Articles tagged with Oxygen
A new study by Georgia Tech researchers shows that air pollution from East Asia has a devastating impact on oxygen levels in tropical waters. The pollutants kick off a chain reaction contributing to falling oxygen levels thousands of miles away.
Researchers used foraminifera, tiny ocean dwellers, to reconstruct past oxygen levels and determine how much carbon dioxide was stored in the oceans during ice ages. The study provides insight into natural climate cycles and may help predict future environmental changes.
Researchers at the University of Toronto have designed the world's most efficient catalyst for storing energy in chemical form. The new catalyst enables the efficient conversion of sunlight into hydrogen, which can be converted back into energy using hydrogen fuel cells. The study demonstrates a more efficient and highly scalable means...
Researchers have found evidence of small oxygen concentrations in the Earth's atmosphere 3.8 billion years ago, contrary to previous thought that oxygenation occurred later. This discovery sheds light on the evolution of life on our planet and has significant implications for understanding the pace of life's emergence.
Researchers use oxygen isotope analysis to confirm Earth and moon had similar chemical composition after collision, suggesting a head-on impact. The study also suggests the early Earth may have lost water due to subsequent asteroid collisions.
Two MIT researchers have developed a thin-film material that can be switched between metallic and semiconducting properties by applying a small voltage. The discovery could lead to new types of computer memory chips and energy conversion devices.
Researchers studying oxygen toxicity among Navy divers have found that exposure to high levels of oxygen can cause cardiovascular and muscular performance to deteriorate between dives. The study aims to identify a treatment for this condition, which could also benefit astronauts and aviators relying on breathing high-oxygen mixtures.
Researchers developed a detailed chemical zonation model for oxygen-deficient oceans prior to 520 million years ago. The model suggests that early life was influenced by the heterogeneous and dynamic chemical conditions of these ancient oceans.
Researchers discovered that backswimmers can extract oxygen from the surrounding water using their air bubbles, extending dives by up to 20%. The insects adjust the buoyancy of their bubble by replacing nitrogen with gases like helium and sulphur hexafluoride.
A Florida State University researcher has discovered an artificial material that efficiently captures sunlight and breaks it down into oxygen and hydrogen. This process could be used to forge new energy sources in a carbon-neutral way.
Researchers have detected how nature produces key chemicals similar to those in drugs that fight malaria, bacterial infections and cancer. The discovery sheds light on a complicated chemical process in nature that synthetic biologists can now borrow to engineer a whole new class of synthetic medicines.
Researchers at Tohoku University developed a new idea to improve proton mobility in rare-earth doped BaZrO3 perovskite-type proton conductors. By creating pairs of oxygen vacancies and rare-earth elements, the team found that this inhibits proton trapping, leading to higher proton concentration around Zr
Researchers have developed a less painful treatment approach for Pneumothorax by analyzing gas pressure in the thoracic cavity. The new diagnostic strategy allows physicians to update treatment strategies accordingly, often switching from chest tube drainage to more conservative or needle aspiration methods.
Researchers found a thin layer of oxygen in Lake Fryxell, Antarctica, which could be a modern replica of ancient oxygen oases. This discovery sheds light on the Great Oxidation Event, a major turning point in Earth's history when oxygen became more prevalent.
A multi-institutional research team discovered that early animals took their first breaths with only a slight increase in oxygen levels, contradicting the long-held theory of dramatic oxygen changes. This finding provides new insights into the evolution of complex life forms like whales and sharks.
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have introduced a new approach to molecular fuel cell catalysts, which uses nitroxyls and nitrogen oxides for more efficient energy storage. The catalyst achieves comparable efficiency to platinum while offering advantages in terms of modifiability.
Research teams have developed new materials to improve water splitting and oxygen reduction reactions, crucial steps in hydrogen fuel cells. These advancements could lead to more efficient and cost-effective production of hydrogen-powered cars.
Researchers found that lower oxygen levels led to increased precipitation and warmer temperatures due to the resulting drop in atmospheric density. The study's findings suggest that changes in oxygen concentrations may help explain features of past climates not accounted for by variations in carbon dioxide levels.
Scientists have created microbe-sized beads that can sense their environment and move upstream through purely physical means. The beads meet two essential requirements of life: metabolism and mobility. This discovery is an important step toward developing biomimetic microsystems that can respond to environmental changes.
Theoretical work suggests water vapor could have existed in pockets of space a billion years after the Big Bang, with temperatures around 80 degrees Fahrenheit allowing for its formation. The team found equilibrium levels similar to those seen in our local universe.
A new study finds that photosynthesis imparts a distinct biosignature on oxygen molecules, allowing scientists to trace biological processes. This discovery has the potential to measure productivity in the open ocean and assess the health of oceans.
Patients with COPD receiving home oxygen face a higher risk of burn injury, with a 10-fold greater mortality rate associated with these injuries. Risk factors include male gender, multiple medical conditions, and low socioeconomic status.
Researchers at UC Davis have found a way to form oxygen in one step by using a high-energy vacuum ultraviolet laser to excite carbon dioxide. This process could be occurring naturally on Mars and Venus, where carbon dioxide dominates the atmosphere. The discovery adjusts models of planetary atmosphere evolution.
Researchers have synthesized a material that can absorb large quantities of oxygen from the air and store it, potentially revolutionizing medical devices and artificial photosynthesis. The material, containing cobalt, can be used to bind, transport, and release oxygen in various scenarios.
Simulations by NASA researchers found that atmospheric gases like ozone, oxygen, and methane can be produced non-biologically, challenging the detection of life. However, combinations of these gases remain strong biosignatures, suggesting their presence is likely linked to biological activity.
Researchers found evidence of chemical weathering and soil formation at least 60 million years earlier than previously thought. This discovery suggests that oxygen-producing species existed on Earth 3 billion years ago, paving the way for complex life to evolve.
Researchers found that taking off from a compliant surface like a springboard reduces the energy cost of long jumps compared to firm surfaces. This is due to a closer optimal take-off angle for maximum energy efficiency. For shorter distances, no difference was observed in energy expenditure between firm and springy surfaces.
Researchers Zunli Lu and Xiaoli Zhou have confirmed the earliest appearance of dissolved oxygen in ocean surface waters, shedding light on the Great Oxidation Event. Their novel iodine geochemistry approach enables them to measure oxygen levels in ancient rocks, providing insights into marine ecology and global warming.
A research group from the University of Exeter has discovered a possible mechanism behind Earth's rising oxygen concentration. The team suggests that as continents grew, chemical processes on land took over controlling CO2 levels, leading to increased phosphate availability in oceans and ultimately, oxygen production.
The Hawaiian bobtail squid recruits and sustains a symbiotic association with Vibrio fischeri by utilizing the antimicrobial properties of its hemocyanin blood pigment. The protein also enables the squid to modulate oxygen levels, creating an environment conducive to the bacterium's growth.
Scientists have successfully created a stable two-dimensional electron gas in strontium titanate, allowing for the manipulation of its electronic properties. This breakthrough could lead to the development of novel magnetic effects and superconductivity.
Researchers discovered the process by which gas from coniferous trees creates particles that can reflect sunlight or promote cloud formation. The study estimates pine forests as a dominant source of aerosols over boreal regions.
Oxygen production by cyanobacteria may have initiated 3 billion years ago, with dynamic concentrations rising and falling over billions of years. This new understanding sheds light on the balance between photosynthesis and consumption, impacting life on Earth.
Researchers designed an artificial relay based on natural one, improving efficiency and understanding natural process, Nature Chemistry study
Recent experiments have found that lithium bound to carbon walls in fusion devices plays a key role in improving plasma performance. The combination of lithium, oxygen, and carbon improves deuterium retention and reduces recycling, leading to enhanced energy confinement and reduced edge plasma instabilities.
Researchers replicate formation of first silicate dust and find matching oxygen isotopes in stony meteorites, solving long-standing solar system formation puzzle. The discovery suggests a simple physical chemistry principle governed the early solar system.
A team of researchers has documented the removal of oxygen from seawater flowing through the deep ocean's rocky crust, suggesting that microbes are scavenging for energy. This finding provides crucial insights into the survival and thrival of life in the 'deep biosphere' beneath the sea floor.
Researchers found evidence of low atmospheric oxygen concentrations in 3.8 billion-year-old soils from South Africa, challenging previous estimates that oxygen began accumulating in the atmosphere around 2.3 billion years ago. The discovery supports a longer antiquity for oxygen-producing photosynthesis and aerobic life.
Scientists found that ocean currents carrying anammox bacteria produce vast amounts of nitrogen gas in the Pacific Ocean, weakening the ocean's ability to absorb CO2. This process also leads to fewer algae in the water, less food for marine microorganisms and ultimately, a decrease in fish populations.
Researchers from the University of California reveal that Emperor Penguins can dive to over 500m and stay underwater for up to 27 minutes. They also discover a unique heart rate response, slowing down to as low as 10 beats per minute to conserve energy.
An international team of researchers has confirmed theoretically-predicted interactions between single oxygen molecules and titanium dioxide, revealing a new atomic crystal dynamic. This discovery could lead to the development of more active oxygen-rich photocatalysts for converting CO2 into useful hydrocarbons.
Researchers have created an oxygen sponge that can easily absorb or shed oxygen atoms at low temperatures, making it useful in devices such as rechargeable batteries and fuel cells. This discovery could lead to more efficient energy storage and sensor technologies.
Research at Princeton University found that migrating ocean animals consume vast amounts of oxygen in the ocean's 'oxygen minimum zone'. This phenomenon, known as diel vertical migration (DVM), results in oxygen depletion and can be disrupted by climate change.
Biologists discovered that green algae require haemoglobin and nitric oxide to signal the absence of oxygen, allowing them to activate genes and produce hydrogen. In an oxygen-rich environment, this gene is idle, and its inactivation has fatal consequences for the algae.
A £1 million project aims to design and build a reactor vessel that safely uses oxygen in manufacturing processes. This would enable compounds to be oxidised effectively while producing only water as a by-product, reducing toxicity and waste.
Researchers at North Carolina State University have developed a new oxygen carrier that enables chemical looping combustion of natural gas up to 70 times faster. This process captures carbon dioxide while producing water vapor and energy.
Researchers have successfully tested a new clean coal technology that captures 99.5% of carbon dioxide emissions, paving the way for potential commercial use. The technology uses two inexpensive but polluting forms of coal and operated continuously for 200 hours without shutdown.
Researchers reconstructed ancient ocean conditions, finding most deep ocean was anoxic, with limited oxygen and hydrogen sulfide. This discovery challenges our understanding of eukaryote rise and animal emergence.
The VISIONS mission aims to study the auroral wind by launching a sounding rocket into the Northern Lights. The rocket will observe oxygen atoms flowing out of the atmosphere and provide insights into how they gain energy to escape Earth's gravity.
Multicellular cyanobacteria developed over 2.3 billion years ago, coinciding with the Great Oxidation Event that increased atmospheric oxygen levels. This event is considered a significant climate shift, as multicellularity allowed for more efficient metabolism and paved the way for diverse life forms.
Researchers have discovered a unique defence mechanism of the tuberculosis pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which protects sulphur-containing proteins from oxidation. The protein mycoredoxin-1 plays a crucial role in this repair mechanism, and disabling it may offer new ways to combat the disease.
A team of researchers has found evidence for a dramatic rise in early oxygen levels around 2.3 billion years ago, followed by an equally impressive fall. This drop in oxygen may have ushered in low-oxygen concentrations that set the stage for the evolution of eukaryotic organisms and eventually animals.
Researchers found that naturally-occurring bacteria in the Gulf of Mexico consumed and removed at least 200,000 tons of oil and natural gas from the Deepwater Horizon spill. The study measured how much oil and gas was eaten by bacteria and how its characteristics changed over time.
Researchers at UGA have made a major medical breakthrough by discovering how an oxygen-sensing bacterial protein senses oxygen through reversible structural changes in an iron-sulfur cluster. This mechanism could ultimately lead to a better understanding of the aging process and new treatments for human diseases.
Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a microscopy technique to map oxygen vacancies in fuel cell materials, which can affect device efficiency. The research aims to improve fuel cells with longer lifetimes and lower prices.
Researchers found that pyrite, also known as fools' gold, plays a significant role in regulating atmospheric oxygen levels. The formation and burial of pyrite has been more important than previously thought, accounting for over 80% of sulfur removed from the ocean.
Researchers at Boston Children's Hospital have developed tiny gas-filled microparticles that can be injected into the bloodstream to quickly oxygenate blood. The infusion restored blood oxygen saturation to near-normal levels within seconds, even in animals with blocked airways.
Researchers studied judo, a complex and unpredictable sport, to understand how athletes spend their energy. They used a portable gas analyzer and mathematical formulas to determine the relative contributions of aerobic, lactic, and alactic anaerobic metabolism.
Researchers at Northwestern University have created a new method to oxidize graphene, overcoming the material's zero band-gap issue. The reversible oxidation process enables tunability of electronic properties, paving the way for high-performance applications.
A team of scientists led by Yingwei Fei found that oxygen is not a major component of the Earth's liquid outer core, contradicting previous models. The discovery has significant implications for understanding the planet's formation through accretion of dust and clumps of matter.