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Categories: Biology: Botany, Environmental: Water
Published Surprise effect: Methane cools even as it heats
(via sciencedaily.com) Most climate models do not yet account for a recent discovery: methane traps a great deal of heat in Earth's atmosphere, but also creates cooling clouds that offset 30% of the heat.
Published Researchers find clue to help plants grow with low phosphorus levels
(via sciencedaily.com) Phosphorus is a natural mineral found in fertilizer that is essential for plant growth and development, and Earth's agricultural-grade phosphorus reserves are expected to be depleted in 50 to 100 years. A new discovery is changing their understanding of iron toxicity in plants caused by low phosphorus levels.
Published Can insights from the soapbark tree change the way we make vaccines?
(via sciencedaily.com) The medicinal secrets of the Chilean soapbark tree have been laid bare, unlocking a future of more potent, affordable, and sustainably sought vaccines. Researchers have taken a major step forward in addressing this problem, by using a combination of genome mining and bioengineering techniques to produce saponin-based vaccine adjuvants in the laboratory without harvesting material directly from trees.
Published Deceptive daisy's ability to create fake flies explained
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers have discovered how a South African daisy makes fake lady flies on its petals to trick male flies into pollinating it.
Published Microplastics limit energy production in tiny freshwater species
(via sciencedaily.com) Microplastic pollution reduces energy production in a microscopic creature found in freshwater worldwide, new research shows.
Published Closed loop for circular economy: New polymer recycling strategy ensures both high stability and complete recyclability
(via sciencedaily.com) Large amounts of plastic waste are incinerated or deposited in landfills. This degrades the environment and depletes valuable resources. In this light, recycling plastics such as polymers is promising. However, recycling diminishes their quality. Recently, researchers have proposed a 'closed-loop' recycling process based on polymer microparticles. It produces fully recyclable polymer films with high mechanical stability and fracture energy, which they retain upon recycling.
Published New wood-based technology removes 80% of dye pollutants in wastewater
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers have developed a new method that can easily purify contaminated water using a cellulose-based material. This discovery could have implications for countries with poor water treatment technologies and combat the widespread problem of toxic dye discharge from the textile industry.
Published Without this, plants cannot respond to temperature
(via sciencedaily.com) Scientists have significantly advanced the race to control plant responses to temperature on a rapidly warming planet. Key to this breakthrough is miRNA, a molecule nearly 200,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair.
Published Genome of a drought-tolerant plant: Many genes are involved in 'resurrection'
(via sciencedaily.com) Some plants can survive months without water, only to turn green again after a brief downpour. A recent study shows that this is not due to a 'miracle gene.' Rather, this ability is a consequence of a whole network of genes, almost all of which are also present in more vulnerable varieties.
Published Phytoplankton blooms offer insight into impacts of climate change
(via sciencedaily.com) The first study into the biological response of the upper ocean in the wake of South Pacific cyclones could help predict the impact of warming ocean temperatures, researchers believe.
Published New water treatment zaps 'forever chemicals' for good
(via sciencedaily.com) Engineers have developed a new water treatment that removes 'forever chemicals' from drinking water safely, efficiently -- and for good.
Published Photosynthesis 'hack' could lead to new ways of generating renewable energy
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers have 'hacked' the earliest stages of photosynthesis, the natural machine that powers the vast majority of life on Earth, and discovered new ways to extract energy from the process, a finding that could lead to new ways of generating clean fuel and renewable energy.
Published Next epidemic could be spotted early in wastewater
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers behind the UK's first pilot public health surveillance system based on analysis of wastewater say that routine monitoring at sewage treatment works could provide a powerful early warning system for the next flu or norovirus epidemic, alerting hospitals to prepare and providing public health agencies with vital health information.
Published Researchers get to the 'bottom' of how beetles use their butts to stay hydrated
(via sciencedaily.com) Beetles are champions at surviving in extremely dry environments. In part, this property is due to their ability to suck water from the air with their rear ends. A new study explains just how. Beyond helping to explain how beetles thrive in environments where few other animals can survive, the knowledge could eventually be used for more targeted and delicate control of global pests such as the grain weevil and red flour beetle.
Published The devil is in the details: Re-imagining fertilizer precursor synthesis
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers have improved the Faradaic efficiency of the nitrogen reduction reaction into ammonia by straightforward optimization of chemical process parameters. They found that trace water was the probable source of the high selectivity by facilitating incorporation of lithium oxide into the solid electrolyte interphase. These findings will also aid optimization of other analogous reactions, and thus help the chemicals industry optimize the sustainability of one of the most carbon-intensive reactions globally.
Published Synthesis gas and battery power from sunlight energy
(via sciencedaily.com) Plants use photosynthesis to harvest energy from sunlight. Now researchers have applied this principle as the basis for developing new sustainable processes which in the future may produce syngas (synthetic gas) for the large-scale chemical industry and be able to charge batteries.
Published 3000+ billion tons of ice lost from Antarctic Ice Sheet over 25 years
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have calculated that the fastest changing Antarctic region?-?the Amundsen Sea Embayment?-?has lost more than 3,000 billion tonnes of ice over a 25-year?period.??
Published Forest growing season in eastern U.S. has increased by a month
(via sciencedaily.com) The growing period of hardwood forests in eastern North America has increased by an average of one month over the past century as temperatures have steadily risen, a new study has found.
Published Nitrate can release uranium into groundwater
(via sciencedaily.com) A team has experimentally confirmed that nitrate, a compound common in fertilizers and animal waste, can help transport naturally occurring uranium from the underground to groundwater. The new research backs a previous study showing that aquifers contaminated with high levels of nitrate -- including the High Plains Aquifer residing beneath Nebraska -- also contain uranium concentrations far exceeding a threshold set by the Environmental Protection Agency. Uranium concentrations above that EPA threshold have been shown to cause kidney damage in humans, especially when regularly consumed via drinking water.
Published Douglas-fir in Klamath Mountains are in 'decline spiral'
(via sciencedaily.com) Increases in mortality among Douglas-fir in the Klamath Mountains are the result of multiple factors that have the iconic tree in a 'decline spiral' in parts of the region.