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Categories: Chemistry: General, Environmental: Ecosystems

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Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Environmental: Ecosystems
Published

How parasites shape complex food webs      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study sheds light on how parasites, often overlooked, can dramatically affect the balance between predator and prey populations. Researchers developed a groundbreaking mathematical framework that predicts when predators, prey, and parasites can coexist, considering factors like random fluctuations and parasite effects on both populations. This research provides a valuable tool for conservation by helping predict how parasites influence ecosystem resilience and informing strategies to protect vulnerable species.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

A chemical mystery solved -- the reaction explaining large carbon sinks      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A mystery that has puzzled the scientific community for over 50 years has finally been solved. A team has discovered that a certain type of chemical reaction can explain why organic matter found in rivers and lakes is so resistant to degradation.

Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography
Published

Warming climate is putting more metals into Colorado's mountain streams      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Warming temperatures are causing a steady rise in copper, zinc and sulfate in the waters of Colorado mountain streams affected by acid rock drainage. Concentrations of these metals have roughly doubled in these alpine streams over the past 30 years, presenting a concern for ecosystems, downstream water quality and mining remediation, according to a new study. Natural chemical weathering of bedrock is the source of the rising acidity and metals, but the ultimate driver of the trend is climate change, the report found, and the results point to lower stream volumes and exposure of rock once sealed away by ice as the likely causes.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Developmental Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Organic Chemistry
Published

Researchers create artificial cells that act like living cells      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers describe the steps they took to manipulate DNA and proteins -- essential building blocks of life -- to create cells that look and act like cells from the body. This accomplishment, a first in the field, has implications for efforts in regenerative medicine, drug delivery systems and diagnostic tools.

Chemistry: General Engineering: Nanotechnology Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Physics: Optics
Published

Laser-treated cork absorbs oil for carbon-neutral ocean cleanup      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers use laser treatments to transform ordinary cork into a powerful tool for treating oil spills. They tested variations of a fast-pulsing laser treatment, closely examining the nanoscopic structural changes and measuring the ratio of oxygen and carbon in the material, changes in the angles with which water and oil contact the surface, and the material's light wave absorption, reflection, and emission across the spectrum to determine its durability after multiple cycles of warming and cooling. The laser treatments not only help to better absorb oil, but also work to keep water out.

Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography
Published

World's oases threatened by desertification, even as humans expand them      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Oases are important habitats and water sources for dryland regions, sustaining 10% of the world's population despite taking up about 1.5% of land area. But in many places, climate change and anthropogenic activities threaten oases' fragile existence. New research shows how the world's oases have grown and shrunk over the past 25 years as water availability patterns changed and desertification encroaches on these wet refuges.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Energy: Batteries Engineering: Graphene
Published

More economical and sustainable rechargeable batteries      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Lithium salts make batteries powerful but expensive. An ultralow-concentration electrolyte based on the lithium salt LiDFOB may be a more economical and more sustainable alternative. Cells using these electrolytes and conventional electrodes have been demonstrated to have high performance. In addition, the electrolyte could facilitate both production and recycling of the batteries.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Ecology: Animals Ecology: General Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Invasive species sound off about impending ecosystem changes      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Anticipating changes to ecosystems is often at best an educated guess, but what if there was a way to better tune into possible changes occurring? Researchers have discovered that the silent growth of non-native invasive plants can affect the soundscape of an ecosystem. These altered soundscapes, the acoustic patterns of a landscape through space and time, may provide a key to better observing the hard-to-see physical and biological changes occurring in an ecosystem as they are beginning.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry
Published

New copper-catalyzed C-H activation strategy      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Inspired by what human liver enzymes can do, chemists have developed a new set of copper-catalyzed organic synthesis reactions for building and modifying pharmaceuticals and other molecules. The new reactions are expected to be widely used in drug discovery and optimization, as well as in other chemistry-based industries.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: General Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Lemur's lament: When one vulnerable species stalks another      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

What can be done when one threatened animal kills another? Scientists studying critically endangered lemurs in Madagascar confronted this difficult reality when they witnessed attacks on lemurs by another vulnerable species, a carnivore called a fosa.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Marine Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: Water Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Surf clams off the coast of Virginia reappear -- and rebound      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The Atlantic surfclam, an economically valuable species that is the main ingredient in clam chowder and fried clam strips, has returned to Virginia waters in a big way, reversing a die-off that started more than two decades ago. In a comprehensive study of surfclams collected from an area about 45 miles due east from the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, scientists found the population to be thriving and growing.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Engineering: Graphene
Published

Development of organic semiconductors featuring ultrafast electrons      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Collaboration has led to the successful observation of these ultrafast electrons within conducting two-dimensional polymers.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Computer Science: General
Published

Accelerating the discovery of new materials via the ion-exchange method      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have unveiled a new means of predicting how to synthesize new materials via the ion-exchange. Based on computer simulations, the method significantly reduces the time and energy required to explore for inorganic materials.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology Environmental: General Geoscience: Geochemistry Physics: General Physics: Optics Physics: Quantum Computing
Published

Energy scientists unravel the mystery of gold's glow      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

EPFL researchers have developed the first comprehensive model of the quantum-mechanical effects behind photoluminescence in thin gold films; a discovery that could drive the development of solar fuels and batteries.

Chemistry: General Energy: Batteries Energy: Technology
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Mess is best: Disordered structure of battery-like devices improves performance      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The energy density of supercapacitors -- battery-like devices that can charge in seconds or a few minutes -- can be improved by increasing the 'messiness' of their internal structure. Researchers used experimental and computer modelling techniques to study the porous carbon electrodes used in supercapacitors. They found that electrodes with a more disordered chemical structure stored far more energy than electrodes with a highly ordered structure.

Biology: Marine Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Nature Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Fourteen years after the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, endemic fishes face an uncertain future      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The 2010 Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the largest accidental spill in history, released almost 100 million gallons of oil, causing significant pollution. A decade later, its long-term effects remain unclear. A study investigating the impact on endemic fish species found 29 of 78 species unreported in museum collections since the spill, suggesting potential loss of biodiversity.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Marine Biology: Microbiology Biology: Zoology Ecology: General Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Marine microbial populations: Potential sensors of the global change in the ocean      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Animal and plant populations have been extensively studied, which has helped to understand ecosystem processes and evolutionary adaptations. However, this has not been the case with microbial populations due to the impossibility of isolating, culturing and analyzing the genetic content of the different species and their individuals in the laboratory. Therefore, although it is known that populations of microorganisms include a great diversity, this remains largely uncharacterized.

Biology: Marine Ecology: Nature Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

East coast mussel shells are becoming more porous in warming waters      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have found that over the last 120 years, the porosity -- or small-scale holes -- in mussel shells along the East Coast of the United States has increased, potentially due to warming waters. The study analyzed modern mussel shells in comparison to specimens in the Museum's historic collection.

Ecology: General Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Understanding climate warming impacts on carbon release from the tundra      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The warming climate shifts the dynamics of tundra environments and makes them release trapped carbon, according to a new study published in Nature. These changes could transform tundras from carbon sinks into a carbon source, exacerbating the effects of climate change.