'Do-gooders,' conservatives and reluctant recyclers: How personal morals can be harnessed for climate action

There's no shortage of evidence pointing to the need to act urgently on climate change. Most recently, a report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change confirmed Earth has warmed 1.09℃ since pre-industrial times and many changes, such as sea-level rise and glacier melt, cannot be stopped.

Discovery of fastest ever magnetic wave propagation

Like light waves, magnetic waves move through materials at a fixed maximum velocity. However, at the smallest possible length scale (nanometres) and the shortest possible time scale (femtoseconds), magnetism behaves differently. Physicists at Radboud University have discovered that magnetic waves with very short wavelengths can propagate up to 40% faster than previously thought. This supermagnonic propagation offers opportunities for even faster, smaller and more energy-efficient ways of data processing in future computers. The research will be published in Physical Review Letters on 25 August.

New insulation material provides more efficient electricity distribution

High-voltage direct current cables which can efficiently transport electricity over long distances play a vital role in our electricity supply. Optimizing their performance is therefore an important challenge. With that aim in mind, scientists from Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, present a new insulation material up to three times less conductive, offering significant improvements to the properties and performance of such cables.

Novel aggregation-induced enhanced emission aromatic molecule discovered

Aggregation-induced enhanced emission (AIEE) molecules, novel luminescent materials with high solid-state emission efficiencies, are important in the applications of optoelectronics, biomedical probes and chemical sensors.

Since greater gliders were listed as 'vulnerable,' humans have destroyed more of their habitat

In just five years, greater gliders—fluffy-eared, tree-dwelling marsupials—could go from vulnerable to endangered, because Australia's environmental laws have failed to protect them and other threatened native species.

Why the changing color of streetlights could be a danger for insect populations

Life on Earth has evolved alongside predictable cycles of day and night. But this pattern has become increasingly blurred. Between 2012 and 2016, satellite measurements revealed that the global area polluted by artificial light grew by 2% each year, intruding ever deeper into biodiversity hotspots like tropical forests.

Three ways to improve students' online search skills while learning from home

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, school closures meant more than 90% of the world's learners had to study virtually or from home. The internet, already an invaluable educational tool, has therefore become even more important for students. One of students' most common internet activities, both in schools and in home schooling, is online searching.

Advanced civilizations could be using Dyson spheres to collect energy from black holes

Black holes are more than just massive objects that swallow everything around them—they're also one of the universe's biggest and most stable energy sources. That would make them invaluable to the type of civilization that needs huge amounts of power, such as a Type II Kardashev civilization. But to harness all of that power, the civilization would have to encircle the entire black hole with something that could capture the power it is emitting.

Fracking comes at the expense of water quality

In a perspective piece that appears in the journal Science, Elaine Hill, Ph.D., an economist in the University of Rochester Medical Center Department of Public Health Sciences, calls for tighter regulation and monitoring of unconventional oil and gas development, commonly called fracking, as more evidence points to the negative health consequences of the practice.

Development of Cd-free quantum dot synthesis technology

Prof. Jong-Soo Lee and his research team from the Department of Energy Science & Engineering, DGIST, developed a green-emitting Cd-Free quantum dot synthesis technology with high color reproduction rate. The newly developed quantum dot material is expected to be used in various photoelectric devices, including next-generation displays such as AR/VR.

COVID-19 and masking impact emotional labor performance

We are emotional beings and this matters deeply in our personal lives but also in our working lives, perhaps nowhere more so than in the face-to-face service industries. New research in the International Journal of Quality and Innovation, has looked at the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on what is commonly referred to as "emotional labor performance," the workplace management of emotions that are integral to a worker's performance.

Identifying the movement of mercury emissions into nearby waterways

Researchers from Monash University and Australian National University (ANU) have assessed the impact of high levels of mercury in the sediments of Lake Macquarie in New South Wales due to nearby coal-fired power plants.

Precipitation in Central Asia shaped by sea surface temperature over tropical Pacific and North Atlantic

Central Asia is one of the major food-producing regions in the world. Its agricultural production relies heavily on climate conditions, especially precipitation. Understanding the reasons for historical changes in Central Asian precipitation is crucial for predicting precipitation changes in the next few decades.

Cell factory that can produce high-purity DHA

Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, C22:6) is an important nutrient for the brain and visual development of newborns. It is also widely applied in pharmaceutical and food industries.

Titan-in-a-glass experiments hint at mineral makeup of Saturn moon

Titan, Saturn's largest moon, is a natural laboratory to study the origins of life. Like Earth, Titan has a dense atmosphere and seasonal weather cycles, but the chemical and mineralogical makeup are significantly different. Now, earthbound researchers have recreated the moon's conditions in small glass cylinders, revealing fundamental properties of two organic molecules that are believed to exist as minerals on Titan.

Artificial intelligence to help predict Arctic sea ice loss

A new AI (artificial intelligence) tool is set to enable scientists to more accurately forecast Arctic sea ice conditions months into the future. The improved predictions could underpin new early-warning systems that protect Arctic wildlife and coastal communities from the impacts of sea ice loss.

Degradable coatings for compostable paper food packaging block grease and oil

Cups, cartons and food wrappers made of paper might seem like they would be biodegradable, but many contain a plastic coating that can't be composted. Although plastic-free, sustainable paper products are available, they often let grease and oil pass through, weakening the paper and creating a mess. Today, scientists report they have developed a degradable polymer coating that can block this seepage and could lead to new biodegradable, paper-based materials.

From the shadows: the secret, threatened lives of bats

It could be a scene from a bad horror movie: Torchlights slice through the darkness inside a church in western France as the building echoes with the shrieks of hundreds of bats.

Spain's Mar Menor lagoon 'paradise' spits out tonnes of dead fish

Five tonnes of fish and crustaceans have washed ashore over the past 10 days at Spain's Mar Menor, once a lagoon paradise that is slowly dying from agricultural pollution.

Spain judge nixes backup site for disputed Hawaii telescope

A Spanish judge in a decision cheered by environmentalists has put a halt to backup plans for the construction of a giant telescope in the Canary Islands—eliminating at least for now the primary alternative location to the preferred spot in Hawaii, where there have been protests against the telescope.

EXPLAINER: Is Hawaii's Kilauea volcano going to erupt again?

The ground at the summit of Kilauea volcano in Hawaii has been rumbling and swelling in recent days, prompting scientists to warn that the mountain could once again disgorge lava. But there's no indication an eruption is imminent. The volcano, which is among the world's most active, has behaved similarly in the past without any magma breaking the surface.

New sensor detects valuable rare earth element terbium from non-traditional sources

A new luminescent sensor can detect terbium, a valuable rare earth element, from complex environmental samples like acid mine waste. The sensor, developed by researchers at Penn State, takes advantage of a protein that very specifically binds to rare earth elements and could be harnessed to help develop a domestic supply of these metals, which are used in technologies such as smart phones, electric car batteries, and energy efficient lighting. A paper describing the sensor appears Aug. 25 in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

Physical activity in children can be improved through 'exergames'

Physical activity among young people can be improved by well-designed and delivered online interventions such as 'exergames' and smartphone apps, new research shows.