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Categories: Geoscience: Geochemistry, Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published Researchers develop more environmentally friendly and cost-effective method for soil remediation
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Chemists have developed a rapid electrothermal mineralization (REM) process, which in seconds can remediate the accumulation of synthetic chemicals that can contaminate soil and the environment.
Published Best bioenergy crops for sustainable aviation fuels by U.S. region, policy goals
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers analyzed the financial and environmental costs and benefits of four biofuels crops used to produce sustainable aviation fuels in the U.S. They found that each feedstock -- corn stover, energy sorghum, miscanthus or switchgrass -- performed best in a specific region of the rainfed United States. Their study will help growers and policymakers select the feedstocks most suited to meeting goals like reducing production costs, lowering greenhouse gas emissions and building soil carbon stocks.
Published Fruit fly post-mating behavior controlled by male-derived peptide via command neurons, study finds
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have succeeded in pinpointing the neurons within a female fruit fly's brain that respond to signals from the male during mating.
Published Children's exposome associated with changes in serum metabolites
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The combined effect of environmental exposures and unhealthy lifestyle habits can affect children's cardiometabolic health in a way that exceeds their separate effects. A new study shows the benefit of measuring the combined effect of multiple environmental and lifestyle factors.
Published A promising new method uses light to clean up forever chemicals
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A room-temperature method to decompose perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) using visible LED light offers a promising solution for sustainable fluorine recycling and PFAS treatment.
Published Converting captured carbon to fuel: Study assesses what's practical and what's not
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new analysis sheds light on major shortfalls of a recently proposed approach to capture CO2 from air and directly convert it to fuel using electricity. The authors also provide a new, more sustainable, alternative.
Published Smell of human stress affects dogs' emotions leading them to make more pessimistic choices
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Dogs experience emotional contagion from the smell of human stress, leading them to make more 'pessimistic' choices, new research finds. Researchers tested how human stress odors affect dogs' learning and emotional state.
Published Controlling mosquito populations through genetic breeding
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have found a new way to identify genetic targets useful for control of mosquito populations, potentially offering an alternative to insecticides. Their study focused on the genetic basis of species incompatibility. They crossed Ae. aegypti, a major global arboviral disease vector, and its sibling species, Ae. mascarensis, from the Indian Ocean. When offspring is crossed back with one parent, about 10 percent of the progeny becomes intersex and is unable to reproduce.
Published Birds need entertainment during avian flu lockdowns
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Birds need varied activities during avian flu lockdowns, new research shows.
Published Genome study informs restoration of American chestnut tree
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers use genomes to help restore the American chestnut population and adjust species breeding to the changing climate.
Published Chimpanzees gesture back and forth quickly like in human conversations
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source When people are having a conversation, they rapidly take turns speaking and sometimes even interrupt. Now, researchers who have collected the largest ever dataset of chimpanzee 'conversations' have found that they communicate back and forth using gestures following the same rapid-fire pattern.
Published Deep-ocean floor produces its own oxygen
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source An international team of researchers has discovered that metallic minerals on the deep-ocean floor produce oxygen -- 13,000 feet below the surface. Discovery challenges long-held assumptions that only photosynthetic organisms generate Earth's oxygen. Minerals at the abyssal seafloor appear to act like geobatteries to produce oxygen in a process that does not require sunlight.
Published Waste Styrofoam can now be converted into polymers for electronics
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study describes a chemical reaction that can convert Styrofoam into a high-value conducting polymer known as PEDOT:PSS. Researchers also noted that the upgraded plastic waste can be successfully incorporated into functional electronic devices, including silicon-based hybrid solar cells and organic electrochemical transistors.
Published Chemists design novel method for generating sustainable fuel
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Chemists have been working to synthesize high-value materials from waste molecules for years.
Published New humidity-driven membrane to remove carbon dioxide from the air
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new ambient-energy-driven membrane that pumps carbon dioxide out of the air has been developed by researchers.
Published Converting wastewater to fertilizer with fungal treatment
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Creating fertilizers from organic waste can help reduce the consumption of fossil fuels and promote sustainable production. One way of doing this is through hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL), which converts biomass into biocrude oil through a high-temperature, high-pressure process. Two studies explore the use of a fungal treatment to convert the leftover wastewater into fertilizer for agricultural crops.
Published Small animals acquire genes from bacteria that can produce antibiotics
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A group of small, freshwater animals (bdelloid rotifers) protect themselves from infections using antibiotic recipes 'stolen' from bacteria, according to new research. This raises the potential that rotifers are producing novel antimicrobials that may be less toxic to animals, including humans, than those we develop from bacteria and fungi.
Published Minerals play newly discovered role in Earth's phosphorus cycle
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Plants and microbes are known to secrete enzymes to transform organic phosphorus into bioavailable inorganic phosphorus. Now, researchers found that iron oxide in soil performs the same transformation. Discovery is important for food security, which requires phosphorus as a crop fertilizer.
Published Although tiny, peatland microorganisms have a big impact on climate
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Polyphenols are generally toxic to microorganisms. In peatlands, scientists thought microorganisms avoided this toxicity by degrading polyphenols using an oxygen-dependent enzyme, and thus that low-oxygen conditions inhibit microbes' carbon cycling. However, a new study found that Arctic peatland microorganisms used alternative enzymes, with and without oxygen, to break down polyphenols. This suggests carbon stored in these ecosystems is more at risk than previously thought.
Published The courtship of leopard seals off the coast of South America
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A pioneering study has unveiled the first paired observations of sexual behavior and vocalizations in wild leopard seals. The study on the mysterious leopard seal represents a major advance in understanding the behavior of one of the most difficult apex predators to study on Earth.