Materials

Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Spices and other plant-derived products contain many active components, such as polyphenols and flavonoids. However, even the slightest variations in conditions can considerably affect the extraction efficiency of these active components, posing challenges in determining the exact quantity of active components in the extract solution. In a new study published in … Read more

Credit: CC0 Public Domain As each day passes, the need to protect Australia’s environment grows more urgent. As noted in the most recent State of Environment Report in 2021, we are increasingly turning to “measures of last resort” to prevent species extinctions and the collapse of ecosystems. In legal theory, the “rights of nature” acknowledges … Read more

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Christmas, we’re told, is the most wonderful time of the year. For many of us, however, it is preceded by one of the least wonderful times: the awkward social spectacle of the office Secret Santa or Kris Kringle, where employees agree to purchase a gift for a randomly allocated colleague. As … Read more

Depiction of the different signals and the telescopes that would detect them. Credit: Palmar et al One of the most significant constraints on the size of objects placed into orbit is the size of the fairing used to put them there. Large telescopes must be stuffed into a relatively small fairing housing and deployed to … Read more

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Finding dead seals along California’s coast is not novel in and of itself. The marine mammals get sick, are stillborn or even wash ashore after being fatally struck by a boat. But decapitated seals? That was something new for North Coast ecologists—even ones who study stranded marine life. Again and again … Read more

Fire history from 1450 to 1950 ce at 16 data collection sites across the upper Middle Fork study area. Upper panels show individual tree ring series (horizontal lines), tree establishment dates (small points), crossdated fire years (small triangles), crossdated fire years that initiated cohorts (large triangles), and establishment dates that constitute distinct tree cohorts (shaded polygons) … Read more

Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain The temperature has dropped, the nights have drawn in. The winter holidays have started, families are gathered—so where can you go to fuel the imagination and get some fresh air? A zoo might not be your first thought—but with some offering reduced ticket prices and smaller crowds than in summer, your … Read more

Credit: Jean van der Meulen from Pexels Over the past 15 years, through our scientific study of tracks and traces, we have identified more than 350 fossil vertebrate tracksites from South Africa’s Cape south coast. Most are found in cemented sand dunes, called aeolianites, and all are from the Pleistocene Epoch, ranging in age from … Read more

Flax. Credit: Newcastle University in Singapore A new study has compared the reinforcing efficiency of pineapple leaf fiber (PALF) and cultivated flax fiber in poly(butylene succinate) composites. PALF, a less explored but potentially sustainable alternative, outperformed flax at 20 wt.%, showcasing its potential in high-performance bio-composites and aligning with environmental goals. The focus of this … Read more

Credit: CC0 Public Domain Hurricane Idalia and the Hawaii firestorm were the most notable weather disasters in the U.S. in 2023, but they were far from the only ones. In 2023, 25 weather or climate disasters caused at least $1 billion in losses and the deaths of 482 people, according to the National Centers for … Read more