Wednesday, April 16, 2025

A step toward harnessing clean energy from falling rainwater

American Chemical Society

When two materials come into contact, charged entities on their surfaces get a little nudge. This is how rubbing a balloon on the skin creates static electricity. Likewise, water flowing over some surfaces can gain or lose charge. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Central Science have harnessed the phenomenon to generate electricity from rain-like droplets moving through a tube. They demonstrate a new kind of flow that makes enough power to light 12 LEDs.

“Water that falls through a vertical tube generates a substantial amount of electricity by using a specific pattern of water flow: plug flow,” says Siowling Soh, the study’s corresponding author. “This plug flow pattern could allow rain energy to be harvested for generating clean and renewable electricity.”

When running water moves a turbine, it generates electricity. However, hydroelectricity is constrained to locations with large volumes of water, like rivers. For smaller and slower volumes of water, an alternative is to harness charge separation, a phenomenon that produces electrical charges as water moves through a channel with an electrically conductive inner surface. But charge separation is extremely inefficient because it is restricted to the surface that the water moves over. Previously, scientists have tried to improve its efficiency by making more surface area available through micro- or nanoscale channels for a continuous stream of water. However, water doesn’t naturally pass through such tiny channels, and if pumped, it requires more energy than gets generated. So, Soh, Chi Kit Ao and colleagues wanted to produce electricity using larger channels that rainwater could pass through.

The team designed a simple setup whereby water flowed out the bottom of a tower through a metallic needle and spurted rain-sized droplets into the opening of a 12-inch-tall (32-centimeter-tall) and 2-millimeter-wide vertical polymer tube. The head-on collision of the droplets at the top of the tube caused a plug flow: short columns of water interspersed with pockets of air. As water flowed down the inside of the tube, electrical charges separated. The water was then collected in a cup below the tube. Wires placed at the top of the tube and in the cup harvested the electricity.

The plug flow system converted more than 10% of the energy of the water falling through the tubes into electricity. And compared to water flowing in a continuous stream, plug flow produced 5 orders of magnitude more electricity. Because the droplet speeds tested were much slower than rain, the researchers suggest the system could be used to harvest electricity from falling raindrops.

In another experiment, the researchers observed that moving water through two tubes, either simultaneously or sequentially, generated double the energy. Using this information, they channeled water through four tubes, and the setup powered 12 LEDs continuously for 20 seconds. The researchers say that plug flow energy could be simpler to set up and maintain than hydroelectric power plants, and it could be convenient for urban spaces like rooftops.

The authors acknowledge funding from the Ministry of Education, Singapore; the Agency for Science, Technology and Research; and the Institute for Health Innovation & Technology at the National University of Singapore.

The paper’s abstract will be available on April 16 at 8 a.m. Eastern time here: http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acscentsci.4c02110

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The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. ACS’ mission is to advance the broader chemistry enterprise and its practitioners for the benefit of Earth and all its people. The Society is a global leader in promoting excellence in science education and providing access to chemistry-related information and research through its multiple research solutions, peer-reviewed journals, scientific conferences, e-books and weekly news periodical Chemical & Engineering News. ACS journals are among the most cited, most trusted and most read within the scientific literature; however, ACS itself does not conduct chemical research. As a leader in scientific information solutions, its CAS division partners with global innovators to accelerate breakthroughs by curating, connecting and analyzing the world’s scientific knowledge. ACS’ main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.

Registered journalists can subscribe to the ACS journalist news portal on EurekAlert! to access embargoed and public science press releases. For media inquiries, contact newsroom@acs.org.

Note: ACS does not conduct research but publishes and publicizes peer-reviewed scientific studies.

Journal

ACS Central Science

DOI

10.1021/acscentsci.4c02110

Article Title

Plug Flow: Generating Renewable Electricity with Water from Nature by Breaking the Limit of Debye Length

Article Publication Date

16-Apr-2025

How much do we trust scientists? Researchers investigate in international study

SWPS University

Most people put trust in scientists and agree that scientists should have a significant impact on the life of society and policymaking, according to a study conducted in 68 countries by an international group of researchers, including scientists from SWPS University.

Public trust in scientists brings many benefits to society. It helps decision makers act on the basis of verified information, it is the basis for shaping evidence-based policies, and promotes spending government funds on research.

Trust in science can support decision-makers in their work, especially during global crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic or climate change. Societies with high public trust in science and scientists dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic more effectively, as citizens were more likely to comply with non-pharmaceutical COVID-19 interventions and had higher vaccine confidence[1]. People with high trust in scientists are also more likely to engage in action on climate change[2].

Studies to date have shown that most people trust science[3], and scientists are among the most trusted actors in society. Despite this, in recent years there has been talk of a crisis of trust in scientists, which is why an international group of researchers decided to check how public opinion actually perceived scientific achievements.

Trust level is high

The researchers surveyed nearly 72,000 respondents representative of each of the 68 countries covered by the study. They asked the respondents to what extent scientists should be involved in policymaking and society. They also inquired about the issues the respondents wanted scientists to prioritise, and whether they believed that scientists actually addressed these priorities.

The study, described in the paper "Trust in scientists and their role in society across 68 countries” in Nature Human Behaviour, was conducted using a trust index measuring four established dimensions of trustworthiness. The average score across all countries is fairly high: 3.62 on a five-point scale (1 - very low level, 5 - very high level). No country showed low overall trust in scientists.

75 percent people agree that scientific research methods are the best way to find out whether an assumption is true or false. Importantly, the level of trust in scientific methods is correlated with trust in scientists. The perception of scientists' openness to feedback is lower (3.33 average), but 42% of respondents still believe that scientists pay attention to the opinions of others to some or a large extent.

The replication crisis in science has not shaken people's trust in the agency of scientists. All over the world, people perceive scientists as highly competent (4.02 average on a scale of 1-5), and the vast majority of respondents believe that scientists are appropriately qualified to conduct research that is key to solving social challenges (e.g. those related to combating poverty, health care or energy crises). Most respondents perceive scientists as honest and concerned about human well-being, emphasises one of the authors of the study, psychologist Michał Parzuchowski, PhD, a professor at SWPS University and head of the Center of Research on Cognition and Behavior at the SWPS University Faculty of Psychology in Sopot. The study co-authors also included Olga Białobrzeska, PhD, a psychologist from the SWPS University Faculty of Psychology in Warsaw.

Scientists are most trusted in Egypt, least trusted in Albania

While the level of trust in science is generally high, there are notable variations across individual countries. Unlike in other studies, however, no clear indications were found that scientists were less trusted in Latin American and African countries. However, there were patterns within specific regions. For example, Russia as well as several former Soviet republics and satellite states show relatively low trust in scientists. The results of the analyses for individual countries can be compared in detail with the interactive application available at www.tisp-manylabs.com.

The highest level of trust in science was observed in Egypt (4.30), followed by India (4.26). The top five also included Nigeria (3.98), Kenya (3.95) and Australia (3.91). The top ten was completed by Bangladesh, Spain, Turkey, New Zealand and Argentina. Poland was in the second half of the list with an moderately high score of 3.51. The lowest places belong to Ethiopia (3.23), Russia (3.23), Bolivia (3.22), Kazakhstan (3.13), and Albania is the last with a score of 3.05.

It turns out that higher levels of trust exist in certain demographic groups: women, older people, more educated people. The majority of survey participants believe that scientists should focus on public health and energy research, and the least desired research goal is developing defence and military technologies.

Even the opinions of small groups should not be underestimated, as their distrust can influence policy-making and individual choices. Future research will look for the sources and consequences of such anti-scientific attitudes among people who declare extreme distrust of science and research results, Michał Parzuchowski concludes.

[1] Sturgis, P., Brunton-Smith, I. & Jackson, J. Trust in science, social consensus and vaccine confidence. Nat. Hum. Behav. 5, 1528– 1534 (2021).

[2] Cologna, V. & Siegrist, M. The role of trust for climate change mitigation and adaptation behaviour: a meta-analysis. J. Environ. Psychol. 69, 101428 (2020).

[3]IPSOS Global Trustworthiness Monitor: Stability in an Unstable World (IPSOS, 2022).

Journal

Nature Human Behaviour

DOI

10.1038/s41562-024-02090-5

Method of Research

Survey

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Trust in scientists and their role in society across 68 countries

Experiment in floodplain forest: Using tree mortality to support oak regeneration

Two-year oak experiment in Leipzig, Germany

Universität Leipzig

The pedunculate oaks typical of Leipzig’s floodplain forest and other German oak forests are struggling to regenerate in the understorey due to a lack of light. One reason for this is the absence of flooding in floodplain forests. In a two-year oak experiment in Leipzig’s floodplain forest, researchers from Leipzig University and the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) found that the current tree dieback – caused by drought and pest outbreaks – combined with the thinning of certain understorey species, can actually support oak regeneration. Their findings have been published in the journal Forest Ecology and Management.

This is a promising new approach to forest dynamics, which have been fundamentally altered by climate change,” says Annalena Lenk from the Institute of Biology at Leipzig University, lead author of the paper, adding that the lack of oak regeneration and the poor hydrological condition of many floodplains are widespread problems across Central Europe. In Leipzig, for example, urban expansion into the floodplain and the channelling of rivers have led to the loss of the typical flood dynamics characteristic of such habitats. She explains that this has encouraged the spread of flood-intolerant tree species such as sycamore and Norway maple. Their dense canopy casts deep shade over the forest floor, making it much harder for light-demanding species like pedunculate oak to regenerate. According to Lenk, this species plays a key role in biodiversity conservation, as it provides a habitat for a wide range of organisms, including insects, fungi, birds, bats and lichens.

At present, however, a new structural shift in forest composition is becoming apparent. The droughts of recent years and the spread of pests in many parts of Europe – including Leipzig – have led to a sharp rise in tree mortality. As a result, forest stands have opened up significantly. This could, on the one hand, promote the natural regeneration of light-demanding species such as pedunculate oak. On the other hand, it may also allow more dominant species, such as maples, to spread further.

The researchers investigated how these recent structural changes in the floodplain forest affect the regeneration of pedunculate oak and how they can be combined with forest management measures. They analysed the impact of different silvicultural interventions – and the associated availability of light – on the stand microclimate and the establishment of pedunculate oak. To do so, they set up eight research plots in areas of Leipzig’s floodplain forest with a relatively healthy upper canopy and eight more in areas with high levels of dead or diseased trees. On two subplots of each research plot, they selectively removed flood-intolerant tree species such as sycamore and Norway maple, as well as elder, from the understorey. The other two subplots were left untreated. In addition to these plots, the researchers also included eight existing patch clearings from Leipzig’s forest management programme – areas ranging from 0.13 to 0.72 hectares that had already been partially opened up and planted with young oaks. In early 2022, the team planted a total of 1,200 one-year-old oaks protected by browsing guards, along with 80 approximately five-year-old oaks, and monitored their development over a two-year period.

More light for young oaks thanks to thinned treetops

“At the end of 2022, we replaced oaks that had already died with new plantings. In both years, we measured crown diameter in summer and height and root collar diameter in winter to calculate growth,” explains Annalena Lenk, describing the methodology. The oaks were also tested for drought stress using leaf samples.

In their oak experiment, the researchers found: “Forest areas with high tree mortality in the upper canopy can be effectively used to promote the regeneration of pedunculate oak – but only if maple is removed from the understorey. Maple is widespread. Because it responds more quickly to growing conditions, it overtops and shades the oaks,” says co-author Christian Wirth. Without the flood-intolerant species, the oaks were able to benefit from the increased light levels and develop well, as the canopy had been thinned by tree dieback.

“Compared to the patch clearings, the plantings on the thinned forest plots showed fewer signs of drought stress, which was mainly due to higher air humidity,” the researchers found. While oaks benefit from increased light availability, this positive effect is weakened by drought stress,” explains Annalena Lenk. The light conditions and microclimatic environment on plots with high tree mortality in the upper canopy and selective thinning of specific species in the understorey appear to offer a balanced combination of sufficient light and a stable forest microclimate – even in a drought year – that supports oak regeneration.

Adapting forest management to climate change

The research findings could be considered in practice as part of climate-adapted forest management strategies aimed at promoting biodiversity – including as a supplementary measure alongside future flooding events. The research plots have been established as long-term observation sites, allowing data collection to continue in the coming years. For example, a master’s thesis is planned for next year that will examine the effects of different management methods – and the resulting light conditions – on the herb layer. The influence of climate change on vegetation processes, and in turn the impact of vegetation on the climate, is a central focus of Leipzig University’s proposed Cluster of Excellence, Breathing Nature. Leipzig’s floodplain forest is an important research platform in this collaborative project.

Journal

Forest Ecology and Management

DOI

10.1016/j.foreco.2025.122678

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Elevated tree mortality as a regeneration niche for oak? Testing different management approaches in a meliorated floodplain forest

Cornell researchers explore plant-environment interactions with grapevines in 3 states

Cornell University

ITHACA, N.Y. – A new project led by Cornell University researchers will explore how genetically identical grapevines adapt to differences in temperature, humidity, soils and other environmental factors in New York, Missouri and South Dakota.

The $2.3 million project, funded by the National Science Foundation, will aid grape growers and winemakers as they cope with increasingly erratic climate conditions by uncovering the most adaptable varieties.

“A chardonnay vine in New York and a chardonnay vine in France are genetic twins, which means you can specifically explore how the plant genome interacts with its environment,” said Jason Londo, associate professor. “There are lots of different species we could use to do this study, but grapes are the perfect plant to use because, in winemaking, we already have a cultural passion around this concept of how the environment influences the way genes are expressed: terroir.”

From the French for “lands,” terroir refers to the various ways that a vineyard’s climate, farming practices, soil composition and other factors influence a wine’s flavor.

“Scientifically, we call terroir ‘plasticity’ – the ability for a species to adapt to many different environments and climate conditions,” Londo said. “Those who enjoy wine usually think of terroir in terms of the juice or wine itself, but in truth, the leaves are optimizing, the roots are optimizing, the branches are optimizing – there’s terroir everywhere.”

The project will also look at which genes and gene clusters can be modified under different environmental pressures and influence how an organism’s DNA is expressed. These findings could inform research and plant breeding on any crop that reproduces asexually, including apples, cherries, peaches, potatoes, bananas and strawberries.

“We want to know which components of the genome are under the greatest manipulation by the environment,” Londo said. “With that information, you could think about how to stimulate the genome with certain pressures, or maybe you could breed for those components that are more sensitive or more resistant to environmental pressures, depending on the outcome you want to achieve in the vineyard, such as drought resistance or heat tolerance.”

Londo is leading the project at Cornell but working with colleagues at Pennsylvania State University, South Dakota State University, Missouri State University and the nonprofit Donald Danforth Plant Science Center in Olivette, Missouri.

The researchers created a nursery of Marquette grapevines grafted onto five different commercial rootstocks and 220 newly developed rootstocks. Those young vines have been cloned and transplanted in three different locations, in New York, Missouri and South Dakota.

Assessing how genetically identical plants perform in the cold and wet climate of New York, the hot and wet environment of Missouri, and the cold and dry environment of South Dakota will enable researchers to make recommendations tailored to grape growers in each location.

For additional information, read this Cornell Chronicle story.

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Microbes in Brooklyn Superfund site teach lessons on fighting industrial pollution

NYU Tandon School of Engineering-led research team discovers unprecedented genetic adaptations in Gowanus Canal organisms, revealing a potential new approach for cleaning contaminated waters and recovering valuable resources

NYU Tandon School of Engineering

Using advanced DNA sequence analysis, a research team led by NYU Tandon School of Engineering's Assistant Professor Elizabeth Hénaff has discovered that tiny organisms in Brooklyn's highly contaminated Gowanus Canal have developed a comprehensive collection of pollution-fighting genes.

The findings were published in the Journal of Applied Microbiology on April 15, 2025.

The team identified 455 species of microorganisms wielding 64 different biochemical pathways to degrade pollutants and 1,171 genes to process heavy metals. This suggests the potential of a cheaper, more sustainable, and less disruptive method for cleaning contaminated waterways than the current oft-used dredging operations.

The researchers also discovered 2,300 novel genetic sequences that could enable microbes to produce potentially valuable biochemical compounds for medicine, industry, or environmental applications.

"We found what amounts to nature's own toxic cleanup manual, but with a crucial warning," said Hénaff, who sits in NYU Tandon's Technology, Culture and Society Department and is a member of Tandon's Center for Urban Science + Progress. "These microbes have stories to tell that go beyond scientific data."

To communicate these stories effectively, Hénaff and colleagues created CHANNEL, an immersive installation at BioBAT Art Space in Brooklyn, New York featuring sculpture, prints, sound, and projections alongside over 300 gallons of native Gowanus sediment and water that has been growing over the last 9 months. The Living Interfaces Lab, Hénaff's research group, uses methods from sciences and arts to address pressing urban issues.

"While more research is needed to understand how to cooperate with these organisms effectively, the discovery of such genetic tools for pollution cleanup may offer valuable lessons for environmental restoration worldwide," Hénaff said. "I consider artistic research to be a key component in not just illustrating but also informing our scientific research." The work is on view at the exhibit’s closing event on April 18, 2025.

The team discovered genes for resistance to eight different classes of antibiotics in the canal microbes, with some coming from human gut bacteria that enter the canal during Combined Sewer Overflows – when heavy rainfall causes stormwater and untreated sewage to discharge directly into waterways. Other resistance genes were found in native aquatic species.

“The long-term coexistence of microbial communities from sewage and the natural canal environment is expected to enhance the rates of horizontal transfer of a wide array of genetic elements, and as such merits our attention for public health monitoring and surveillance as environmental ‘superbug’ reservoirs,” said Sergios-Orestis Kolokotronis, a study co-author and assistant professor of epidemiology and infectious diseases at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University.

Despite these concerns, the study also reveals promising potential benefits. While the pollutant-degrading microbes in the canal can break down contaminants, their natural processes are too slow for practical cleanup. Understanding their genetic adaptations could help scientists develop faster methods, either by isolating specific microbes for treatment or enhancing their abilities.

Some classes of contaminants such as heavy metals are also valuable materials for industry, and bioremediation methods could be adapted to resource recovery for re-use, not just removal.

To make its discoveries, the team collected samples from 14 locations along the canal's 1.8-mile length, gathering both surface sediment and deep core samples reaching 11.5 feet below the canal floor. They found microbes capable of breaking down many historical pollutants, including petroleum products, PCBs, and industrial solvents.

The findings come as the Environmental Protection Agency continues its $1.5 billion dredging and capping operation at the canal, removing contaminated sediment and sealing remaining pollution under clean material.

The team's current study builds on prior research spanning a decade to understand the Gowanus Canal microbiome. The project began in 2014 when the current study’s co-authors Ian Quate of Fruit Studio and Matthew Seibert of the University of Virginia led the first sediment sampling, processing samples at community bio lab Genspace with study co-author Ellen Jorgensen of Biotech without Borders.

The DNA was sequenced in the lab of study co-author Christopher Mason – WorldQuant Professor of Genomics and Computational Biomedicine at Weill Cornell Medicine – as part of the Pathomap Project, now expanded to cities around the world in the metagenomics of subways and urban biomes (MetaSUB) project.

“The hardy microbial organisms of the Gowanus Canal have a unique genetic catalog of survival, which provides a roadmap for adaptation and directed evolution that we can use in polluted sites around the world,” said Mason, who serves as co-founder and Director of the MetaSUB Consortium.

Later, lead author Hénaff's team collected more samples through the BKBioReactor project while study co-author Kolokotronisgathered core samples. Bioinformatic approaches implemented by study co-authors Chandrima Bhattacharya of Weill Cornell Medicine and Rupobrata Panja of Rutgers University allowed the team to identify microbes breaking down industrial pollutants in the canal's thick sediment.

This research was supported by funding from WorldQuant Foundation, the Pershing Square Foundation, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation and NYU Tandon.

Journal

Journal of Applied Microbiology

DOI

10.1093/jambio/lxaf076

Method of Research

Observational study

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Metagenomic interrogation of urban Superfund site reveals antimicrobial resistance reservoir and bioremediation potential

Article Publication Date

15-Apr-2025

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Wednesday, April 16, 2025

A step toward harnessing clean energy from falling rainwater

Journal

DOI

Article Title

Article Publication Date

How much do we trust scientists? Researchers investigate in international study

Journal

DOI

Method of Research

Subject of Research

Article Title

Experiment in floodplain forest: Using tree mortality to support oak regeneration

More light for young oaks thanks to thinned treetops

Adapting forest management to climate change

Journal

DOI

Method of Research

Subject of Research

Article Title

Cornell researchers explore plant-environment interactions with grapevines in 3 states

Microbes in Brooklyn Superfund site teach lessons on fighting industrial pollution

Journal

DOI

Method of Research

Subject of Research

Article Title

Article Publication Date

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