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Satellites safeguard Europe's potato industry![]() Paris (ESA) Sep 26, 2018 The drought that swept through Europe this year has hit European farmers hard. Sustained high temperatures and the lack of rain have badly affected the agrofood industry, including the important potato sector. Europe has the highest level of potato consumption in the world at almost 90 kg per capita per year, and is the second largest potato producer globally with some 53 million tonnes harvested annually. The price of potatoes varies from year to year, but this important crop has now reache ... read more |
Soil holds the secret to mitigating climate changeEast Lansing MI (SPX) Oct 01, 2018 Food production doesn't have to be a victim of climate change. New research from Michigan State University suggests that crop yields and the global food supply chain can be preserved by harnessing t ... more
Sunflower pollen protects bees from disease, study findsWashington (UPI) Sep 26, 2018 Great access to sunflowers and their pollen could help keep vulnerable bee populations pathogen-free. ... more
Ancient African herders had lasting ecological impact on grazed landsChampaign IL (SPX) Oct 01, 2018 Ancient animal herders added to the ecological richness and diversity of the African savanna thousands of years ago - an effect that persists to the present day, a new study finds. The herders' prac ... more
How fruits got their eye-catching colorsDurham NC (SPX) Oct 01, 2018 Red plums. Green melons. Purple figs. Ripe fruits come in an array of greens, yellows, oranges, browns, reds and purples. Scientists say they have new evidence that plants owe their rainbow of fruit ... 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 28 | Sep 27 | Sep 26 | Sep 25 | Sep 24 |
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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
South African villagers tap into trend for 'superfood' baobabMutale, South Africa (AFP) Sept 24, 2018 From before dawn, 54-year-old grandmother Annah Muvhali weaves between baobab trees that loom over her rural South African home, collecting fruit that enthusiasts worldwide hail as a "superfood". ... more
Hit-and-Run Heist of Water by Terrestrial Planets in the Early Solar SystemBerlin, 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 gre ... 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 old
Multiple facets of biodiversity reduce variability of grassland biomass productionLeipzig, Germany (SPX) Sep 20, 2018 A new study shows that, in addition to species richness, plant evolutionary history plays a critical role in regulating year-to-year variation of biomass production in grasslands. In the face of cli ... more |
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Swiss NGO links pesticide to Indian farmer deathsGeneva (AFP) Sept 18, 2018 The Swiss NGO Public Eye called Tuesday for an export ban on the pesticide Polo, produced by agriculture giant Syngenta, implicating it in the death of 20 Indian farmers last year. ... more
Insects, plants living in agricultural regions are surprisingly resilientWashington (UPI) Sep 18, 2018 Plants and pollinators that have survived the impacts of agriculture intensification are more likely to survive future environmental changes, new research suggests. ... more
Philippine farmers risk death to save crops from killer typhoonBaggao, Philippines (AFP) Sept 17, 2018 As Typhoon Manghkut hurtled toward the Philippines, those in its firing line had a stark choice: stay or flee. Many chose to remain in order to protect their most precious possessions - their food and livestock. ... more
Wild animals were routinely captured and traded in ancient MesoamericaWashington DC (SPX) Sep 18, 2018 New evidence from the Maya city of Copan, in Honduras, reveals that ancient Mesoamericans routinely captured and traded wild animals for symbolic and ritual purposes, according to a study published ... more
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 |
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Three Earth Explorer ideas selected Paris (ESA) Sep 24, 2018
As part of ESA's continuing commitment to realise cutting-edge satellite missions to advance scientific understanding of our planet and to show how new technologies can be used in space, three new ideas have been chosen to compete as the tenth Earth Explorer mission.
The decision follows the release of a call for ideas in September 2017. Out of the 21 proposals submitted, ESA's Advisory Co ... more |
Lockheed awarded $1.4B for first GPS IIIF satellites Washington (UPI) Sep 27, 2018
Lockheed Martin has received a contract for the first two GPS IIIF satellites, Space Vehicles 11 and 12, which are follow-ons to the initial 10-satellites of the new GPS III constellation.
The contract, announced Wednesday by the Department of Defese, provides for engineering, space vehicle test bed and simulators, and production of GPS IIIF Space Vehicles 11 and 12. It also includes op ... more |
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Gabon pressures forestry firms on best practice Libreville (AFP) Sept 26, 2018
Gabon will pull forestry permits from firms that have not embraced an international standard on responsible logging by 2022, President Ali Bongo Ondimba said Wednesday.
Ondimba made the statement in support of a certification process run by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), an international NGO devoted to better forestry management.
By 2022, all loggers have to be "committed" to FSC ... more |
Photosynthesis discovery could help next-gen biotechnologies Brisbane, Australia (SPX) Sep 26, 2018
Researchers from The University of Queensland (UQ) and the University of Munster (WWU) have purified and visualized the 'Cyclic Electron Flow' (CEF) supercomplex, a critical part of the photosynthetic machinery in all plants, in a discovery that could help guide the development of next-generation solar biotechnologies.
The findings, made in collaboration with an international team of scien ... more |
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Multimodal imaging shows strain can drive chemistry in a photovoltaic material Oak Ridge TN (SPX) Sep 26, 2018
A unique combination of imaging tools and atomic-level simulations has allowed a team led by the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory to solve a longstanding debate about the properties of a promising material that can harvest energy from light.
The researchers used multimodal imaging to "see" nanoscale interactions within a thin film of hybrid organic-inorganic perovskite, ... 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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Weathering rates for mined lands exponentially higher than unmined sites Fort Collins CO (SPX) Sep 27, 2018
Mountaintop removal, a coal-mining technique used in much of Central Appalachia, is an extreme form of surface mining, that excavates ridges as deep as 600 feet - twice the length of a football field - and buries adjacent valleys and streams in bedrock and coal residue. This mining activity has long been known to have negative impacts on water quality downstream.
A new study led by watersh ... more |
Disappearing act: What happened to Hong Kong's Umbrella Art? Hong Kong (AFP) Sept 26, 2018
Illuminated under a spotlight at London's British Museum, hand-drawn sketches of Hong Kong's 2014 Umbrella Movement are part of a new exhibition on dissent that offers a rare glimpse of the artworks produced during the pro-democracy rallies.
The months-long demonstrations, which kicked off on September 28 four years ago, brought parts of the city to a standstill as protest camps took over ar ... more |
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Machine-learning system tackles speech and object recognition, all at once Boston MA (SPX) Sep 27, 2018
MIT computer scientists have developed a system that learns to identify objects within an image, based on a spoken description of the image. Given an image and an audio caption, the model will highlight in real-time the relevant regions of the image being described.
Unlike current speech-recognition technologies, the model doesn't require manual transcriptions and annotations of the exampl ... more |
NASA Study Untangles Smoke, Pollution Effects on Clouds Pasadena CA (JPL) Sep 25, 2018
A new NASA-led study helps answer decades-old questions about the role of smoke and human-caused air pollution on clouds and rainfall. Looking specifically at deep convective clouds - tall clouds like thunderclouds, formed by warm air rising - the study shows that smoky air makes it harder for these clouds to grow. Pollution, on the other hand, energizes their growth, but only if the pollution i ... more |
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Huge blaze forces hundreds from homes in Tuscany Calci, Italy (AFP) Sept 25, 2018 A vast forest fire has forced the evacuation of hundreds of people from their houses in Tuscany, with firefighters Tuesday battling to extinguish flames fanned by fierce winds.
Around 600 hectares in total have been consumed by the blaze, chief Pisan firefighter Ugo D'Anna told a local television station, adding that while it was now contained it would take some hours to put out.
The fir ... more |
Spotlight on sea-level rise Paris (ESA) Sep 26, 2018
Scientists are gathering in the Azores this week to share findings on how satellite has revealed changes in the height of the sea, ice, inland bodies of water and more. Of concern to all is the fact that global sea level has not only been rising steadily over the last 25 years, but recently it is rising at a much faster rate.
The 25 Years of Progress in Radar Altimetry Symposium gives part ... more |
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Tornado batters area near Canadian capital Ottawa Ottawa (AFP) Sept 22, 2018
More than 200,000 people in Canada's capital region of Ottawa were without power on Saturday and two people were critically injured after a powerful tornado ripped apart dozens of homes and threw cars into the air.
After visiting the hard-hit Dunrobin area, in the city's west, Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson likened it to an aerial bombing, adding that Friday's tornado was among "the top two or thre ... more |
EU launches Asia strategy to rival China's 'new Silk Road' Brussels (AFP) Sept 26, 2018
As doubts grow over China's vast "Belt and Road" trade infrastructure project, the EU is launching an alternative plan for Asia that it says will not saddle countries with debt they cannot repay.
EU member countries are expected to sign off on the new "Asia connectivity strategy" - which aims to improve transport, digital and energy links while promoting environmental and labour standards - ... 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 |
DNA sleuths bolster case against three ivory cartels Tampa (AFP) Sept 19, 2018
DNA tests on smuggled elephant tusks have identified three major ivory cartels in Africa and are helping investigators bolster the criminal cases against some of the most dangerous traffickers, researchers said Wednesday.
Around 40,000 African elephants are killed every year for their tusks, which are illegally traded as part of a multi-billion dollar industry that extends from Africa to Asi ... more |
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