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Inspired by this problem, USC researchers have devised a method to transform post-consumer mixed plastics into a variety of diverse and valuable secondary products with unprecedented efficiency. This two-stage method, described this week in Angewandte Chemie, has exciting potential applications for pharmaceutical development, manufacturing materials and other products. “Polyethylene is the least recycled of the …

A waste windfall: New process shows promise turning plastic trash into pharmaceuticals Read More »

Electrochemical hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is a widely used hydrogen-generation method. But commercial HER electrocatalysts are made from precious metals, which are expensive. On the other hand, single-atom catalysts have promising potential in catalytic HER applications because of their high activity, maximised atomic efficiency, and minimised catalyst usage. But the conventional fabrication process of single-atom …

Two novel hydrogen production catalysts based on mineral gel and ‘crystalline-amorphous’ dual-phase nano-aluminium alloy Read More »

The findings highlight the importance of preserving the world’s remaining old-growth forests, which are biodiversity strongholds that store vast amounts of planet-warming carbon, according to University of Michigan forest ecologist Tsun Fung (Tom) Au, a postdoctoral fellow at the Institute for Global Change Biology. “The number of old-growth forests on the planet is declining, while …

Old-growth trees more drought tolerant than younger ones, providing a buffer against climate change Read More »

Greg McLaskey ’05, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering in Cornell Engineering, and members of his research group model earthquakes in the Bovay Laboratory Complex, and have developed a method for mimicking the type of delayed seismic activity that follows an earthquake. Using a hybrid sample that combines plastic blocks and powdered rock, McLaskey’s …

Earthquake lab experiments produce aftershock-like behavior Read More »

“Trade-wind clouds influence the climate system around the globe, but the data demonstrate behavior differently than previously assumed. Consequently, an extreme rise in Earth’s temperatures is less likely than previously thought,” says Vogel, an atmospheric scientist. “Though this aspect is very important for more accurately projecting future climate scenarios, it definitely doesn’t mean we can …

Clouds less climate-sensitive than assumed Read More »

Filter systems, ranging from faucet attachments to room-sized industrial systems, clean up water for drinking and other uses. However, current filtration membranes have a hard time if the water is extremely dirty or has small, neutral molecules, such as boric acid — a common insecticide used on crop plants. This is because synthetic porous materials …

Designing better water filters with AI Read More »

Now, a team of scientists, including Michael Frachetti, professor of archaeology in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, have uncovered a surprising finding: small communities of highland pastoralists living in present-day Uzbekistan in Central Asia produced and supplied roughly one-third of the tin found aboard the ship — tin that was en …

Findings from 2,000-year-old Uluburun shipwreck reveal complex trade network Read More »

The study by an international team that includes Rice bioscientist Lydia Beaudrot and is led by Andrea Vallejo-Vargas, a graduate student at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences and currently a visiting scholar at Rice, found that communities of mammals across the wet tropics divide their days in similar ways, all generally geared toward finding …

Tropical wildlife follow the same daily patterns worldwide Read More »

As operating temperature rises by 1 degree Celsius, traditional silicon-based solar cells will lose about 0.5% efficiency. In a typical photovoltaic plant, where modules operate nearly 25 degrees Celsius above the ambient temperature, energy losses can reach 12%. This necessitates effective cooling measures for solar farms. In the Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy, by …

Cooling down solar cells, naturally Read More »

The researchers found that grey mangroves (Avicennia marina) can tolerate high lead, zinc, arsenic, cadmium and copper in contaminated sediment — without sustaining adverse health impacts themselves. The study tested the health of grey mangroves living around the Port Pirie smelter. Using leaf chlorophyll content as a proxy to plant health, mangroves were found to …

Mangroves: Environmental guardians of our coastline Read More »