In a remarkable breakthrough in the field of Mathematical Science, Professor Kyudong Choi from the Department of Mathematical Sciences at UNIST has provided an irrefutable proof that certain spherical vortices exist in a stable state. This groundbreaking discovery holds significant implications for predicting weather anomalies and advancing weather prediction technologies. A vortex is a rotating … Read more
Humanity continuously emits greenhouse gases and thereby worsens global warming. Increasing research efforts go into developing strategies to convert these gases, such as carbon dioxide (CO2), into valuable products. CO2 accumulates dramatically over the years and is chemically very stable, thus challenging to transform. Yet, for billions of years, some microbes have actively captured CO2 … Read more
Plastic waste that accumulates on land eventually ends up in the ocean as microplastics. However, it is now speculated that microplastics are also present in the atmosphere, contained in clouds. In a new study, researchers analyzed cloud water samples from high-altitude mountains in Japan to ascertain the amount of microplastics in them. They also shed … Read more
Engineers at MIT and in China are aiming to turn seawater into drinking water with a completely passive device that is inspired by the ocean, and powered by the sun. In a paper appearing today in the journal Joule, the team outlines the design for a new solar desalination system that takes in saltwater and … Read more
In two recent papers, Saint Louis University researchers report finding high concentrations of microplastics present in a Missouri cave system that had been closed to human visitors for 30 years. Elizabeth Hasenmueller, Ph.D., associate professor of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and associate director of the WATER Institute at SLU, and her team published findings in … Read more
In February, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake shook the Turkey-Syria border, followed by one nearly as large nine hours later. Shallow faults less than 18 miles beneath the surface buckled and ruptured, causing violent focused quakes that leveled thousands of buildings and killed tens of thousands. Similar shallow faults ruptured about 1,000 years ago in the Puget … Read more
Japan has a plastic problem. Thanks in part to an overabundance of packaging, the country is the second largest producer of plastic waste per capita. While plastic pollution is a well-known cause for concern, an often-overlooked issue is how plastics contribute to global warming. Plastics are a surprisingly large cause of carbon emissions, with roughly … Read more
An ecological theory may help to explain why segregation is so widespread and persistent in US cities, according to a paper published today in Buildings and Cities. The new way of framing segregation’s endurance may provide a useful tool to study and address systemic racism, and could ultimately reveal novel ways of breaking the cycle. … Read more
Nitrogen is an essential nutrient for plant growth, but the overuse of synthetic nitrogen fertilizers in agriculture is not sustainable. In a review article publishing in the journal Trends in Microbiology on September 26, a team of bacteriologists and plant scientists discuss the possibility of using genetic engineering to facilitate mutualistic relationships between plants and … Read more
Wildfires in California, exacerbated by human-driven climate change, are getting more severe. To better manage them, there’s a growing need to know exactly what fuels the blazes after they ignite. In a study published in Environmental Research Letters, Earth system scientists at the University of California, Irvine report that one of the chief fuels of … Read more