Earth | Page 1280 | Science Codex

Ionic liquids lead the way to cleaner, more efficient CO2 capture capability

LIVERMORE, Calif. - Separating carbon dioxide from its polluting source, such as the flue gas from a coal-fired power plant, may soon become cleaner and more efficient.

A Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory researcher has developed a screening method that would use ionic liquids - a special type of molten salt that becomes liquid under the boiling point of water (100 degrees Celsius) - to separate carbon dioxide from its source, making it a cleaner, more viable and stable method than what is currently available.

Predator-prey interactions are key 'conductor' of nature's synchronicity

Now researchers at Yale University and the University of Calgary report in the July 22 issue of Nature's advanced online publication that predator-prey interactions are the "conductors" of synchronicity in living organisms.

"Change these interactions and you can suffer disastrous consequences to these systems," said David Vasseur, co-author of the paper and assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at Yale.

Ytterbium increases scientists understanding of the weak nuclear force

Measurements with ytterbium-174, an isotope with 70 protons and 104 neutrons, have shown the largest effects of parity violation in an atom ever observed – a hundred times larger than the most precise measurements made so far, with the element cesium.

"Parity" assumes that, on the atomic scale, nature behaves identically when left and right are reversed. In other words, interactions that are otherwise the same but whose spatial configurations are switched, as if seen in a mirror, ought to be indistinguishable. Sounds like common sense but, remarkably, this isn't always the case.

The causes and consequences of ecological variation under investigation

The three-spine stickleback is a tiny fish that thrives in oceans and in fresh water might appear to be the same. Ecologists, however, are finding that they are actually a diverse collection of very specialized individuals.

Population and Community Ecology Consequences of Intraspecific Niche Variation is the topic of a NIMBioS Working Group comprised of biologists and mathematicians from universities and other academic institutions across North America and Europe.

Low-dose CT method, delivering 50 percent less radiation, correctly identifies patients with appendicitis

Patients with possible appendicitis are typically evaluated using a standard-dose contrast enhanced CT, but a low-dose unenhanced CT that delivers approximately 50% less radiation is just as effective, according to a study performed at the Seoul National University College of Medicine in Seoul, Korea. The standard-dose enhanced CT scan delivers approximately 8.0 mSv of radiation; the low-dose unenhanced CT scan delivers approximately 4.2 mSv of radiation.

Geoscientists from the Alfred Wegener Institute back from an expedition to Labrador Sea

Bremerhaven, July 20th 2009. Scientists from the Alfred Wegener Institute have researched the geology of the seabed in the Labrador Sea on board of the research vessel Maria S. Merian. They have studied the so-called Eirik Drift at the southern tip of Greenland, a structure of several hundred kilometres length formed like a ridge. They discovered a submarine mountain (seamount) at the south-western fringe of their area of investigation that indicates volcanic eruptions during the past few million years.

Coral reef health dependent on surrounding ocean conditions

New research led by scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego suggests that by improving overall ocean health, corals are better able to recover from bleaching events. These events occur when rising sea temperatures force corals to expel their symbiotic algae, known as zooxanthellae. It is a phenomenon that is expected to rise in frequency as global climate change increases ocean temperatures.

Australia discovered by the 'Southern Route'

Genetic research indicates that Australian Aborigines initially arrived via south Asia. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Evolutionary Biology have found telltale mutations in modern-day Indian populations that are exclusively shared by Aborigines.

Number of coast horned lizard species still growing

In a study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, and the U.S. Geological Survey consider genetic, anatomical, and ecological criteria to show that when the Coast Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma coronatum) moved north from Baja California and spread throughout the state, it diverged into at least two new species.

Addition of gallium creates improved coagulant for water treatment

By substituting a single atom into a molecule widely used to purify water, researchers at Sandia National Laboratories have created a far more effective decontaminate with an improved shelf life.

The material removes bacterial, viral, organic, and inorganic contaminants from river water destined for human consumption, as well as wastewater from treatment plants prior to its return to the environment.

Tiny diamonds found near Santa Barbara hint at cosmic impact

Nanosized diamonds found just a few meters below the surface of Santa Rosa Island off the coast of Santa Barbara provide strong evidence of a cosmic impact event in North America approximately 12,900 years ago, according to a new study. Their hypothesis holds that fragments from a comet struck across North America at that time.

Climate manipulation shows potential but requires caution

Geoengineering - deliberately manipulating physical, chemical, or biological aspects of the Earth system to confront climate change – could contribute to a comprehensive risk management strategy to slow climate change but could also create considerable new risks, according to a policy statement released by the American Meteorological Society (AMS) today.

Corn yield varies with rotations and fertility

MADISON, WI, July 20, 2009 -- Understanding temporal variability in crop yields has implications for sustainable crop production, particularly since greater fluxes in crop yields are projected with global climate change.

Many long-term cropping system studies have compared average crop yields; this study looked at stability of yields and whether cropping systems and manure applications affected crop yields differently in poor- and high- yielding years.

UCI scientists discover ozone-boosting chemical reaction

Irvine, Calif. – Burning of fossil fuels pumps chemicals into the air that react on surfaces such as buildings and roads to create photochemical smog-forming chlorine atoms, UC Irvine scientists report in a new study.

Under extreme circumstances, this previously unknown chemistry could account for up to 40 parts per billion of ozone – nearly half of California's legal limit on outdoor air pollution. This reaction is not included in computer models used to predict air pollution levels and the effectiveness of ozone control strategies that can cost billions of dollars.

Climate change could jeopardize western U.S. water supply

As the West warms, a drier Colorado River system could see as much as a one-in-two chance of fully depleting all of its reservoir storage by mid-century assuming current management practices continue on course, according to a new University of Colorado at Boulder study.