In a gift that supports basic research toward a clean geothermal resource that could transform the world’s energy transition, Quaise Energy has given $750,000 to Oregon State University (OSU). The gift will help OSU scientists recreate in the lab the conditions found miles underground common to the superhot rock which, if tapped, could  power the world, according to Carlos Araque, CEO of Quaise and a co-founder. The goal is to learn ever more about this geothermal resource, which is not easy to study in the field.

Deep-sea waters are warming due to heat waves and climate change, and it could spell trouble for the oceans’ delicate chemical and biological balance. A new study demonstrates that the microbes may already be adapting well to warmer, nutrient-poor waters. Researchers predict that these surprisingly adaptable archaea will play an important role in reshaping ocean chemistry in a changing climate. 

Bioorganic coatings are being increasingly used to promote mineralization on inorganic nanoparticles for bone repair, sensing, and environmental technologies. Researchers at Jeonbuk National University studied how two coating materials, zein and polydopamine, affect calcium phosphate formation on titanium dioxide nanoparticles in real time. They found that the coating's surface chemistry significantly affects initial nucleation and subsequent crystal growth, with polydopamine-coated particles accumulating about 37 percent more mineral mass than zein-coated particles.

Earth experienced several periods in its history when ice covered nearly the entire planet, known as snowball Earth events. A study at the Earth-Life Science Institute at Institute of Science Tokyo suggests that chemical weathering may have continued beneath continental ice sheets during these extreme glaciations. Their results indicate that such subglacial weathering could have consumed enough carbon dioxide to delay global warming and help explain why some snowball Earth episodes lasted much longer.

POSTECH Professor Jonghun Kam’s team identifies the role of typhoons in mitigating droughts through an analysis assuming a world without typhoons.