Ecology: Animals Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography
Published

Chemistry in the ground affects how many offspring wild animals have      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Chemistry in the ground affect how many kids wild animals have Areas with more copper and selenium in the ground lead to higher reproductive success in wild musk oxen in Greenland.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Physics: General Physics: Optics
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Researchers develop novel method to photosynthesize hydrogen peroxide using water and air      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed a microporous covalent organic framework with dense donor-acceptor lattices and engineered linkages for the efficient and clean production of hydrogen peroxide through the photosynthesis process with water and air.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Nature
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Counting rays: Aerial surveys reveal ample populations in Southeast Florida      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A unique long-term study quantified the abundance of whitespotted eagle and giant manta rays in Southeast Florida. Researchers conducted 120 survey flights between 2014 and 2021 from Miami north to the Jupiter Inlet. One or both species were seen on nearly every flight and both populations appear to be stable in the region. The giant manta rays were more abundant in the south and the whitespotted eagle rays were found all along the coast. Neither species seems to be deterred by the greater human population density in Fort Lauderdale/Miami.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Energy: Technology Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
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Low-Temperature Plasma used to remove E. coli from hydroponically grown crops      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In a new study, a team sterilized a hydroponic nutrient solution using low-temperature plasma generated from electricity and the oxygen in the atmosphere. This new sterilization technique may allow farmers to grow crops without the use of chemical pesticides, representing an important advance in agricultural technology for sustainable crop production.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography
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Scientists propose new method for tracking elusive origins of CO2 emissions from streams      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A team of researchers that specializes in accounting for the carbon dioxide release by streams, rivers and lakes recently demonstrated that the chemical process known as 'carbonate buffering' can account for the majority of emissions in highly alkaline waters. Furthermore, carbonate buffering distorts the most commonly used method of tracking the origins of CO2 in streams. The research proposes a better method for tracking the origin of riverine CO2 emissions.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
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Black carbon sensor could fill massive monitoring gaps      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Black carbon is up to 25 times more hazardous to human health than other airborne particles of a similar size. Standard sensors are expensive and burdensome, resulting in sparse coverage in regions infamous for poor air quality, such as the greater Salt Lake City area. A University of Utah-led study found that a portable, more affordable sensor recorded black carbon concentrations as accurately as the most widely used instrument for monitoring black carbon in real time. The portable sensor could help expand an accurate observation network to establish disease risk and create effective public health policies.

Biology: General Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Nature Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
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Global warming increases the diversity of active soil bacteria      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Warmer soils harbor a greater diversity of active microbes, according to a new study. The study represents a significant shift in our understanding of how microbial activity in the soil influences the global carbon cycle and possible feedback mechanisms on the climate. Until now, scientists have assumed that higher soil temperatures accelerate the growth of microbes, thus increasing the release of carbon into the atmosphere. However, this increased release of carbon is actually caused by the activation of previously dormant bacteria.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Biology: Cell Biology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues
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Common plant could help reduce food insecurity      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An often-overlooked water plant that can double its biomass in two days, capture nitrogen from the air -- making it a valuable green fertilizer -- and be fed to poultry and livestock could serve as life-saving food for humans in the event of a catastrophe or disaster, a new study suggests.

Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Botany Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Genetics Biology: Molecular Ecology: Endangered Species
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Biomolecular condensates -- regulatory hubs for plant iron supply      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Iron is a micronutrient for plants. Biologists now show that regulatory proteins for iron uptake behave particularly dynamically in the cell nucleus when the cells are exposed to blue light -- an important signal for plant growth. They found that the initially homogeneously distributed proteins relocated together into 'biomolecular condensates' in the cell nucleus shortly after this exposure.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Nature
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Altering the circadian clock adapts barley to short growing seasons      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

To ensure that plants flower at the right time of year, they possess an internal clock, which enables them to measure the amount of daylight during a day. Biologists now describe that the mutation of a specific gene makes the flowering time of barley almost entirely independent of day length. This mutation can be useful for breeding varieties adapted to altered climatic conditions with relatively mild winters and hot, dry summers.

Chemistry: General Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geology
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UBC Okanagan researchers look to the past to improve construction sustainability      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers are revisiting old building practices -- the use of by-products and cast-offs -- as a way to improve building materials and sustainability of the trade. A technique known as rammed earth construction uses materials that are alternatives to cement and are often more readily available in the environment. One such alternative is wood fly ash, a by-product of pulp mills and coal-fired power plants.

Biology: Biochemistry Ecology: Nature Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
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Carbon emissions from the destruction of mangrove forests predicted to increase by 50,000% by the end of the century      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The annual rate of carbon emissions due to the degradation of carbon stocks in mangrove forests is predicted to rise by nearly 50,000% by the end of the century, according to a new study. Mangroves in regions such as southern India, southeastern China, Singapore and eastern Australia are particularly affected.

Ecology: General Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Landslides Geoscience: Oceanography Geoscience: Severe Weather
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Stronger storms free more nutrients from mud flats      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

If storms become stronger in the future due to climate change, more nitrogen may be released from the bottom of coastal seas.

Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
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New study is first step in predicting carbon emissions in agriculture      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have demonstrated that it is possible to provide accurate, high-resolution predictions of carbon cycles in agroecosystems, which could help mitigate the impacts of climate change.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Energy: Batteries Geoscience: Geochemistry
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A new vibrant blue pottery pigment with less cobalt      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Whether ultramarine, cerulean, Egyptian or cobalt, blue pigments have colored artworks for centuries. Now, seemingly out of the blue, scientists have discovered a new blue pigment that uses less cobalt but still maintains a brilliant shine. Though something like this might only happen once in a blue moon, the cobalt-doped barium aluminosilicate colorant withstands the high temperatures found in a kiln and provides a bright color to glazed tiles.