Scientists develop promising new type of polymer

Organic polymers are used in solar cells, sensors, LEDs and in many other devices. One specific type of polymer, S-PPV, was previously regarded as promising in theory, but almost impossible to produce from a technical perspective. ...

Gene boosts rice growth and yield in salty soil

Soil salinity poses a major threat to food security, greatly reducing the yield of agricultural crops. Rising global temperatures are expected to accelerate the buildup of salt in soil, placing an increasing burden on agricultural ...

Thawing permafrost produces more methane than expected

Methane (CH4) is a potent greenhouse gas that is roughly 30 times more harmful to the climate than carbon dioxide (CO2). Both gases are produced in thawing permafrost as dead animal and plant remains are decomposed. However, ...

World's oldest known oxygen oasis discovered

In the Earth's early history, several billion years ago, only traces of oxygen existed in the atmosphere and the oceans. Today's air-breathing organisms could not have existed under those conditions. The change was caused ...

Ultrathin black phosphorus for solar-driven hydrogen economy

Hydrogen as a fuel source, rather than hydrocarbons like oil and coal, offers many benefits. Burning hydrogen produces harmless water with the potential to eliminate carbon dioxide emissions and their environmental burden. ...

Key player in cell metabolism identified

Researchers from the Genomic Instability and Cancer Laboratory at Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) have identified a key role for EXD2 in protein production in the mitochondria, the cellular organelles ...

New membranes help reduce CO2 emission

The University of Twente and the German research centre Jülich are collaborating on developing membranes for an efficient separation of gasses, to use for the production of oxygen or hydrogen, for example.

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