Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Physics: General
Published

Topology's role in decoding energy of amorphous systems      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers used topological data analysis to improve the predictions of physical properties of amorphous materials by machine-learning algorithms. This may allow for cheaper and faster calculations of material properties.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry
Published

New epoxy resin resists flames and reduces waste      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have developed an epoxy resin that can be repaired and recycled, in addition to being flame-retardant and mechanically strong. Potential applications range from coating for wooden flooring to composites in aerospace and railways.

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

Deciphering the molecular dynamics of complex proteins      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Which structures do complex proteins adopt in solution? Biophysicists answer this question using the example of ubiquitin dimers as well as a new combination of high-resolution NMR spectroscopy and sophisticated computer simulations.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computer Science: General
Published

Sharing chemical knowledge between human and machine      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have developed a platform that uses artificial neural networks to translate chemical structural formulae into machine-readable form. With this platform, they have created a tool with which this information from scientific publications can be automatically fed into databases. Until now, this had to be done literally by hand and was time-consuming.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Energy: Alternative Fuels Energy: Fossil Fuels Energy: Technology Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

New approach shows hydrogen can be combined with electricity to make pharmaceutical drugs      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The world needs greener ways to make chemicals. In a new study, researchers demonstrate one potential path toward this goal by adapting hydrogen fuel cell technologies.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Energy: Technology Physics: General Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Demon hunting: Physicists confirm 67-year-old prediction of massless, neutral composite particle      (via sciencedaily.com) 

In 1956, theoretical physicist David Pines predicted that electrons in a solid can do something strange. While they normally have a mass and an electric charge, Pines asserted that they can combine to form a composite particle that is massless, neutral, and does not interact with light. He called this particle a 'demon.' Now, researchers have finally found Pines' demon 67 years after it was predicted.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Computer Science: Quantum Computers Physics: General Physics: Optics Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Switching 'spin' on and off (and up and down) in quantum materials at room temperature      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have found a way to control the interaction of light and quantum 'spin' in organic semiconductors, that works even at room temperature.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

Gold buckyballs, oft-used nanoparticle 'seeds' are one and the same      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Chemists have discovered that tiny gold 'seed' particles, a key ingredient in one of the most common nanoparticle recipes, are one and the same as gold buckyballs, 32-atom spheres that are cousins of the Nobel Prize-winning carbon buckyballs discovered in 1985.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Geoscience: Environmental Issues Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Transforming flies into degradable plastics      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Imagine using insects as a source of chemicals to make plastics that can biodegrade later -- with the help of that very same type of bug. That concept is closer to reality than you might expect. Researchers will describe their progress to date, including the isolation and purification of the insect-derived chemicals and their conversion into their bioplastics.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Energy: Alternative Fuels Physics: Optics
Published

Chromium replaces rare and expensive noble metals      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Expensive noble metals often play a vital role in illuminating screens or converting solar energy into fuels. Now, chemists have succeeded in replacing these rare elements with a significantly cheaper metal. In terms of their properties, the new materials are very similar to those used in the past.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography
Published

Mountains vulnerable to extreme rain from climate change      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study finds that as rising global temperatures shift snow to rain, mountains across the Northern Hemisphere will be hotspots for extreme rainfall events that could trigger floods and landslides -- potentially impacting a quarter of the world's population.

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

There may be good news about the oceans in a globally warmed world      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An analysis of oxygen levels in Earth's oceans may provide some rare, good news about the health of the seas in a future, globally warmed world. A study analyzing ocean sediment shows that ocean oxygen levels in a key area were higher during the Miocene warm period, some 16 million years ago when the Earth's temperature was hotter than it is today.

Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geography
Published

This self-driving boat maps underwater terrain      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Engineers concoct an easier way for scientists to study underwater topography.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Freely available risk model for hurricanes, tropical cyclones      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

As human-driven climate change amplifies natural disasters, hurricanes and typhoons stand to increase in intensity. Until now, there existed very few freely available computer models designed to estimate the economic costs of such events, but a team of researchers has recently announced the completion of an open-source model that stands to help countries with high tropical cyclone risks better calculate just how much those storms will impact their people and their economies.

Biology: Marine Ecology: General Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

New research finds that more than 90% of global aquaculture faces substantial risk from environmental change      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Many of the world's largest aquatic food producers are highly vulnerable to human-induced environmental change, with some of the highest-risk countries in Asia, Latin America and Africa demonstrating the lowest capacity for adaptation, a landmark study has shown.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Research in a place where geological processes happen before your eyes      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Taiwan experiences some of the world's fastest rates of mountain building -- they are growing at a faster rate than our fingernails grow in a year. The mountains also see frequent and significant earthquakes, the region experiences about four typhoons per year on average, and in some places, it receives upwards of several meters of rain annually.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Energy: Technology Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Physics: General
Published

Don't wait, desalinate: A new approach to water purification      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A water purification system separates out salt and other unnecessary particles with an electrified version of dialysis. Successfully applied to wastewater with planned expansion into rivers and seas, the method saves money and saps 90% less energy than its counterparts.

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

Study of Earth's stratosphere reduces uncertainty in future climate change      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research reduces uncertainty in future climate change linked to the stratosphere, with important implications for life on Earth. A significant source of uncertainty relates to future changes to water vapor in the stratosphere, an extremely dry region of the atmosphere 15--50 km above the Earth's surface. Future increases in water vapor here risk amplifying climate change and slowing down the recovery of the ozone layer, which protects life on Earth from harmful solar ultraviolet radiation.

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

Study of deep-sea corals reveals ocean currents have not fuelled rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Pioneering analysis of deep-sea corals has overturned the idea that ocean currents contributed to increasing global levels of carbon dioxide in the air over the past 11,000 years.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Space: Astrophysics Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

First detection of crucial carbon molecule      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists detect a new carbon compound in space for the first time. Known as methyl cation (pronounced cat-eye-on) (CH3+), the molecule is important because it aids the formation of more complex carbon-based molecules. Methyl cation was detected in a young star system, with a protoplanetary disk, known as d203-506, which is located about 1,350 light-years away in the Orion Nebula.