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Categories: Ecology: Invasive Species, Energy: Alternative Fuels
Published As sea otters recolonize California estuary, they restore its degraded geology
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source As sea otters recolonize a California estuary, they are restoring its degraded geology by keeping populations of overgrazing marsh crabs in check, a new study shows. The crabs' appetite for plant roots, and their tunneling behavior had caused many of the estuary's marshes and creekbanks to erode and collapse in the otters' absence. Today, erosion has slowed by up to 90% in areas with large otter populations and marshes and streambeds are restabilizing.
Published Asparagus and orchids are more similar than you think
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source How is a beech leaf constructed? What determines the appearance of an asparagus? A new 'encyclopaedia' helps us learn more about the building blocks of plants. The encyclopaedia, probably the largest of its kind, could be used to improve targeted plant breeding efforts, to make them both more climate-resilient and more easily digestible.
Published Back from the dead: Tropical tree fern repurposes its dead leaves
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Plant biologists report that a species of tree fern found only in Panama reanimates its own dead leaf fronds, converting them into root structures that feed the mother plant. The fern, Cyathea rojasiana, reconfigures these 'zombie leaves,' reversing the flow of water to draw nutrients back into the plant.
Published West Nile virus emergence and spread in Europe found to be positively associated with agricultural activities
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The spread of West Nile virus in Europe is strongly linked to agricultural activities, urbanization, and bird migration, according to new research.
Published Tiny ant species disrupts lion's hunting behavior
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Data gathered through years of observation reveal an innocuous-seeming ant is disrupting an ecosystem in East Africa, illustrating the complex web of interactions among ants, trees, lions, zebras and buffaloes.
Published Diverse forests are best at standing up to storms
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source European forests with a greater diversity of tree species are more resilient to storms, according to new research.
Published Liquid lithium on the walls of a fusion device helps the plasma within maintain a hot edge
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Emerging research suggests it may be easier to use fusion as a power source if liquid lithium is applied to the internal walls of the device housing the plasma. Past experiments studied solid lithium coatings and found they could enhance a plasma. The researchers were pleased they could yield similar results with liquid lithium, as it's better suited for use in a large-scale tokamak.
Published Sparrows uniquely adapted to Bay Area marshes are losing their uniqueness
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source How does loss of habitat affect the animals still living there? A genetic study of saltwater-adapted Savannah sparrows around the San Francisco Bay Area shows that the 90% loss of tidal marsh habitat has led to more interbreeding with freshwater-adapted Savannah sparrows, diminishing their genetic adaptation to saltwater, such as enlarged kidneys and larger beak. This could lessen their ability to live in a saltwater habitat.
Published Ancient brown bear genomes sheds light on Ice Age losses and survival
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The brown bear is one of the largest living terrestrial carnivores, and is widely distributed across the Northern Hemisphere. Unlike many other large carnivores that went extinct at the end of the last Ice Age (cave bear, sabretoothed cats, cave hyena), the brown bear is one of the lucky survivors that made it through to the present. The question has puzzled biologists for close to a century -- how was this so?
Published Offshore wind farms are vulnerable to cyberattacks
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have presented a new study on cyberattack risks to offshore wind farms in Glasgow, United Kingdom. They looked specifically at wind farms that use voltage-source-converter high-voltage direct-current (VSC-HVDC) connections, which are rapidly becoming the most cost-effective solution to harvest offshore wind energy around the world. They found that their complex, hybrid-communication architecture presents multiple access points for cyberattacks.
Published Study offers rare long-term analysis of techniques for creating standing dead trees for wildlife habitat
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Ecologists have long known that standing dead trees, commonly referred to as snags, are an important habitat element for forest dwellers and act as a driver of biodiversity. They're so important that in some managed forests, snag creation is part of the conservation tool kit -- i.e., crews sometimes convert a percentage of live trees into dead ones through techniques ranging from sawing off their tops to wounding their trunks to injecting them with disease-causing fungi.
Published A new perspective on the temperature inside tropical forests
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New worldwide maps of temperatures inside tropical forests show that global warming affect different way in different parts of the forests. Undergrowth level temperature of the tropical forests can be even 4 degrees less than average temperature of the area.
Published New sustainable method for creating organic semiconductors
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have developed a new, more environmentally friendly way to create conductive inks for use in organic electronics such as solar cells, artificial neurons, and soft sensors. The findings pave the way for future sustainable technology.
Published Breakthrough research enhances stability and efficiency of perovskite solar cells
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A research team has achieved remarkable advancements in the stability and efficiency of perovskite solar cells.
Published Machine learning method speeds up discovery of green energy materials
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have developed a framework that uses machine learning to accelerate the search for new proton-conducting materials, that could potentially improve the efficiency of hydrogen fuel cells.
Published Efficiently moving urea out of polluted water is coming to reality
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have developed a material to remove urea from water and potentially convert it into hydrogen gas. By building these materials of nickel and cobalt atoms with carefully tailored electronic structures, the group has unlocked the potential to enable these transition metal oxides and hydroxides to selectively oxidize urea in an electrochemical reaction. The team's findings could help use urea in waste streams to efficiently produce hydrogen fuel through the electrolysis process, and could be used to sequester urea from water, maintaining the long-term sustainability of ecological systems, and revolutionizing the water-energy nexus.
Published Artificial 'power plants' harness energy from wind and rain
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Fake plants are moving into the 21st century! Researchers developed literal 'power plants' -- tiny, leaf-shaped generators that create electricity from a blowing breeze or falling raindrops. The team tested the energy harvesters by incorporating them into artificial plants.
Published Space solar power project ends first in-space mission with successes and lessons
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A 10-month mission demonstrated three elements of the plan to beam solar power from space to Earth.
Published Study reveals a reaction at the heart of many renewable energy technologies
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Chemists have mapped how proton-coupled electron transfers happen at the surface of an electrode. Their results could help researchers design more efficient fuel cells, batteries, or other energy technologies.
Published Advancement in thermoelectricity could light up the Internet of Things
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have improved the efficiency of heat-to-electricity conversion in gallium arsenide semiconductor microstructures. By judicious spatial alignment of electrons within a two-dimensional electron gas system with multiple subbands, one can substantially enhance the power factor compared with previous iterations of analogous systems. This work is an important advance in modern thermoelectric technology and will benefit the global integration of the Internet of Things.