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Newswise: Different Microorganisms Have a Taste for Different Flavors of Ammonia
Released: 31-May-2024 10:05 AM EDT
Different Microorganisms Have a Taste for Different Flavors of Ammonia
Department of Energy, Office of Science

Ammonia-oxidizing microorganisms (AOMs) use ammonia as an energy source while converting it to nitrite and play a pivotal role in the global nitrogen cycle. This study explored whether different AOM species preferred to use urea over ammonia. It found that some AOMs preferred urea while others used ammonia and urea simultaneously.

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Released: 30-May-2024 9:05 AM EDT
UWF and three other State University System of Florida institutions partner to test a model for oyster metabolites and Vibrio bacteria
University of West Florida

A research team composed of faculty from UWF, the Florida Institute of Technology, Florida Gulf Coast University and New College of Florida was recently awarded $200,000 from the Gulf of Mexico Alliance for their project, “An AI-Directed Tool Development for Pathogenic ‘Flesh-eating’ Vibrio Bacteria Prediction and Control.”

Newswise: New wind speed sensor uses minimal power for advanced weather tracking
Released: 29-May-2024 11:05 AM EDT
New wind speed sensor uses minimal power for advanced weather tracking
Chinese Academy of Sciences

Researchers have unveiled a pioneering breeze wake-up anemometer (B-WA), employing a rolling-bearing triboelectric nanogenerator (RB-TENG) that provides a new strategy for low-energy consumption environmental monitoring. The ability of the B-WA to operate autonomously and efficiently in varying wind conditions marks a substantial advancement in the field of sustainable environmental monitoring.

Newswise: Abandoned farmlands could play a role in fighting climate change. A new study shows exactly where they are.
Released: 29-May-2024 11:05 AM EDT
Abandoned farmlands could play a role in fighting climate change. A new study shows exactly where they are.
University of Wisconsin–Madison

Farmland is often a battleground in the fight against climate change.Solar panels and energy crops are pitted against food production, while well-intended policy choices can create incentives for farmers to till up new lands, releasing even more heat-trapping gas into the atmosphere.That’s why strategies for sustainable plant-based fuels focus on marginal lands — fields that are too hard to cultivate or don’t produce good enough yields to be considered profitable.

Released: 29-May-2024 8:05 AM EDT
Living fast, dying young: Bar-Ilan University study reveals impact of habitat disturbance on social organization of Arabian babblers
Bar-Ilan University

Habitat change, fragmentation, and reduction caused by human activity are significant threats to the natural environment, leading to a decline in biodiversity and increased species extinction. Among the most vulnerable are social animals, whose intricate social structures and cooperative breeding behaviors are closely linked to their habitats. A new study led by Prof. Lee Koren, from the Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences at Bar-Ilan University, explores the profound effects of habitat disturbance on the Arabian babbler, a social bird species known for its cooperative breeding.

Newswise: Researchers improve satellite surveillance of emperor penguins:
Released: 29-May-2024 8:00 AM EDT
Researchers improve satellite surveillance of emperor penguins:
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

New method will provide accurate counts and breeding success of the threatened species in the light of climate change

Newswise: A Cleaner Way to Produce Ammonia
Released: 28-May-2024 10:30 AM EDT
A Cleaner Way to Produce Ammonia
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Ammonia is the starting point for the fertilizers that have secured the world’s food supply for the last century. It’s also a main component of cleaning products, and is even considered as a future carbon-free replacement for fossil fuels in vehicles.

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Released: 28-May-2024 10:05 AM EDT
Internet of Waste: SLU Researcher Tackles the Recycling Problem with GeoAI and Sensor-Powered Waste, Recycling Bins
Saint Louis University

Orhun Aydin, Ph.D., assistant professor in Earth and Atmospheric Science at SLU’s School for Science and Engineering, received a $149,791 planning grant from the National Science Foundation for a program to put sensors in garbage and recycling bins around the City of St. Louis.

Newswise: Green wheels: new study maps the road to eco-friendly driving
Released: 27-May-2024 10:05 AM EDT
Green wheels: new study maps the road to eco-friendly driving
Chinese Academy of Sciences

The push for carbon neutrality in the transportation sector is driving significant research and development (R&D) across the globe. A new study provides a comprehensive analysis of the distinct national strategies and R&D organizational paradigms aimed at achieving carbon neutrality in road transport.

Newswise: Enhancing energy efficiency in China's public buildings: a multifaceted approach
Released: 27-May-2024 12:05 AM EDT
Enhancing energy efficiency in China's public buildings: a multifaceted approach
Chinese Academy of Sciences

A collaborative study has identified key policy tools and challenges in improving energy efficiency (EEI) for public buildings in China. The research, published in the City and Built Environment journal, offers a comprehensive analysis of the current state of EEI policy tools and proposes innovative solutions to overcome existing obstacles.

Newswise: New Research Reveals Differences in the Function of Fine Roots
Released: 24-May-2024 2:05 PM EDT
New Research Reveals Differences in the Function of Fine Roots
Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory - EMSL

Using a 26-year-old common garden forest, a multi-institutional team of researchers collected fine root samples from four temperate tree species (three deciduous and one coniferous) that varied in their morphology.

Newswise: Bolivia Shines in the City Nature Challenge 2024: La Paz Achieves Third Consecutive Victory!
Released: 24-May-2024 2:05 PM EDT
Bolivia Shines in the City Nature Challenge 2024: La Paz Achieves Third Consecutive Victory!
Wildlife Conservation Society

For the third year in a row, the city of La Paz, Bolivia topped the list of participants in the City Nature Challenge, a friendly citizen science competition among cities from around the global that measures the highest number of wildlife observations, species diversity, and participant engagement.

Newswise:Video Embedded help-stop-the-invasive-spotted-lanternfly
VIDEO
Released: 23-May-2024 10:05 AM EDT
Help stop the invasive spotted lanternfly
Virginia Tech

It’s visually striking. When fully grown, open wings display showy hind wings with bright red near the abdomen, black spots, and black-and-white bars. But the spotted lanternfly, an invasive insect that came to the United States from its native habitat of Southeast Asia in 2014, is destructive. Despite its name, though, the spotted lanternfly is not a fly.

Newswise: Wayne State faculty member named president of the International Association for Great Lakes Research
Released: 23-May-2024 9:05 AM EDT
Wayne State faculty member named president of the International Association for Great Lakes Research
Wayne State University Division of Research

The International Association for Great Lakes Research today announced its new board of directors and has named Donna Kashian, Ph.D., professor of biological sciences and director of environmental sciences in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Wayne State University, as president. Kashian previously served as vice president of the board.

Newswise: Many Microplastics in the World’s Oceans Have Likely Escaped Detection
Released: 22-May-2024 3:05 PM EDT
Many Microplastics in the World’s Oceans Have Likely Escaped Detection
Stony Brook University

A new study that investigated the presence of the smallest particles of microplastics (MPs) in ocean waters from the Caribbean to the Arctic found that the most abundant (and tiny) MPs in the ocean are not being detected by net tow surveys.

Newswise:Video Embedded sea-surveillance
VIDEO
Released: 22-May-2024 3:05 PM EDT
Sea Surveillance
Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory

Off the southeastern tip of Greenland in mid-June, Hayley DeHart, a genomics and marine scientist at APL, disembarked Lindblad Expedition’s National Geographic Endurance — a 407-foot (124-meter) ice-cutting cruise ship — and stepped into a small Zodiac inflatable motorboat.

   
Newswise: What happened to the ‘fireproof’ desert—and what can be done
Released: 22-May-2024 11:05 AM EDT
What happened to the ‘fireproof’ desert—and what can be done
Northern Arizona University

The Sonoran Desert of southern Arizona and northern Mexico has long been largely immune to fires, despite its intense heat. There simply wasn't enough fuel to feed severe fires. In the last two decades, wetter winters and the increase of invasive species have caused a rapid shift to the desert environment.

Newswise: Tracking Down Toxic Metals From Tobacco Smoke
Released: 21-May-2024 11:00 AM EDT
Tracking Down Toxic Metals From Tobacco Smoke
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Homes and public places where people smoke may have high levels of harmful trace metals from cigarettes, even after smoking stops, Berkeley Lab researchers have found. These metals include cadmium, arsenic, and chromium, and the levels may be above safety limits set by California.

Released: 21-May-2024 10:05 AM EDT
Costly gas separation may not be needed to recycle CO2 from air and industrial plants
University of Michigan

A costly step in the process of taking carbon dioxide emissions and converting them into useful products such as biofuels and pharmaceuticals may not be necessary, according to University of Michigan researchers.

Newswise: Can coal mines be tapped for rare earth elements?
Released: 20-May-2024 5:05 PM EDT
Can coal mines be tapped for rare earth elements?
University of Utah

A team of geologists led by the University of Utah analyzed 3,500 samples taken in and around coal mines in Utah and Colorado. Their findings open the possibility that these mines could see a secondary resource stream in the form of rare earth metals used in renewable energy and numerous other high-tech applications.

Newswise: Long-term ocean sampling in Rhode Island's Narragansett Bay reveals plummeting plankton levels: impact uncertain for local food web
Released: 20-May-2024 3:05 PM EDT
Long-term ocean sampling in Rhode Island's Narragansett Bay reveals plummeting plankton levels: impact uncertain for local food web
University of Rhode Island

Digitizing decades worth of pre-computer files held in storage at the Narragansett Bay campus let oceanographers at the University of Rhode Island get a better picture of Narragansett Bay over time. URI operates the longest-running time series in Rhode Island, which now reveals that the level of phytoplankton in the bay has dropped by half in the last half century.

Newswise: thwaites_main-1280px-90-1060x706.jpeg
Released: 20-May-2024 3:05 PM EDT
UC Irvine-Led Team Uncovers ‘Vigorous Melting’ at Antarctica’s Thwaites Glacier
University of California, Irvine

A team of glaciologists led by researchers at the University of California, Irvine used high-resolution satellite radar data to find evidence of the intrusion of warm, high-pressure seawater many kilometers beneath the grounded ice of West Antarctica’s Thwaites Glacier.

Newswise: BRI announces publication of in-depth scientific paper on
mercury concentrations in fish and wildlife on a global scale
Released: 20-May-2024 11:10 AM EDT
BRI announces publication of in-depth scientific paper on mercury concentrations in fish and wildlife on a global scale
Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI)

Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI) announces the publication of the scientific paper Global Mercury Concentrations in Biota: Their Use as a Basis for a Global Biomonitoring Framework in the journal Ecotoxicology. The paper describes for the first time currently available mercury data for fish and wildlife on a global scale.

Newswise: Tomato blossoms unfold new insights: key gene TM6 controls flower development
Released: 20-May-2024 9:00 AM EDT
Tomato blossoms unfold new insights: key gene TM6 controls flower development
Chinese Academy of Sciences

A cutting-edge study has shed light on the TOMATO MADS-BOX 6 (TM6) gene's critical influence on the elaborate development of tomato flowers. This research pierces the veil on the genetic underpinnings of floral formation, providing fresh insights into the realm of plant biology.

Newswise: After Hundreds of Years, Study Confirms Bermuda Now Home to Cownose Rays
Released: 20-May-2024 8:45 AM EDT
After Hundreds of Years, Study Confirms Bermuda Now Home to Cownose Rays
Florida Atlantic University

Using citizen science, photographs, on-water observations and the combination of morphological and genetic data, researchers are the first to provide evidence that the Atlantic cownose ray has recently made a new home in Bermuda. Results show that after hundreds of years of natural history records, this is a novel migration of Atlantic cownose rays to Bermuda. Findings suggest that cownose rays have been in Bermuda for more than a decade since 2012 and observations of the species continue to be sustained today.

Released: 20-May-2024 8:25 AM EDT
Cloudy waters causes African fish to develop bigger eyes
Ohio State University

Variations in water quality can impact the development of the visual system of one species of African fish, suggests a new study.

Newswise:Video Embedded a-waterfall-lost-and-a-river-found
VIDEO
Released: 20-May-2024 7:00 AM EDT
A waterfall lost and a river found
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Matt and Brandon traveled to Ecuador's rainforests to map the Coca River with drones. The river is experiencing massive erosion and sedimentation problems after the San Rafael waterfall collapsed in 2020. Their work could help the country save a hydroelectric power plant that provides 30% of the country's electricity as well as roads and pipelines the area's people depend on for commerce and transportation.

Newswise: Unraveling the Metabolic Mysteries of Turfgrass Under Heat Stress
Released: 20-May-2024 6:05 AM EDT
Unraveling the Metabolic Mysteries of Turfgrass Under Heat Stress
Chinese Academy of Sciences

A research team has identified key metabolic composition differences between annual bluegrass and creeping bentgrass under heat stress, revealing specific metabolites linked to heat tolerance.

Newswise: Exploring the Multifaceted Role of MicroRNA156 in Horticultural Plants: A Review of Its Regulatory Impact and Biotechnological Potential
Released: 20-May-2024 5:05 AM EDT
Exploring the Multifaceted Role of MicroRNA156 in Horticultural Plants: A Review of Its Regulatory Impact and Biotechnological Potential
Chinese Academy of Sciences

A research team has reviewed the role of MicroRNA156 (miR156) in horticultural plants, uncovering its significant influence on a variety of biological processes such as vegetative growth, floral induction, and stress response.

Newswise: Unveiling the Genetic Interplay in Impatiens Downy Mildew: A Transcriptome-Based Approach to Enhancing Disease Resistance
Released: 20-May-2024 4:05 AM EDT
Unveiling the Genetic Interplay in Impatiens Downy Mildew: A Transcriptome-Based Approach to Enhancing Disease Resistance
Chinese Academy of Sciences

A research team has meticulously analyzed the transcriptional response of Impatiens walleriana to Plasmopara obducens infection, revealing between 3,000 and 4,500 differentially expressed transcripts at various stages of the disease.

Newswise: Bolstering environmental data science with equity-centered approaches
Released: 16-May-2024 10:05 AM EDT
Bolstering environmental data science with equity-centered approaches
Chinese Academy of Sciences

In a significant stride toward justice in environmental sciences, a recent study has unveiled the urgent necessity of embedding equity throughout all phases of environmental data science and machine learning research and application.

Newswise: Media Tip: Getting genetic with it
Released: 16-May-2024 10:05 AM EDT
Media Tip: Getting genetic with it
Argonne National Laboratory

From lemur poop to good old human poop, our waste has a story to tell. The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory’s Environmental Sample Preparation and Sequencing Facility (ESPSF) has the tools and technology to get to the bottom of genetic mysteries from the natural world. Facility Manager Sarah Owens can help shed light on the quirkier side of genetics.

   
Newswise: Revving up individual’s climate action: how our plates and wheels can drive down carbon emissions
Released: 16-May-2024 7:20 AM EDT
Revving up individual’s climate action: how our plates and wheels can drive down carbon emissions
Chinese Academy of Sciences

A recent article outlines a novel approach to understanding and reducing personal carbon emissions. By comparing daily energy use to food consumption and transportations, researchers provide clear strategies for individuals to reduce their carbon footprint effectively.

Newswise: Carbon-capture batteries developed to store renewable energy, help climate
Released: 15-May-2024 3:05 PM EDT
Carbon-capture batteries developed to store renewable energy, help climate
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

.Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory are developing battery technologies to fight climate change in two ways, by expanding the use of renewable energy and capturing airborne carbon dioxide. This type of battery stores the renewable energy generated by solar panels or wind turbines. Utilizing this energy when wind and sunlight are unavailable requires an electrochemical reaction that, in ORNL’s new battery formulations, captures carbon dioxide from industrial emissions and converts it to value-added products.

Released: 15-May-2024 11:05 AM EDT
WashU researchers will explore stratospheric aerosol injection with a $1.5 million grant from the Simons Foundation
Washington University in St. Louis

Scientists at the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis will explore stratospheric aerosol injection with a $1.5 million grant from the Simons Foundation International.

Newswise: Equity Must Be Considered In Ocean Governance To Achieve Global Targets By 2030
Released: 14-May-2024 5:05 PM EDT
Equity Must Be Considered In Ocean Governance To Achieve Global Targets By 2030
Wildlife Conservation Society

As the world presses forward with urgency towards reaching global biodiversity and climate targets by 2030, there must be increased attention to center equity in dialogue and practice when designing ocean conservation, adaptation and development interventions.

Newswise: 90% of Floridians Believe Climate Change is Happening
Released: 14-May-2024 8:30 AM EDT
90% of Floridians Believe Climate Change is Happening
Florida Atlantic University

FAU’s latest “Florida Climate Resilience Survey” found that 90% of Floridians believe that climate change is happening. Belief in human-caused climate change has surged among Florida Independents while slipping among Republicans. Despite these changes, the survey found enduring support among Floridians for increased government action to address the consequences of a warming planet.

Newswise: Study enhances forest monitoring accuracy in Mexico
Released: 14-May-2024 8:05 AM EDT
Study enhances forest monitoring accuracy in Mexico
University of Delaware

Led by the University of Delaware, a team of researchers assessed forest extent in Mexico using satellite data and ground inventories with the goal of improving accuracy in forest monitoring. The research will improve future data collection efforts and enhance decision-making for forest management.

Newswise: Seafloor life devastated near explosive volcanic eruption in Pacific, URI research shows
Released: 13-May-2024 3:05 PM EDT
Seafloor life devastated near explosive volcanic eruption in Pacific, URI research shows
University of Rhode Island

A University of Rhode Island oceanographer leading her first research cruise in the southern Pacific uncovered a surprise when her vessel looked below the waters in the Polynesian nation of Tonga.

Newswise: Weaker Ocean Currents Lead to Decline in Nutrients for  North Atlantic Ocean Life During Prehistoric Climate Change, Research Shows
Released: 9-May-2024 4:05 PM EDT
Weaker Ocean Currents Lead to Decline in Nutrients for North Atlantic Ocean Life During Prehistoric Climate Change, Research Shows
Georgia Institute of Technology

In a first-of-its kind study, researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology have investigated how the prehistoric weakening of a major ocean current led to a decline in ocean nutrients and negative impacts on North Atlantic ocean life. The results support predictions about how our oceans might react to a changing climate — and what that means for ocean life.

Newswise: Turning trash into treasure: breakthrough innovations in PET plastic upcycling
Released: 9-May-2024 11:05 AM EDT
Turning trash into treasure: breakthrough innovations in PET plastic upcycling
Chinese Academy of Sciences

A recent review has unveiled revolutionary methods to recycle and transform everyday polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic into valuable materials. By harnessing cutting-edge enzymes and catalysts, the review dramatically improves how we break down and reuse PET, slashing energy use and emissions.

Newswise: Rapid oyster reef restoration gives hope for repairing the sea
Released: 8-May-2024 9:05 PM EDT
Rapid oyster reef restoration gives hope for repairing the sea
University of Adelaide

After a century of functional extinction on the Australian mainland, a Flat oyster reef has been successfully restored along a metropolitan Adelaide coastline.

Released: 8-May-2024 2:05 PM EDT
Argonne to launch new project to decarbonize iron production
Argonne National Laboratory

Argonne National Laboratory will be receiving $3 million over three years to lead a project on developing a technology for ironmaking with zero carbon emissions and lower required energy.

Newswise: For Sustainable Aviation Fuel, Researchers Engineer a Promising Microorganism for Precursor Production
Released: 8-May-2024 2:05 PM EDT
For Sustainable Aviation Fuel, Researchers Engineer a Promising Microorganism for Precursor Production
Department of Energy, Office of Science

Researchers used advanced computing techniques to engineer the bacteria Pseudomonas putida to optimize its production of isoprenol using carbon from plant material. Isoprenol has a potential role in the production of jet biofuel blendstocks.

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Released: 6-May-2024 9:05 AM EDT
Expert says fireflies aren’t going extinct, but their numbers are dwindling
Virginia Tech

For many people, fireflies lighting up backyards is a sign of summertime. The thrill of catching them in a jar and releasing them back into the wild is a childhood pastime. But if you have noticed a decline in fireflies over the years, you’re not alone. Virginia Tech entomologist Eric Day explains why climate and urban development are playing a big role in the decreasing numbers.



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