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Categories: Engineering: Nanotechnology, Environmental: General
Published Food matters: Healthy diets increase the economic and physical feasibility of 1.5°C
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A global shift to a healthier, more sustainable diet could be a huge lever to limit global warming to 1.5 C, researchers find. The resulting reduction of greenhouse gas emissions would increase the available carbon budget compatible with limiting global warming to 1.5 C, and allow to achieve the same climate outcome with less carbon dioxide removal and less stringent CO2 emissions reductions in the energy system. This would also reduce emission prices, energy prices and food expenditures.
Published Land under water: What causes extreme flooding?
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source If rivers overflow their banks, the consequences can be devastating -- just like the catastrophic floods in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate of 2021 showed. In order to limit flood damage and optimize flood risk assessment, we need to better understand what factors can lead to extreme forms of flooding and to what extent. Using methods of explainable machine learning, researchers have shown that floods are more extreme when several factors are involved in their development.
Published Sweet success: Sugarcane's complex genetic code cracked
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists created a highly accurate reference genome for one of the most important modern crops and found a rare example of how genes confer disease resistance in plants. Exploring sugarcane's genetic code could help researchers develop more resilient and productive crops, with implications for both sugar production and biofuels.
Published A solar cell you can bend and soak in water
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have developed an organic photovoltaic film that is both waterproof and flexible, allowing a solar cell to be put onto clothes and still function correctly after being rained on or even washed.
Published Scientists warn: The grey seal hunt is too large
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers warn that today's hunting quotas of about 3,000 animals pose a risk to the long-term survival of the grey seal in the Baltic Sea. The conclusions of this new study are based on statistics from 20th century seal hunting and predictions of future climate change.
Published A tiny spot leads to a large advancement in nano-processing, researchers reveal
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Focusing a tailored laser beam through transparent glass can create a tiny spot inside the material. Researchers have reported on a way to use this small spot to improve laser material processing, boosting processing resolution.
Published Heat, cold extremes hold untapped potential for solar and wind energy
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Conditions that usually accompany the kind of intense hot and cold weather that strains power grids may also provide greater opportunities to capture solar and wind energy. A study found that widespread, extreme temperature events are often accompanied by greater solar radiation and higher wind speeds that could be captured by solar panels and wind turbines. The research, which looked at extensive heat and cold waves across the six interconnected energy grid regions of the U.S. from 1980-2021, also found that every region experienced power outages during these events in the past decade. The findings suggest that using more renewable energy at these times could help offset increased power demand as more people and businesses turn on heaters or air conditioners.
Published Combination of the climate crisis and continued deforestation may result in significant damage to the animal world
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study states that the combination of global warming and extreme heat events, alongside the continued expansion of deforestation in the world, may be devastating for many species of animals, especially those that know how to climb trees. As part of the study, the researchers focused on lizards and showed that following the effects of climate change, they will seek refuge from the hot ground by spending a lot of time on trees. However, due to human-related activities, such as deforestation, urbanization and the expansion of agricultural lands at the expense of natural lands, the availability of trees in the areas where the lizards live will decrease, and this may lead to the collapse of many populations.
Published Researchers create biocompatible nanoparticles to enhance systemic delivery of cancer immunotherapy
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers are enhancing immunotherapy effects against malignant tumors by developing and validating patent-ending poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid), or PLGA, nanoparticles modified with adenosine triphosphate, or ATP.
Published What if the heavy rain would have fallen 50 kilometers away?
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Floods affect more people worldwide than any other natural hazard, causing enormous damage that is expected to increase in a warming world. However, people and decision-makers in vulnerable regions are often unwilling to prepare for exceptionally severe events because they are difficult to imagine and beyond their experience.
Published Evolution of the most powerful ocean current on Earth
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The Antarctic Circumpolar Current plays an important part in global overturning circulation, the exchange of heat and CO2 between the ocean and atmosphere, and the stability of Antarctica's ice sheets. An international research team has now used sediments taken from the South Pacific to reconstruct the flow speed in the last 5.3 million years. Their data show that during glacial periods, the current slowed; during interglacials, it accelerated. Consequently, if the current global warming intensifies in the future, it could mean that the Southern Ocean stores less CO2 and that more heat reaches Antarctica.
Published Curbside collection improves organic waste composting, reduces methane emissions
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Most organic household waste ends up in landfills where it generates methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. Composting food and garden waste instead of sending it to landfills can significantly reduce methane emissions and help mitigate global warming. A new study explores the effects of curbside compost collection programs.
Published New method to measure entropy production on the nanoscale
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Entropy, the amount of molecular disorder, is produced in several systems but cannot be measured directly. A new equation sheds new light on how entropy is produced on a very short time scale in laser excited materials.
Published Silicon spikes take out 96% of virus particles
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source An international research team has designed and manufactured a virus-killing surface that could help control disease spread in hospitals, labs and other high-risk environments.
Published Micro-Lisa! Making a mark with novel nano-scale laser writing
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source High-power lasers are often used to modify polymer surfaces to make high-tech biomedical products, electronics and data storage components. Now researchers have discovered a light-responsive, inexpensive sulfur-derived polymer is receptive to low power, visible light lasers -- promising a more affordable and safer production method in nanotech, chemical science and patterning surfaces in biological applications.
Published New maps help decision-makers factor albedo into tree-planting decisions
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study provides a global analysis of where restoration of tree cover is most effective at cooling the global climate system, considering not just the cooling from carbon storage but also the warming from decreased albedo. The researchers provide a tool practitioners and land managers can use to determine just how much of a problem albedo is for any reforestation or afforestation project on the globe.
Published Climate change will see Australia's soil emit CO2 and add to global warming
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New research has shown the warming climate will turn Australia's soil into a net emitter of carbon dioxide (CO2), unless action is taken. Soil helps to keep the planet cool by absorbing carbon, however as the climate gets warmer its ability to retain carbon decreases -- and in some instances can start to release some carbon back into the air. A global research team has predicted the changes in the amount of carbon in Australia's soil between now and the year 2100.
Published Crackdown on illicit drugs detects rise in 'designer' drug substitutes
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source As authorities crack down on illicit drugs, experts have issued an alert on the use of the synthetic stimulant pentylone, as new research finds a 75% increase in detections across Australia.
Published Research lights up process for turning CO2 into sustainable fuel
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have successfully transformed CO2 into methanol by shining sunlight on single atoms of copper deposited on a light-activated material, a discovery that paves the way for creating new green fuels.
Published Seeing the forest for the trees: Species diversity is directly correlated with productivity in eastern U.S. forests
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source When officials make tough calls on which areas to prioritize for conservation, biodiversity is often their top consideration. But there are several types of diversity, and not all of them overlap perfectly. In a new study, researchers analyzed 20-years' worth of U.S. Forest Service data and show that the simplest measure of diversity is the best predictor of healthy forest growth, providing a roadmap for quickly and efficiently protecting ecological resources.