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Categories: Archaeology: General, Environmental: General
Published Next epidemic could be spotted early in wastewater
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers behind the UK's first pilot public health surveillance system based on analysis of wastewater say that routine monitoring at sewage treatment works could provide a powerful early warning system for the next flu or norovirus epidemic, alerting hospitals to prepare and providing public health agencies with vital health information.
Published New invention: The oxygen-ion battery
(via sciencedaily.com) An oxygen-ion-battery has been invented, based on ceramic materials. If it degrades, it can be regenerated, therefore it potentially has an extremely long lifespan. Also, it does not require any rare elements and it is incombustible. For large energy storage systems, this could be an optimal solution.
Published Turn off porch light to aid caterpillars -- and safeguard backyard ecosystems
(via sciencedaily.com) Moderate levels of artificial light at night -- like the fixture illuminating your backyard -- bring more caterpillar predators and reduce the chance that these lepidoptera larvae grow up to become moths and serve as food for larger prey.
Published Researchers get to the 'bottom' of how beetles use their butts to stay hydrated
(via sciencedaily.com) Beetles are champions at surviving in extremely dry environments. In part, this property is due to their ability to suck water from the air with their rear ends. A new study explains just how. Beyond helping to explain how beetles thrive in environments where few other animals can survive, the knowledge could eventually be used for more targeted and delicate control of global pests such as the grain weevil and red flour beetle.
Published New animal welfare scoring system could enable better-informed food and farming choices
(via sciencedaily.com) Scientists have come up with a system of measuring animal welfare that enables reliable comparison across different types of pig farming.
Published The devil is in the details: Re-imagining fertilizer precursor synthesis
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers have improved the Faradaic efficiency of the nitrogen reduction reaction into ammonia by straightforward optimization of chemical process parameters. They found that trace water was the probable source of the high selectivity by facilitating incorporation of lithium oxide into the solid electrolyte interphase. These findings will also aid optimization of other analogous reactions, and thus help the chemicals industry optimize the sustainability of one of the most carbon-intensive reactions globally.
Published Synthesis gas and battery power from sunlight energy
(via sciencedaily.com) Plants use photosynthesis to harvest energy from sunlight. Now researchers have applied this principle as the basis for developing new sustainable processes which in the future may produce syngas (synthetic gas) for the large-scale chemical industry and be able to charge batteries.
Published Human and ocean health impacts of ocean plastics
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers from the fields of healthcare, ocean science, and social science have collaborated to quantify plastic's considerable risks to all life on Earth. The Minderoo-Monaco Commission on Plastics and Human Health report presents a comprehensive analysis showing plastics as a hazard at every stage of their life cycle.
Published Solar industry feeling the heat over disposal of 80 million panels
(via sciencedaily.com) Renewable energy experts have come up with an environmentally-friendly plan to dispose of solar panels at the end of their life.
Published 3000+ billion tons of ice lost from Antarctic Ice Sheet over 25 years
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have calculated that the fastest changing Antarctic region?-?the Amundsen Sea Embayment?-?has lost more than 3,000 billion tonnes of ice over a 25-year?period.??
Published 'Rock stars' solve long-standing diamond conundrum
(via sciencedaily.com) Two researchers have used a standard laptop computer and a humble piece of rock -- from the 'waste pile' of a diamond mine -- to solve a long-held geological conundrum about how diamonds formed in the deep roots of the earth's ancient continents.
Published Lower energy consumption thanks to daylight-saving time
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The elimination of daylight-saving time is a frequently -- and heatedly -- discussed topic. Often, only the aspect of electricity consumption due to artificial lighting is considered. In a new study, researchers have now analyzed whether daylight saving also has an impact on the heating and cooling energy required for office buildings, and what role climate change might play in this. The results should delight supporters of daylight-saving time.
Published Forest growing season in eastern U.S. has increased by a month
(via sciencedaily.com) The growing period of hardwood forests in eastern North America has increased by an average of one month over the past century as temperatures have steadily risen, a new study has found.
Published Public acceptance of fossil fuel subsidy removal could be improved in developing countries
(via sciencedaily.com) People might be more positive to the removal of fuel subsidies if told where the money would be spent instead. This has been shown in a study which investigated attitudes towards removing fossil fuel subsidies in five developing countries.
Published Nitrate can release uranium into groundwater
(via sciencedaily.com) A team has experimentally confirmed that nitrate, a compound common in fertilizers and animal waste, can help transport naturally occurring uranium from the underground to groundwater. The new research backs a previous study showing that aquifers contaminated with high levels of nitrate -- including the High Plains Aquifer residing beneath Nebraska -- also contain uranium concentrations far exceeding a threshold set by the Environmental Protection Agency. Uranium concentrations above that EPA threshold have been shown to cause kidney damage in humans, especially when regularly consumed via drinking water.
Published Defunding prevention and climate change drive rebound of malaria in Peru
(via sciencedaily.com) Malaria control programs in Amazonian Peru helped reduce the incidence of the deadly parasitic disease by 78 percent. That is, until the programs ceased to operate. Within four years of the programs being de-funded, malaria rates where right back where they started. The rebound was driven not only by the removal of prevention programs, but also by climate change. Average temperatures in Peru have risen a half-degree Centigrade in the last 20 years.
Published Biodiversity amid climate change
(via sciencedaily.com) Fewer parasites in U.S. waters might be seen by many as a good thing, but a biologist says the trend signals potential danger for fish and other wildlife.
Published In hot water: Ocean warming impacts growth, metabolic rate and gene activity of newly hatched clownfish
(via sciencedaily.com) Future ocean warming and marine heatwaves could impact the growth and development of clownfish during their earliest life stages, suggests a new study.
Published Genome research: Origin and evolution of vine
(via sciencedaily.com) Cultivation and growth of grapevines have strongly influenced European civilizations, but where the grapevine comes from and how it has spread across the globe has been highly disputed so far. In an extensive genome project, researchers have determined its origin and evolution from the wild vine to today's cultivar by analyzing thousands of vine genomes collected along the Silk Road from China to Western Europe.
Published Stressed out: Mapping the human footprint on coastal areas globally
(via sciencedaily.com) A global mapping project has revealed the major stressors placed upon global coastlines by human activity.