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A lightning-based approach to immediate short-duration rainfall predictions![]() Beijing, China (SPX) Feb 13, 2018 Previous studies have indicated a worldwide increasing trend of intense precipitation events under the influence of global warming. Heavy precipitation events increase the risk of flooding, exerting devastating effects on human society and the environment, especially for metropolises with dense populations. As one of the largest cities in the world, Beijing is highly vulnerable to increasingly frequent and intense precipitation events, such as the torrential rain event on 21 July 2012, when the ci ... read more |
For global water crisis, climate may be the last strawParis (AFP) Feb 13, 2018 Before man-made climate change kicked in - and well before "Day Zero" in Cape Town, where taps may run dry in early May - the global water crisis was upon us. ... more
Worsening Ethiopian drought threatens to end nomadic lifestyleDabafayed, Ethiopia (AFP) Feb 13, 2018 Down a sandy track past a desiccated animal carcass lies a cluster of half-built huts that Ethiopia's government and aid agencies hope will blunt the worsening toll of repeated droughts. ... more
Aerial imagery gives insight into water trendsLogan UT (SPX) Feb 12, 2018 With an ever-growing human population and its inherent demand for water, there is a critical need to monitor water resources. New technology could make it more feasible than ever to measure changes ... more
Bordeaux's 'magnificent' lost vintage pushes small growers to the edgeBarsac, France (AFP) Feb 10, 2018 Surveying a nearly empty cellar, Frederic Nivelle of Bordeaux's prestigious Chateau Climens, reflects on what might have been an outstanding year for the sweet white Sauternes wine. ... more |
Typhoon death toll climbs to 66 in the Philippines
CORRECTED: Typhoon Kalmaegi kills 66 in Philippines: civil defence office Reeling from earthquakes, Afghans fear coming winter Typhoon flooding kills over 40, strands thousands in central Philippines Indonesia floods kill 15 Afghan govt says quake death toll rises to 27 Fierce mountain storms kill nine in Nepal Typhoon flooding kills 26, strands thousands in central Philippines Vietnam flood death toll hits 40 as Typhoon Kalmaegi looms Fierce mountain storms kill 9 in Nepal |
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| Previous Issues | Feb 12 | Feb 11 | Feb 09 | Feb 08 | Feb 07 |
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Study warns of return of forgotten crop pathogenWashington (UPI) Feb 8, 2018 Scientists have confirmed the first case of stem rust in Britain in 60 years. In a new study, published this week in the journal Nature Communications Biology, researchers warn of the risks posed by a resurgence of the forgotten plant pathogen. ... more
Farm sunshine, not cancer: Replacing tobacco fields with solar arraysHoughton MI (SPX) Feb 08, 2018 Although tobacco use is the leading cause of avoidable death globally, farming tobacco continues to provide the primary source of income to many farmers. But two Michigan Technological University re ... more
China's need to turn milk greenHarpenden UK (SPX) Feb 08, 2018 China will need more than three times as much milk by 2050 as it produced in 2010 and, without changes to its current supply lines, the demand will lift global greenhouse gas emissions from dairy he ... more
Nigeria to send troops to restive central states: armyAbuja (AFP) Feb 7, 2018 Nigeria's army on Wednesday said it would send troops into the country's volatile central states to quell violence between farmers and herders that has killed hundreds in recent weeks. ... more
Sweet route to greater yieldsHarpenden UK (SPX) Feb 08, 2018 Three years ago, biotechnologists demonstrated in field trials that they could increase the productivity of maize by introducing a rice gene into the plant that regulated the accumulation of sucrose ... more |
![]() Bottoms up: Morocco PM glugs water to dispel pollution fears
Nigeria grapples with mob justice in farmer-herder clashesGboko, Nigeria (AFP) Feb 7, 2018 In the heart of Gboko's main market, in Benue state, central Nigeria, stains still darken the dusty corners of the car park, where seven men were burned alive in broad daylight. ... more |
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UTIA research examines long-term economic impact of cover cropsKnoxville TN (SPX) Feb 06, 2018 It isn't often that researchers have the luxury to examine data from a long-term research project. While most research projects last from three to five years, scientists with the University of Tenne ... more
New Year canines stashed away in Muslim MalaysiaKuala Lumpur (AFP) Jan 26, 2018 As the Year of the Dog approaches, some shops run by the Chinese diaspora in Malaysia are keeping canine figurines hidden inside to avoid causing offence in the Muslim-majority country. ... more
More rice, please: 13 rice genomes reveal ways to keep up with ever-growing populationCold Spring Harbor, NY (SPX) Feb 05, 2018 Billions of people around the world rely on rice as a mainstay of their diet. The grain provides about 20 percent of the calories consumed by humans worldwide. Rice production is critical for global ... more
Cape Town now faces dry taps by May 11Cape Town (AFP) Feb 5, 2018 Residents of drought-stricken Cape Town received rare good news Monday when city officials said they now face losing piped water to their homes on May 11 - a month later than previously forecast. ... more
Tiny Michigan town in water fight with NestleOsceola Township , United States (AFP) Feb 4, 2018 Global food conglomerate Nestle is in a battle with critics in tiny Osceola Township, Michigan where residents complain the Swiss company's water extraction techniques are ruining the environment. ... more |
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SSTL and 21AT announce new Earth Observation data contract Guildford UK (SPX) Feb 07, 2018
Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) signed a 25M pounds contract in Beijing yesterday with Twenty First Century Aerospace Technology Co., Ltd (21AT) to provide data from a new Earth Observation satellite (SSTL-S1) due for launch on PSLV in the middle of this year.
The contract was signed by Sir Martin Sweeting, Executive Chairman of SSTL, and Mme Wu Shuang, President and Chairman of 21A ... more |
Europe claims 100 million users for Galileo satnav system Paris (AFP) Feb 06, 2018
The Galileo satellite navigation system, Europe's rival to the United States' GPS, has nearly 100 million users after its first year of operation, the French space agency CNES said Thursday.
The system, seen as strategically important to Europe, went live in December 2016, having taken 17 years at more than triple the original budget to get there.
Initial services offered only a weak sig ... more |
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Increased UV from ozone depletion sterilizes trees Berkeley CA (SPX) Feb 08, 2018 Pine trees become temporarily sterile when exposed to ultraviolet radiation as intense as some scientists believe the Earth experienced 252 million years ago during the planet's largest mass extinction, lending support to the theory that ozone depletion contributed to the crisis.
The effect of high UV on conifers and potentially other trees also suggests caution today in introducing chemic ... more |
Calculating the CO2 emissions of biofuels is not enough Lausanne, Switzerland (SPX) Feb 05, 2018
"In my study, I wanted to show that calculating the greenhouse gas emissions of biofuels tells just half of the story. What we really need to do is quantify the emissions of each product coming out of biorefineries," says Edgard Gnansounou, professor at EPFL and head of the school's Bioenergy and Energy Planning Research Group. To that end, Gnansounou has developed a sophisticated computer model ... more |
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NREL scientists demonstrate remarkable stability in perovskite solar cells Golden CO (SPX) Feb 08, 2018 Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) created an environmentally stable, high-efficiency perovskite solar cell, bringing the emerging technology a step closer to commercial deployment.
Over the past decade, perovskites have rapidly evolved into a promising technology, now with the ability to convert about 23 percent of sunlight into elec ... more |
Ireland pushing for greener economy Washington (UPI) Jan 31, 2018
The Irish government, despite what happens for Great Britain, is committed to the European Union's energy and renewable policies, the environment minister said.
"Ireland is now a world leader in integrating renewables onto the electricity grid," Irish Environment Minister Denis Naughten said in comments emailed Wednesday from a renewable energy conference in Dublin. "Whatever the final ... more |
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Australia won't fund mega Adani mine rail link Sydney (AFP) Feb 4, 2018
Embattled Indian miner Adani's plans for a massive coal project in Australia has been dealt another blow after the government confirmed Sunday it would not fund a rail link to the facility.
The development of the controversial US$16 billion Carmichael mine near the Great Barrier Reef is set to be one of the world's largest. But it has been delayed by several years amid regulatory and legal h ... more |
Publisher detained in China 'confesses', blames Sweden Shanghai (AFP) Feb 10, 2018
Detained book publisher Gui Minhai has surfaced nearly three weeks after disappearing into police custody in China, confessing wrongdoing and accusing his adopted country Sweden of manipulating him like a "chess piece".
It was unclear whether the Chinese-born Gui's statement was made under duress, but video of his confession shows him flanked by two police officers and a close friend said th ... more |
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Integration of AI and robotics with materials sciences will lead to new clean energy technology Toronto, Canada (SPX) Feb 08, 2018
Materials are the foundation of essentially all clean energy technologies including advanced batteries, solar cells, low-energy semiconductors, catalysts for capturing and storing CO2, and more. But discovering new materials is currently a time consuming and expensive process: to determine whether they will be useful, newly discovered molecules are run through simulation, synthesis, and testing ... more |
Siberian smog monitors battle for clean air Moscow (AFP) Feb 9, 2018
Weary of local officials dismissing the deadly smog that covers their city, citizens of Siberia's industrial hub Krasnoyarsk decided to take action and monitor air quality themselves.
But they quickly came up against those same authorities in the remote region 4,200 kilometres (2,600 miles) east of Moscow.
Krasnoyarsk boasts dozens of factories as well as one of the world's biggest alum ... more |
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NASA Covers Wildfires from Many Sources Greenbelt MD (SPX) Jan 25, 2018
NASA's satellite instruments are often the first to detect wildfires burning in remote regions, and the locations of new fires are sent directly to land managers worldwide within hours of the satellite overpass. Together, NASA instruments, including a number built and managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, detect actively burning fires, track the transport of smoke ... more |
WSU researchers build alien ocean to test NASA outer space submarine Pullman WA (SPX) Feb 08, 2018
Building a submarine gets tricky when the temperature drops to -300 Fahrenheit and the ocean is made of methane and ethane.
Washington State University researchers are working with NASA to determine how a submarine might work on Titan, the largest of Saturn's many moons and the second largest in the solar system. The space agency plans to launch a real submarine into Titan seas in the next ... more |
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Lightning storms less likely in a warming planet, study suggests Edinburgh UK (SPX) Feb 13, 2018
Lightning may strike less often in future across the globe as the planet warms, a scientific study suggests.
The research forecasts a 15 per cent drop in the average number of lightning flashes worldwide by the turn of this century, if global temperatures are in the top range of forecasts.
A drop in the incidence of lightning strikes could impact on the frequency of wildfires, especi ... more |
Trade on agenda as China's top envoy visits US Washington (AFP) Feb 9, 2018 US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson welcomed Chinese state councillor Yang Jiechi to Washington on Thursday as the world's two most powerful diplomats talked trade, drugs and North Korea.
Yang is in Washington for two days at a time when relations between the top powers are dominated by the North Korean nuclear stand-off and President Donald Trump's concerns about their trade imbalance.
... more |
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HINODE captures record breaking solar magnetic field Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Feb 12, 2018
Magnetism plays a critical role in various solar phenomena such as flares, mass ejections, flux ropes, and coronal heating. Sunspots are areas of concentrated magnetic fields. A sunspot usually consists of a circular dark core (the umbra) with a vertical magnetic field and radially-elongated fine threads (the penumbra) with a horizontal field.
The penumbra harbors an outward flow of gas al ... more |
The Fastest Spinner On Earth San Francisco CA (SPX) Feb 13, 2018
There's no sneaking by this spider. New research from the University of California Merced and the California Academy of Sciences shows that individuals from the spider family Selenopidae - commonly known as flattie spiders - can sense prey approaching from any direction and whip around in one-eighth of a second to strike. High-speed footage reveals that a swift flex of their long legs helps the ... more |
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