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Categories: Biology: Biochemistry, Environmental: General
Published Underground car parks heat up groundwater
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The heat given off by car engines warms up underground car parks in such a way that the heat passes through the ground into the groundwater. In Berlin alone, enough energy is transferred to the groundwater to supply 14,660 households with heat. According to the researchers, this warming could have long-term effects on groundwater quality. In their study, they also propose a solution. Using geothermal energy and heat pumps, the heat could be extracted from the ground and utilized.
Published Self-powered microbial fuel cell biosensor for monitoring organic freshwater pollution
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Biodegradable waste from plant and animal sources released into freshwater ecosystems is a significant environmental concern. Nonetheless, current methods for assessing water quality seem more or less impractical due to their complexity and high costs. In a promising development, a team of researchers has successfully constructed a self-sustaining and buoyant biosensor using inexpensive carbon-based materials for monitoring water quality at the inlets of freshwater lakes and rivers.
Published New antibodies neutralize resistant bacteria
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Broadly neutralizing antibodies are already being used to fight viruses. This approach could also help to treat infections with multi-resistant bacteria in the future.
Published How a climate model can illustrate and explain ice-age climate variability
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source During the last ice age, the last glacial maximum about 20,000 years ago, the climate in the North Atlantic underwent much greater multi-centennial variability than it does in the present warm period. This is supported by evidence found in ice and seafloor cores. Researchers have now shown, based on a climate model, that internal mechanisms such as temperature and salinity distribution in the ocean are driving this multi-centennial variability.
Published Investigators examine shifts in coral microbiome under hypoxia
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study provides the first characterization of the coral microbiome under hypoxia, insufficient oxygen in the water.
Published New study sheds light on the molecular mechanisms underlying lipid recycling within cells
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Our understanding of how cells recycle lipids through autophagy -- a form of cellular degradation -- has grown significantly, thanks to a recent study. Using yeast as a model organism, the researchers explored the molecular mechanisms leading to the degradation of the phospholipid bilayers making up the cell membranes. Their findings improve our understanding of cellular degradation processes and related metabolic disorders.
Published Two million European households could abandon the electrical grid by 2050
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers report that 53% of European freestanding homes could have supplied all their own energy needs in 2020 using only local rooftop solar radiation, and this technical feasibility could increase to 75% in 2050. The study shows that there is no economic advantage for individual households to be fully self-sufficient under current or future conditions, though in some cases the costs are on par with remaining on-grid. The researchers estimate that self-sufficiency will be economically feasible for 5% (two million) of Europe's 41 million freestanding single-family homes in 2050, if households are willing to pay up to 50% more than the cost of remaining fully grid dependent.
Published Making gluten-free, sorghum-based beers easier to brew and enjoy
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Though beer is a popular drink worldwide, it's usually made from barley, which leaves those with a gluten allergy or intolerance unable to enjoy the frothy beverage. Sorghum, a naturally gluten-free grain, could be an alternative, but complex preparation steps have hampered its widespread adoption by brewers. Now, researchers reporting the molecular basis behind sorghum brewing have uncovered an enzyme that could improve the future of sorghum-based beers.
Published Damaging thunderstorm winds increasing in central U.S.
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Destructive winds that flow out of thunderstorms in the central United States are becoming far more widespread with warming temperatures, according to new research. A new study shows that the central U.S. experienced a fivefold increase in the geographic area affected by damaging thunderstorm straight line winds in the past 40 years.
Published Study links changes in global water cycle to higher temperatures
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study takes an important step toward reconstructing a global history of water over the past 2,000 years. Using geologic and biologic evidence preserved in natural archives -- including 759 different paleoclimate records from globally distributed corals, trees, ice, cave formations and sediments -- the researchers showed that the global water cycle has changed during periods of higher and lower temperatures in the recent past.
Published Buzz around new centralized pollination portal for better global bee data
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A powerful new way to fill major gaps in public bee data -- including from Africa, Asia and other under-reported zones -- has been addressed with a centralized tool for consolidating bee pollinator occurrences around the globe.
Published Giant dinosaur carcasses might have been important food sources for Jurassic predators
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Carnivorous dinosaurs might have evolved to take advantage of giant carcasses, according to a new study.
Published First mice engineered to survive COVID-19 like young, healthy humans
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have genetically engineered the first mice that get a human-like form of COVID-19, according to a new study.
Published Where is a sea star's head? Maybe just about everywhere
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study that combines genetic and molecular techniques helps solve the riddle of sea star (commonly called starfish) body plans, and how sea stars start life with bilateral body symmetry -- just like humans -- but grow up to be adults with fivefold 'pentaradial' symmetry.
Published How the fish got its shoulder
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new analysis of the bones and muscles in ancient fish gives new clues about how the shoulder evolved in animals -- including us.
Published The remains of an ancient planet lie deep within Earth
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The remnants of an ancient planet that collided with Earth to form the Moon lie deep within the earth, according to a new model.
Published The ringed seals in Ilulissat Icefjord, Greenland are special
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Local hunters in the Icefjord near Ilulissat have long known about a special ringed seal -- the Kangia seal -- which is significantly larger and has a markedly different fur color and pattern than typical Arctic ringed seals. Now scientific studies have shown that the Kangia ringed seal has been isolated from other ringed seals for a long period of time -- more than 100,000 years.
Published Pinpointing HIV immune response
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New research combining computer modeling and experiments with macaques shows the body's immune system helps control human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections largely by suppressing viral production in already infected cells while also killing viral infected cells, but only within a narrow time window at the start of a cell's infection.
Published Ocean warming is accelerating, and hotspots reveal which areas are absorbing the most heat
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study reveals increasing warming rates in the world's oceans in recent decades and the locations with the greatest heat uptake.
Published Dam removals, restoration project on Klamath River expected to help salmon, researchers conclude
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The world's largest dam removal and restoration project currently underway on the Klamath River in Oregon and California will aid salmon populations that have been devastated by disease and other factors. However, it will not fully alleviate challenges faced by the species, a team of researchers conclude.