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Public Release: 18-Jun-2013
 GeosphereGeosphere details the geology of North America with 6 new papers online Each of the six new papers published in Geosphere on June 13 address geoscience compiled in specially themed issues: "CRevolution 2: Origin and Evolution of the Colorado River System II"; "The 36-18 Ma southern Great Basin, USA, ignimbrite province and flareup: Swarms of subduction-related supervolcanoes"; "New Developments in Grenville Geology"; and "Origin and Evolution of the Sierra Nevada and Walker Lane." Contact: Kea Giles
Public Release: 18-Jun-2013
Water Resources ResearchSmall dam construction to reduce greenhouse emissions is causing ecosystem disruption Researchers conclude in a new report that a global push for small hydropower projects, supported by various nations and also the Kyoto Protocol to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, may cause unanticipated and potentially significant losses of habitat and biodiversity. 
National Science Foundation
Contact: Desiree Tullos
Public Release: 17-Jun-2013
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences First risk assessment of shale gas fracking to biodiversity Fracking, the controversial method of mining shale gas, is widespread across Pennsylvania, covering up to 280,000 km² of the Appalachian Basin. New research in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences explores the threat posed to biodiversity including pollution from toxic chemicals, the building of well pads and pipelines, and changes to wetlands. Contact: Ben Norman
Public Release: 17-Jun-2013
Journal of Industrial EcologyHow useful is fracking anyway? Study explores return of investment The value of a fuel's long-term usefulness and viability is judged through its energy return on investment; the comparison between the eventual fuel and the energy invested to create it. The energy return on investment study published in the Journal of Industrial Ecology finds that shale gas has a return value which is close to coal. Contact: Ben Norman
Public Release: 17-Jun-2013
Nature MaterialsEfficient and inexpensive: Researchers develop catalyst material for fuel cells Efficient, robust and economic catalyst materials hold the key to achieving a breakthrough in fuel cell technology. Scientists from Jülich and Berlin have developed a material for converting hydrogen and oxygen to water using a tenth of the typical amount of platinum that was previously required. With the aid of state-of-the-art electron microscopy, the researchers discovered that the function of the nanometre-scale catalyst particles is decisively determined by their geometric shape and atomic structure. Contact: Angela Wenzik
Public Release: 17-Jun-2013
Polymer-coated catalyst protects 'artificial leaf' One option is to use the electrical energy generated inside solar cells to split water by means of electrolysis, in the process yielding hydrogen that can be used for a storable fuel. Contact: Sebastian Fiechter
Public Release: 17-Jun-2013
Journal of the American Chemical SocietyAn innovative material for the green Earth Researchers from Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, S. Korea, developed a novel, simple method to synthesize hierarchically nanoporous frameworks of nanocrystalline metal oxides such as magnesia and ceria by the thermal conversion of well-designed metal-organic frameworks.
National Research Foundation of Korea, South Korea
Contact: Eunhee Song
Public Release: 14-Jun-2013
Applied and Environmental MicrobiologyResearchers unearth bioenergy potential in leaf-cutter ant communities As spring warms up Wisconsin, humans aren't the only ones tending their gardens. At the University of Wisconsin–Madison Department of Bacteriology, colonies of leaf-cutter ants cultivate thriving communities of fungi and bacteria using freshly cut plant material. Contact: Frank Aylward
Public Release: 13-Jun-2013
ACS NanoUnzipped nanotubes unlock potential for batteries Graphene nanoribbons and tin oxide make an effective anode for lithium ion batteries, as discovered in early tests at Rice University.
Air Force Office of Naval Research, Office of Naval Research, Sandia National Lab
Contact: Mike Williams
Public Release: 13-Jun-2013
Energy Biosciences Institute Feedstock SymposiumBlack locust showing promise for biomass potential Researchers from the Energy Biosciences Institute at the University of Illinois, evaluating the biomass potential of woody crops, are taking a closer look at the black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia), which showed a higher yield and a faster harvest time than other woody plant species that they evaluated, said U of I associate professor of crop sciences Gary Kling.
BP
Contact: Stephanie Henry
Public Release: 13-Jun-2013
Vermont Law ReviewUS forest management policy must evolve to meet bioenergy targets To keep pace with the ever-increasing demand for renewable energy, forest management policy in the U.S. must evolve to address environmental sustainability issues, says Jody Endres, a professor of bioenergy, environmental and natural resources law at Illinois. Contact: Phil Ciciora
Public Release: 12-Jun-2013
International Journal of Greenhouse Gas ControlLivermore develops the world's deepest ert imaging system for CO2 sequestration Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory researchers have broken the record for tracking the movement and concentration of carbon dioxide in a geologic formation using the world's deepest Electrical Resistance Tomography system. Contact: Anne Stark
Public Release: 12-Jun-2013
Nature MaterialsNew additive offers near-perfect results as nucleating agent for organic semiconductors Researchers at UC Santa Barbara develop a new method of controlling crystallization of organic semiconductors and increasing the yield of devices to nearly 100 percent using a low-cost, sugar-based additive.
National Science Foundation
Contact: Melissa Van De Werfhorst
Public Release: 11-Jun-2013
Global Change BiologyWood not so green a biofuel Using wood for energy is considered cleaner than fossil fuels, but a Dartmouth College-led study finds that logging may release large amounts of carbon stored in deep forest soils. The results appear in the journal Global Change Biology-Bioenergy.
Northeastern States Research Cooperative, Porter Fund
Contact: John Cramer
Public Release: 11-Jun-2013
Nano Letters'Popcorn' particle pathways promise better lithium-ion batteries Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories have confirmed the particle-by-particle mechanism by which lithium ions move in and out of electrodes made of lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4, or LFP), findings that could lead to better performance in lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles, medical equipment and aircraft. The research is reported in te journal Nano Letters, 2013, 13 (3), pp 866-872. Contact: Mike Janes
Public Release: 10-Jun-2013
Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesHairpin turn: Micro-RNA plays role in wood formation Scientists at North Carolina State University have found the first example of how micro-RNA controls wood formation in plant cells and have mapped out key relationships that control the process.
National Science Foundation
Contact: Vincent Chiang
Public Release: 10-Jun-2013
Biofuels will play integral role in California's energy future, says new EBI study A new study by the Energy Biosciences Institute at UC Berkeley has good news for the state of California: Biofuel production CAN help the state meet its ambitious greenhouse gas reduction goals by 2020. But only, says author Heather Youngs, if the state can reduce its transportation energy needs through greater efficiency, and only if ethanol can be made from low-carbon cellulosic processes using both dedicated energy feedstocks and biomass.
Energy Biosciences Institute
Contact: Ron Kolb
Public Release: 10-Jun-2013
PLOS Computational BiologyNew study proposes solution to long-running debate as to how stable the Earth system is Researchers at the University of Southampton have proposed an answer to the long-running debate as to how stable the Earth system is. Contact: Glenn Harris
Public Release: 10-Jun-2013
Physical Chemistry Chemical PhysicsTesting artificial photosynthesis Berkeley Lab researchers, working at the Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis, have developed the first fully integrated microfluidic test-bed for evaluating and optimizing solar-driven electrochemical energy conversion systems. This test-bed system has already been used to study schemes for photovoltaic electrolysis of water, and can be readily adapted to study proposed artificial photosynthesis and fuel cell technologies.
US Department of Energy Office of Science
Contact: Lynn Yarris
Public Release: 10-Jun-2013
Potentially 'catastrophic' changes underway in Canada's northern Mackenzie River Basin: report Canada's Mackenzie River basin -- among the world's most important major ecosystems -- is poorly studied, inadequately monitored, and at serious risk due to climate change and resource exploitation, a panel of international scientists warn. Largest single threat to the Basin: a potential breach in the tailings ponds at one of the large oil sands sites mining surface bitumen. A breach in winter sending tailings liquid under the ice "would be virtually impossible to remediate or clean-up." Contact: Terry Collins
Public Release: 6-Jun-2013
Angewandte Chemie International EditionPromising material for lithium-ion batteries Laptops could work longer and electric cars could drive farther if it were possible to further increase the capacity of their lithium-ion batteries. The electrode material has a decisive influence on a battery's capacity. So far, the negative electrode typically consists of graphite, whose layers can store lithium atoms. Scientists at the Technische Universitaet Muenchen have now developed a material made of boron and silicon that could smooth the way to systems with higher capacities.
Technische Universitaet Muenchen, German Chemical Industry Fund, German Research Foundation, Swedish Research Council, National Science Foundation
Contact: Andreas Battenberg
Public Release: 6-Jun-2013
Spain receives ever more solar radiation Solar radiation in Spain has increased by 2.3 percent every decade since the 1980s, according to a study by researchers from the University of Girona and the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich. This increase is linked to the decreased presence of clouds, which has increased the amount of direct radiation reaching us from the Sun. Contact: Press Office
Public Release: 5-Jun-2013
Angewandte Chemie International EditionNew all-solid sulfur-based battery outperforms lithium-ion technology Scientists at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory have designed and tested an all-solid lithium-sulfur battery with approximately four times the energy density of conventional lithium-ion technologies that power today's electronics. Contact: Morgan McCorkle
Public Release: 5-Jun-2013
Scientific ReportsMetal-free catalyst outperforms platinum in fuel cell Researchers from South Korea, Case Western Reserve University and University of North Texas have discovered an inexpensive and easily produced catalyst that performs better than platinum in oxygen-reduction reactions -- a step toward eliminating what industry regards as the largest obstacle to large-scale commercialization of fuel cell technology.
UNIST-WCU, US-Korea NBIT, DOD-AFOSR-MURI
Contact: Kevin Mayhood
Public Release: 4-Jun-2013
Nature CommunicationsStanford scientists create novel silicon electrodes that improve lithium-ion batteries Stanford University scientists have dramatically improved the performance of lithium-ion batteries by creating novel electrodes made of silicon and conducting polymer hydrogel, a spongy material similar to that used in contact lenses and other household products. The scientists developed a new technique for producing low-cost, silicon-based batteries with potential applications for a wide range of electrical devices.
Stanford University/Precourt Institute for Energy, US Department of Energy/SLAC
Contact: Mark Shwartz
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