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Categories: Geoscience: Geochemistry, Space: The Solar System
Published Mars likely had cold and icy past, new study finds



The question of whether Mars ever supported life has captivated the imagination of scientists and the public for decades. Central to the discovery is gaining insight into the past climate of Earth's neighbor: was the planet warm and wet, with seas and rivers much like those found on our own planet? Or was it frigid and icy, and therefore potentially less prone to supporting life as we know it? A new study finds evidence to support the latter by identifying similarities between soils found on Mars and those of Canada's Newfoundland, a cold subarctic climate.
Published The origins of dark comets



Up to 60% of near-Earth objects could be dark comets, mysterious asteroids that orbit the sun in our solar system that likely contain or previously contained ice and could have been one route for delivering water to Earth, according to a new study.
Published Strong evidence for intermediate-mass black hole in Omega Centauri



Most known black holes are either extremely massive, like the supermassive black holes that lie at the cores of large galaxies, or relatively lightweight, with a mass of under 100 times that of the Sun. Intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs) are scarce, however, and are considered rare 'missing links' in black hole evolution.
Published Researchers show promising material for solar energy gets its curious boost from entropy



Researchers discovered a microscopic mechanism that solves in part the outstanding performance achieved by a new class of organic semiconductors known as non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs).
Published Found with Webb: A potentially habitable icy world



A international team of astronomers has made an exciting discovery about the temperate exoplanet LHS 1140 b: it could be a promising 'super-Earth' covered in ice or water.
Published Building materials for water-rich planets in the early solar system



Age data for certain classes of meteorite have made it possible to gain new findings on the origin of small water-rich astronomical bodies in the early solar system. These planetesimals continually supplied building materials for planets -- also for the Earth, whose original material contained little water. The Earth received its actual water through planetesimals, which emerged at low temperatures in the outer solar system, as shown by computational models carried out by an international research teach with participation by earth scientists.
Published Mining rare earth metals from electronic waste



A small molecule that naturally serves as a binding site for metals in enzymes also proves useful for separating certain rare earth metals from each other. In a proof of concept, the process extracts europium directly from fluorescent powder in used energy-saving lamps in much higher quantities than existing methods. The researchers are now working on expanding their approach to other rare earth metals. They are in the process of founding a start-up to put the recycling of these raw materials into practice.
Published Stench of a gas giant? Nearby exoplanet reeks of rotten eggs, and that's a good thing



An exoplanet infamous for its deadly weather has been hiding another bizarre feature -- it reeks of rotten eggs, according to a new study of data from the James Webb Space Telescope.
Published Study reveals environmental impact of artificial sweeteners



A recently published study demonstrates how sucralose affects the behavior of cyanobacteria -- an aquatic photosynthetic bacteria -- and diatoms, microscopic algae that account for more than 30% of the primary food production in the marine food chain.
Published New extremely fast carbon storage technology



A new way to store carbon captured from the atmosphere works much faster than current methods without the harmful chemical accelerants they require.
Published Weaker ocean circulation could enhance carbon dioxide buildup in the atmosphere, study finds



Scientists may have to rethink the relationship between the ocean's circulation and its long-term capacity to store carbon, new research suggests. As the ocean gets weaker, it could release more carbon from the deep ocean into the atmosphere -- rather than less, as some have predicted.
Published Exploring the radiative effects of precipitation on Arctic amplification and energy budget



While, in theory, precipitation impacts the Earth's radiation budget, the radiative effects of precipitation (REP) are poorly understood and excluded from most climate models. Hence, a new study examined the role of REP in the global and regional energy budgets and hydrological cycles, finding that REP significantly contributes to temperature and precipitation variations at different geographical scales, especially in the Arctic warming. This highlights the relevance of including REP in climate modeling for improved accuracy.
Published Moon 'swirls' could be magnetized by unseen magmas



Mysterious, light-colored swirls on Moon's surface could be rocks magnetized by magma activity underground, laboratory experiments confirm.
Published Retreating glaciers: Fungi enhance carbon storage in young Arctic soils



Melting Arctic glaciers are in rapid recession, and microscopic pioneers colonize the new exposed landscapes. Researchers revealed that yeasts play an important role in soil formation in the Arctic.
Published Machine learning could aid efforts to answer long-standing astrophysical questions



Physicists have developed a computer program incorporating machine learning that could help identify blobs of plasma in outer space known as plasmoids. In a novel twist, the program has been trained using simulated data.
Published Exploring the chemical space of the exposome: How far have we gone?



Scientists have taken on the daunting challenge of mapping all the chemicals around us. They take inventory of the available science and conclude that currently a real pro-active chemical management is not feasible. To really get a grip on the vast and expanding chemical universe, they advocate the use of machine learning and AI, complementing existing strategies for detecting and identifying all molecules we are exposed to.
Published True scale of carbon impact from long-distance travel revealed



The reality of the climate impact of long-distance passenger travel has been revealed in new research.
Published Organic material from Mars reveals the likely origin of life's building blocks



Two samples from Mars together deliver clear evidence of the origin of Martian organic material. The study presents solid evidence for a prediction made over a decade ago that could be key to understanding how organic molecules, the foundation of life, were first formed here on Earth.
Published Shrinking glaciers: Microscopic fungi enhance soil carbon storage in new landscapes created by shrinking Arctic glaciers



Shrinking glaciers expose new land in the Arctic, creating unique ecosystems. Researchers studied how microbes colonize these barren landscapes. The study reveals a crucial role for specific fungal species in capturing and storing carbon in the newly formed soil. These findings suggest fungi are essential for future carbon storage in the Arctic as glaciers continue to recede.
Published Novel spectroscopy technique sheds light on NOx reduction



The process that can convert pollution into benign by-products is called selective catalytic reduction, or SCR. Until now, it has been unclear how this reaction actually occurs, and contradictions have long existed between reaction models within the literature. Catalysis researchers used a technology called modulation excitation spectroscopy, or MES, to finally identify the correct pathway.