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UK will have 'completely safe' water after Brexit![]() London (AFP) Nov 28, 2018 Britain's environment minister reassured the country on Wednesday that it would have plenty of safe drinking water should it crash out of the European Union without a deal. The unusual message from Michael Gove came in response to a media report of cabinet ministers being briefed about various doomsday scenarios. One of them reportedly included the possibility of the UK running out of the European chemicals it imports through ports to purify water supplies. The Mail on Sunday said Gove only ... read more |
Drinking water sucked from the dusty desert airThuwal, Saudi Arabia (SPX) Nov 27, 2018 A simple device that can capture its own weight in water from fresh air and then release that water when warmed by sunlight could provide a secure new source of drinking water in remote arid regions ... more
The tragedy of the commons - minus the tragedyColumbus OH (SPX) Nov 27, 2018 Sometimes, there is no "tragedy" in the tragedy of the commons, according to a new analysis that challenges a widely accepted theory. Scientists have long believed that when there is open acce ... more
Floods ravage rice production in Niger's Diffa regionNiamey Nov 26, 2018 Floods destroyed more than 400 hectares (1,000 acres) of rice in Niger's southeastern Diffa region, already beset by deadly attacks by Boko Haram jihadists, the local governor said. ... more
New biocontainment strategy controls spread of escaped GMOsHiroshima NJ (SPX) Nov 27, 2018 Hiroshima University (HU) researchers successfully developed a biocontainment strategy for genetically modified organisms, or GMOs. Their new method prevents genetically modified cyanobacteria from ... more |
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 Philippines evacuates one million, woman dead as super typhoon nears Japan observes tiny tsunami following 6.7 magnitude quake |
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| Previous Issues | Nov 29 | Nov 28 | Nov 27 | Nov 26 | Nov 23 |
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Half of the world's annual precipitation falls in just 12 days, new study findsBoulder CO (SPX) Nov 19, 2018 Currently, half of the world's measured precipitation that falls in a year falls in just 12 days, according to a new analysis of data collected at weather stations across the globe. By century ... more
Real-time feedback makes hotel guests slash shower powerParis (AFP) Nov 19, 2018 Providing hotel guests real-time feedback on the power they use in the shower sharply curbs the amount of energy consumed even though they do not pay for it, according to new research released Monday. ... more
Afghan opium producers hit hard by drought in 2018Kabul (AFP) Nov 19, 2018 Afghan opium producers were hit hard by the worst drought in living memory this year and excessive supply, with output and prices falling sharply as the area under poppy cultivation shrank, an annual survey said Monday. ... more
Competition for shrinking groundwaterSanta Barbara CA (SPX) Nov 16, 2018 Groundwater, which has been used to irrigate crops, satiate livestock and quench thirst in general for thousands of years, continues to be a vital resource around the world. But according to r ... more
Middle Eastern desert dust on the Tibetan plateau could affect the Indian summer monsoonCollege Park MD (SPX) Nov 16, 2018 More than a century ago, British meteorologist Henry Blanford noted a connection between springtime snow cover on the Tibetan Plateau and Himalaya mountain range and the intensity of the summer mons ... more |
![]() Drought-hit Cape Town should cut down 'alien' trees: study
Activists board ship off Spain in palm oil protest: GreenpeaceMadrid (AFP) Nov 17, 2018 Greenpeace said Saturday six of its activists boarded a tanker off Spain loaded with "dirty" palm oil to protest against a Nature-damaging commodity found in everything from soap to biscuits. ... more |
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US paves way to get 'lab meat' on platesNew York (AFP) Nov 17, 2018 US authorities on Friday agreed on how to regulate food products cultured from animal cells - paving the way to get so-called "lab meat" on American plates. ... more
Seismic study reveals huge amount of water dragged into Earth's interiorSaint Louis MO (SPX) Nov 15, 2018 Slow-motion collisions of tectonic plates under the ocean drag about three times more water down into the deep Earth than previously estimated, according to a first-of-its-kind seismic study that sp ... more
Scientists debunk potential link to crop cold toleranceUrbana IL (SPX) Nov 15, 2018 When temperatures drop, the enzyme Rubisco that fuels plant growth and yield gets sluggish. Many crops compensate by producing more Rubisco; however, scientists speculated that some crops may lack s ... more
The dawn of a new era for genebanksLeipzig, Germany (SPX) Nov 15, 2018 Biodiversity goes beyond species diversity. Another important aspect of biodiversity is genetic variation within species. A notable example is the immense variety of cultivars and landraces of crop ... more
Soil's history: A solution to soluble phosphorus?Washington DC (SPX) Nov 16, 2018 The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations estimates that around 45 million tons of phosphorus fertilizers will be used around the world in 2018. Much will be applied to soils ... more |
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India launches modern earth observation satellite New Delhi (XNA) Nov 30, 2018
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) launched its earth observation satellite - HysIS and 30 co-passenger satellites onboard Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV)-C43 on Thursday morning, officials said.
The satellite was launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota, off the Bay of Bengal coast, located in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh at 9:58 a.m. ... more |
Beijing's space navigation BeiDou program seeks to dethrone US-owned GPS platform Beijing (Sputnik) Nov 28, 2018
Beijing has poured $9 billion into a space program called Beidou in an effort to eliminate China's dependence on the US-owned Global Positioning System (GPS).
A navigational program based on satellites orbiting the globe would allow China to be self-reliant for location data used in smartphones, car dashboards, guided missiles and more, reports Bloomberg. Tensions between China and the US ... more |
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In Lebanon, climate change devours ancient cedar trees Tannourine, Lebanon (AFP) Nov 28, 2018
High up in Lebanon's mountains, the lifeless grey trunks of dead cedar trees stand stark in the deep green forest, witnesses of the climate change that has ravaged them.
Often dubbed "Cedars of God", the tall evergreens hark back millenia and are a source of great pride and a national icon in the small Mediterranean country.
The cedar tree, with its majestic horizontal branches, graces t ... more |
Scientists uncovered the mechanism of fungal luminescence and created luminescent yeasts Moscow, Russia (SPX) Nov 27, 2018
Russian scientists together with colleagues from UK, Spain, Brazil, Japan and Austria have fully described the mechanism of fungal luminescence. They found that fungi utilize only four key enzymes to produce light and that transfer of these enzymes into other organisms makes them bioluminescent.
Some living organisms can glow due to special chemical reactions taking place in their bodies. ... more |
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UNH researchers discover new materials to generate solar fuel production Durham NH (SPX) Nov 27, 2018
Researchers at the University of New Hampshire have identified new, readily available materials that convert sunlight and carbon dioxide (CO2) into building blocks for liquid fuels that could one day heat homes and power cars.
"Currently we can convert sunlight into electricity using solar panels on homes and other buildings," said Gonghu Li, associate professor in chemistry and materials ... more |
Coordinated development could help wind farms be better neighbors Boulder CO (SPX) Nov 27, 2018
As onshore and offshore wind energy farms have proliferated globally in recent years, new research led by the University of Colorado Boulder highlights a previously underexplored consequence: a wake effect from upwind wind farms that can reduce the energy production of their downwind neighbors.
The study, undertaken in collaboration with the University of Denver (DU) and the National Renew ... more |
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Indian firm presses ahead with controversial Australia coal mine Sydney (AFP) Nov 29, 2018
Indian mining firm Adani vowed Thursday to press ahead with the construction of a controversial coal mine in northeastern Australia, although the project will be dramatically scaled back.
Work on the Carmichael mine - which has attracted considerable controversy in Australia - could now get underway within weeks.
Adani said it would fund the multi-billion-dollar project itself, after a ... more |
The 'Chinese Pyramids' and the pole star Milan, Italy (SPX) Nov 30, 2018
The funerary complex of the first Chinese emperor of the Qin dynasty (3th century BC) is one of the most famous archaeological sites in the world. This is of course due to the discovery of the statues of the terracotta army, intended to accompany the emperor in the afterlife.
Much less known than the statues is the fact that tomb proper (still not excavated) lies beneath a gigantic, artifi ... more |
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Embark on a NASA technology scavenger hunt with Optimus Prime Greenbelt MD (SPX) Nov 29, 2018
How much NASA technology is in your life? Through the NASA OPTIMUS PRIME Spinoff Promotion and Research Challenge (OPSPARC), OPTIMUS PRIME and the AUTOBOTS encourage students to embark on three missions, starting with a scavenger hunt for NASA "spinoffs," or technologies created for NASA missions now being used for other purposes. Hosted by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, OPSPARC 2019 rolls ... more |
Newly discovered deep-sea microbes gobble greenhouse gases and perhaps oil spills, too Austin TX (SPX) Nov 28, 2018
Scientists at The University of Texas at Austin's Marine Science Institute have discovered nearly two dozen new types of microbes, many of which use hydrocarbons such as methane and butane as energy sources to survive and grow - meaning the newly identified bacteria might be helping to limit the concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and might one day be useful for cleaning up oil ... more |
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NASA Terra Satellite Outlines Burn Scar from California's Camp Fire Greenbelt MD (SPX) Nov 28, 2018
Just like the Woolsey Fire's scar which was highlighted on the NASA Fire page on November 16, the Camp Fire scar is visible from space in this image taken by the Terra satellite on November 26, 2018. California experienced large amounts of rain during a winter storm that began on November 21, 2018.
This helped to dampen the 153,336 acre fire and allowed firefighters to contain the area bur ... more |
UK will have 'completely safe' water after Brexit London (AFP) Nov 28, 2018
Britain's environment minister reassured the country on Wednesday that it would have plenty of safe drinking water should it crash out of the European Union without a deal.
The unusual message from Michael Gove came in response to a media report of cabinet ministers being briefed about various doomsday scenarios.
One of them reportedly included the possibility of the UK running out of th ... more |
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Heatwave death threat soars for elderly, city dwellers Paris (AFP) Nov 29, 2018 More than 150 million vulnerable people worldwide were exposed to potentially life-threatening heatwaves last year, scientists said Thursday, warning that climate change posed an unprecedented global health risk.
In a worldwide stocktake of public health trends, dozens of international agencies said people over 65, those living in large cities, and sufferers of heart and lung disease were al ... more |
Trump believes 'good possibility' of China trade deal: advisor Washington (AFP) Nov 27, 2018
There is a "good possibility" President Donald Trump will reach an agreement later this week to resolve the trade dispute with China, a White House official said Tuesday.
As the trade tensions have escalated and engulfed hundreds of billions of products in retaliatory tariffs, Trump is due to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Buenos Aires later this week on the sidelines of the Group of 20 s ... more |
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Auroras help scientists study energy instabilities in space Washington (UPI) Nov 26, 2018
Scientists are using auroras to better understand the physics of explosive energy instabilities in space.
"An instability is a physical process whereby the energy output can essentially grow very quickly without limits," Colin Forsyth, physicist at the University College London's, told UPI in an email.
When a clean swell breaks and crashes on the beach, or when a pile of sand sud ... more |
Mushroom enzymes help scientists make other organisms glow in the dark Washington (UPI) Nov 28, 2018
Scientists have for the first time isolated the biochemical pathway that allows fungi to glow-in-the-dark.
The ability to light up at night is called bioluminescence. Until now, scientists weren't exactly sure how organisms generate luminescence, but a rather ordinary brown fungus species, Neonothopanus nambi, one of 100 bioluminescent mushrooms, helped researchers solve the mystery. ... more |
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