Biogenic Emissions Higher Than Expected Over African Savanna
Air-pollution-related hydrocarbon emissions from vegetation are much higher than expected over the African savanna (flat tropical grasslands), while those coming from the rain forests are somewhat lower than prior estimates, according to scientists. The National Science Foundation (...Arctic indigenous leaders, scientists to study reindeer and caribou systems
...s aresult of large-scale development by mining and hydrocarbon industries, habitatalteration due to global warming and pollution, and shifts from subsistencehunting and herding to more intensive commercial herding. Fundamental changes in economic, political, and legal structures also affectindigenous peoples an...CU Research Team Unravels Mystery Of Larceny Among Tropical Ant Species
...rs to carry a distinct aromafrom a colony-specific hydrocarbon compound on their bodies -- an evolutionarystrategy that alerts colony members to interlopers trying to gain entry to theirnest. Unlike most ant and bee guards, which kill would-be intruders, E. ruidum guards simply wrestle intruders away from the ne...New Biochemical Technology Ready To Retrieve, Purify Heaviest Crude Oil
...ge from heavy oilwith high concentrations of large hydrocarbon molecules to so-called lighter,"sweeter" crude with smaller hydrocarbons. The heavier a crude oil is, the more difficult a challenge it presents inextracting it from the ground and purifying it into end products. Crude oil'sphysical properties, su...Scientists identify molecular source of friction
...rk now shows that the gunk in themiddle--typically hydrocarbon molecules that are almost always present betweentw...ta compiledby Robbins and his colleagues show that hydrocarbon molecules that adsorb on anysurface exposed to air resolve this problem. The molecules actually rear...Divers may soon wax lyrical about some new hot installation -- The water's fine
...eat back to the diver. The waxes are long hydrocarbon chains that have been chosen because ofthe temperatures at which they change phase. To provide optimal warmth to thediver, the waxes must melt at a temperature below that of bare skin-about 33C. Similarly, the waxes must freeze at temperatures as hi...Microbes in basalt thrive on mixed diet of toxic waste
...en replacedby pentavalent chromium and products of hydrocarbon degradation, in associationwith biomolecules -- right where the bacteria were concentrated. Was this microbial reduction an accurate reflection of what happened atthe waste site? "We now needed to study natural communities in the basalt,"Hol...Microbial hydrocarbon 'cracking'
...trient understrict exclusion of air. Hexadecane, a hydrocarbon consisting of 16 carbon atomsand 34 hydrogen atoms...cess represents, figuratively speaking, amicrobial hydrocarbon cracking. Conversion of hexadecane to methane wasverified by analytical measurements including the u......osure to the insecticide chlordane, or thearomatic hydrocarbon benzopyrene, produces what appears to be lifelongimmunosuppression in mice. Furthermore, when mice genetically predisposed todevelop autoimmune disease were treated with the environmental contaminanttetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) before birth, th...Expect rapid, pervasive innovation in 21st century
...ill draw theirhydrogen from gasoline or some other hydrocarbon fuel. An on-board chemical plant will break down thefuel into its fundamental components, which include hydrogen. In coming decades, fuel cells will likely evolve. Some visionaries predict that, before the middleof the next century, automobile fuel ...Tube worms in deep sea discovered to have record long life spans
..., variable, andephemeral environment than the cold hydrocarbon seeps," Fisher says. Boththe seeps and vents are ...t as 400 degreesCelsius, whereas seeps release the hydrocarbon fluid slowly and dependablyover a long period of time at seawater temperatures. "The chemical conten......n, the enzyme oxidized, or added oxygen atoms to a hydrocarbon molecule. The research collaboration referred to ...into two atoms and inserts one of the atoms into a hydrocarbon -- in this case, into camphor. While the researchers studied an enzyme from a specific bacterium,...Fact sheet: the Report on Carcinogens - 9th edition
... exhaust, and was identified as a major endogenous hydrocarbon in human breath. The Report states the listing is based on findings from laboratory animal studies of isoprene where cancer was observed in multiple organ sites following long-term inhalation exposures. Chloroprene - Chloroprene is listed in the ...June 'Geology' and 'GSA Today' highlights
... Kerogen has been identified as a largely untapped hydrocarbon source. Here, the authors conclude that arthropod exoskeletons can make a significant contribution to kerogen deposits. Because arthropods are perhaps the most significant non-microscopic contributor to the world's biomass, and because they presumabl...Major air pollution study launched
...nts out, however, that despite the fact that lower hydrocarbon emissions have improved air quality in many areas over the past 30 years, "there are still large areas of the country that are out of compliance with national ozone standards." A more detailed understanding of all the variables that contribute to ozo...7,000 feet under the Sea: LSU scientists take geology to great depths
...0 feet down into the Gulf, to be exact -- to study hydrocarbon seeps, gas hydrates and the single-celled micro-organisms called foraminifera that live in those environments. The researchers were transported to their underwater laboratory by the deep-sea submersible vehicle named Alvin -- the submarine that too...Atmospheric chemistry key to global and local air pollution
...he hydroxyl radical reacts with isoprene to form a hydrocarbon oxide radical. Whether the next reaction produces or reduces hydrogen oxides depends on the amount of nitrogen oxide in the air. "Isoprene, a naturally occurring compound, in the presence of nitrogen oxide produced by power plants is very reactive a......ar engine for half an hour, and 80 per cent of its hydrocarbon emissions will be spewed out in the first two minu...e fuel made of the smallest, most easily vaporised hydrocarbon molecules. This is stored in a separate reservoir to be used when the engine is started. Since mo......tural bacteria metabolize (i.e. eat) the offending hydrocarbon pollutant (gas, oil, etc). Removal of the sediments that have microbiologically adapted to do this clean-up may actually increase the problem. If the dredging is done in estuaries with other industrial discharges occurring it doesn't take long for th...Science paper suggests strategy to more effectively control harmful ozone
...vegetation. In the Eastern U.S., for instance, the hydrocarbon isoprene from oak trees contributes a substantial amount of very reactive VOCs to the atmosphere, say the Science researchers. To determine if all power plant emissions are equal culprits in ozone formation, the research team used data collected ...