Biology: Cell Biology Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Energy: Alternative Fuels Energy: Fossil Fuels Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Clean, sustainable fuels made 'from thin air' and plastic waste      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have demonstrated how carbon dioxide can be captured from industrial processes -- or even directly from the air -- and transformed into clean, sustainable fuels using just the energy from the Sun.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Study finds combustion from gas stoves can raise indoor levels of chemical linked to a higher risk of blood cell cancers      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

About 47 million homes use natural gas or propane-burning cooktops and ovens. Researchers found that cooking with gas stoves can raise indoor levels of the carcinogen benzene above those found in secondhand smoke.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: General
Published

Navigating underground with cosmic-ray muons      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Superfast, subatomic-sized particles called muons have been used to wirelessly navigate underground in a reportedly world first. By using muon-detecting ground stations synchronized with an underground muon-detecting receiver, researchers were able to calculate the receiver's position in the basement of a six-story building. As GPS cannot penetrate rock or water, this new technology could be used in future search and rescue efforts, to monitor undersea volcanoes, and guide autonomous vehicles underground and underwater.

Biology: Botany Ecology: Nature Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography
Published

How will a warming world impact the Earth's ability to offset our carbon emissions?      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New work deploys a bold new approach for inferring the temperature sensitivity of ecosystem respiration -- which represents one side of the equation balancing carbon dioxide uptake and carbon dioxide output in terrestrial environments. This will improve scientists' models for climate change scenarios.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geology Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General
Published

We've pumped so much groundwater that we've nudged Earth's spin      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

By pumping water out of the ground and moving it elsewhere, humans have shifted such a large mass of water that the Earth tilted nearly 80 centimeters (31.5 inches) east between 1993 and 2010 alone, according to a new study.

Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Oceanography Paleontology: Climate
Published

Massive underwater plateau near Solomon Islands is younger and its eruption was more protracted than previously thought      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The Ontong Java Plateau, a volcanically-formed underwater plateau located in the Pacific Ocean north of the Solomon Islands, is younger and its eruption was more protracted than previously thought, new research suggests.

Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR) Energy: Technology Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General
Published

Metaverse could put a dent in global warming      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

For many technology enthusiasts, the metaverse has the potential to transform almost every facet of human life, from work to education to entertainment. Now, new research shows it could have environmental benefits, too.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geology Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: General Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

Earth was created much faster than we thought: This makes the chance of finding other habitable planets in the Universe more likely      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Over the past decades, researchers thought Earth was created over a period of more than 100 million years. However, a new study from suggests that the creation of Earth was much more rapid, and that water and other essential ingredients for life were delivered to Earth very early on.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Microbiology Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

The life below our feet: Team discovers microbes thriving in groundwater and producing oxygen in the dark      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A survey of groundwater samples drawn from aquifers beneath more than 80,000 square miles of Canadian prairie reveals ancient groundwaters harbor not only diverse and active microbial communities, but also unexpectedly large numbers of microbial cells. Strikingly, some of these microbes seem to produce 'dark oxygen' (in the absence of sunlight) in such abundance that the oxygen may nourish not only those microbes, but may leak into the environment and support other oxygen-reliant microbes that can't produce it themselves.

Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Earthquakes Geoscience: Geology Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: General Space: The Solar System
Published

Plate tectonics not required for the emergence of life      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New finding contradicts previous assumptions about the role of mobile plate tectonics in the development of life on Earth. Moreover, the data suggests that 'when we're looking for exoplanets that harbor life, the planets do not necessarily need to have plate tectonics,' says the lead author of a new paper.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Preserving forests to protect deep soil from warming      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An innovative, decade-long experiment in the foothills of California's Sierra Nevada mountains shows carbon stocks buried deep underground are vulnerable to climate change. The findings have implications for mitigating global warming through the natural carbon sinks provided by soil and forests which capture 25% of all carbon emissions.

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

A machine learning approach to freshwater analysis      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A team of researchers has applied a machine learning model to explore where and to what extent human activities are contributing to the hydrogeochemical changes, such as increases in salinity and alkalinity in U.S. rivers. The group used data from 226 river monitoring sites across the U.S. and built two machine learning models to predict monthly salinity and alkalinity levels at each site.

Chemistry: General Energy: Batteries Engineering: Graphene Environmental: General Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Aluminium-ion batteries with improved storage capacity      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists develop positive electrode material using an organic redox polymer based on phenothiazine. Aluminium-ion batteries containing this material stored an unprecedented 167 milliampere hours per gram, outperforming batteries using graphite as electrode material. Aluminium-ion batteries are considered a promising alternative to conventional batteries that use scarce raw materials such as lithium.

Biology: Botany Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Invasive Species Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Plant remediation effects on petroleum contamination      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Initial choices about fertilization and grass seeding could have a long-lasting effect on how plants and their associated microbes break down pollution in petroleum-contaminated soils.

Chemistry: General Energy: Batteries Energy: Technology Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

All-electric rideshare fleet could reduce carbon emissions, increase traffic issues      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Two major ridesharing companies have promised all-electric fleets by 2030 in an effort to reduce their carbon footprint. To understand additional impacts of this transition, researchers conducted life-cycle comparisons of battery-powered electric vehicle fleets to a gas-powered one, using real-world rideshare data. They found up to a 45% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from full electrification; however, traffic problems and air pollution could increase.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Developmental Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular Ecology: Animals Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Octopuses rewire their brains to adapt to seasonal temperature shifts      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Octopuses don't thermoregulate, so their powerful brains are exposed to -- and potentially threatened by -- changes in temperature. Researchers report that two-spot octopuses adapt to seasonal temperature shifts by producing different neural proteins under warm versus cool conditions. The octopuses achieve this by editing their RNA, the messenger molecule between DNA and proteins. This rewiring likely protects their brains, and the researchers suspect that this unusual strategy is used widely amongst octopuses and squid.