Some love for bats has been posted at Sci Am" Bats Are Not Our Enemies - Scientific American Blog Network It's surely the case that humans and bats have managed to get along in the past. But more close interactions seem to present a lot of negatives. I did not know they pollinated mango, but other species do as well. For any tequila lovers reading, they are unique Agave pollinators.
A new (maybe better) way to assist kidney function: Device simulates filtering and ion transport functions of human kidney | EurekAlert! Science News The only way (I know of) to 'kidney" per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances: These tiny, self-assembling traps capture PFAS | EurekAlert! Science News
nutraceuticals and vitamin D: Review: A good vitamin D status can protect against cancer | EurekAlert! Science News Nutraceuticals for promoting longevity | EurekAlert! Science News
Concentrating solar power plants don't work well, probably fixable: Futuristic Solar Plants Plagued by Glitches, Poor Training - Scientific American
One of the early proposals was to refine zinc from exhausted, primary cells by using the high temperature. Then the zinc could be used in new cells. Of course this would be a battery swap approach. Bob Wilson
It seems that some of the carbon emission comes from that fossil heating, and some from the breakdown of calcium carbonate into useful material and CO2. How much CO2 reduction could we get from non-fossilizing the heat?
Per this source, about half: https://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/05/09/emissions-from-the-cement-industry/ Bob Wilson
I broadly agree with that. complications follow The mineral produced by cement + water has full capability to re-consume CO2 from 'the limestone half'. Called mineral carbonation (carbonation is one of those words that means way too many things). However, concrete does not readily or rapidly re-carbonate. Good thing since it would not make good buildings or bridges. But should one desire to knock down a building and make it powder and mix it with biologically active soil, it absorbs CO2. (an ongoing experiment by me). I did not knock down a building, but it is very common in China these days. Large national fleet of concrete has a short half life.
With an unusually nice microscope one can take unusually nice photos of insects: L.A.'s Insects Are Hairy, Iridescent, and Crazy Photogenic - Atlas Obscura Cities may be boring at some spatial scales but this isn't one of them.
My first ever complaint about the superb NWS doppler radar system Mostly because it might amuse. For >24 hrs, Phoenix area has apparently been having super duper floods NWS radar image from Phoenix, AZ But not, really. One imagines that the radar 'gain' knob got turned up way too high and nobody has noticed. Leading to speculation that somebody is slumped over their desk in Phoenix office. I hope not. And it is sure to be noticed, eventually.
Hummmmm, they have a pestilence already. Perhaps God is sending a message about what is up next. <grins> Actually my brother George living in Tempe shared a weather forecast of that area with day after day of +100 F (+38 C) temperatures. It is more likely the equipment HVAC failed and too hot to go to the remote site. That humidity is rough! Bob Wilson
According to the radar image, the radar at that time was in "vcp215." More on vcp modes is available at NWS JetStream MAX - Doppler Radar Volume Coverage Patterns (VCPs) There are several radar modes available, most are automatically chosen by the radar software algorithms, although the radar vcp can be controlled/overridden manually. Not sure why the radar was in vcp215 since it's a precip scan. Maybe there were some isolated showers around, or at least the radar thought there were?
Too gloomy is 2020, so here are some giant TV-watching owl chicks: Giant Owl Chicks Hatch in Man's Window Planter and Now They Watch TV With Him
Younger Dryas was global cooling about 13 thousand years ago. Its causes have long been poorly understood. New research suggests it may have had a volcano: Volcanic origin for Younger Dryas geochemical anomalies ca. 12,900 cal B.P. | Science Advances It also may have provided impetus for humans to start the whole agriculture thing. Which is among the top few environmental 'things' to have occurred on Earth.
Lead analyses for example in water or food are somewhat expensive and slow. Here is the lab-on-a-chip prototype: New device can measure toxic lead within minutes | EurekAlert! Science News
Giraffe vs. lightning: Giraffes’ Towering Height May Act As A Fatal Lightning Rod | IFLScience == Yes, the f in iflscience stands for what you think it does.