ScienceDaily: Earth & Climate News

Researchers have developed a new method to measure the density of silicon dioxide (SiO2) glass, one of the most important materials in industry and geology, at pressures of up to 110 gigapascals, 1.1 million times higher than normal atmospheric pressure. Instead of employing highly focused X-rays at a synchrotron facility, they used a white laser beam and a diamond anvil cell.

Why have some plant species changed pollinators in their evolution? An international team of researchers studied the reproductive systems of three sister species pairs, where one species is pollinated by insects and the other by hummingbirds. Mechanisms were discovered that explain the switch from insect to bird pollination.

As the climate crisis becomes more immediate, carbon capture and utilization (CCU) technology has been touted as part of the solution. The process involves harnessing carbon dioxide from emissions or the atmosphere and repurposing them. However, a recent review calls into question the viability of many of these methods to meet both the long-term and short-term emissions goals that follow from the Paris Agreement, and suggests focusing on technologies that use non-fossil carbon dioxide and store carbon permanently.

Strict reservation of large land areas for animals and plants might save humankind from the collapse of species diversity in the next decades. However, in some countries, particularly in the global South, this might endanger food supply.

For years, researchers have tried to find efficient and cost-effective ways to harness the extreme reactivity of aluminum to generate clean hydrogen fuel. A new study shows that an easily produced composite of gallium and aluminum creates aluminum nanoparticles that react rapidly with water at room temperature to yield large amounts of hydrogen.

New research provides critical information that can help regulatory agencies fine-tune proposed guidelines related to the safe treatment and disposal of fracking wastewater to protect drinking water sources.