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Hanging by a thread: Why bent fibers hold more water![]() Logan UT (SPX) Apr 06, 2018 On your next stroll through the woods, take a look at the dew droplets hanging from the leaves. If you see moisture on a cypress or juniper tree with their distinct bifurcated leaves, you'll likely see those water droplets defying the rules of physics. Inspired by the large droplets that form on a leaf tip or other thin filament, a team of researchers from Utah State University, University of Liege, Belgium, and Brigham Young University have found the exact angle at which a bent fiber holds the mo ... read more |
Bats to blame for pig-killer virus in China: studyParis (AFP) April 4, 2018 A mystery germ that killed nearly 25,000 piglets in China in 2016/17, came from horseshoe bats, the same species that gave us the deadly human SARS virus, researchers said Wednesday. ... more
Treating women subsistence farmers for intestinal worms will boost food productionOakbrook Terrace, IL (SPX) Apr 03, 2018 A new study in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) found that treating women subsistence farmers with just a single dose of a cheap deworming medication significantly improved their physical stam ... more
Aquaplaning in the geological undergroundPotsdam, Germany (SPX) Apr 05, 2018 The 2016 Mw 7.6 earthquake of Southern Chile was the first large earthquake to occur within the rupture bounds of the great 1960 Mw 9.5 Valdivia earthquake, the largest ever observed in historical t ... more
US soybean growers in crosshairs of US-China trade spatNew York (AFP) April 4, 2018 American soybean producers could be big losers if Beijing follows through on plans to impose tariffs on the commodity in retaliation for President Donald Trump's trade crackdown. ... more |
CORRECTED: Magnitude 6.3 quake hits northern Afghanistan: USGS
Magnitude 6.3 quake hits northern Afghanistan: USGS US says sending $3 mn post-hurricane aid to foe Cuba Jamaica deaths at 28 as Caribbean reels from colossal hurricane Only two weeks of water left in Tehran's main reservoir: official Five German mountaineers killed in Italian Alps avalanche 50 dead as Caribbean digs out from Hurricane Melissa 21 dead, 30-plus missing in Kenya landslide: minister Tanzania president wins election landslide after deadly protests Tanzania preliminary results show landslide win for President Hassan: state TV |
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| Previous Issues | Apr 05 | Apr 04 | Apr 03 | Apr 02 | Apr 01 |
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Animals rights groups scent blood as fashion labels go fur-freeParis (AFP) March 31, 2018 Is this the beginning of the end for fur? ... more
Powerful X-rays key to confirming water source deep below Earth's surfaceLemont, IL (SPX) Mar 30, 2018 A study published in Science last week relies on extremely bright X-ray beams from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Advanced Photon Source (APS) at Argonne National Laboratory to confirm the pr ... more
Environmentally friendly cattle productionEast Lansing MI (SPX) Mar 30, 2018 Three hundred years ago, enormous herds of bison, antelope and elk roamed North America, and the land was pristine and the water clean. However, today when cattle congregate, they're often cas ... more
Silk Road nomads were the original foodiesWashington (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. ... more
El Nino can affect up to two-thirds of the world's harvestsHelsinki, Finland (SPX) Mar 29, 2018 According to researchers at Aalto University, Finland, large-scale weather cycles, such as the one related to the El Nino phenomenon, affect two-thirds of the world's cropland. In these so called cl ... more |
![]() Water's behavioral anomalies finally explained
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 |
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Most of Earth's water was likely present before the moon-forming giant impactWashington DC (SPX) Mar 29, 2018 Based on an extensive collection of lunar and terrestrial samples, a new study probing the elusive origins of the Moon - now typically thought to have formed from a collision between a proto-Earth a ... 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
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
Land decay to displace tens of millions, global survey warnsMedellin, Colombia (AFP) March 26, 2018 Land degradation will unleash a mass migration of at least 50 million people by 2050 - as many as 700 million unless humans stop depleting the life-giving resource, more than 100 scientists warned Monday. ... 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 |
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The Viking, the dragon and the god of thunder Paris (ESA) Apr 03, 2018
Scandinavian mythology stories are rich in fantastic creatures, and a Nordic astronaut is about to write a new chapter as Space Viking Andreas Mogensen monitors the arrival of the Dragon cargo vessel at the International Space Station next week. The passenger: a state-of-the-art lightning hunter.
For Andreas it all started with an interesting project during his mission to the Space Station ... more |
China sends twin BeiDou-3 navigation satellites into space Xichang (XNA) Apr 03, 2018
China on Friday sent twin satellites into space with a single carrier rocket, adding two more members for its domestic BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS).
The Long March-3B carrier rocket lifted off from Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province at 1:56 a.m. The launch was the 269th mission for the Long March rocket family.
The twin satellites are co ... more |
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Palm trees are spreading northward - how far will they go? New York NY (SPX) Mar 27, 2018
What does it take for palm trees, the unofficial trademark of tropical landscapes, to expand into northern parts of the world that have long been too cold for palm trees to survive? A new study, led by Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory researcher Tammo Reichgelt, attempts to answer this question. He and his colleagues analyzed a broad dataset to determine global palm tree distribution in relation ... more |
Notre Dame researchers developing renewable energy approach for producing ammonia South Bend IN (SPX) Apr 05, 2018
Researchers at the University of Notre Dame are developing a renewable energy approach for synthesizing ammonia, an essential component of fertilizers that support the world's food production needs. The Haber-Bosch process developed in the early 1900s for producing ammonia relies on non-renewable fossil fuels and has limited applications for only large, centralized chemical plants.
The new ... more |
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Photosynthetic protein structure that harvests and traps infrared light Sheffield UK (SPX) Apr 05, 2018
Scientists from the University of Sheffield have solved the structure of a photosynthetic protein to reveal how it converts near-infrared light into an electrical charge.
The new study gives a pioneering insight into the efficiency and limits of the life-giving process, photosynthesis.
Plants and algae use chlorophyll to absorb energy from the Sun to power photosynthesis at wavelengt ... more |
China considering energy storage mandate for wind Washington DC (UPI) Apr 02, 2018
In response to a potential mandate, a California-based energy company said it installed a battery storage system for wind power in the Chinese capital.
Primus Power announced Sunday it installed a battery component at the Beijing campus of Etechwin, a subsidiary of Chinese wind turbine manufacturer Goldwind.
When tied into variable energy resources like wind and solar, battery co ... more |
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BHP confirms exit from world coal body over climate stance Sydney (AFP) April 5, 2018
The world's biggest miner BHP said Thursday it was following through on a decision to leave the World Coal Association over climate change policy differences, but would remain a member of the US Chamber of Commerce.
The Anglo-Australian giant announced in December it was reviewing industry group memberships to ensure they aligned with its climate and energy stance, which includes tackling gl ... more |
Wife of 'vanished' Chinese lawyer marches for answers Beijing (AFP) April 5, 2018
The wife of a detained Chinese human rights lawyer who has embarked on a 100-kilometre (60-mile) march to highlight his plight said Thursday she did not even know if he was still alive.
Attorney Wang Quanzhang, who defended political activists and victims of land seizures, has had no contact with the outside world since he disappeared in a 2015 police sweep aimed at courtroom critics of Comm ... more |
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Visual recognition: Seeing the world through the eyes of rodents Trieste, Italy (SPX) Apr 05, 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 |
Philippines to close Boracay island to tourists for six months Manila (AFP) April 5, 2018
The Philippines has announced its best-known holiday island Boracay will be closed to tourists for six months over concerns that the once idyllic white-sand resort has become a "cesspool" tainted by dumped sewage.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the shutdown to start April 26, his spokesman Harry Roque said late Wednesday on Twitter, without providing further detail.
The dec ... 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 |
New underwater geolocation technique takes cues from nature Brisbane, Australia (SPX) Apr 06, 2018
Marine animals such as mantis shrimp and squid have inspired a new mode of underwater navigation that allows for greater accuracy.
University of Queensland Queensland Brain Institute (QBI) scientists are part of a group of researchers who have developed the technique using imaging equipment that was sensitive to polarising light.
The researchers built polarisation sensors that were a ... 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 calls on world to stand up over trade; Launches WTO challenge Moscow (AFP) April 5, 2018 China's foreign minister on Thursday called on the international community to oppose the United States' recent trade moves, saying they threatened global economic growth.
Addressing a news conference in Moscow, Wang Yi condemned a move by President Donald Trump's administration to slap tariffs on a list of Chinese goods and said the world should stand up to Washington over what he called its ... 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 |
First population-scale sequencing project explores platypus history Oxford UK (SPX) Apr 05, 2018
The platypus is the ultimate evolutionary mashup of birds, reptiles and mammals. The iconic, egg-laying, venom producing, duck-billed platypus first had its genome sequenced in 2008, revealing its unique genetic makeup and its divergence from the rest of the mammals around 160 million years ago.
Now, a greater effort to understand its ecological and population history has been made possibl ... more |
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