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A concrete solution: Recycled concrete and CO2 from the air are made into a new building material

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A new kind of concrete could reduce emissions from the construction industry. Calcium carbonate concrete is made from waste concrete and carbon dioxide from the air or industrial exhaust gases. It shows promise as a future construction material, especially in places where natural resources are limited.

The modern world is built from concrete. Every tall building in every city on Earth uses the durable and versatile material to give it shape and strength.

The concrete industry therefore is enormous, and this comes at a cost: It is estimated that around 7 percent of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions come from the manufacture and use of cement, the main component of concrete. And a large proportion of this 7 percent is due to the necessary use of calcium, which is usually obtained by burning limestone. [Read more…] about A concrete solution: Recycled concrete and CO2 from the air are made into a new building material

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  • For girls, learning science outside linked to better grades, knowledge
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    For girls, learning science outside linked to better grades, knowledgeIn a new study, North Carolina State University researchers found that an outdoor science program was linked to higher average science grades and an increase in a measure of science knowledge for a group of fifth grade girls in North Carolina. The findings, published in the International Journal of Science Education,…
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  • Researchers generate ‘the highest laser intensity ever reached’
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    Researchers generate ‘the highest laser intensity ever reached’Recently, laser scientists at the Center for Relativistic Laser Science (CoReLS) within the Institute for Basic Science (IBS) in South Korea realized the unprecedented laser intensity of 1023 W/cm2. This has been a milestone that has been pursued for almost two decades by many laser institutes around the world. An…
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    Science & Technology News aims to be one of the top and most trusted information providers in the sector. We publish stories ranging from technological advancements here on Earth and up to what is beyond in the realms of the unknown galaxies – and everything in between. This news website is…
    Tags: news, science

Americans with higher net worth at midlife tend to live longer

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One of the keys to a long life may lie in your net worth.

In the first wealth and longevity study to incorporate siblings and twin pair data, researchers from Northwestern University analyzed the midlife net worth of adults (mean age 46.7 years) and their mortality rates 24 years later. They discovered those with greater wealth at midlife tended to live longer.

The researchers used data from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) project, a longitudinal study on aging. Using data from the first collection wave in 1994-1996 through a censor date of 2018, the researchers used survival models to analyze the association between net worth and longevity. [Read more…] about Americans with higher net worth at midlife tend to live longer

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  • Study: Countering hate on social media
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    Study: Countering hate on social mediaThe rise of online hate speech is a disturbing, growing trend in countries around the world, with serious psychological consequences and the potential to impact, and even contribute to, real-world violence. Citizen-generated counter speech may help discourage hateful online rhetoric, but it has been difficult to quantify and study. Until…
    Tags: study, data, researchers, features, life

Changes in Earth’s orbit enabled the emergence of complex life

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Scientists at the University of Southampton have discovered that changes in Earth’s orbit may have allowed complex life to emerge and thrive during the most hostile climate episode the planet has ever experienced.

The researchers – working with colleagues in the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Curtin University, University of Hong Kong, and the University of Tübingen – studied a succession of rocks laid down when most of Earth’s surface was covered in ice during a severe glaciation, dubbed ‘Snowball Earth’, that lasted over 50 million years.

Their findings are published in the journal Nature Communications. [Read more…] about Changes in Earth’s orbit enabled the emergence of complex life

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  • Melting ice sheets over the past 300 years raised sea levels 18 metres
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    Melting ice sheets over the past 300 years raised sea levels 18 metresIt is well known that climate-induced sea level rise is a major threat. New research has found that previous ice loss events could have caused sea-level rise at rates of around 3.6 metres per century, offering vital clues as to what lies ahead should climate change continue unabated. A team…
    Tags: ice, ocean, climate, sheets, features

Soaking up the sun: Artificial photosynthesis promises clean, sustainable source of energy

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Humans can do lots of things that plants can’t do. We can walk around, we can talk, we can hear and see and touch. But plants have one major advantage over humans: They can make energy directly from the sun.

That process of turning sunlight directly into usable energy – called photosynthesis – may soon be a feat humans are able to mimic to harness the sun’s energy for clean, storable, efficient fuel.

If so, it could open a whole new frontier of clean energy. Enough energy hits the earth in the form of sunlight in one hour to meet all human civilization’s energy needs for an entire year. [Read more…] about Soaking up the sun: Artificial photosynthesis promises clean, sustainable source of energy

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  • About
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    Science & Technology News aims to be one of the top and most trusted information providers in the sector. We publish stories ranging from technological advancements here on Earth and up to what is beyond in the realms of the unknown galaxies – and everything in between. This news website is…
    Tags: science, technology
  • The opportunities and risks of digitalization for sustainable development
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    The opportunities and risks of digitalization for sustainable developmentDigitalisation can support transitions towards a more sustainable society if technologies and processes are designed in line with suitable criteria. This requires a systemic focus on the risks and benefits of digital technologies across the three dimensions of sustainable development: the environment, society, and the economy. This is the conclusion…
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  • Ripeta joins the Digital Science family
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    Ripeta joins the Digital Science familyUK Digital Science, a technology company serving stakeholders across the research ecosystem, is pleased to announce that it has fully acquired ripeta, an AI-based company aiming to help build trust in science. This is a natural development based on Digital Science’s previous support and investment in the US-based start-up, which…
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Did heat from impacts on asteroids provide the ingredients for life on Earth?

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A research group from Kobe University has demonstrated that the heat generated by the impact of a small astronomical body could enable aqueous alteration and organic solid formation to occur on the surface of an asteroid.

They achieved this by first conducting high-velocity impact cratering experiments using an asteroid-like target material and measuring the post-impact heat distribution around the resulting crater.

From these results, they then established a rule-of-thumb for maximum temperature and the duration of the heating, and developed a heat conduction model from this. [Read more…] about Did heat from impacts on asteroids provide the ingredients for life on Earth?

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  • Planetary defense: Physicists propose new way to defend Earth against cosmic impacts
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    Planetary defense: Physicists propose new way to defend Earth against cosmic impactsIs Planetary Defense PI in the Sky? In February of 2013, skywatchers around the world turned their attention toward asteroid 2012 DA14, a cosmic rock about 150 feet (50 meters) in diameter that was going to fly closer to Earth than the spacecraft that bring us satellite TV. Little did…
    Tags: earth, asteroid, asteroids, impact, space

Which way does the solar wind blow?

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The surface of the sun churns with energy and frequently ejects masses of highly-magnetized plasma towards Earth.

Sometimes these ejections are strong enough to crash through the magnetosphere – the natural magnetic shield that protects the Earth – damaging satellites or electrical grids. Such space weather events can be catastrophic.

Astronomers have studied the sun’s activity for centuries with greater and greater understanding. Today, computers are central to the quest to understand the sun’s behavior and its role in space weather events. [Read more…] about Which way does the solar wind blow?

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  • NASA’s James Webb Telescope all set to see universe’s very first galaxies and distant worlds
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    NASA’s James Webb Telescope all set to see universe’s very first galaxies and distant worldsNASA’s James Webb Space Telescope launched recently on an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, South America. A joint effort with ESA (European Space Agency) and the Canadian Space Agency, the Webb observatory is NASA’s revolutionary flagship mission to seek the light from the first galaxies in…
    Tags: space, science, solar, astronomy
  • NASA selects mission to study space weather from ISS
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    NASA selects mission to study space weather from ISSNASA has selected a new mission that will help scientists understand and, ultimately, forecast the vast space weather system around our planet. Space weather is important because it can have profound impacts – affecting technology and astronauts in space, disrupting radio communications and, at its most severe, overwhelming power grids.…
    Tags: space, weather, science, solar
  • Astronomers confirm solar system’s most distant known object – appropriately named ‘Farfarout’
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    Astronomers confirm solar system’s most distant known object – appropriately named ‘Farfarout’The Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy Astronomers have confirmed the solar system’s most distant known object. Appropriately named “Farfarout”, the object is not large enough to be categorized as a planet, but does orbit the sun, taking 798 Earth years to do so. With the help of the…
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  • Boundary of heliosphere mapped for the first time
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    Boundary of heliosphere mapped for the first timeFor the first time, the boundary of the heliosphere has been mapped, giving scientists a better understanding of how solar and interstellar winds interact. (See video below.) "Physics models have theorized this boundary for years," said Dan Reisenfeld, a scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory and lead author on the…
    Tags: solar, wind, space, astronomy

Study shows unexpected effect of black holes beyond their own galaxies

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At the heart of almost every sufficiently massive galaxy there is a black hole whose gravitational field, although very intense, affects only a small region around the centre of the galaxy.

Even though these objects are thousands of millions of times smaller than their host galaxies our current view is that the Universe can be understood only if the evolution of galaxies is regulated by the activity of these black holes, because without them the observed properties of the galaxies cannot be explained.

Theoretical predictions suggest that as these black holes grow they generate sufficient energy to heat up and drive out the gas within galaxies to great distances. [Read more…] about Study shows unexpected effect of black holes beyond their own galaxies

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  • Supermassive black holes put a brake on stellar births
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    Supermassive black holes put a brake on stellar birthsBlack holes with masses equivalent to millions of suns do put a brake on the birth of new stars, say astronomers. Using machine learning and three state of the art simulations to back up results from a large sky survey, the researchers resolve a 20-year long debate on the formation…
    Tags: galaxies, black, holes, universe
  • Small galaxies likely played important role in evolution of the Universe
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    Small galaxies likely played important role in evolution of the UniverseA new study led by University of Minnesota astrophysicists shows that high-energy light from small galaxies may have played a key role in the early evolution of the Universe. The research gives insight into how the Universe became reionized, a problem that astronomers have been trying to solve for years.…
    Tags: universe, galaxies, galaxy, evolution, science

Clues from soured milk reveal how gold veins form

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For decades scientists have been puzzled by the formation of rare hyper-enriched gold deposits in places like Ballarat in Australia, Serra Palada in Brazil, and Red Lake in Ontario.

While such deposits typically form over tens to hundreds of thousands of years, these “ultrahigh-grade” deposits can form in years, month, or even days. So how do they form so quickly?

Studying examples of these deposits from the Brucejack Mine in northwestern British Columbia, McGill Professor Anthony Williams-Jones of the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences and PhD student Duncan McLeish have discovered that these gold deposits form much like soured milk. When milk goes sour, the butterfat particles clump together to form a jelly. [Read more…] about Clues from soured milk reveal how gold veins form

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Robotic ‘Third Thumb’ use can alter brain representation of the hand

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Using a robotic ‘Third Thumb’ can impact how the hand is represented in the brain, finds a new study led by UCL researchers.

The team trained people to use a robotic extra thumb and found they could effectively carry out dextrous tasks, like building a tower of blocks, with one hand (now with two thumbs).

The researchers report in the journal Science Robotics that participants trained to use the thumb also increasingly felt like it was a part of their body. [Read more…] about Robotic ‘Third Thumb’ use can alter brain representation of the hand

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  • Touch-and-know: Brain activity during tactile stimuli reveals hand preferences in people
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    Touch-and-know: Brain activity during tactile stimuli reveals hand preferences in peopleHave you ever wondered whether the brains of right-handed people work differently from those of left-handers? Is it possible to distinguish between them by observing their brain activity in response to stimuli or tasks? These are important questions from the perspectives of both basic sciences and application-based fields such as…
    Tags: brain, study, hand, technology, science

Study helps to better understand the link between indoor and outdoor air quality

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People spend about 80-90% of their time indoors. Compared to outdoor air quality, the indoor air quality is more relevant to people’s health. Therefore, understanding the levels, sources and evolution of particulate matter (PM) indoors is important for the accurate evaluation of people’s health risks to aerosol exposure.

A research team led by Prof. Yele Sun from the Institute of Atmospheric Physics (IAP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences deployed a time-of-flight aerosol chemical speciation monitor (ToF-ACSM) to measure time series and mass spectra of non-refractory species in a typical academic office in IAP. The study was published in Indoor Air.

The researchers measured the concentration and chemical composition of indoor PM2.5 for one month along with simultaneous measurements outdoors. They also performed the open-close window and the dampness experiments in order to figure out the mechanism of indoor/outdoor air exchange, and the influence of increased humidity on the indoor PM2.5. [Read more…] about Study helps to better understand the link between indoor and outdoor air quality