blooms and fish kills. Until now, controls in lake management have focused primarily on phosphorus inputs to counteract this effect. Now, this dogma is shaken by a study showing that nitrogen is also a critical driver for phytoplankton growth in lakes worldwide.

Chemistry: General Energy: Alternative Fuels Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Researchers improve the stability of perovskite solar cells      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Perovskite solar cells are considered the strongest contender to replace silicon solar cells. While they achieve high power conversion energy, they also suffer from lead leakage and perovskite degradation due to moisture. Now scientists leverage the technique of interfacial passivation, where lead ions are bound by crown ether B18C6, obtaining 21.7% power conversion energy. The crown ether also resists degradation due to moisture for 300 hours at room temperature and 85% humidity.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research
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Genetic research revealed several new fern species in tropical America      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have clarified the evolutionary history of a previously poorly known group of ferns from the tropical rainforests of America using DNA methods. The study discovered many new fern species, 18 of which have now been given official names and species descriptions.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Biology: General Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Nature
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A new plant's name that tells a story      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new species and genus of fairy lantern, tiny glass-like white plants that feed on fungi, has been discovered in Japan. In the country renowned for its extensive flora research, the discovery of a new plant genus is extremely rare and has not occurred in almost 100 years.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Molecular Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

How first cells could have formed on Earth      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New phospholipid discovery brings researchers closer to understanding how primordial cells emerged during origin of life.