"But few studies have examined biotic impacts, such as pathogen infection, on thermal tolerance in natural populations in combination with abiotic factors," she explained.
Bee body mass, pathogens and local climate influence heat tolerance - 1 views
-
-
examined bee physical traits—such as sex differences in body mass—to understand how these traits interact with environmental conditions, pathogens and other factors
-
They found that variation in heat tolerance was influenced by size, sex and infection status of the bees. "Small-bodied, ectothermic—or cold-blooded—insects are considered to be highly vulnerable to changing climate because their ability to maintain proper body temperature depends on external conditions,"
- ...3 more annotations...
-
There is a strong feasibility element to this sort of work. Being invertebrates, there would be no problem collecting large numbers of bees from the environment for testing. Now... how that is typically done in other research studies... is something to dig into. The challenge here would be the observation/measurement of parasites (like the trypanosomes mentioned here). It might be worth digging into microdissection methods and techniques that others have reported on when working with pollinators and other small insects. It might not be impossible, even in our lab, but it would definitely be a (good) challenge and perhaps something we could find an expert to help us with.
Rocks beneath our feet could be key to carbon-neutral cement - 1 views
Common plastics could passively cool and heat buildings with the seasons | ScienceDaily - 0 views
-
Researchers at Princeton and UCLA have developed a passive mechanism to cool buildings in the summer and warm them in the winter.
-
coatings engineered from common materials can achieve energy savings and thermal comfort that goes beyond what traditional building envelopes can achieve
-
"With the increase in global temperatures, maintaining habitable buildings has become a global challenge,"
- ...7 more annotations...
Electrified charcoal sponge soaks up CO2 from the air - 1 views
-
With a little bit of electric charge, the sponge-like charcoal material used in household water filters can also capture carbon dioxide from air, researchers report in the journal Nature. The advance could provide a low-cost, efficient route for removing the greenhouse gas from the atmosphere.
-
For the material, the researchers turned to an activated charcoal sponge, a porous substance with a large surface area. The material is commonly found in household purifiers to capture chemicals and toxins from water. Activated charcoal cannot efficiently capture carbon dioxide from air normally. But chemist Alexander Forse and his colleagues proposed that inserting charged, reactive particles into activated charcoal could turn it into a direct air capture sorbent.
-
The researchers charged the activated charcoal cloth in a battery-like setup. They used the cloth like one electrode in a battery, placing it in a solvent solution with an opposite electrode. When they passed electricity through the device, charged hydroxide ions accumulate in the tiny pores of the charcoal cloth.
- ...2 more annotations...
1 - 5 of 5
Showing 20▼ items per page