Chemical and engineering researchers have devised a cost-efficient method to use metal waste to catalyze hydrogen from water without fossil fuels and with only one byproduct, water vapor. According to findings in the Journal of Material Chemistry A, the scientists discovered that swarf, a byproduct of machining nickel alloy, stainless steel and titanium, is covered with ridges and grooves tens of nanometers wide where platinum atoms can be deposited in amounts about one-tenth of those needed for current state-of-the-art commercial catalysts.

Moonlight triggers changes in noise from animals around healthy coral reefs, according to a minute-by-minute analysis in PLOS One, which researchers say could fine-tune restoration and monitoring of reef ecosystems. From moonrise to moonset, high-pitched fish grow louder and vocalize more often, while high-pitched invertebrates and fish with more bass quiet down during this time.

Upwelling events in the Agulhas Current have almost doubled from the 1980s, when there were about three a year, to the decade between 2012 and 2022, when there were at least five annually, say researchers who have studied 30 years of wind data and 40 years of sea surface temperature. The underwater cold snaps in the current, which moves along the coasts of South Africa and Mozambique, are also lasting longer and reaching lower temperatures, including a lethal instance in 2021 when manta rays, bull sharks and puffer fish littered South African beaches, scientists write in Nature Climate Change.

Archaeologists conducting excavations in eastern France have announced the discovery of a mysterious monument likely dating from the Neolithic area. The monument features three interconnected enclosures whose purpose is unclear; the archaeologists also discovered artifacts from the Bronze Age and the Iron Age at the site, suggesting that it was occupied for several millennia.

Microscopic tardigrades can add DNA repair to the list of skills that allows them to survive harsh conditions such as radiation. The cells of a species called Hypsibius exemplaris use genes to create proteins that fix radiation damage to their DNA, researchers write in Current Biology.

Exercise was twice as effective in reducing cardiovascular disease for patients with a history of depression compared to those without a history of depression, according to a study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Engaging in physical activity was associated with changes in the prefrontal cortex tied to stress reduction.

The University of California at San Diego will re-establish the Scripps Center for Oceans and Human Health with $7.35 million from the NSF and the NIH over five years. The multidisciplinary program, one of four US centers examining how ocean-related exposures affect human health, will tap experts from several institutions.

Researchers and representatives from scientific journal publishers will join the Committee on Publication Ethics to develop guidelines for using and disclosing the use of generative artificial intelligence in manuscripts. A variety of guidelines have been issued by publishers and scientific associations, creating confusion, and the coalition aims to standardize guidance based on a systematic literature review.

Sigma Xi's 3rd annual International Forum on Research Excellence (IFoRE) will take place November 14-17, 2024 at The Capital Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C. Special early bird registration rates will be available for all professional and student attendees. Visit experienceIFoRE.org for more information and updates on prospective speakers, themes, sessions, and registration information. We hope to see you there! LEARN MORE