|
|
Epigenome of bread wheat mapped to piece together its genetic heritage![]() Norwich UK (SPX) Aug 31, 2018 Globally, wheat, together with maize and rice, provides the most human nutrition. It can thrive in a whole range of different environments, even within a similar geographical region. Exploring one hundred different wheat lines worldwide, the research team led by the Earlham Institute in collaboration with Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen, University of Liverpool and the John Innes Centre have revealed a trove of epigenetic variation that was previously unknown to current genotyping methods. The new ... read more |
Engineered sand removes contaminants from stormwaterWashington (UPI) Aug 30, 2018 Scientists have engineered mineral-coated sand to remove contaminants from storm water. In places where water resources are strained, engineered sand could transform storm water into a valuable asset. ... more
Global warming will make insects hungrier, eating up key crops: studyTampa (AFP) Aug 30, 2018 Researchers have found a new way that global warming is bad for the planet: more hungry bugs. ... more
Central California is sinking at an accelerated rateWashington (UPI) Aug 30, 2018 New research suggests Central California's San Joaquin Valley is once again sinking at an alarming rate, as groundwater is drained faster than it can be replenished. ... more
India's devastating rains match climate change forecastsParis (AFP) Aug 24, 2018 Once-a-century rains that have pounded the Indian state of Kerala and displaced 1.3 million people are in line with the predictions of climate scientists, who warn that worse is to come if global warming continues unabated. ... more |
Philippines digs out from Typhoon Fung-wong as death toll climbs
Philippines digs out from Typhoon Fung-wong as death toll climbs to 18 Three Vietnam men survive 40 hours at sea after typhoon Typhoon Fung-wong floods Philippine towns, leaves 5 dead in its wake Typhoon Fung-wong leaves flooded Philippine towns in its wake Typhoon exposes centuries-old shipwreck off Vietnam port Weakening Typhoon Fung-wong exits Philippines after displacing 1.4 million Super Typhoon Fung-wong makes landfall in Philippines Over 1 million evacuate as deadly Super Typhoon Fung-wong nears Philippines Dam reservoir levels drop below 3% in Iran's second city: media |
|
|

| Previous Issues | Aug 30 | Aug 29 | Aug 28 | Aug 27 | Aug 24 |
|
California plain shows surprising winners and losers from prolonged droughtSeattle WA (SPX) Aug 27, 2018 The Carrizo Plain National Monument is a little-known ecological hotspot in Southern California. Though small, it explodes in wildflowers each spring and is full of threatened or endangered species. ... more
Rain brings relief to drought-stricken Australia farmersSydney (AFP) Aug 26, 2018 Widespread rain fell across drought-affected parts of eastern Australia over the weekend, bringing relief to farmers struggling to cope with the driest conditions in more than half a century. ... more
French tomato grower takes on Monsanto over weedkillerCelles-Sur-Aisne, France (AFP) Aug 24, 2018 Weaving through the aisles of his greenhouse in northern France, Jean-Claude Terlet, a retired farmer who grows tomatoes for local markets, seems to be brimming with energy. ... more
'No grass': Europe's livestock sector stricken by droughtParis (AFP) Aug 26, 2018 "Our cows have been living off hay cut in June, there isn't any grass," says Jean-Guillaume Hannequin, a farmer in eastern France, who like his counterparts across much of northern Europe is wondering how he will feed his animals this winter. ... more
French farmers furious as wild boars run amokSaint-Malo, France (AFP) Aug 26, 2018 With a gaping hole in the ground and tangled corn stalks strewn across Yves Rolland's field, it looks as if it has been hit by a tornado. He already knows who the culprits are. ... more |
![]() The wheat code is finally cracked
UConn scientists create reverse osmosis membranes with tunable thicknessStorrs CT (SPX) Aug 23, 2018 Currently, more than 300 million people around the world rely on desalinated water for part or all of their daily needs. That demand will only grow with larger populations and improved standards of ... more |
|
Bringing home the bacon: China pork braces for trade war bluesBaiyang, China (AFP) Aug 22, 2018 Twice a day, Chinese pig farmer Jia Tiechui's workers flip levers to deliver plops of soybean-based feed to 18,000 hogs, whose appetite is getting costlier as the US trade war bites. ... more
Study: Human wastewater valuable to global agriculture, economicsChampaign IL (SPX) Aug 22, 2018 It may seem off-putting to some, but human waste is full of nutrients that can be recycled into valuable products that could promote agricultural sustainability and better economic independence for ... more
How do plants rest photosynthetic activity at night?Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Aug 21, 2018 Photosynthesis, the process by which plants generate food, is a powerful piece of molecular machinery that needs sunlight to run. The proteins involved in photosynthesis need to be 'on' when they ha ... more
Oil palm: few areas in Africa reconcile high yields and primate protectionParis, France (SPX) Aug 21, 2018 Continued growth in global demand for palm oil is expected to mean an expansion in oil palm plantations in Africa. The continent offers the low-lying tropical ecosystems oil palm prefers, hence an o ... more
Volkswagen in dispute with Mexican farmersPuebla, Mexico (AFP) Aug 22, 2018 Mexican farming communities accused German auto giant Volkswagen on Tuesday of "arbitrarily" provoking a drought in the central state of Puebla to protect its newly manufactured cars from hail. ... more |
|
|
|
|
Ocean satellite Sentinel-6A beginning to take shape Friedrichshafen, Germany (SPX) Aug 31, 2018
The integration of Sentinel-6A, the first of two satellites to continue measuring sea levels from 2020, has reached a new milestone and its critical phase: the propulsion module has been "mated" with the main structure of the satellite at Airbus.
In a complex operation, the Airbus satellite specialists hoisted the approximately five-metre-high satellite platform with pin-point precision ov ... more |
Space sector to benefit from multi-million pound work on UK alternative to Galileo London, UK (SPX) Aug 30, 2018
UK industry will benefit from a Pounds 92 million injection to design a national alternative to the EU's Galileo satellite system, ensuring UK security post Brexit.
The money has been allocated from the Pounds 3 billion Brexit readiness fund announced at last year's Budget and will be rolled out over the coming months.
Satellite navigation systems like GPS are increasingly important for ... more |
|
|
Species-rich forests better compensate environmental impacts Zurich, Switzerland (SPX) Aug 31, 2018
Forest ecosystems are elementary for a climatic balance. Countries such as China have recognized this fact; for years, they have been conducting extensive afforestation programs to compensate their rising CO2 emissions.
As part of the global carbon cycle, forests take up about 45 percent of the carbon from the environment and bind it in the soil and as biomass over long periods of time. At ... more |
Biodegradable plastic blends offer new options for disposal Washington DC (SPX) Aug 30, 2018
Imagine throwing your empty plastic water bottle into a household composting bin that breaks down the plastic and produces biogas to help power your home. Now, researchers have taken an early step toward this futuristic scenario by showing that certain blends of bioplastics can decompose under diverse conditions. They report their results in the ACS journal Environmental Science and Technology. ... more |
|
|
Air pollution can put a dent in solar power Boston MA (SPX) Aug 30, 2018
Ian Marius Peters, now an MIT research scientist, was working on solar energy research in Singapore in 2013 when he encountered an extraordinary cloud of pollution. The city was suddenly engulfed in a foul-smelling cloud of haze so thick that from one side of a street you couldn't see the buildings on the other side, and the air had the acrid smell of burning. The event, triggered by forest fire ... more |
China pushes wind energy efforts further offshore Washington (UPI) Aug 29, 2018
After tapping all of its near-shore capacity for wind, Norwegian certification body DNV GL said it would help China develop additional power resources offshore.
Huadong Engineering Corp. has contracted DNV GL, the Norwegian-based housing for independent energy experts and a certification body, to provide technical training and feasibility studies for an offshore wind farm.
"The c ... more |
|
|
Trump administration moves to relax coal pollution rules Washington (AFP) Aug 22, 2018
President Donald Trump's administration announced a plan Tuesday to weaken regulations on US coal plants, giving a boost to an industry that former leader Barack Obama had hoped to phase out to cut harmful emissions that drive global warming.
The Environmental Protection Agency's new Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule would allow states the flexibility to set their own standards for performa ... more |
World leaders ignore rights in China: censored author Yan Edinburgh (AFP) Aug 29, 2018
Chinese author Yan Lianke, whose works are banned in his heavily censored homeland, has urged world leaders not to shy away from confronting China about its human rights record.
Yan, who offers frank portrayals of Chinese life prompting years of state censorship, said leaders flocking to China have become too focused on economic ties.
The 60-year-old novelist told AFP that Beijing needs ... more |
|
|
Activists urge killer robot ban 'before it is too late' Geneva (AFP) Aug 27, 2018 Countries should quickly agree a treaty banning the use of so-called killer robots "before it is too late", activists said Monday as talks on the issue resumed at the UN.
They say time is running out before weapons are deployed that use lethal force without a human making the final kill-order and have criticised the UN body hosting the talks - the Convention of Certain Conventional Weapons ... more |
Particulate pollution's impact varies greatly depending on where it originated Washington DC (SPX) Aug 31, 2018
When it comes to aerosol pollution, as the old real estate adage says, location is everything.
Aerosols are tiny particles that are spewed into the atmosphere by human activities, including burning coal and wood. They have negative effects on air quality - damaging human health and agricultural productivity.
While greenhouse gases cause warming by trapping heat in the atmosphere, som ... more |
|
|
NASA assists in efforts to contain California wildfires Edwards AFB CA (SPX) Aug 28, 2018
An effort by multiple NASA centers to assist with the California wildfires included capturing satellite data of the smoke plumes and aircraft flights over burned areas to collect information for recovery planning.
The California Air National Guard asked the NASA Earth Science Disasters Program for support with the wildfires that have destroyed more than 410,000 acres and 11 disaster progra ... more |
Shedding light on shallow waters Paris (ESA) Aug 28, 2018
Keeping an eye on our waters is more important than ever, as widespread drought continues to sweep Europe this summer.
Earth's changing sea levels are crucial indicators of how our environment is fairing, but monitoring it manually can be a labour-intensive, expensive, and at times even dangerous task.
Coastal areas provide additional complications, as shifting seabeds and currents m ... more |
|
|
Nice sunny days can grow into heat waves Potsdam, Germany (SPX) Aug 24, 2018
Be it heavy downpours or super-hot spells, summer weather becomes more persistent in North America, Europe and parts of Asia. When those conditions stall for several days or weeks, they can turn into extremes: heatwaves resulting in droughts, health risks and wildfires; or relentless rainfall resulting in floods.
A team of scientists now presents the first comprehensive review of research ... more |
Chinese banks post solid profits but US trade war a risk Shanghai (AFP) Aug 30, 2018 Chinese banking giant ICBC, the world's biggest bank by assets, posted solid profit growth for the first half of the year Thursday but warned that the US-China trade war could pose risks.
Net profit for Industrial & Commercial Bank of China climbed almost five percent to 160.4 billion yuan ($23.5 billion) between January and June compared to the same period last year, the bank said in a stat ... more |
|
|
How scientists predicted corona's appearance during total solar eclipse Greenbelt MD (SPX) Aug 29, 2018
It was Aug. 14, 2017, just one week before the Moon would cross paths with the Sun and Earth, casting its shadow across the United States. The entire country buzzed with anticipation for the fleeting chance to see the corona, the Sun's tenuous outer atmosphere.
But the wait was uniquely nerve-wracking for a group of scientists at Predictive Science Inc., a private research company in San D ... more |
Evolution and the concrete jungle Toronto, Canada (SPX) Aug 29, 2018
New research conducted by evolutionary biologists worldwide paints cities as evolutionary "change agents", says a trio of biologists from the University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM) who selected and edited the studies.
A compilation of 15 new research papers, published as a special issue of Proceedings of the Royal Society B, confirms that (a) cities frequently alter evolution by natural s ... more |
|
| Buy Advertising | Media Advertising Kit | Editorial & Other Enquiries | Privacy statement |
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2018 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement |