Climate change alters the hidden microbial food web in peatlands

Climate change alters the hidden microbial food web in peatlands

The humble peat bog conjures images of a brown, soggy expanse. But it turns out to have a superpower in the fight against climate change. For thousands of years, the world’s peatlands have absorbed and stored vast amounts of carbon dioxide, keeping this greenhouse gas in the ground and not in the air. Although peatlands … Read more

Harnessing hydrogen at life’s origin

Harnessing hydrogen at life’s origin

A new report uncovers how hydrogen gas, the energy of the future, provided energy in the past, at the origin of life 4 billion years ago. Hydrogen gas is clean fuel. It burns with oxygen in the air to provide energy with no CO2. Hydrogen is a key to sustainable energy for the future. Though … Read more

Self-heating concrete is one step closer to putting snow shovels and salt out of business

Self-heating concrete is one step closer to putting snow shovels and salt out of business

There’s a patch of concrete on Drexel University’s campus that could portend a frost-free future for sidewalks and highways in the Northeast. Tucked inconspicuously next to a parking lot for the university’s facilities vehicles, two 30-inch-by-30-inch slabs have been warding off snow, sleet and freezing rain on their own — without shoveling, salting or scraping … Read more