http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. The Alaskan Brewing Co. is going green, but instead of looking to solar and wind energy, it has turned to a very familiar source: beer. http://phys.org/news279387691.html Technology Wed, 06 Feb 2013 16:00:01 EST news279387691 Jamaican and Japanese officials on Monday launched a pilot project designed to investigate whether rare-earth elements can be commercially extracted from the island's bauxite waste. http://phys.org/news279224280.html Technology Mon, 04 Feb 2013 18:18:11 EST news279224280 Ford is joining with Daimler and Renault-Nissan to speed development of cars that run on hydrogen, with hopes of bringing a vehicle to market in as little as four years. http://phys.org/news278587948.html Technology Mon, 28 Jan 2013 09:32:44 EST news278587948 Treated wastewater solids called biosolids are sometimes used by farmers to boost soil nutrient levels. Now research by a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientist provides new information about how long those plant nutrients remain after biosolids have been applied to the soil. http://phys.org/news278160543.html Space & Earth Wed, 23 Jan 2013 10:49:09 EST news278160543 (Phys.org)—Super-small particles of silicon react with water to produce hydrogen almost instantaneously, according to University at Buffalo researchers. http://phys.org/news278089607.html Nanotechnology Tue, 22 Jan 2013 15:06:58 EST news278089607 Cigarette butts are widely reviled as an urban nuisance but birds in Mexico City see them as a boon, apparently using them to deter parasites from their nests, scientists say. http://phys.org/news273905394.html Biology Wed, 05 Dec 2012 04:50:38 EST news273905394 Researchers from the University of Virginia used computer simulations and laboratory experiments to discover a reaction site on gold-titanium oxides that is responsible for high rates of catalysis relevant to biofuel and fuel cell reactions. The findings help scientists understand the principle of the catalysis and choose the right catalysts for certain reactions. http://phys.org/news273837332.html Chemistry Tue, 04 Dec 2012 09:55:40 EST news273837332 (Phys.org)—Turning lignin, a plant's structural "glue" and a byproduct of the paper and pulp industry, into something considerably more valuable is driving a research effort headed by Amit Naskar of Oak Ridge National Laboratory. http://phys.org/news273513416.html Chemistry Fri, 30 Nov 2012 15:57:12 EST news273513416 (Phys.org)—The primary source of light for more than a billion people in developing nations is also churning out black carbon at levels previously overlooked in greenhouse gas estimates, according to a new study led by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Illinois. http://phys.org/news273346015.html Space & Earth Wed, 28 Nov 2012 17:27:06 EST news273346015 (AP)—Park Jung-in, an 11-year-old South Korean, sleeps with her Android smartphone instead of a teddy bear. When the screen beams with a morning alarm, she wakes up, picks up her glasses and scrolls through tens of unread messages from friends, shaking off drowsiness. http://phys.org/news273301005.html Technology Wed, 28 Nov 2012 05:30:01 EST news273301005 It's time to economically value the greenhouse gas-trapping potential of mine waste and start making money from it, says mining engineer and geologist Michael Hitch of the University of British Columbia (UBC). http://phys.org/news272180737.html Space & Earth Thu, 15 Nov 2012 05:45:45 EST news272180737 The technology that opened a wealth of new natural gas resources in the U.S. is producing millions of gallons of dirty water—enough from one typical gas well to cover a football field to a depth of 9-15 feet. Cleaning up that byproduct of "fracking" is the topic of the cover story of the current issue of Chemical & Engineering News. C&EN is the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society. http://phys.org/news269700589.html Space & Earth Wed, 17 Oct 2012 13:50:00 EST news269700589 Organic catalysts are a breakthrough in the quest for inexpensive and efficient materials for environmentally friendly production of energy in fuel cells. A new study by physicists at Umeå University in Sweden, published in ACS Nano, provides better knowledge about key processes in producing these catalysts. http://phys.org/news268663172.html Chemistry Fri, 05 Oct 2012 13:39:55 EST news268663172 (Phys.org) -- University of Oregon chemists have identified a catalyst that could dramatically reduce the amount of waste made in the production of methyl methacrylate, a monomer used in the large-scale manufacturing of lightweight, shatter-resistant alternatives to glass such as Plexiglas. http://phys.org/news264746578.html Chemistry Tue, 21 Aug 2012 05:43:27 EST news264746578 Plants produce toxins to defend themselves against potential enemies, from herbivorous pests to diseases. Oilseed rape plants produce glucosinolates to serve this purpose. However, due to the content of glucosinolates, farmers can only use limited quantities of the protein-rich rapeseed for pig and chicken feed. Now, a team of researchers from the University of Copenhagen has developed a method to hinder unwanted toxins from entering the edible parts of the plant. The breakthrough was published today in the prominent scientific journal Nature. http://phys.org/news263386882.html Biology Sun, 05 Aug 2012 13:00:05 EST news263386882 Harvard-led researchers have discovered that an Ascomycete fungus that is common in polluted water produces environmentally important minerals during asexual reproduction. http://phys.org/news261655739.html Biology Mon, 16 Jul 2012 15:00:01 EST news261655739 (Phys.org) -- Two Kansas State University geologists are part of a comprehensive statewide study on using rocks for long-term storage of carbon dioxide. http://phys.org/news261027746.html Space & Earth Mon, 09 Jul 2012 04:42:39 EST news261027746 (Phys.org) -- While the largest contributor to anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions is the power industry, the second largest is the more often overlooked cement industry, which accounts for 5-6% of all anthropogenic CO2 emissions. For every 10 kg of cement produced, the cement industry releases a full 9 kg of CO2. Since the world consumes about 3 trillion kg of cement annually, this sector has one of the highest potentials for CO2 emission reductions. But while processes are being explored to sequester the CO2 from cement production, so far no process can completely eliminate it. http://phys.org/news253254865.html Chemistry Tue, 10 Apr 2012 06:10:01 EST news253254865 Crude glycerin, a byproduct of biodiesel production, could be an economical ingredient in cattle diets, according to studies by Texas AgriLife Research and West Texas A&M University personnel. http://phys.org/news250763988.html Biology Mon, 12 Mar 2012 09:39:55 EST news250763988 In a small, narrow, temperature-controlled lab room at Vanderbilt University live some of the most deadly and dangerous animals in the world. http://phys.org/news249651426.html Biology Tue, 28 Feb 2012 11:37:17 EST news249651426 Finnish papermaker UPM said Wednesday it plans to build the world's first industrial-scale plant to refine a byproduct of wood pulp into biodiesel. http://phys.org/news247333673.html Technology Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:00:04 EST news247333673 Nitrogen is both an essential nutrient and a pollutant, a byproduct of fossil fuel combustion and a fertilizer that feeds billions, a benefit and a hazard, depending on form, location, and quantity. Agriculture, industry and transportation have spread nitrogen liberally around the planet, say sixteen scientists in the latest edition of ESA's Issues in Ecology series, "Excess Nitrogen in the U.S. Environment: Trends, Risks, and Solutions," with complex and interrelated consequences for ecological communities and our dependence upon the resources they provide, as well as human health. http://phys.org/news246004140.html Space & Earth Tue, 17 Jan 2012 06:29:06 EST news246004140 (AP) -- In Ohio, geographically and politically positioned to become a leading importer of wastewater from gas drilling, environmentalists and lawmakers opposed to the technique known as fracking are seizing on a series of small earthquakes as a signal to proceed with caution. http://phys.org/news244834662.html Space & Earth Tue, 03 Jan 2012 17:37:52 EST news244834662 Researchers the world over are seeking reliable ways to predict earthquakes, focusing on identifying seismic precursors that, if detected early enough, could serve as early warnings. http://phys.org/news240766148.html Physics Thu, 17 Nov 2011 16:00:01 EST news240766148 Pure hydrogen (H2) is an important chemical widely used in the chemical industry, many semiconductor fabrication processes, as well as in Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) fuel cells. Almost all of the hydrogen (H2) gas generated today comes from the steam reforming of natural gas at oil refineries. However, this process also produces trace amounts of carbon monoxide (CO) byproduct, which limits the application of H2 and can ‘poison’ or destroy the delicate catalysts used in the manufacture of semiconductor and state-of-the-art fuel cells. Researchers led by Ziyi Zhong and Jizhong Luo from the A*STAR Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences in Singapore have now developed a material that purifies H2 gas by catalytically converting CO to carbon dioxide (CO2) while simultaneously removing excess CO2—an approach that enables CO removal down to the parts-per-million (ppm) level. http://phys.org/news236502795.html Chemistry Thu, 29 Sep 2011 08:50:01 EST news236502795 (PhysOrg.com) -- In one of those freak accidents that sometimes occur in science, where someone is looking at something for one purpose and finds another for it, Dan O'Sullivan has found a use for a byproduct of harmless bacteria commonly found in the human gut; called bisin, it appears to work as a sort of super-preservative for meat, dairy and eggs, allowing them to go unspoiled for perhaps years. http://phys.org/news232794668.html Biology Wed, 17 Aug 2011 10:50:03 EST news232794668 An invasive insect, hemlock woolly adelgid, has been marching north along the Appalachians, killing almost every hemlock tree in its path. The adelgid has devastated forests in Georgia, Tennessee, and Virginia. The pest recently arrived in Vermont and other parts of New England. So far, only extreme cold stops the adelgid. http://phys.org/news230481477.html Biology Thu, 21 Jul 2011 15:38:12 EST news230481477 Scientists with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) are identifying factors that influence pesticide levels in the Chesapeake Bay airshed, including traces of "legacy" pesticides that still linger even though they are no longer being used. http://phys.org/news229255994.html Space & Earth Thu, 07 Jul 2011 11:13:23 EST news229255994 In chemistry, so-called aromatic molecules compose a large and versatile family of chemical compounds that are the stuff of pharmaceuticals, electronic materials and consumer products ranging from sunscreen to plastic soda bottles. http://phys.org/news226846535.html Chemistry Thu, 09 Jun 2011 14:00:06 EST news226846535 A Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University research team has developed a process that removes a key obstacle to producing low-cost, renewable biofuels from bacteria. The team has reprogrammed photosynthetic microbes to secrete high-energy fats, making byproduct recovery and conversion to biofuels easier and potentially more commercially viable. http://phys.org/news225637181.html Biology Thu, 26 May 2011 15:00:04 EST news225637181