New research provide evidence that the crustacean carapace, along with other plate-like structures in arthropods (crustaceans, insects, arachnids, and myriapods) all evolved from a lateral leg lobe in a common ancestor more than 500 million years ago. This work further supports their proposal for a new concept of how novel...
Signaling ‘stressed-out’ plants
As plants experience multiple stressors from heat, drought and flooding because of extreme weather events, a plant scientist recently discovered a new way of measuring whether they are stressed out.
NASA’s Mineral Dust Detector Starts Gathering Data
Newly installed on the space station, the instrument, called EMIT, will help answer questions about how mineral dust from Earth’s arid regions affects climate.
Utah’s Great Salt Lake is Disappearing
Utah’s Great Salt Lake dropped to its lowest recorded water level last month as a megadrought persists across the US southwest
Most but Not All Texas Coaches Say They’ll Plan for Climate Change
Rice University survey suggests some aren’t considering dangerous conditions to come
Long-term consequences for Europe’s climate ambitions when the EU turns off Russian gas
Have the European climate ambitions been put back by the war in Ukraine? New research shows that the very high gas prices currently experienced by the Eurozone are actually a very efficient driver for the green transition.
Building bricks from waste materials
Firing bricks and making mortar and cement is very costly, but organic chemists are working on more sustainable alternatives -- focusing on building materials made from waste products. In another move into the circular economy, researchers have used low-cost feedstocks to make lightweight but durable polymer building blocks which can...
Cloud study demystifies impact of aerosols
Aerosol particles in the atmosphere have a bigger impact on cloud cover -- but less effect on cloud brightness -- than previously thought, new research shows.
Turning fish waste into quality carbon-based nanomaterial
Carbon nano-onions (CNOs), a form of carbon nanostructure with excellent electrical and thermal conductivities, find several applications in biomedicine, bioimaging, energy conversion, and electronics. However, conventional methods to produce them suffer from high complexity, toxicity, and energy consumption. Fortunately, scientists have now found a convenient and eco-friendly way to synthesize...
Increased heart disease risk from red meat may stem from gut microbe response to digestion
A new study found that chemicals produced in the digestive tract by gut microbes after eating red meat (such as beef, pork, bison, venison) explained a significant portion of the higher risk of cardiovascular disease associated with higher red meat consumption. High blood sugar and inflammation may also contribute to...