(Rutgers University) Researchers have developed a new process that could make it much cheaper to produce biofuels such as ethanol from plant waste and reduce reliance on fossil fuels. Their approach, featuring an ammonia-salt based solvent that rapidly turns plant fibers into sugars needed to make ethanol, works well at close to room temperature, unlike conventional processes, according to a Rutgers-led study in the journal Green Chemistry.

Original source: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-01/ru-htm010920.php

(NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center) Tropical Storm Claudia is battling wind shear as it continues moving away from Western Australia and through the Southern Indian Ocean. NASA-NOAA’s Suomi NPP satellite provided forecasters with an image of the storm on January 13.

Original source: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-01/nsfc-ntt011320.php

(sphingotec GmbH) Hitado GmbH (Hitado), a Sysmex point-of-care subsidiary, and SphingoTec GmbH (sphingotec) have signed an exclusive distribution agreement for the commercialisation of the Nexus IB10 diagnostic platform by Hitado in Germany. Further, Sysmex Suisse AG will commercialise the platform in Switzerland.

Original source: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-01/sg-hgb011320.php

(University of Houston) Evaporation can explain why water levels drop in a full swimming pool, but it also plays an important role in industrial processes ranging from cooling electronics to power generation. Researchers now have reported a discovery that answers some fundamental questions about the process, which until now had remained a mystery.

Original source: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-01/uoh-rsa011320.php

(Lehigh University) With NSF funding, Lehigh University chemical and biomolecular engineering professor James Gilchrist is collaborating with Case Western Reserve University and PPG, a global supplier of paints and coatings, to better understand paint through kinematics and rheology (the study of how substances flow). The idea of applying microrheology to automotive plants is new, and it has the potential to save millions of dollars in energy use and help companies get their products to market faster.

Original source: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-01/lu-anw011320.php

(Portland State University) Extreme heat kills more people in the United States than any other type of hazardous weather and will likely become even deadlier due to climate change. However, extreme heat does not affect all people equally. A new study by researchers at Portland State University, the Science Museum of Virginia and Virginia Commonwealth University is one of the first to link historical housing policies across the United States to inequitable heat exposure.

Original source: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-01/psu-hhd011320.php

(University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences) For corn growers, the decision of when and how much nitrogen fertilizer to apply is a perennial challenge. Scientists at the University of Illinois have shown that nanosatellites known as CubeSats can detect nitrogen stress early in the season, potentially giving farmers a chance to plan in-season nitrogen fertilizer applications and alleviate nutrient stress for crops.

Original source: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-01/uoic-nid011320.php

(Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) Graduate University) A team of scientists based at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST), the University of Munich and the CNRS at the University of Bordeaux have shown that machines can beat theoretical physicists at their own game, solving complex problems just as accurately as scientists, but considerably faster.

Original source: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-01/oios-mvm011120.php

(Northern Arizona University) Tim Becker, an associate professor of practice in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Northern Arizona University, is developing a polypropylene glycol-based biomaterial called PPODA-QT, which is similar to body tissue, to treat aneurysms in the brain and improve outcomes for stroke and potential stroke patients.

Original source: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-01/nau-ned010620.php

(University of California – Santa Barbara) The fight against drug-resistant pathogens remains an intense one. While the Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) 2019 ‘biggest threats’ report reveals an overall decrease in drug-resistant microbe-related deaths as compared to its previous report (2013) the agency also cautions that new forms of drug-resistant pathogens are still emerging.

Original source: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-01/uoc–ano011320.php