How a molecular machine is assembled to convert light to food for plants
The conversion of light into chemical energy by plants and photosynthetic microorganisms is one of the most important processes in nature, removing climate-damaging CO2 from the atmosphere. Protein complexes, so-called photosystems, play the key role.....»»
Promising triazole molecular catalyst enables efficient electroreduction of carbon dioxide to methane
The efficient conversion of carbon dioxide (CO2)—one of the main compounds contributing to climate change—into useful fuels and chemicals is a long sought-after research goal. Recent studies have introduced various catalysts that could be used to.....»»
De"Longhi"s new fully manual coffee machine lets you call the shots
From grinding to steaming, you're in control.....»»
Photosynthesis is under threat in an increasingly warm world, says researcher
The basis of all life on Earth is photosynthesis. So, what happens if it is disrupted? Today, advanced measurement tools can reveal how climate change is affecting plants' ability to process the energy from sunlight......»»
Walk or run in the rain? A physics-based approached to staying dry (or at least drier)
We've all been there—caught outside without an umbrella as the sky opens up. Whether it's a light drizzle or a heavy downpour, instinct tells us that running will minimize how wet we get. But is that really true? Let's take a scientific look at thi.....»»
Study combines woodchips and biochar to clean water of pharmaceuticals, nutrients
What happens to ibuprofen after it eases your throbbing headache? Like many pharmaceuticals, it can remain in an active form when our bodies flush it out. That's a problem, because although wastewater treatment plants are good at reducing nutrient po.....»»
Accurately weighing costs and benefits of different methods for controlling invasive species
Invasive insect species bring a host of health, social, ecological and economic consequences, including crop damage, food insecurity, biodiversity loss, ecosystem disruption, human disease transmission and rising allergy rates......»»
Satellite-derived data on artificial light at night indicate rapidly increasing industrial activities in the Arctic
More than 800,000 km2 of the Arctic were affected by human activity in 2013, according to an analysis of satellite-derived data on artificial light at night. On average, 85% of the light-polluted areas are due to industrial activities rather than urb.....»»
How plants compete for light: Researchers discover new mechanism in shade avoidance
Plants that are close together do everything they can to intercept light. This "shade avoidance" response has been extensively researched. It is therefore even more remarkable that researchers from the laboratory of Molecular Biology at Wageningen Un.....»»
Tracking vampire worms with machine learning
Blood samples of patients infected with a parasitic worm that causes schistosomiasis contain hidden information that marks different stages of the disease. In our recently published research, our team used machine learning to uncover that hidden info.....»»
Understanding the relationship between food waste, climate change and an aging population
Producing food and getting it to people's plates entails a significant expenditure of energy and resources. Unfortunately, approximately one third of all food produced globally is not consumed and discarded. Hence, to build sustainable societies, it.....»»
Nitrogen-fixing plant diversity declines with over-fertilization, study finds
Anthropogenic nitrogen deposition and climate change can reduce the competitive advantage of nitrogen-fixing plants, leading to reduced diversity of these plants in a community. Surprisingly, changes in temperature and aridity do not contribute to th.....»»
Loss of "nitrogen fixers" threatens biodiversity, ecosystems, say biologists
Mississippi State University is part of a European-American collaboration studying how human activities, like fertilizer use and pollution, are impacting nitrogen-fixing plants which are crucial for maintaining healthy ecosystems by adding nitrogen t.....»»
Invasive flathead catfish impacting Susquehanna"s food chain, researchers find
Flathead catfish—native to the Mississippi River basin—were first detected in the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania in 2002, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. In the two decades since then, the invasive species has spread throughout the ri.....»»
UN biodiversity summit opens with call for "significant" funding
The world's biggest nature protection conference opens in Colombia Monday with the United Nations chief calling for countries to "convert words into action" and fatten a fund seeking to address biodiversity loss......»»
Researchers to explore light and ultrasound therapy for melanoma treatment in pigs
Texas A&M University researchers are collaborating on a new project that studies how ultrasound and light can treat melanomas in pigs......»»
Scientists find southern killer whales of the Pacific have access to enough food, deepening mystery of their struggles
A pair of marine mammal scientists at The University of British Columbia, has found that claims that a lack of access to salmon is what is driving the crash in population numbers for southern resident killer whales of the Pacific are wrong......»»
All-optical switch device paves way for faster fiber-optic communication
Modern high-speed internet uses light to quickly and reliably transmit large amounts of data through fiber-optic cables, but currently, light signals hit a bottleneck when data processing is necessary. For that, they must convert into electrical sign.....»»
Saturday Citations: Brown dwarf actually brown dwarfs; the adaptability of ice-age humans; archaeologists excited
This week, researchers discovered a near-Earth microquasar that sheds new light on sources of relativistic outflows. Doctors reported finding a triphallic gentleman. And neuroscientists reported on modest cognitive boosts from short (or "acute," in c.....»»
Materials of the future can be extracted from wastewater
A group of researchers is on the way to revolutionizing what biomass from wastewater treatment plants can be used for. Biopolymers from bacteria can be a sustainable alternative to oil-based products, and phosphorus and other minerals can also be har.....»»
New strategy unlocks magnetic switching with hydrogen bonding at molecular level
A research team from Kumamoto University has successfully developed a new approach to create switchable magnetic materials by using hydrogen bonding at the molecular level. Their study shows how certain metal complexes, previously unresponsive to ext.....»»