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Category: sustainability – Page 11

Urban construction land expansion damages natural ecological patches, changing the relationship between residents and ecological land. This is widespread due to global urbanization. Considering nature and society in urban planning, we have established an evaluation system for urban green space construction to ensure urban development residents’ needs while considering natural resource distribution. This is to alleviate the contradiction of urban land use and realize the city’s sustainable development. Taking the Fengdong New City, Xixian New Area as an example, the study used seven indicators to construct an ecological source evaluation system, four types of factors to identify ecological corridors and ecological nodes using the minimum cumulative resistance model, and a Back Propagation neural network to determine the weight of the evaluation system, constructing an urban green space ecological network. We comprehensively analyzed and retained 11 ecological source areas, identified 18 ecological corridors, and integrated and selected 13 ecological nodes. We found that the area under the influence of ecosystem functions is 12.56 km2, under the influence of ecological demands is 1.40 km2, and after comprehensive consideration is 22.88 km2. Based on the results, this paper concludes that protecting, excavating, and developing various urban greening factors do not conflict with meeting the residents’ ecological needs. With consideration of urban greening factors, cities can achieve green and sustainable development. We also found that the BP neural network objectively calculates and analyzes the evaluation factors, corrects the distribution value of each factor, and ensures the validity and practicability of the weights. The main innovation of this study lies in the quantitative analysis and spatial expression of residents’ demand for ecological land and the positive and negative aspects of disturbance. The research results improve the credibility and scientificity of green space construction so that urban planning can adapt and serve the city and its residents.

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The University of Liverpool has reported a significant advancement in engineering biology and clean energy. A team of researchers has developed an innovative light-driven hybrid nanoreactor that merges natural efficiency with cutting-edge synthetic precision to produce hydrogen—a clean and sustainable energy source.

Published in ACS Catalysis, the study demonstrates a pioneering approach to artificial photocatalysis, addressing a critical challenge in using solar energy for fuel production. While nature’s photosynthetic systems have evolved for optimal sunlight utilisation, artificial systems have struggled to achieve comparable performance.

The hybrid nanoreactor is the product of a novel integration of biological and synthetic materials. It combines recombinant α-carboxysome shells—natural microcompartments from bacteria—with a microporous organic semiconductor. These carboxysome shells protect sensitive hydrogenase enzymes, which are highly effective at producing hydrogen but prone to deactivation by oxygen. Encapsulating these enzymes ensures sustained activity and efficiency.

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Scientists have found a way to directly convert sunlight into laser beams in space.

In the future, spacecraft could get rid of the limited fuel problem by tapping into the limitless energy of the sun.

Scientists have identified a way to directly convert sunlight into laser beams in space. This approach would make it possible to transmit power over huge distances, from satellites to lunar bases and even to Earth.

Continue reading “Solar-powered lasers could usher a new era of space exploration” | >

The University of Liverpool has created a hybrid nanoreactor that uses sunlight to produce hydrogen efficiently, offering a sustainable and cost-effective alternative to traditional photocatalysts.

The University of Liverpool has announced a major breakthrough in engineering biology and clean energy. Researchers have developed a groundbreaking light-powered hybrid nanoreactor that combines the natural efficiency of biological processes with the precision of synthetic design to produce hydrogen, a clean and renewable energy source.

Detailed in ACS Catalysis, the study introduces an innovative solution to a longstanding challenge in solar energy utilization for fuel production. While nature’s photosynthesis systems excel at harnessing sunlight, artificial systems have historically fallen short. This new approach to artificial photocatalysis represents a significant step forward in bridging that performance gap.

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Sadly, we know that microplastics are getting everywhere, including our drinking water – but researchers have developed a new way to tackle the problem: a filter made of a rather unusual combination of material, which is able to remove up to 99.9 percent of tiny plastic fragments from water.

The researchers, led by a team from Wuhan University in China, combined both chitin (derived from squid bone) and cellulose (derived from cotton) for their ‘Ct-Cel’ foam filter. Both materials are found in abundance in nature, cheap to adapt, and sustainable.

They then tested their filter against numerous different types of plastic, finding it did an excellent job with a wide variety of fragment sizes and plastic types – including some of those most commonly seen in microplastic pollution.

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The Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator, is also the largest single machine operating in the world today that uses superconductivity. The proton beams inside the LHC are bent and focused around the accelerator ring using superconducting electromagnets. These electromagnets are built from coils, made of niobium–titanium (Nb–Ti) cables, that have to operate at a temperature colder than that of outer space in order to be superconducting. This allows the current to flow without any resistance or loss of energy. The High-Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC), an upgrade of the LHC, will for the first time feature innovative electrical transfer lines known as the “Superconducting Links”

Recently, CERN’s SM18 magnet test facility witnessed the successful integration of the first series of magnesium diboride superconducting cables into a novel, flexible cryostat. Together with high-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnesium diboride (MgB2) cables, they will form a unique superconducting transfer line to power the HL-LHC inner triplet magnets. The triplets are the focusing magnets that focus the beam, right before collisions, to a diameter as narrow as 5 micrometres.

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Researchers at Flinders University have developed a low-cost, high-density polymer that can store data efficiently using nanoscale indents and can be erased and reused multiple times.

This innovative material, made from sulfur and dicyclopentadiene, promises greater storage capacities compared to traditional storage devices, and its ability to be quickly recycled offers a sustainable alternative for the future of data storage.

Innovative Data Storage Material

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Basically chat gpt, gemini, and apple intelligence all can be a great teaching tool that can teach oneself nearly anything. Essentially college even can be quickly solved with AI like chat gpt 4 because it can do more advanced thinking processing than even humans can in any subject. The way to think of this is that chat gpt 4 is like having a neuralink without even needing a physical device inside the brain. Essentially AI can augmented us to become god like just by being able to farm out computer AI instead needing to use our brains for hard mental labor.

I created a prompt chain that enables you to learn any complex concept from ChatGPT.

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The International Renewable Energy Agency says breakthroughs like this, along with others such as solar panels that work at night or China’s flywheel energy storage project, are key to cutting back on dirty energy use and creating stronger and more reliable power systems.

“Further international cooperation is vital to deliver fit-for-purpose grids, sufficient energy storage and faster electrification, which are integral to move clean energy transitions quickly and securely,” Executive Director of the International Energy Agency Fatih Birol said in an IEA report.

This new way of storing energy could deliver cleaner, more affordable energy to cities, businesses, and homes. Researchers at Rice University believe it could be widely available in five to 10 years, making renewable energy more practical and accessible.

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