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Category: sustainability – Page 3

Lab study suggests longer waves fracture floating ice sheets at lower stress

When waves are moving across ice-covered seas, they can cause sheets of ice to bend and ultimately break. Understanding the processes underlying these wave-induced ice fractures and predicting when they will occur could help to better forecast how climate change will impact the environment and marine ecosystems on Earth.

Researchers at PMMH Lab, ESPCI, CNRS, PSL University, Sorbonne Université and Université Paris Cité recently performed a new laboratory experiment aimed at shedding new light on this phenomenon. The results of this experiment, published in Physical Review Letters, suggest that the stress at which ice sheets break depends on the length of the underlying waves.

“Since 2021, we wanted to study the propagation of ocean waves in floating ice, with laboratory-scale experiments, and in particular the fracture of a thin sheet by a surface wave,” said Stéphane Perrard, senior author of the paper, told Phys.org. “We were later inspired by the work of E. Dumas Lefevbre and D. Dumont, who monitored the fracture of a real sea ice layer by the wake of an icebreaker. To study a small-scale analog of their experiment, we used the concept of scale invariance: the same physical phenomenon can occur at very different scales, as long as the key ingredients are conserved across scales.”

Proton-trapping MNene transforms ammonia production for food security and economic growth

With a new electrochemical synthesis via an electrochemical nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR), achieving carbon-free ammonia production is closer to reality through work from Drs. Abdoulaye Djire and Perla Balbuena, chemical engineering professors at Texas A&M University, and graduate students David Kumar and Hao En Lai. A topic outlined in their recent paper published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society introduces NRR, which produces ammonia in a cleaner and simpler way by using renewable electricity.

The research branches off of the team’s previous work, where they looked further into enabling two-dimensional materials in renewable energy.

“The current process of making ammonia is energy intensive and emits a lot of carbon dioxide, so if you can make ammonia electrochemically, then you can avoid these two negative effects,” Djire said. “During the electrochemical NRR process, water provides the hydrogen atoms, which combine with nitrogen from the air to form ammonia, all powered by electricity.”

Methane’s Elaborate Phases and Where to Find Them

A systematic exploration of the phase diagram of methane resolves inconsistencies of earlier studies, with potential ramifications for our understanding of planetary interiors.

As a gas, methane is very simple. But as a liquid and as a solid, it is perplexingly complex. Ambiguity has long plagued our observations and measurements of its structure at different pressure–temperature combinations. Yet, understanding methane’s phase diagram is vital for predicting its behavior deep within our and other planets. In a tour de force contribution Mengnan Wang at the University of Edinburgh in the UK and her colleagues have now charted the turbulent seas of the methane phase diagram [1]. By comprehensively mapping its phases and melting curve, they have resolved the legion of discrepancies of earlier studies.

Methane—one of the simplest of all molecules—is sometimes the subject of flatulence jokes (of which it is odorlessly innocent) but is also a powerful driver of climate change on Earth (of which it is very guilty [2]). The extraction of gaseous methane from Earth drives multibillion-dollar industries, which use the molecule both as a fuel and as a source of hydrogen. Out in the Solar System, methane in planetary atmospheres absorbs red light, which makes Uranus and Neptune shine blue, while icy methane damaged by radiation paints dwarf planets red.

Amorphous passivation strategy creates efficient, durable and flexible perovskite solar cells

Solar cells, devices that convert sunlight into electricity, are helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, promoting a shift toward renewable energy sources. Most solar cells used today are based on silicon, yet researchers have recently been exploring the potential of other photovoltaic materials, particularly perovskites.

Perovskites are a class of photovoltaic materials with strong light absorption. In practical devices, perovskite thin films are typically polycrystalline, meaning they consist of many small crystalline grains. As perovskites absorb sunlight so efficiently, a film thinner than ~1 μm can capture most of the incident solar radiation, whereas conventional crystalline silicon usually requires hundreds of micrometers of active material.

This combination of strong absorption and ultrathin active layers makes perovskite thin-film solar cells particularly well suited for lightweight, flexible, high-efficiency photovoltaic devices. Despite these many advantages, perovskites still face inherent challenges, such as achieving true mechanical flexibility, operational stability, and maintaining high efficiency at large areas simultaneously.

A Review of Polylactic Acid (PLA) and Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) as Bio-Sourced Polymers for Membrane Production Applications

In recent years, membranes have found extensive applications, primarily in wastewater purification and food packaging. However, petroleum-based membranes can be detrimental to the environment. For this reason, extensive studies are being conducted to identify environmentally friendly substitutes for the materials used in membrane composition. Among these materials, polylactic acid (PLA) and poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) are two bio-sourced and biodegradable polymers that can be derived from lignocellulosic waste. These polymers also possess suitable characteristics, such as thermal resistance and mechanical strength, which make them potential candidates for replacing conventional plastics.

Graphene ‘leaf tattoo’ sensor tracks plant hydration in real time

Is your houseplant thirsty? Are crops getting enough water? Is a forest at high risk of wildfire? Leaf health can answer all these questions, and researchers at The University of Texas at Austin have developed new technology to measure hydration levels with greater accuracy and without hurting the plant. The researchers developed an electronic tattoo for leaves that uses the hyperflexible and sustainable material graphene to track hydration levels. It sticks on the leaves without harming them, a major improvement over current methods that work only with dead or dried-out leaves or provide indirect measurements.

“Being able to directly measure and monitor the live leaf over time, at the point of photosynthesis, gives us more information to understand the health of our plant ecosystems, whether that’s an individual plant or an entire forest,” said Jean Anne Incorvia, associate professor in the Cockrell School of Engineering’s Chandra Family Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and one of the leaders on the new research published recently in Nano Letters.

Perspectives on an Emerging 18TH Sdg Articulation — an Sri Side Event at Copuos Legal Subcommittee

(SRI) will organize a high-level side event during the COPUOS Legal Subcommittee on 16 April 2026 at UNOOSA (Vienna), proposed and convened by Dr. Gülin Dede, titled “Operationalising Space as a Cross-Cutting Enabler of Sustainable Development: Perspectives on an Emerging 18th SDG Articulation.”

The session will bring together legal, policy, industry, and Global South perspectives to examine how outer space is evolving from a sectoral domain into a critical enabling infrastructure for the 2030 Agenda, while simultaneously requiring stewardship as an environment in its own right.

Positioned as an early contribution to shaping how space sustainability is framed within the broader UN system, the event will also be broadcast by the United Nations, extending its reach beyond the room to a global audience.

Scientists uncovered the nutrients bees were missing — Colonies surged 15-fold

Scientists have developed a breakthrough “superfood” for honeybees by engineering yeast to produce the essential nutrients normally found in pollen. In controlled trials, colonies fed this specially designed diet produced up to 15 times more young, showing a dramatic boost in reproduction and overall health. As climate change and modern agriculture reduce the availability of natural pollen, this innovation could offer a practical way to support struggling bee populations.

Microwave carrots, air-fry tomatoes: Researchers identify sustainable cooking methods for better nutrition

Researchers at the University of Seville’s Food Color and Quality Laboratory have studied the effects of different cooking methods used for tomatoes and carrots (in the oven, microwave or air fryer, among others) on the amount of carotenoids that are potentially available for absorption by the body following the digestion of these foods. According to the study, the bioavailability index varies significantly depending on how these foods are cooked. Carotenoids are compounds of great importance due to their positive health effects.

In the case of carrots, the bioavailability of total carotenoids increased ninefold when cooked in the oven. For tomatoes, the highest bioavailability values were obtained by cooking them in either an air fryer (190 °C for 10 minutes) or a conventional oven (180 °C for 20 minutes). There were no significant differences between the two methods. Although the increase in bioavailability was more modest (a 1.5-fold increase), it was also significant compared to raw tomatoes.

The researchers also highlight that the increases in the bioavailability of the vitamin A precursor carotenoids in tomatoes (α-carotene and β-carotene) ranged from 26 to 38 times and 46 to 71 times, respectively, compared with those in raw carrots. Cooking is, therefore, a sometimes-overlooked strategy for combating vitamin A deficiency, one of the world’s most serious nutritional problems.

Dust-resilient perovskite solar cells could cut manufacturing costs and expand green energy worldwide

Research appearing in Communications Materials has shown that perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are remarkably resilient to dust during production, challenging the industry belief that high-performance solar technology must be manufactured in sterile and expensive cleanrooms. This discovery could reduce the need for ultra-clean factories, making solar cell production cheaper and more accessible worldwide.

PSCs are a new type of technology that uses a unique crystal structure to harvest light. They are thinner, lighter, and potentially much cheaper to produce than the traditional silicon panels found on roofs today. However, traditional silicon cells are incredibly fragile during the making process; even a single microscopic dust particle can ruin a cell. This forces manufacturers to use expensive, energy-hungry cleanrooms, creating a massive barrier to production in developing nations.

Researchers at Swansea University’s Faculty of Science & Engineering have now found that perovskite technology has a unique tolerance to common dust and debris.

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