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Harnessing Sunlight: A Breakthrough in Carbon Capture Technology

Scientists at Cornell University have developed a groundbreaking method to capture and release carbon dioxide using an energy source that’s abundant, clean, and free: sunlight. This innovative approach mimics the way plants store carbon, making it a game-changer in the fight against global warming.

The research team, led by Phillip Milner, associate professor of chemistry and chemical biology, has created a light-powered system that can separate carbon dioxide from industrial sources. They’ve used sunlight to make a stable enol molecule reactive enough to “grab” the carbon, and then driven an additional reaction to release the carbon dioxide for storage or reuse.

This is the first light-powered separation system for both carbon capture and release, and it has significant implications for reducing costs and net emissions in current methods of carbon capture. The team tested their system using flue samples from Cornell’s Combined Heat and Power Building, and it was successful in isolating carbon dioxide, even with trace contaminants present.

Milner is excited about the potential to remove carbon dioxide from air, which he believes is the most practical application. “Imagine going into the desert, you put up these panels that are sucking carbon dioxide out of the air and turning it into pure high-pressure carbon dioxide,” he said. This could then be put in a pipeline or converted into something on-site.

The research team is also exploring how this light-powered system could be applied to other gases, as separation drives 15% of global energy use. “There’s a lot of opportunity to reduce energy consumption by using light to drive these separations instead of electricity,” Milner said.

The study was supported by the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Energy, the Carbontech Development Initiative, and Cornell Atkinson. This breakthrough has the potential to revolutionize carbon capture technology and make it more efficient, effective, and sustainable.

Reviving the Ancient Charm: Unlocking the Secrets of Ferns with the PteridoPortal

The Florida Museum of Natural History has partnered with 35 herbarium collections across the United States to create a web portal for ferns. Yes, you read that right – ferns! The plants with curly leaves that grow in shady places have been around for over 400 million years, developing roots and leaves before dinosaurs even existed.

Ferns, along with their related group called lycophytes, were the first to evolve the botanical equivalent of a circulatory system. This allowed them to grow into the first trees, altering Earth’s barren landscapes by breaking up rock with their roots and dissolving it in acid. The process pulled carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, causing an ice age and resulting in the second mass extinction of life on Earth.

Today, there are over 10,000 species of ferns and lycophytes, making them the second-most diverse group of vascular plants. “You can’t understand plant diversity without including ferns,” says Michael Sundue, an integrative taxonomist at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh in Scotland.

The PteridoPortal, a collaborative effort funded by the National Science Foundation, aims to create an online repository for information about fern specimens stored in museums around the world. The portal has already digitized hundreds of thousands of records, making it indispensable for biologists studying diversity.

One of the project’s primary scientists, Sundue, is working on an inventory of the fern and lycophyte diversity of Colombia. Before embarking on expeditions, researchers searched the PteridoPortal for ferns from the areas they planned to visit, creating a list with images of what to look for. Information about specimens collected goes directly into the portal, where it’s immediately available to other users.

The PteridoPortal is open to everyone, and other institutions have agreed to share their data, including the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, the Naturalis Biodiversity Center in the Netherlands, and ETH Zurich in Switzerland. Future collaborative efforts are likely to follow.

As we continue into Earth’s sixth mass extinction event, it’s imperative for scientists to deploy every tool they have to document what’s left and prevent future losses. “If we don’t continue to learn and teach people about biodiversity, no one will notice when it disappears,” Sundue says. The PteridoPortal is a crucial step in this journey, unlocking the secrets of ferns and inspiring collaboration among researchers worldwide.

The article “Newborns living near trees tend to be healthier: New data suggests it’s not because healthier people reside near parks” presents groundbreaking research from Drexel University’s Dornsife School of Public Health. The study aimed to explore the impact of newly planted trees on birth outcomes, controlling for various factors such as education level, income, and body mass index.

Using a unique dataset of over 36,000 trees planted in Portland, Oregon between 1990 and 2020, researchers found a significant association between the number of trees planted within 100 meters of a mother’s home and higher birth weight. The study also discovered that nearby tree planting was linked to lower risks of pre-term birth and small-for-gestational-age birth.

The research revealed that each tree planted within 10 years before a child’s birth was associated with a statistically significant 2.3-gram increase in birthweight. Living within 100 meters of at least 10 trees was associated with about a 50-gram increase in birthweight, which could result in 642 fewer babies being considered small for gestational age.

The authors suggest that established older trees near one’s address may provide more benefits than newly planted trees by also providing psychological restoration and fostering a “soft fascination.” They speculate that this could be due to the developed natural environments reducing stress levels, which are associated with increased likelihood of delivering preterm babies and poor health outcomes later in life.

The study’s findings offer evidence supporting the link between trees and positive birth outcomes. While further research is needed to definitively prove causality, the current study provides valuable insights into the potential benefits of tree planting on public health from an early stage of life.