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Categories: Engineering: Nanotechnology, Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published New design for lithium-air battery could offer much longer driving range compared with the lithium-ion battery
(via sciencedaily.com) Scientists have built and tested for a thousand cycles a lithium-air battery design that could one day be powering cars, domestic airplanes, long-haul trucks and more. Its energy storage capacity greatly surpasses that possible with lithium-ion batteries.
Published Prioritize tackling toxic emissions from tires, urge experts
(via sciencedaily.com) Experts are calling for more to be done to limit the potentially harmful impact of toxic tire particles on health and the environment.
Published Forecasting malaria outbreaks
(via sciencedaily.com) A new study integrates climate, land use, and socioeconomic data to explain and predict malaria dynamics at the village level. The approach could inform health care practitioners and make control strategies more efficient and cost-effective.
Published 'Electronic nose' built with sustainably sourced microbial nanowires that could revolutionize health monitoring
(via sciencedaily.com) Scientists recently announced the invention of a nanowire 10,000 times thinner than a human hair that can be cheaply grown by common bacteria and tuned to 'smell' a vast array of chemical tracers -- including those given off by people afflicted with a wide range of medical conditions, such as asthma and kidney disease. Thousands of these specially tuned wires, each sniffing out a different chemical, can be layered onto tiny, wearable sensors, allowing healthcare providers an unprecedented tool for monitoring potential health complications. Since these wires are grown by bacteria, they are organic, biodegradable and far greener than any inorganic nanowire.
Published Early Cretaceous shift in the global carbon cycle affected both land and sea
(via sciencedaily.com) Geologists doing fieldwork in southeastern Utah's Cedar Mountain Formation found carbon isotope evidence that the site, though on land, experienced the same early Cretaceous carbon-cycle change recorded in marine sedimentary rocks in Europe. This ancient carbon-cycle phenomenon, known as the 'Weissert Event' was driven by large, sustained volcanic eruptions in the Southern Hemisphere that greatly increased carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere and produced significant greenhouse climate effects over a prolonged time.
Published As sea ice declines in the Arctic, bowhead whales are adjusting their migration patterns
(via sciencedaily.com) As sea ice declines in the Arctic, bowhead whales are staying north of the Bering Strait more frequently, a shift that could affect the long-term health of the bowhead population and impact the Indigenous communities that rely on the whales, a new study shows.
Published Diets rich in food from the ocean and freshwater sources can help address nutritional and environmental challenges
(via sciencedaily.com) Blue foods -- those that come from the ocean or freshwater environments -- have tremendous potential to help address several global challenges. With careful implementation of policies that leverage these foods, nations could get a boost on efforts to reduce nutritional deficits, lower disease risk, decrease greenhouse gas emissions and ensure resilience in the face of climate change.
Published Nanofluidic devices offer solutions for studying single molecule chemical reactions
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers have developed principles and technologies of nanofluidic devices to freely manipulate nanomaterials, biomaterials, and molecules at the single-molecule level using fundamental technologies such as nanofluidic processing, functional integration, and fluidic control and measurement, which has pioneered the way to integrate various fields under nanofluidics. To elucidate the single molecule dynamics of chemical reactions in solution, using their unique nanofluidic devices, they outlined how they propose to solve problems such as precisely manipulating small molecules in solution and how to investigate extremely quick reactions, that only take nano- to picoseconds.
Published Scientists use satellite images to study the degradation of rangelands in Tanzania
(via sciencedaily.com) East Africa's iconic rangelands -- under threat from climate change and human activity -- have the potential to recover from repeated environmental shocks and degradation, a new study has concluded.
Published Clever orchard design for more nuts
(via sciencedaily.com) To reduce biodiversity loss in agricultural landscapes, more sustainable and environmentally friendly agricultural practices are needed. A research team has investigated how ecosystem services such as pollination could be improved in macadamia plantations. The scientists showed that a certain design of plantations -- for instance, how the rows of trees are arranged, the varieties, and the integration of semi-natural habitats in and around the plantations -- can increase the pollination performance of bees.
Published This new sensor can detect mercury ions with just a tap
(via sciencedaily.com) Although many measures are in place to prevent contamination, pollutants, such as mercury and lead, can still end up in the environment. Sensing them often requires complicated processes, but what if you could detect them with the tap of a fingertip? Researchers have now developed a self-powered nanosensor that can discover small amounts of mercury ions and immediately report the result.
Published How Iceland could have a starring role as a sustainable alternative protein exporter to Northern Europe
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Iceland could help address Northern Europe's food security issues with the scaling-up of its industrial production of Spirulina -- an alternative protein source that is nutritious, sustainable and risk resilient. Under the most ambitious of estimations, Iceland could be protein self-sufficient and capable of feeding more than six million Europeans every year, a new feasibility study suggests.
Published Excess nutrients lead to dramatic ecosystem changes in Cape Cod's Waquoit Bay; the bay is a harbinger for estuaries worldwide, say researchers
(via sciencedaily.com) When the Covid-19 pandemic hit in 2020 with associated travel restrictions, a research group shifted their overseas research projects to instead study the seagrass meadow ecosystem in Waquoit Bay, USA. It's a shallow, micro-tidal estuary on the south side of Cape Cod in Massachusetts.
Published Researcher discovers threshold that triggers drought response in forests
(via sciencedaily.com) Missouri is home to an array of natural resources, with forests among the state's most valuable ecosystems. As warmer temperatures fueled by climate change affect ecosystems globally, forests are under stress to adapt to these changes and ensure their survival in a warmer world. Researchers now introduce the 'ecosystem wilting point' concept, which explains how whole forests respond to drought.
Published Sinking tundra surface unlikely to trigger runaway permafrost thaw
(via sciencedaily.com) Scientists set out to address one of the biggest uncertainties about how carbon-rich permafrost will respond to gradual sinking of the land surface as temperatures rise. Using a high-performance computer simulation, the research team found that soil subsidence is unlikely to cause rampant thawing in the future.
Published Nanoparticles self-assemble to harvest solar energy
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers design a solar harvester with enhanced energy conversion capabilities. The device employs a quasiperiodic nanoscale pattern, meaning most of it is an alternating and consistent pattern, while the remaining portion contains random defects that do not affect its performance. The fabrication process makes use of self-assembling nanoparticles, which form an organized material structure based on their interactions with nearby particles without any external instructions. Thermal energy harvested by the device can be transformed to electricity using thermoelectric materials.
Published Using sewage to forecast COVID-19 infections
(via sciencedaily.com) Sifting through sewage for SARS-CoV-2 genetic material could help authorities tailor infection control policies.
Published New knowledge about ice sheet movement can shed light on when sea levels will rise
(via sciencedaily.com) The trawling of thousands of satellite measurements using artificial intelligence has shown researchers that meltwater in tunnels beneath Greenland's ice sheet causes it to change speed, and in some places, accelerate greatly towards the ocean. This can increase melting, especially in a warming climate, which is why the study's researchers think that it is important to keep an eye on.
Published Biochar offers new promise for climate-smart agriculture
(via sciencedaily.com) Researcher see the interconnections between the systems in nature and how each component impacts the others. In Connecticut, rich in forests and farmland, experts see the potential that could position the state at the forefront of a climate-smart agriculture (CSA) approach using an emerging sustainable practice called biochar.
Published These sports sensors could curb 'bad calls' and help players during practices
(via sciencedaily.com) If you watched the most recent Super Bowl, you know the importance of a referee's call on the outcome of a game. Slow-motion replays and close-watching eyes help, but a new sensor technology could someday serve as an even more reliable tool for officials. Researchers have developed a self-powered, hybrid nanogenerator sensor that could help make more accurate calls and allow boxers and cricket players to practice more efficiently.