24/7 Farm  News Coverage
February 09, 2017
24/7 Disaster News Coverage
CLIMATE SCIENCE
Cape Town pools crack down on splashing as drought bites



Cape Town (AFP) Feb 8, 2017
Cape Town on Wednesday announced a crackdown on splashing and surfer shorts at the city's swimming pools in a bid to save water as a fierce drought plagues Southern Africa. Most pools in the city will also be closed on weekdays to eliminate the need to clean them daily, which is expected to save 680,000 litres (180,000 gallons) of water every day. Southern African nations are reeling from a two-year drought which has affected over 40 million people, UN figures show. "With pools only staying ... read more

FARM NEWS
Syngenta says profits down as ChemChina takeover looms
Swiss pesticide and seed giant Syngenta said Wednesday that restructuring costs hit 2016 earnings, even as its planned takeover by ChemChina looks set to be completed by the middle of the year. ... more
FARM NEWS
Miracle crop: Can quinoa help feed the world?
Scientists on Wednesday unveiled the near-complete genome of quinoa, a grain cultivated centuries ago by Incas in the Andes that scientists say could help feed a hungry world. ... more
FARM NEWS
Students brew beer using 5,000-year-old recipe from China
Many college students - if desperate enough, or late enough - aren't above settling for skunked beer, a can that sat out in the sun for too long, for example. But few have tasted the funky notes of a home-brewed jar of suds inspired by ancient Chinese beer-making techniques. ... more
FARM NEWS
Persistent tropical foraging in the New Guinea highlands
The development of agriculture is frequently seen as one of the major economic, social, and demographic thresholds in human history. From the perspective of the modern world it is often seen as an i ... more
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Baltic hunter-gatherers began farming without influence of migration
New research indicates that Baltic hunter-gatherers were not swamped by migrations of early agriculturalists from the Middle East, as was the case for the rest of central and western Europe. Instead ... more
WATER WORLD
Life-cycle study provides detailed look at decentralized water systems
The "decentralized" water system at the Center for Sustainable Landscapes (CSL) at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, which treats all non-potable water on site, contributes to the net-zero ... more
FARM NEWS
Spain's Balearic Islands hit by deadly olive tree bacteria
A deadly bacteria that infected thousands of olive trees in Italy has been detected in Spain's Balearic Islands where authorities are racing to contain it, a regional government official said Friday. ... more
EPIDEMICS
Bird flu outbreak spreads to Belgium
/> A highly contagious strain of bird flu that has affected poultry farmers in France and Germany has now spread to Belgium, officials said on Thursday. The H5N8 avian virus was identified late ... more
WATER WORLD
A closer look at what caused the Flint water crisis
Flint, Michigan, continues to grapple with the public health crisis that unfolded as lead levels in its tap water spiked to alarming levels. Now the scientists who helped uncover the crisis have tes ... more
FARM NEWS
Italy's military 'narcos' cook up cannabis cures
It's every stoner's nightmare: marijuana plants as far as the eye can see and not a spliff in sight. ... more


17 million face hunger in Horn of Africa due to drought

WATER WORLD
Macedonians send out SOS from Europe's oldest lake
A fishing boat glides across the shimmering surface of Europe's oldest lake, a haven of biodiversity and a UNESCO World Heritage Site - one that conservationists warn faces multiple development threats. ... more
FARM NEWS
Corn turning French hamsters into deranged cannibals: research
A diet of corn is turning wild hamsters in northeastern France into deranged cannibals that devour their offspring, alarmed researchers have reported. ... more
FARM NEWS
Crop achilles' heel costs farmers 10 percent of potential yield
Scientists assumed leaves at the top of a plant would be the best at turning higher levels of light into carbohydrates - through the process of photosynthesis - while the lower shaded leaves would b ... more
FARM NEWS
Pigs and chocolate: Using math to solve problems in farming
Improving cocoa yields for the chocolate industry, estimating the quality of meat in pigs and refining the design of a hydroponics system, were three farming challenges tackled by academics at a rec ... more

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Mobile phone and satellite data to map poverty
An international team has, for the first time, developed a way of combining anonymised data from mobile phones and satellite imagery data to create high resolution maps to measure poverty. The researchers, led by WorldPop at the University of Southampton and the Flowminder Foundation, have worked with Telenor Research and mobile phone company Grameenphone to examine rates of poverty and it ... more
NASA Taking Stock of Phytoplankton Populations in the Pacific

Why the Earth's magnetic poles could be about to swap places

An application of astronomy to save endangered species

U.S. Air Force, Boeing extend GPS sustainment pact
Boeing and the U.S. Air Force signed off on extending their partnership for sustaining the navigation capabilities of Global Positioning System satellites. Under the agreement, Boeing and the Air Force will support military and civilian uses for the GPS block IIA and IIF satellites for the next five years. Boeing has also been contracted to develop next-generation GPS platforms. ... more
India's Satnav Goes Out of Whack as Orbiting Atomic Clocks Break

NASA space radio could change how flights are tracked worldwide

ISRO to Launch Standby Navigation Satellite to Replace IRNSS-1A



Honduras manages to stall pine-munching bugs' march
Over the past three years, Honduras has lost a quarter of its pine forests to a plague of bark-munching beetles. Now though, after a long campaign that saw soldiers wielding chainsaws to contain the bug invasion, a little green is growing back. In mountains north of the capital that were stripped bare, trees replanted by students from the National University's forest sciences department ... more
Amazon forest was transformed by ancient people: study

Coastal wetlands excel at storing carbon

Wetlands play vital role in carbon storage, study finds

A better way to farm algae
Scientists have long known of the potential of microalgae to aid in the production of biofuels and other valuable chemicals. However, the difficulty and significant cost of growing microalgae have in some ways stalled further development of this promising technology. Bendy Estime, a biomedical and chemical engineering Ph.D. candidate, has devoted his research to this area, and developed a new te ... more
DuPont Industrial Biosciences to develop new high-efficiency biogas enzyme method

Cathay Pacific to cut emissions with switch to biofuel

Populus dataset holds promise for biofuels, materials, metabolites



Powerful change: A profile of today's solar consumer
People with higher incomes and better education no longer dominate demand for the domestic solar market in Queensland with a new QUT study revealing the highest uptake in solar PV systems comes from families on medium to lower incomes. Over the past decade the profile of Queenslanders acquiring solar PV has changed significantly based on a study by QUT Dr Jeff Sommerfeld investigating the ... more
EU to phase out China solar panel duties

NREL research pinpoints promise of polycrystalline perovskites

Material can turn sunlight, heat and movement into electricity

Prysmian UK to supply land cable connections for East Anglia ONE offshore wind farm
Prysmian Group, world leader in the energy and telecom cable systems industry, has secured a Pounds 27 million contract with East Anglia One Limited to supply and install the land cable connection for the East Anglia ONE offshore wind farm. Comprising of 102 turbines, the Pounds 2.5 billion wind farm will generate sufficient electricity to power 500,000 homes. The contract involves the ... more
Russia's nuclear giant pushes into wind energy

The power of wind energy and how to use it

Largest US offshore wind farm gets green light



Do more to advance CCS, BHP Billiton says
Australian energy company BHP Billiton issued a call to policymakers to do more to advance development of carbon capture technologies. The International Energy Agency described carbon capture and storage as a necessary addition to other low-carbon energy technologies meant to drive down global greenhouse gas emissions. The process involves capturing carbon dioxide from sources like powe ... more
Beijing's mayor vows step away from coal

Smog chokes coal-addicted Poland

After oil and gas, Denmark's Dong ditches coal

Exile, jail, abduction: the hazardous lives of China's rich
The mysterious case of a billionaire who went missing from Hong Kong last week, reportedly abducted by mainland security agents, has underscored the precarious lives of China's ultra rich. Local media say financier Xiao Jianhua was last seen at his apartment in Hong Kong's Four Seasons hotel and is under investigation in connection with China's 2015 stocks crash. There is no shortage of ... more
Missing Chinese billionaire targeted over stocks crash: report

'Abduction' of China tycoon sparks fear in Hong Kong

Hong Kong leadership favourite testifies in corruption trial



500 years of robots go on show in London
Why do humans build machines that resemble them - and what does that say about us? A London exhibition opening on Tuesday is surveying 500 years of simple to sophisticated robots to find out. Take a lip-syncing monk from the 16th century or a cartoon-like humanoid avatar that helps children with autism today. They and 100 other robots on display at the Science Museum chart an evolution of m ... more
Switzerland orders Protector remote weapon stations

Transparent gel-based robots can catch and release live fish

MIT's wearable AI system can detect a conversation's tone

Cassava carrier bags: Indonesian entrepreneur tackles plastic scourge
From bags washing up on Bali's beaches to food packaging scattered across roads and clogging waterways in cities, Indonesia is facing a plastic waste crisis driven by years of rapid economic growth. Now an entrepreneur from Bali, disgusted at the rubbish littering the famous holiday island, is trying to tackle the problem with alternatives to conventional plastic. His company, Avani Eco, ... more
China tightens smog data controls amid public anger

Philippine ministers say mine closure order will cost jobs

Coal ash selenium found in fish in NC lakes



Vegetation resilient to salvage logging after severe wildfire
Nearly a decade after being logged, vegetation in forested areas severely burned by California's Cone Fire in 2002 was relatively similar to areas untouched by logging equipment. The findings of a U.S. Forest Service study shed light on how vegetation responds to severe wildfire and whether further disturbances from logging affect regrowth. The study, "Response of understory vegetation to ... more
Research predicts extreme fires will increasingly be part of our global landscape

More than 40 detained in Chile for spreading forest fires

Chile wildfires kill 10 people: president

Controlling electron spin makes water splitting more efficient
One of the main obstacles in the production of hydrogen through water splitting is that hydrogen peroxide is also formed, which affects the efficiency stability of the reaction and the stability of the production. Dutch and Israelian researchers from Eindhoven University of Technology and the Weizmann Institute have succeeded in controlling the spin of electrons in the reaction and thereby almos ... more
Scientists find huge ancient landslide on Great Barrier Reef

Size matters for marine protected areas designed to aid coral

Great Barrier Reef building coral under threat from poisonous seaweed



Broader updrafts in severe storms may increase chance of damaging hail
Strong updrafts - currents of rising air - in severe thunderstorms are a prerequisite for hail formation. The width of these updrafts may be an indicator of an increased hail threat, according to Penn State meteorologists. "Hail can have significant socioeconomic effects on communities," said Matt Kumjian, assistant professor of meteorology and atmospheric science in the College of Earth a ... more
California state of emergency over storm damage

Bangladesh plants million trees to cut lightning toll

Powerful storms kill at least 16 in southeast US

Top tech companies argue against Trump travel ban
Dozens of top tech companies - including Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Twitter - have filed a joint legal brief arguing against President Donald Trump's travel ban. The brief was filed late Sunday with the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in support of an ongoing lawsuit against the ban. It charged that the ban "inflicts significant harm on American business, innovati ... more
Chinese FM to visit Australia in wake of Trump tiff

India's techies fear US crackdown on high-skilled visas

Facing Trump trade threats, Mexico eyes new partners

Daily Newsletters - Space - Military - Environment - Energy

Friday Night's Deep Penumbral Lunar Eclipse
Lunar eclipses are enjoyable celestial events that can be seen from a wide geographic area. But we haven't experienced a total lunar blackout since September 2015, and the next one won't come until January 31, 2018. In the meantime, skygazers can enjoy a special kind of lunar eclipse taking place on Friday night, February 10th. Instead of plunging into the dark inner core of Earth's shadow (call ... more
NASA Scientist Studies Whether Solar Storms Cause Animal Beachings

Eclipse 2017: NASA Supports a Unique Opportunity for Science in the Shadow

New space weather model helps simulate magnetic structure of solar storms

What role does electromagnetic signaling have in biological systems
For decades scientists have wondered whether electromagnetic waves might play a role in intra- and inter-cell signaling. Researchers have suggested since the 1960s, for example, that terahertz frequencies emanate from cell membranes, but they've lacked the technology and tools to conduct reproducible experiments that could prove whether electromagnetic waves constitute purposeful signals for bio ... more
New research on why plant tissues have a sense of direction

Tiny organisms with a massive impact

Killing off rivals makes for happy families, bacteria study finds





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