Ecology: Animals Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Developing countries pay the highest price for living with large carnivores      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A team of researchers has highlighted human-wildlife conflict as one of the globe's most pressing human development and conservation dilemmas. New research looked at 133 countries where 18 large carnivores ranged, and found that a person farming with cattle in developing countries such as Kenya, Uganda or India were up to eight times more economically vulnerable than those living in developed economies such as Sweden, Norway or the U.S.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Research captures and separates important toxic air pollutant      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A series of new stable, porous materials that capture and separate benzene have been developed.

Biology: Botany Biology: Genetics Ecology: Endangered Species Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Scientists unlock key to drought-resistant wheat plants with longer roots      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Growing wheat in drought conditions may be easier in the future. Researchers found the right number of copies of a specific group of genes can stimulate longer root growth, enabling wheat plants to pull water from deeper supplies.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Energy: Fossil Fuels Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Plastic upcycling to close the carbon cycle      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new method to convert waste plastic to fuel and raw materials promises to help close the carbon cycle at mild temperature and with high yield.

Biology: Microbiology Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Researchers create E. coli-based water monitoring technology      (via sciencedaily.com) 

People often associate Escherichia coli with contaminated food, but E. coli has long been a workhorse in biotechnology. Scientists have now demonstrated that the bacterium has further value as part of a system to detect heavy metal contamination in water.

Biology: Evolutionary Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Biodiversity Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

A labyrinth lake provides surprising benefits for an endangered seal      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The endangered Saimaa ringed seal is an Ice Age relict living in the highly labyrinthine Lake Saimaa, Finland. The newly published work shows that although individual seals have greatly reduced genetic variation, the loss of variation has been complementary, preserving the adaptive potential of the whole population.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Novel air filter captures wide variety of pollutants      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An air filter made out of corn protein instead of petroleum products can concurrently capture small particulates as well as toxic chemicals like formaldehyde that current air filters can't. The research could lead to better air purifiers, particularly in regions of the world that suffer from very poor air quality. The more environmentally friendly air filter was able to simultaneously capture 99.5% of small particulate matter, similar to commercial HEPA filters, and 87% of formaldehyde, which is higher than specially designed air filters for those types of toxics.

Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Children's lung capacity improved in cleaner air      (via sciencedaily.com) 

As air pollution in Stockholm has decreased, so has the lung capacity of children and adolescents has improved, a new study reports. The researchers consider the results important, since the lung health of the young greatly affects the risk of their developing chronic lung diseases later in life.

Energy: Batteries Energy: Technology 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.

Geoscience: Environmental Issues
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.

Geoscience: Environmental Issues
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.

Biology: Microbiology Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology Geoscience: Environmental Issues
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.

Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geology Paleontology: Climate Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
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.

Biology: Marine Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Oceanography
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.

Biology: Marine Ecology: Sea Life Geoscience: Environmental Issues
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.

Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Environmental Issues
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.

Biology: Botany Ecology: General Ecology: Research Ecology: Trees Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Environmental Issues
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.

Geoscience: Environmental Issues
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.

Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Environmental Issues
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.

Ecology: General Ecology: Research Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Severe Weather
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.