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3D electron microscopy uncovers the complex guts of desalination membranes![]() University Park PA (SPX) Sep 24, 2018 Careful sample preparation, electron tomography and quantitative analysis of 3D models provides unique insights into the inner structure of reverse osmosis membranes widely used for salt water desalination wastewater recycling and home use, according to a team of chemical engineers. These reverse osmosis membranes are layers of material with an active aromatic polyamide layer that allows water molecules through, but screens out 99 to 99.9 percent of the salt. "As water stresses continue to g ... read more |
EU palm oil ban sows bitter seeds for Southeast Asian farmersLangkat/Ijok, Indonesia (AFP) Sept 24, 2018 Indonesian palm oil farmer Kawal Surbakti says his livelihood is under attack, but the threat is not from insects or hungry orangutans eating his prized crop. ... more
Farmers fume as France stands firm on more Pyrenees bearsPau, France (AFP) Sept 20, 2018 Dozens of farmers and local officials stormed out of a meeting with France's new environment minister on Friday as he confirmed two more bears would soon be released into the Pyrenees mountains. ... more
Chinese actress has high hopes for her Bordeaux vineyardSaint-Emilion, France (AFP) Sept 18, 2018 A Chinese film star got her hands dirty Tuesday to kick off the harvest at her Bordeaux vineyard, which she aims to propel into the ranks of top estates as demand for French wines grows back home. ... more
Earliest Mediterranean cheese production revealed by pottery over 7,000 years oldWashington DC (SPX) Sep 20, 2018 Fatty acids detected on potsherds from Croatian archaeological sites contain evidence of the earliest known cheese production in the Mediterranean region, according to a study published September 5, ... 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 |
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| Previous Issues | Sep 21 | Sep 20 | Sep 19 | Sep 18 | Sep 17 |
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Czech Republic to restrict use of glyphosate weedkillerPrague (AFP) Sept 17, 2018 The Czech Republic will limit the use of substances containing the controversial glyphosate weedkiller as of next year, the agriculture ministry said on Monday. ... more
High-yield farming costs the environment less than previously thoughtCambridge UK (SPX) Sep 17, 2018 Agriculture that appears to be more eco-friendly but uses more land may actually have greater environmental costs per unit of food than "high-yield" farming that uses less land, a new study has foun ... more
Spanish farmers go nuts for almonds as global demand boomsSanta Cruz, Spain (AFP) Sept 16, 2018 Surging worldwide demand for almonds is pushing Spanish farmers to replace traditional wheat and sunflower fields with almond orchards, transforming the landscape in the south of the country. ... more
Improving soil quality can slow global warmingBerkeley CA (SPX) Sep 14, 2018 Low-tech ways of improving soil quality on farms and rangelands worldwide could pull significant amounts of carbon out of the atmosphere and slow the pace of climate change, according to a new Unive ... more
Farmers on the front lines of marine aquacultureSanta Barbara CA (SPX) Sep 13, 2018 Many of the world's future farmers will likely be farming oceans, as aquaculture - the cultivation of fish and other aquatic species - continues its expansion as the fastest growing food sector. New ... more |
![]() Drought, conflict and migration in Kenya
Ancient farmers spared us from glaciers but profoundly changed Earth's climateMadison WI (SPX) Sep 07, 2018 Millenia ago, ancient farmers cleared land to plant wheat and maize, potatoes and squash. They flooded fields to grow rice. They began to raise livestock. And unknowingly, they may have been fundame ... more |
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Water in small dust grains can explain large amounts of water on EarthAmsterdam, Netherlands (SPX) Sep 12, 2018 Water trapped in dust grains from which the Earth formed can explain the current large amount of water on Earth. This is suggested by scientists from the Netherlands, Germany and the United Kingdom, ... more
Drought, groundwater loss sinks California land at alarming rateIthaca NY (SPX) Sep 11, 2018 The San Joaquin Valley in central California, like many other regions in the western United States, faces drought and ongoing groundwater extraction, happening faster than it can be replenished. And ... more
Nitrous oxide emissions from rice farms are a cause for concern for global climateWashington DC (SPX) Sep 12, 2018 Intermittently flooded rice farms can emit 45 times more nitrous oxide as compared to the maximum from continuously flooded farms that predominantly emit methane, according to a new study published ... more
Greenhouse gases from rice paddies may be 2x higher than thoughtTampa (AFP) Sept 10, 2018 The way some irrigated rice paddies are managed worldwide, with cycles of flooding followed by dry periods, may lead to twice the planet-warming greenhouse gas pollution as previously thought, researchers said Monday. ... more
Humans may have first grown grains for beer, not breadWashington (UPI) Sep 12, 2018 Researchers have discovered evidence of beer brewing dating to 13,000 years ago, several thousand years before the cultivation of grains in the Near East. ... more |
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ECOSTRESS Maps LA's Hot Spots Pasadena CA (JPL) Sep 19, 2018
NASA's ECOsystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station (ECOSTRESS) captured new imagery of variations in surface-temperature patterns in Los Angeles County. The first of its kind to be taken by the agency's newest Earth-observing mission, it is more detailed than previous imagery and, unlike prior imagery, was acquired at different times of the day.
ECOSTRESS measures s ... more |
China launches twin BeiDou-3 satellites Xichang (XNA) Sep 21, 2018
China on Wednesday evening successfully sent twin BeiDou-3 navigation satellites into space on a single carrier rocket.
The Long March-3B carrier rocket lifted off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center at 10:07 p.m. It was the 285th mission of the Long March rocket series.
The twin satellites are the 37th and 38th editions of the BeiDou navigation system. After a series of tests a ... more |
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Coastal wetlands will survive rising seas, but only if we let them Gloucester Point VA (SPX) Sep 24, 2018
When Florence slogged ashore in North Carolina last week, coastal wetlands offered one of the best lines of defense against the hurricane's waves and surge.
A new study predicts such wetlands will survive rising seas to buffer the world's coastlines against future storms and provide their many other ecological and economic benefits, but only if humans preserve the room needed for the wetla ... more |
After 150 years, a breakthrough in understanding the conversion of CO2 to electrofuels New York NY (SPX) Sep 21, 2018
Scientists have long sought ways to convert abundant CO2 to useful products such as chemicals and fuel. As early as in 1869, they were able to electrocatalytically convert CO2 to formic acid. Over the past two decades, the rise of CO2 in the Earth's atmosphere has significantly accelerated research in CO2 conversion using renewable energy resources, including solar, wind, and tidal. Because thes ... more |
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Origami inspires highly efficient solar steam generator Washington DC (SPX) Sep 21, 2018
Water covers most of the globe, yet many regions still suffer from a lack of clean drinking water. If scientists could efficiently and sustainably turn seawater into clean water, a looming global water crisis might be averted.
Now, inspired by origami, the Japanese art of paper folding, researchers have devised a solar steam generator that approaches 100 percent efficiency for the producti ... more |
Wind Power: It is all about the distribution Freiburg, Germany (SPX) Sep 06, 2018
Wind power is an important pillar in Germany's energy policy turnaround: According to the German government, the resource should cover 65 percent of German electricity needs by 2030, along with solar, hydropower and biomass. In a recent study, Dr. Christopher Jung and Dr. Dirk Schindler from the University of Freiburg show that it will be possible to cover 40 percent of the current electricity c ... more |
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German police suspend anti-coal evictions after journalist dies Berlin (AFP) Sept 19, 2018
The German authorities on Wednesday suspended an operation to evict protesters, holed up in forest treehouses to block the expansion of an open-pit coal mine, after the death of a journalist.
The man, "most likely a journalist" according to the police, died on Wednesday after falling from a bridge that connected two of the treehouses.
"We simply cannot continue as if nothing has happened ... more |
Vatican delegation 'to visit China this month': state media Hong Kong (AFP) Sept 18, 2018
The Vatican could send a delegation to China by the end of the month, Beijing's state-run media said Tuesday, with the visit potentially paving the way for a historic agreement on the appointment of bishops.
Beijing and the Vatican severed ties in 1951, two years after the Communist party seized power in China.
The decades-long standoff has split China's roughly 12 million Catholics bet ... more |
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Russian scientists send FEDOR robot to Roscosmos for launch Moscow (Sputnik) Sep 21, 2018
The demonstration model of Russia's humanoid robot FEDOR will be transferred to the Roscosmos state space corporation, which plans to send it into space on the new Federation spacecraft, Russia's Foundation for Advanced Research (FPI) said Wednesday.
"The board of trustees decided to transfer scientific and technical products created within the framework of the fund's projects for their fu ... more |
Nappy change: Dutch to turn diapers into furniture The Hague (AFP) Sept 18, 2018
Fed-up with a growing mountain of stinking disposable nappies, a Dutch firm Tuesday started building the country's first recycling plant to turn poo into profit.
Plastic from the nappies extracted by the facility in the central Dutch town of Weurt near Nijmegen will have a second life as household items like garden furniture or flower pots.
"In total, we plan to process some 15,000 tonne ... more |
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Canada crews battle firenado in tug-o-war for hose Ottawa (AFP) Sept 19, 2018
Firefighters trying to put out a record number of wildfires in westernmost Canada recently found themselves in an unexpected tug-o-war with a fire devil for control of their hose.
In a terrifying moment, the vortex made up of smoke and ash sucked the hose into an orange-red cloud along a dirt road near Vanderhoof, British Columbia, and melted the nozzle.
A member of the crew battling the ... more |
Hit-and-Run Heist of Water by Terrestrial Planets in the Early Solar System Berlin, Germany (SPX) Sep 20, 2018
A study simulating the final stages of terrestrial planet formation shows that 'hit-and-run' encounters play a significant role in the acquisition of water by large protoplanets, like those that grew into Mars and Earth. The results will be presented by Christoph Burger at the European Planetary Science Congress (EPSC) 2018 in Berlin.
Four and a half billion years ago, the inner solar syst ... more |
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Two killed as storm hits Britain and Ireland London (AFP) Sept 19, 2018
A Swiss woman died after being blown off a cliff and a man was killed by a falling tree Wednesday as record winds lashed Britain and Ireland.
Storm Ali brought gusts of more than 90 miles (145 kilometres) an hour and intense rainstorms.
Officials said the Swiss woman died in her sleep when her caravan was swept off a cliff on the west of Ireland.
Footage showed smashed pieces of the ... more |
US using false accusations on trade to 'intimidate' countries: China Beijing (AFP) Sept 24, 2018
China accused the United States on Monday of using false accusations on trade to "intimidate" other countries, as the tariff battle between the global giants intensifies.
The US has "made a series of false accusations, and used increasing tariffs and other means of economic intimidation, to try to impose its own interests on China by way of extreme pressure", the State Council (cabinet) said ... more |
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Illuminating First Light Data from Parker Solar Probe Greenbelt MD (SPX) Sep 20, 2018
Just over a month into its mission, Parker Solar Probe has returned first-light data from each of its four instrument suites. These early observations - while not yet examples of the key science observations Parker Solar Probe will take closer to the Sun - show that each of the instruments is working well. The instruments work in tandem to measure the Sun's electric and magnetic fields, particle ... more |
How plants harness microbes to get nutrients New Brunswick NJ (SPX) Sep 24, 2018
A Rutgers-led team has discovered how plants harness microbes in soil to get nutrients, a process that could be exploited to boost crop growth, fight weeds and slash the use of polluting fertilizers and herbicides.
In a process the team has named the "rhizophagy cycle" (rhizophagy means root eating), bacteria and fungi cycle between a free-living phase in the soil and a plant-dependent pha ... more |
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