Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Severe Weather Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General
Published

Weather experts discover new effect of storm -- in a teacup      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study reveals that Storm Ciaran cut an invisible path of mayhem across southern Britain last autumn, destroying any possibility that 20 million people could have a proper cup of tea at breakfast. The storm's record-breaking low pressure meant the boiling point of water was below the crucial 100 degrees Celsius required for a decent cuppa.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Molecular Chemistry: Biochemistry Physics: Optics
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Immune system in the spotlight      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Our immune system is always on alert, detecting and eliminating pathogens and cancer cells. Cellular control mechanisms cause diseased cells to present antigens on their surface like signs for the immune system. For analysis of the necessary complex antigen processing and transport processes in real time, researchers have developed a 'cage' that is opened with light to release trapped antigens at a specific place and time.

Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues
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Additional taxes vs. water quotas: Study compares the most effective system to manage water consumption in agriculture      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study finds that the proportional allocation of water, and not additional taxes on the resource, is more effective from the point of view of those engaged in agriculture.

Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Developmental Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Paleontology: Fossils
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Ancient microbes offer clues to how complex life evolved      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have discovered that a single-celled organism, a close relative of animals, harbors the remnants of ancient giant viruses woven into its own genetic code. This finding sheds light on how complex organisms may have acquired some of their genes and highlights the dynamic interplay between viruses and their hosts.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Thermodynamics Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
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Capturing carbon with energy-efficient sodium carbonate-nanocarbon hybrid material      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Carbon capture is a promising approach for mitigating carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Different materials have been used to capture CO2 from industrial exhaust gases. Scientists developed hybrid CO2 capture materials containing sodium carbonate and nanocarbon prepared at different temperatures, tested their performance, and identified the optimal calcination temperature condition. They found that the hybrid material exhibits and maintains high CO2 capture capacity for multiple regeneration cycles at a lower temperature, making it cost- and energy-effective.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues
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Ground surface conditions impact speed and distance of leaking natural gas      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

When natural gas leaks from a subsurface pipeline, a ground cover of water/snow saturation, asphalt paving or a combination of these can cause the gas to migrate away from the leak site up to three to four times farther than through dry soil, a new study has found. A research team also found that these surface conditions can impact the speed of the leaked gas, as well, traveling 3.5 times faster than an equivalent leak under dry soil conditions.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Microbiology
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Harnessing big data helps scientists home in on new antimicrobials      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed a strategy to identify new antimicrobial drugs with therapeutic promise from bacterial datasets, providing clues for discovering alternatives to traditional antibiotics.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
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Oil and natural gas development in Permian is a key source of ozone pollution in Carlsbad Caverns National Park, study finds      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research shows that ozone concentrations at Carlsbad Caverns National Park frequently exceed Environmental Protection Agency health standards, likely due to oil and natural gas development in the Permian Basin and surrounding region.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology
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E. coli variant may cause antimicrobial resistance in dogs, humans      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers studying antimicrobial-resistant E. coli -- the leading cause of human death due to antimicrobial resistance worldwide -- have identified a mechanism in dogs that may render multiple antibiotic classes ineffective.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
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Local dragonflies expose mercury pollution patterns      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study has unveiled surprising findings about mercury pollution: where it comes from and how it moves through the environment vary significantly depending on the ecosystem. In drier regions, most mercury is deposited through rain and snow. In wetter, forested areas, gaseous mercury from the air sticks to leaves, which then fall and carry the toxin into the ground.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: General Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Environmental: Ecosystems
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Researchers find that frogs can quickly increase their tolerance to pesticides      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Although there is a large body of research on pests evolving tolerances for the pesticides meant to destroy them, there have been considerably fewer studies on how non-target animals in these ecosystems may do the same.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research
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Unlocking the mystery of preexisting drug resistance: New study sheds light on cancer evolution      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The evolution of resistance to diseases, from infectious illnesses to cancers, poses a formidable challenge. Despite the expectation that resistance-conferring mutations would dwindle in the absence of treatment due to a reduced growth rate, preexisting resistance is pervasive across diseases that evolve -- like cancer and pathogens -- defying conventional wisdom.

Chemistry: General Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Geology
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Scientists discover missing piece in climate models      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

As the planet continues to warm due to human-driven climate change, accurate computer climate models will be key in helping illuminate exactly how the climate will continue to be altered in the years ahead.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Energy: Alternative Fuels Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
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Producing hydrogen and fertilizer at the same time      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

This new concept could allow the needs of previously separate industries to be combined: the production of hydrogen and the production of fertilizer.

Biology: General Biology: Marine Ecology: General Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography
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Loss of oxygen in lakes and oceans a major threat to ecosystems, society, and planet      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Oxygen is a fundamental requirement of life, and the loss of oxygen in water, referred to as aquatic deoxygenation, is a threat to life at all levels. In fact, researchers describe how ongoing deoxygenation presents a major threat to the stability of the planet as a whole.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Botany Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Nature
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Building a roadmap to bioengineer plants that produce their own nitrogen fertilizer      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Nitrogen fertilizers make it possible to feed the world's growing population, but they are also costly adn harm ecosystems. However, a few plants have evolved the ability to acquire their own nitrogen with the help of bacteria, and a new study helps explain how they did it, not once, but multiple times.

Biology: Biochemistry
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Wildlife tracking technology that adheres to fur delivers promising results from trials on wild polar bears      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Studying polar bears just became a lot easier with new 'burr on fur' trackers which confirmed scientists' belief that subadult and adult males spend most of their time on land lazing around, conserving energy until the ice returns. A team used three different 'burr on fur' prototypes to study their effectiveness.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Developmental Biology: General Biology: Genetics
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Big boost for new epigenetics paradigm: CoRSIVs, first discovered in humans, now found in cattle      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A study opens new possibilities to improve production efficiency in the cattle industry and potentially animal agriculture more broadly.

Biology: Botany Biology: General Ecology: Animals Ecology: General Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Ecology: Trees Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Study examines urban forests across the United States      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Tree-planting campaigns have been underway in the United States, especially in cities, as part of climate mitigation efforts given the many environmental benefits of urban forests. But a new study finds that some areas within urban forests in the U.S., may be more capable than trees growing around city home lawns in adapting to a warmer climate.