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Silk Road nomads were the original foodies![]() Washington (UPI) Mar 27, 2018 New research suggests nomadic populations in Medieval Central Asia, between the 2nd and 16th centuries AD, ate more dynamic diets than sedentary Silk Road populations. Though most research into the Silk Road frames the phenomenon in terms of traded goods, the route through Medieval Central Asia was formed by interactions between nomadic and sedentary population. Isotopic analysis of human remains has helped scientists determine the dietary habits of different Silk Road populations. ... read more |
Artificial bio-inspired membranes for water filtrationParis, France (SPX) Mar 27, 2018 From a desire to develop breakthrough technologies for water filtration and purification, researchers have developed membranes with artificial channels inspired by the proteins that form the pores i ... more
Agriculture initiated by indigenous peoples, not Fertile Crescent migrationLiverpool UK (SPX) Mar 28, 2018 Small scale agricultural farming was first initiated by indigenous communities living on Turkey's Anatolian plateau, and not introduced by migrant farmers as previously thought, according to new res ... more
Breakthrough in battle against rice blastExeter UK (SPX) Mar 28, 2018 Scientists have found a way to stop the spread of rice blast, a fungus that destroys up to 30% of the world's rice crop each year. An international team led by the University of Exeter showed ... more
Avocado town becomes symbol of Chile's water warPetorca, Chile (AFP) March 23, 2018 Karina Torres has spent more than seven years without running water in her home in central Chile. Yet, across the road, water flows in abundance to irrigate thousands of hectares of avocados. ... more |
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, a year after deadly floods Spain regional leader resigns, year after deadly floods Afghanistan quake kills 20, injures over 300: health ministry At least 9 dead in Afghanistan quake Magnitude 6.3 quake hits northern Afghanistan CORRECTED: Magnitude 6.3 quake hits northern Afghanistan: USGS |
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| Previous Issues | Mar 27 | Mar 26 | Mar 24 | Mar 23 | Mar 22 |
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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
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
Absence of ants suggests first Saharan farming 10,000 years agoHuddersfield UK (SPX) Mar 21, 2018 By analysing a prehistoric site in the Libyan desert, a team of researchers from the universities of Huddersfield, Rome and Modena and Reggio Emilia has been able to establish that people in Saharan ... more
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
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 |
![]() UN and EU say food insecurity worsens as conflicts rage
Indonesia women face daily swim for clean waterMakassar, Indonesia (AFP) March 22, 2018 Indonesian villager Mama Hasria swims upstream with about 200 empty jerry cans tied to her back, a daily trip she and other local women make to get clean water for their community on Sulawesi island. ... more |
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World water problems on tap at Brazil conferenceBrasilia (AFP) March 17, 2018 Brazil - the country with the world's greatest fresh water reserves - hosts an international conference next week on growing fears over the fragility of drinking water supplies in a heating planet. ... more
World's largest cities depend on evaporated water from surrounding landsFort Collins CO (SPX) Mar 21, 2018 Urbanization has taken billions of people from the rural countryside to urban centers, adding pressure to existing water resources. Many cities rely on renewable freshwater regularly refilled by pre ... 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 |
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A space window to electrifying science Paris (ESA) Mar 27, 2018
Lightning triggers powerful electrical bursts in Earth's atmosphere almost every second. The inner workings of these magnificent forces of nature are still unknown, but a rare observation by an ESA astronaut gave a boost to the science community. A European detector will take on the challenge of hunting for thunderstorms from space next week.
As he flew over India at 28 800 km/h on the Int ... 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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Soil fungi may help determine the resilience of forests to environmental change Santa Cruz CA (SPX) Mar 27, 2018 |
Sewage sludge leads to biofuels breakthrough Berkeley CA (SPX) Mar 27, 2018
Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have discovered a new enzyme that will enable microbial production of a renewable alternative to petroleum-based toluene, a widely used octane booster in gasoline that has a global market of 29 million tons per year.
Results from a study led by Harry Beller ... more |
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New Contract Airborne to supply 48 Solar Array Panels for Galileo Satellites The Hague, Netherlands (SPX) Mar 27, 2018
Airborne Aerospace has been awarded a contract by Airbus Defence and Space Netherlands to manufacture 48 substrate panels for the solar arrays of twelve new Galileo FOC satellites. The contract, carried out under a programme of the European Union, is the latest result of years of successful collaboration between the two Dutch companies to power the Galileo constellation.
To date, Airborne ... more |
Detection, deterrent system will help eagles, wind turbines coexist better Corvallis OR (SPX) Mar 27, 2018
Researchers have taken a key step toward helping wildlife coexist more safely with wind power generation by demonstrating the success of an impact detection system that uses vibration sensors mounted to turbine blades.
The findings are important because while wind power is generally regarded as green energy, danger to birds - particularly federally protected bald eagles and golden eagles - ... 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 |
Vatican-affiliated Chinese bishop arrested: report Vatican City (AFP) March 27, 2018
A Chinese bishop recognised by the Vatican has been arrested in his diocese just as Beijing and the Holy See are set to confirm a historic agreement on the appointment of bishops, a Vatican-linked website reported.
AsiaNews, run by the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions - a missionary society recognised by the Vatican - wrote on Tuesday that Vincent Guo Xijin, bishop of the diocese ... more |
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How accurate is your AI Kyoto, Japan (SPX) Mar 23, 2018
As AI's role in society continues to expand, J B Brown of the Graduate School of Medicine reports on a new evaluation method for the type of AI that predicts yes/positive/true or no/negative/false answers.
Brown's paper, published in Molecular Informatics, deconstructs the utilization of AI and analyzes the nature of the statistics used to report an AI program's ability. The new technique ... more |
Five ways to halt 'critical' land decay Medellin, Colombia (AFP) March 26, 2018
Scientists warned Monday that land degradation imperils the health and well-being of billions of people, threatening food and water supplies while fuelling conflict, mass migration and disease spread.
But all is not lost, said the mammoth report by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES).
Humanity can still turn the tide of destruction ... 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 |
Ultra-thin sun shield could protect Great Barrier Reef Sydney (AFP) March 27, 2018
An ultra-fine biodegradable film some 50,000 times thinner than a human hair could be enlisted to protect the Great Barrier Reef from environmental degradation, researchers said Tuesday.
The World Heritage-listed site, which attracts millions of tourists each year, is reeling from significant bouts of coral bleaching due to warming sea temperatures linked to climate change.
Scientists fr ... more |
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New data confirm increased frequency of extreme weather events Munich, Germany (SPX) Mar 22, 2018
New data show that extreme weather events have become more frequent over the past 36 years, with a significant uptick in floods and other hydrological events compared even with five years ago, according to a new publication, "Extreme weather events in Europe: Preparing for climate change adaptation: an update on EASAC's 2013 study" by the European Academies' Science Advisory Council (EASAC), a b ... more |
China's big banks escape profit doldrums Shanghai (AFP) March 27, 2018
Two of China's big state-owned banks said Tuesday their profits rebounded in 2017 after a pair of moribund years thanks to an accelerating domestic economy, and analysts expect further gains as a government credit clampdown favours big lenders.
The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the world's biggest lender in terms of total assets, said full-year profit grew 2.8 percent to 28 ... 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 |
Researchers investigate if Hurricane Harvey helped fire ants spread in Texas Washington (UPI) Mar 26, 2018
Scientists at Rice University are trying to measure the impact of Hurricane Harvey on fire ant populations, an invasive species common throughout the South.
Previous studies suggest invasive species take over and thrive in damaged ecosystems. Hurricane Harvey offered ecologists another chance to test the theory.
"Hurricane Harvey was, among other things, a grand ecological experi ... more |
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