Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Microbiology Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

New period product offers progress in women's health      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have created an eco-friendly, blood absorbent biomaterial that improves the performance of menstrual products by minimizing blood leakage and spilling, while also helping prevent infection.

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

The Gulf Stream is wind-powered and could weaken from climate change      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New evidence of changes to the Gulf Stream during the last ice age could indicate additional sensitivity to future climatic changes, finds a new study.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species
Published

Tackling the challenge of coca plant ID: Wild vs cultivated for cocaine      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new paper reveals that it's not as straightforward as it might seem. Despite decades of data collection by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), which has been valuable to monitor changes in areas occupied by illegal coca plantations in South America, there is no reliable scientific method to distinguish between different types of coca plants.

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

Cutting farm nitrous oxide emissions helps climate and ozone layer      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Adding crushed basalt rocks and special fertilizers can reduce potent nitrous oxide (N2O) greenhouse gas emissions and help safeguard the stratospheric ozone layer.

Anthropology: General Archaeology: General Biology: Botany Ecology: Endangered Species
Published

Archaeologists report earliest evidence for plant farming in east Africa      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A trove of ancient plant remains excavated in Kenya helps explain the history of plant farming in equatorial eastern Africa, a region long thought to be important for early farming but where scant evidence from actual physical crops has been previously uncovered.

Biology: Marine Ecology: General Ecology: Research Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Oceanography Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Whale remains tracked to highlight sustainable disposal benefits      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study highlights the sustainable, cultural and ecosystem benefits of offshore removal or decomposition of whale remains. The study tracked the remains of a humpback whale that was intercepted before washing up on the shoreline, then repositioned 30km offshore and fitted with a satellite tag that tracked its position as it drifted with the wind and currents for 6 days before falling to the seabed.

Biology: Botany Biology: General Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: General Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Environmental: Ecosystems
Published

How a plant app helps identify the consequences of climate change      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A research team has developed an algorithm that analyses observational data from a plant identification app. The novel approach can be used to derive ecological patterns that could provide valuable information about the effects of climate change on plants.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Mining rare earth metals from electronic waste      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A small molecule that naturally serves as a binding site for metals in enzymes also proves useful for separating certain rare earth metals from each other. In a proof of concept, the process extracts europium directly from fluorescent powder in used energy-saving lamps in much higher quantities than existing methods. The researchers are now working on expanding their approach to other rare earth metals. They are in the process of founding a start-up to put the recycling of these raw materials into practice.

Biology: General Ecology: Endangered Species Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Ancient large kangaroo moved mainly on four legs, according to new research      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A type of extinct kangaroo that lived during the Pleistocene around two and a half million to ten thousand years ago, known as the 'giant wallaby', was a poor hopper, a study has found.

Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Engine wear risk as planes swallow more dust waiting to land      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Planes flying into one of the world's busiest airports are ingesting around 10kg of dust per 1,000 flights.

Biology: General Biology: Marine Biology: Zoology Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Nature Ecology: Sea Life
Published

Study projects major changes in North Atlantic and Arctic marine ecosystems due to climate change      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research predicts significant shifts in marine fish communities in the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans as a result of climate warming.

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

New extremely fast carbon storage technology      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new way to store carbon captured from the atmosphere works much faster than current methods without the harmful chemical accelerants they require.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Companies that mitigate climate change reduce their cost of capital      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A recent study explored the relationship between corporate climate change mitigation actions and the cost of capital for 2,100 Japanese listed companies from 2017 to 2021. The findings reveal that companies that maintain lower carbon intensity and disclose more climate-related information can reduce their capital costs. Conversely, mere commitments to climate change without actionable measures do not significantly impact costs.

Environmental: Biodiversity Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Why the U.S. food system needs agroecology      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Agroecology -- a science, practice, and movement which seeks social, political, economic, and environmental sustainability in the global food system -- is gaining momentum in the U.S., according to a new article.

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

Exploring the radiative effects of precipitation on Arctic amplification and energy budget      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

While, in theory, precipitation impacts the Earth's radiation budget, the radiative effects of precipitation (REP) are poorly understood and excluded from most climate models. Hence, a new study examined the role of REP in the global and regional energy budgets and hydrological cycles, finding that REP significantly contributes to temperature and precipitation variations at different geographical scales, especially in the Arctic warming. This highlights the relevance of including REP in climate modeling for improved accuracy.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography Paleontology: Climate Paleontology: General
Published

The dawn of the Antarctic ice sheets      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In recent years global warming has left its mark on the Antarctic ice sheets. The 'eternal' ice in Antarctica is melting faster than previously assumed, particularly in West Antarctica more than East Antarctica. The root for this could lie in its formation, as an international research team has now discovered: sediment samples from drill cores combined with complex climate and ice-sheet modelling show that permanent glaciation of Antarctica began around 34 million years ago -- but did not encompass the entire continent as previously assumed, but rather was confined to the eastern region of the continent (East Antarctica).

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

How dust pollution from shrinking Great Salt Lake affects communities disproportionately      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Exposure to wind-blown dust from exposed playa of the Utah lake is worse in Hispanic neighborhoods, according to new research. Findings suggest restoring the lake could ease social inequities associated with air pollution.