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In field tests, device harvests water from desert air![]() Boston MA (SPX) Mar 23, 2018 It seems like getting something for nothing, but you really can get drinkable water right out of the driest of desert air. Even in the most arid places on Earth, there is some moisture in the air, and a practical way to extract that moisture could be a key to survival in such bone-dry locations. Now, researchers at MIT have proved that such an extraction system can work. The new device, based on a concept the team first proposed last year, has now been field-tested in the very dry air of Tem ... read more  | 
 
Safeguarding our most precious resource: waterParis (ESA) Mar 23, 2018 According to this year's Global Risk Report by the World Economic Forum, water crises are one of the five biggest risks to society. ESA is working with development banks to help water-resource autho ... more  
Revolutionary new filter can improve drinking water qualitySydney, Australia (SPX) Mar 23, 2018 Scientists have developed a world-first, graphene-based, laboratory-scale filter that can remove more than 99% of the ubiquitous natural organic matter left behind during conventional treatment of d ... more  
Low-tech, affordable solutions to improve water qualityHoughton MI (SPX) Mar 23, 2018 Most of us are used to turning on a tap and water coming out. We rarely question whether this will happen or whether the water is clean enough to bathe in or drink. Though the process of maintaining ... more  
French food fest wants to whet the world's appetiteParis (AFP) March 21, 2018 Truffled frogs legs with spiced raisins, and apple and pear tart with prune and Armagnac ice cream... French chefs were setting out Wednesday to make mouths water in a global celebration of the country's cuisine. ... more  | 
 
Jamaicans mobilize aid in aftermath of Melissa's wreckage 
Spain regional leader resigns, a year after deadly floods French warship delivers 40 tonnes of aid to hurricane-hit Jamaica Three killed, four missing in Nepal avalanche Tens of thousands shelter as typhoon slams into Philippines Thousands evacuated as typhoon bears down on Philippines CORRECTED: Thousands evacuated as typhoon bears down on Philippines Afghan govt says quake kills 20, injures over 500 Third quake in three months rattles Turkey's Sindirgi Spain regional leader resigns, year after deadly floods  | 
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| Previous Issues | Mar 22 | Mar 21 | Mar 20 | Mar 19 | Mar 16 | 
 
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Drought-stricken Cape Town counts the costCape Town (AFP) March 19, 2018 South African winemaker Marlize Jacobs looks out across the parched brown earth that sustains her award-winning vines, surveying the effects of the water crisis ravaging Cape Town and surrounding areas. ... more  
NZ dairy giant Fonterra posts loss on China writedown, CEO to goWellington (AFP) March 20, 2018 New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra slumped to a first-half loss Wednesday after massive write-downs on its China business, and announced long-time chief executive Theo Spierings' departure. ... more  
Algorithm could streamline harvesting of hand-picked cropsChicago IL (SPX) Mar 21, 2018 Farmers are the latest beneficiaries in a world of data analytics. Over the past few years, precision agriculture has been helping farmers make smarter decisions and producing a bigger yield. But mo ... more  
Agriculture must make water use go further: expertsBrasilia (AFP) March 20, 2018 In a world where water risks running short for many, the especially thirsty agricultural industry must learn how to manage the vital resource better, experts said Tuesday. ... more  
Dead Sea's revival with Red Sea canal edges closer to realityGhor Al-Haditha, Jordan (AFP) March 18, 2018 Israel and Jordan have long pursued a common goal to stop the Dead Sea from shrinking while slaking their shared thirst for drinking water with a pipeline from the Red Sea some 200 kilometres away. ... more  | 
![]() US Supreme Court gives go ahead to Flint water lawsuits  
Dead tress across Mongolian lava field offer clues to past droughtsTucson AZ (SPX) Mar 19, 2018 The extreme wet and dry periods Mongolia has experienced in the late 20th and early 21st centuries are rare but not unprecedented and future droughts may be no worse, according to an international r ... more  | 
 
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Background radiation in UAE's agricultural topsoil found to be lower than global averageWashington DC (SPX) Mar 19, 2018 A team of researchers in the United Arab Emirates have revealed the presence of a significantly lower level of background radiation present in the nation's agricultural topsoil in comparison to the ... more  
India's Silicon Valley faces man-made water crisisBangalore, India (AFP) March 17, 2018 Every day more than 1,000 water tankers rumble past Nagraj's small plywood store in Bangalore, throwing up clouds of dust as they rush their valuable cargo to homes and offices in India's drought-stricken tech hub. ... more  
World needs 'greener' water policies as demand rises: UNParis (AFP) March 19, 2018 Governments should focus on "greener" policies to improve the supply and quality of water as climate change and a growing global population threaten the water security of billions, the United Nations said on Monday. ... more  
World water forum opens after dire UN warningBrasilia (AFP) March 19, 2018 The world must race to avert disastrous loss of water supplies, Brazil's President Michel Temer told a conference Monday, after the UN said some 5.7 billion people may run short of drinking water by 2050. ... more  
Harnessing the power of soil microbes for more sustainable farmingBerkeley CA (SPX) Mar 16, 2018 There's a farm in Arkansas growing soybeans, corn, and rice that is aiming to be the most scientifically advanced farm in the world. Soil samples are run through powerful machines to have their micr ... more  | 
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Diamonds from the deep: Study suggests water may exist in Earth's lower mantle Berkeley CA (SPX) Mar 20, 2018  
Water on Earth runs deep - very deep. The oceans have been measured to a maximum depth of 7 miles, though water is known to exist well below the oceans. Just how deep this hidden water reaches, and how much of it exists, are the subjects of ongoing research. 
Now a new study suggests that water may be more common than expected at extreme depths approaching 400 miles and possibly beyond - wi ... more | 
Indra Expands With Four New Stations The Ground Segment Managing Galileo Satellites Madrid, Spain (SPX) Mar 15, 2018  
Indra has been awarded a contract for implementing four new Uplink Stations (ULS), thus expanding the ground segment of the European global positioning system, Galileo. Awarded by the company Thales Alenia Space (France), this contract also includes maintenance and upgrades for all Uplink stations. 
The new stations will join the ten uplink stations that Indra has already put into service a ... more | 
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Invasive beetle threatens Japan's famed cherry blossoms Tokyo (AFP) March 22, 2018  
 Across Japan's capital, delicate pink and white cherry blossoms are emerging, but the famed blooms are facing a potentially mortal enemy, experts say: an invasive foreign beetle. 
The alien invader is aromia bungii, otherwise known as the red-necked longhorn beetle, which is native to China, Taiwan, the Korean peninsula and northern Vietnam. 
The beetles live inside cherry and plum trees,  ... more | 
Insects could help us find new yeasts for big business Raleigh NC (SPX) Mar 23, 2018  
Yeasts are tiny fungi - but they play key roles in producing everything from beer and cheese to industrial chemicals and biofuels. And now scientists are proposing a new approach that could help these industries find new yeasts for use in their manufacturing processes. 
The strategy, which focuses on the relationships between yeasts and insect species, is laid out in a paper published March ... more | 
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Saft deploys Intensium Mini for solar energy storage at industrial plant in Spain Paris, France (SPX) Mar 20, 2018  
Saft has installed two Li-ion energy storage systems to boost the operational efficiency of the existing solar PV plant at EXKAL's Marcilla manufacturing facility in Navarra, Northern Spain. 
The Saft Intensium Mini E systems provide peak shaving to reduce peak demand charges from the site's electricity supplier as well as increasing self-consumption of solar power. The result is that EXKAL ... more | 
BP sees onshore wind as the cheapest future source of electricity Washington (UPI) Mar 15, 2018  
 In a report on energy efficiency trends, British energy company BP said onshore wind could become the most economical source of electricity within 30 years. 
 A technology outlook for 2018 by the British supermajor finds coal is currently the largest source of global energy generation. There's enough on hand, the report read, to keep the grid satiated for more than a century based on curr ... more | 
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Michigan utility company to go zero coal Washington (UPI) Feb 20, 2018  
 Coal will no longer be used as an energy source for Michigan residents as more renewables come on stream in the decades ahead, a utility company said. 
 Public utility company Consumers Energy, which provides gas and electricity to about 60 percent of the state population, said it would no longer be using coal as a power source by 2040. By then, the company said it expects more than 40 pe ... more | 
China to reorganise propaganda efforts at home and abroad Beijing (AFP) March 21, 2018  
 China Wednesday announced a series of changes aimed at strengthening its global influence, including the creation of a centralised news service to better communicate the ruling Communist Party's message at home and abroad. 
The changes are part of a larger overhaul of government functions that will also see an increased role for the United Front Work Department, a shadowy organisation that ha ... more | 
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Visual recognition: Seeing the world through the eyes of rodents Trieste, Italy (SPX) Mar 23, 2018  
Man or woman, happy or sad. Sometimes a glance is enough to say it. Yet, the visual process that allows us to recognize the gender or emotional state of a person is very sophisticated. Until recently, only primates were deemed able to perform such complex operations as object recognition. 
A new study from the International School for Advanced Studies - SISSA, published in the journal Curre ... more | 
Researchers create new low-cost, sustainable material for reducing air and water pollution Washington DC (SPX) Mar 23, 2018  
A new class of low-cost and sustainable hybrid materials could possibly displace activated carbon as the preferred choice for reducing wastewater and air pollution. The material, described in Frontiers in Chemistry, is synthesized inexpensively from solid wastes and a naturally abundant polymer - and can cut down pollutants in air and wastewater with more success than activated carbon, the curre ... more | 
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Residents get first look at town devastated by Australia bushfire Sydney (AFP) March 20, 2018   Residents got their first look Tuesday at the devastation wrought by a bushfire that ravaged a town in Australia, but fears over asbestos and unstable structures mean even those with houses still standing cannot move back. 
Sixty-nine homes were incinerated in Tathra on the south coast of New South Wales, and another 39 damaged, after a blaze fanned by gusty winds and hot, dry conditions swep ... more | 
Low-tech, affordable solutions to improve water quality Houghton MI (SPX) Mar 23, 2018  
Most of us are used to turning on a tap and water coming out. We rarely question whether this will happen or whether the water is clean enough to bathe in or drink. Though the process of maintaining water quality is practically invisible to most of us, removing bacteria and contaminants from water requires a lot of effort from both humans and treatment systems alike. 
Mohammad Alizadeh Fard ... more | 
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World sees rapid upsurge in extreme weather: report Paris (AFP) March 21, 2018  
 A world addled by climate change has seen a four-fold increase in major flooding events since 1980, and a doubling of significant storms, droughts and heat waves, Europe's national science academies jointly reported Wednesday. 
In Europe, where precise data reaches back decades, the number of severe floods has jumped five fold since 1995, according to the report, which updates a 2013 assessme ... more | 
China urges US to not act emotionally; US trade groups say same and more Beijing (AFP) March 20, 2018   Chinese Premier Li Keqiang called on the United States Tuesday to not act "emotionally" and to avoid a trade war, as President Donald Trump considers new punitive measures against Beijing. 
After announcing tariffs on global steel and aluminium imports, Trump is now mulling new actions against China over its "theft" of US intellectual property. 
Washington has long accused Beijing of forci ... more | 
 
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New 3-D measurements improve understanding of geomagnetic storm hazards Washington DC (SPX) Mar 14, 2018  
Measurements of the three-dimensional structure of the earth, as opposed to the one-dimensional models typically used, can help scientists more accurately determine which areas of the United States are most vulnerable to blackouts during hazardous geomagnetic storms. 
Space weather events such as geomagnetic storms can disturb the earth's magnetic field, interfering with electric power grid ... more | 
Sudan, the world's last male northern white rhino, dies aged 45 Ol Pejeta, Kenya (AFP) March 20, 2018  
 Sudan, the last male northern white rhino, has died in Kenya at the age of 45, after becoming a symbol of efforts to save his subspecies from extinction, a fate that only science can now prevent. 
When Sudan was born in 1973 in the wild in Shambe, South Sudan, there were about 700 of his kind left in existence. 
At his death, there are only two females remaining alive and the hope is that  ... more | 
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