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Chemists tackle the tough challenge of recycling mixed plastics      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Polymer chemists have been finding ways to tackle the environmental problems humans have created with plastics waste. Now, a team has come up with fundamental new chemistry that seeds a creative solution to the challenge of recycling mixed-use plastics.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Energy: Alternative Fuels Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
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New chemistry can extract virgin-grade materials from wind turbine blades in one process      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed a chemical process that can disassemble the epoxy composite of wind turbine blades and simultaneously extract intact glass fibers as well as one of the epoxy resin's original building blocks in a high quality. The recovered materials could potentially be used in the production of new blades.

Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Marine Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Nature Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
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Ocean ecosystem: Mixotrophic microorganisms play key role      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have identified a previously unknown group of bacteria, called UBA868, as key players in the energy cycle of the deep ocean. They are significantly involved in the biogeochemical cycle in the marine layer between 200 and 1000 meters.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Energy: Fossil Fuels Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
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CO2 recycling: What is the role of the electrolyte?      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The greenhouse gas carbon dioxide can be converted into useful hydrocarbons by electrolysis. The design of the electrolysis cell is crucial in this process. The so-called zero-gap cell is particularly suitable for industrial processes. But there are still problems: The cathodes clog up quickly.

Biology: General Biology: Marine Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Ecology: Sea Life Engineering: Robotics Research Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
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Jellyfish-like robots could one day clean up the world's oceans      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Roboticists have developed a jellyfish-inspired underwater robot with which they hope one day to collect waste from the bottom of the ocean. The almost noise-free prototype can trap objects underneath its body without physical contact, thereby enabling safe interactions in delicate environments such as coral reefs. Jellyfish-Bot could become an important tool for environmental remediation.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Developmental Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Microbiology Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geochemistry
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Algae in Swedish lakes provide insights to how complex life on Earth developed      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

By studying green algae in Swedish lakes, a research team has succeeded in identifying which environmental conditions promote multicellularity. The results give us new clues to the amazing paths of evolution.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
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Group cyclists urged to spread out as it can affect exposure to vehicle emissions: Study      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The notion that in a group of cyclists, the person in front of the group is always the most exposed to harmful vehicle pollutants has now been debunked.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Energy: Batteries Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
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Greener batteries      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Our modern rechargeable batteries, such as lithium-ion batteries, are anything but sustainable. One alternative is organic batteries with redox-organic electrode materials (OEMs), which can be synthesized from natural 'green' materials. A team has now introduced a new OEM for aqueous organic high-capacity batteries that can be easily and cheaply recycled.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Mathematics: General Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
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ChatGPT is still no match for humans when it comes to accounting      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

ChatGPT faced off against students on accounting assessments. Students scored an overall average of 76.7%, compared to ChatGPT's score of 47.4%. On a 11.3% of questions, ChatGPT scored higher than the student average, doing particularly well on AIS and auditing. But the AI bot did worse on tax, financial, and managerial assessments, possibly because ChatGPT struggled with the mathematical processes required for the latter type.

Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geochemistry
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Using solar farms to generate fresh desert soil crust      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Biocrusts play a crucial role in maintaining soil health and ecosystem sustainability, but they are currently under assault. Human activities including agriculture, urbanization, and off-road vehicle use can lead to the degradation of biocrusts, which have long-term consequences for these fragile environments. Climate change is also placing stress on biocrusts, which struggle to adapt to sunlight and searing heat in arid landscapes like the Sonoran Desert.

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Greenhouse gas release from permafrost is influenced by mineral binding processes      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New insights into the binding of carbon to mineral particles in permafrost can improve the prediction of greenhouse gas release.

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Fungal genetics could help develop novel biotechnologies      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An essential pillar of Earth's ecological system, fungi have long been used to better the lives of humans. While these organisms are still vastly understudied, a new review paper suggests that their unique genomes could be used to make progress in the biotech industry.

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Two qudits fully entangled      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Recently quantum computers started to work with more than just the zeros and ones we know from classical computers. Now a team demonstrates a way to efficiently create entanglement of such high-dimensional systems to enable more powerful calculations.

Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
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Recycling lake sediments for crop production: A sustainable solution for closing the phosphorus cycle      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A four-year field experiment conducted on the shores of restored Lake Mustijärv in Viljandi, Estonia, has revealed that recycling phosphorus-rich lake sediments back to agriculture could have positive impacts on crop production.

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Immediate carbon cuts, common marine heatwave terminology urged      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Oceanographers provide a reality check on the limitations of carbon dioxide removal and a warning­ that marine heatwaves need clear definitions so communities can adapt.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Energy: Alternative Fuels Engineering: Graphene Environmental: General Geoscience: Geochemistry Physics: Optics
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New findings pave the way for stable organic solar cells that may enable cheap and renewable electricity generation      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Organic solar cells show great promise for clean energy applications. However, photovoltaic modules made from organic semiconductors do not maintain their efficiency for long enough under sunlight for real world applications. Scientists have now revealed an important reason why organic solar cells rapidly degrade under operation. This new insight will drive the design of more stale materials for organic semiconductor-based photovoltaics, thus enabling cheap and renewable electricity generation.

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Organic beekeeping rivals conventional methods for bee health, productivity      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Honey bee colonies managed using organic methods were as healthy and productive as those managed in conventional systems, while avoiding the use of synthetic pesticides to control pests and pathogens inside the hive, according to entomologists.