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Race on to make urban agriculture viable, durable![]() Paris (AFP) Feb 24, 2019 In a world faced with the conundrum of mountains of waste and obesity for some and dire shortages and malnutrition for others the future of food is a main dish on today's global menu. A key ingredient is the trend in ever more imaginative forms towards urban agriculture, a multi-faceted recipe already being pored over by some 800 million people globally, according to the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization. The trend takes many forms - from collective market gardens in even the most run-down ... read more |
Roundup weed killer factor in man's cancer, US court toldSan Francisco (AFP) Feb 25, 2019 The weed killer Roundup was a "substantial factor" in the cancer of a US man who developed a lump in his throat after decades of spraying his garden, his lawyer said Monday at the start of the first ever federal trial targeting its manufacturer for negligence. ... more
More water resources over the Sahel region of Africa in the 21st century under global warmingBeijing, China (SPX) Feb 25, 2019 precipitation change under global warming is essential. However, current climate models exhibit large uncertainty on the projection of Sahel precipitation. A group of scientists from Institute ... more
FAO warns food supply threatened by declining biodiversityRome (AFP) Feb 21, 2019 The UN food agency on Friday warned about the threat to the future of the world's food production from a lack of biodiversity in the environment. ... more
Tech connection boosts NY vertical farmersKearny, United States (AFP) Feb 24, 2019 Workers at Bowery Farming's warehouse near New York have swapped out a farmer's hoe for a computer tablet that takes real-time readings of light and water conditions. ... more |
Avalanche in Spanish Pyrenees kills three skiers
Death toll from Spain flooding rises to three Body found in Spain flooding takes death toll to two Ivory Coast ruling party set for election landslide: early results One dead, two missing in southern Spain after flooding Three missing in southern Spain after flooding Two dead as storm batters Nordics 6.6-magnitude earthquake hits off Taiwan One dead as storm batters Nordics 6.6-magnitude earthquake hits off Taiwan: USGS |
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Preserved leaves reveal 7,000 years of rainfall and droughtAdelaide, Australia (SPX) Feb 18, 2019 A study by University of Adelaide researchers and Queensland Government scientists has revealed what south-east Queensland's rainfall was like over the last 7000 years - including several severe dro ... more
'Urgent steps' needed to save Australia's biggest river systemSydney (AFP) Feb 18, 2019 The viability of a key river that feeds into Australia's biggest water system is under threat if poor conditions that killed millions of fish are not improved within six months, scientists warned Monday. ... more
After deadly clashes, Ivorian farmers and herders try dialogueBouna, Cate D'Ivoire (AFP) Feb 17, 2019 Gathered under the spreading baobab tree in Danoa town square, farmers and herders in a remote corner of Ivory Coast are finally talking about a dispute that has poisoned relations and destroyed lives. ... more
Michelin-star chefs join green cuisine crusadeParis (AFP) Feb 19, 2019 In a city famed for foie gras and filet mignon, some of the world's top chefs gathered Tuesday in Paris to showcase the green side of gastronomy, for the planet and our palettes. ... more
Indigenous hunters improve health of food webs in Australian desertWashington (UPI) Feb 18, 2019 Australia is bleeding mammal species. The island continent's mammal extinction rate is the largest on Earth. But in Australia's desert, the return of indigenous hunters has helped restore ecological balance and slowed the loss of mammals. ... more |
![]() Prickly pears: 'humble' cactus brings hope to Algeria
Prickly pears: 'humble' cactus brings hope to AlgeriaSidi Fredj, Algeria (AFP) Feb 15, 2019 For generations Algerians like the Gueldasmi family have barely eked out a living growing prickly pear fruits, but thanks to the cactus's new found virtues their lives are steadily improving. ... more |
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China imposes anti-dumping tariffs on Brazilian chickenBeijing (AFP) Feb 15, 2019 China announced anti-dumping duties on Brazilian chicken Friday, saying investigations had revealed that poultry imports had done "substantive damage" to the domestic broiler industry. ... more
Tracking pollen with quantum dotsStellenbosch, South Africa (SPX) Feb 15, 2019 A pollination biologist from Stellenbosch University in South Africa is using quantum dots to track the fate of individual pollen grains. This is breaking new ground in a field of research that has ... more
Carbonaceous chondrites provide clues about the delivery of water to EarthMadrid, Spain (SPX) Feb 15, 2019 An international study led by researchers from the Institute of Space Sciences, from the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the Institut d'Estudis Espacials de Catalunya has discovered tha ... more
Scientists developed a method that allows removal of antibiotic residue from waste waterTallin, Estonia (SPX) Feb 14, 2019 In February the article "Metal-doped organic aerogels for photocatalytic degradation of trimethoprim" written by the researchers of two research groups (nanoporous materials and environmental techno ... more
NASA is Everywhere: Farming Tech with Roots in SpaceWashington DC (SPX) Feb 13, 2019 Growing plants can be tough, whether you're on a spaceship or Earth. A special fertilizer made it easier for astronauts on the International Space Station and farmers down below, resulting in just o ... more |
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KBRwyle Awarded $19M to Perform Flight Ops for USGS Satellite Houston TX (SPX) Feb 22, 2019
KBR, Inc. reports that its global government services business, KBRwyle, has been awarded a $19 million contract by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to support flight operations for its satellite.
The Landsat 7 satellite is part of the Landsat program, a joint initiative of the USGS and NASA. Landsat satellites provide space-based images of the Earth's land surface, collecting valuable ... more |
Angry Norway says Russia jamming GPS signals again Oslo (AFP) Feb 11, 2019
Norway's foreign intelligence unit on Monday expressed renewed concerns that its GPS signals in the country's Far North were being jammed, as Oslo again blamed Russia for the "unacceptable" acts.
In its annual national risk assessment report, the intelligence service said that in repeated incidents since 2017, GPS signals have been blocked from Russian territory in Norwegian regions near the ... more |
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Complete world map of tree diversity Leipzig, Germany (SPX) Feb 25, 2019
The biodiversity of our planet is one of our most precious resources. However, for most places in the world, we only have a tiny picture of what this diversity actually is. Researchers at the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) and Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) have now succeeded in constructing, from scattered data, a world map of biodiversity showing nu ... more |
Using E. coli to create bioproducts, like biodiesel, in a cost-effective manner Baton Rouge LA (SPX) Feb 25, 2019
Who knew a potentially deadly bacteria could be used for good?
LSU Mechanical Engineering graduate student Tatiana Mello of Piracicaba, Brazil, is currently working on genetically engineering and optimizing E. coli bacteria to produce bioproducts, like biodiesel, in a cost-effective manner. This undertaking has garnered the attention of many in the engineering and biology fields and has al ... more |
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NYU Tandon team charts path to sustainable, solar-driven chemical manufacturing New York NY (SPX) Feb 25, 2019
A team of researchers from the New York University Tandon School of Engineering is working to upend energy-intensive, fossil fuel-dependent chemical manufacturing processes and replace them with sustainable, solar-driven reactions that rely on renewable feedstocks. Led by Miguel Modestino, assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, the team recently designed a novel reactor th ... more |
Sulzer Schmid's new technology platform slashes cost of drone-based rotor blade inspections Zurich, Switzerland (SPX) Feb 07, 2019
Sulzer and Schmid Laboratories AG reports it has launched a new highly competitive inspection platform. The company's new 3DX HD product has been developed as a cost-effective solution to cope with large volumes of high definition blade inspections.
Based on the compact and flexible DJI M-210 drone, Sulzer Schmid's latest innovation delivers high performance and fully autonomous drone insp ... more |
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Glencore vows to cap coal output as profits tumble Zurich (AFP) Feb 20, 2019
Mining giant Glencore pledged Wednesday to limit coal production and instead prioritise investment in other commodities as part of a move towards cleaner energy and transportation.
The decision by the one of the world's biggest coal producers comes as activist shareholder groups try to pressure companies to cut back on the major producer of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, a key driver of glo ... more |
'Xi cult' app is China's red hot hit Beijing (AFP) Feb 21, 2019
A propaganda app that puts China's powerful President Xi Jinping in anyone's pockets has become a hit in the country - with a helpful nudge from Communist Party officials.
Millions have downloaded the app, which tracks the amount of time users spend browsing inspirational quotes from the Chinese leader and watching short videos of his speeches and travels.
People are rewarded with point ... more |
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Aquatic microorganism could inspire soft robots able to move fast in narrow spaces Rome, Italy (SPX) Feb 25, 2019
Over three centuries ago, microscopy pioneer Antoni van Leeuwenhoek was marvelled by the tiny creatures he found in a drop of water from a nearby pond. He was particularly struck by the behaviour of Euglena cells. These unicellular organisms spend most of their time doing what most of their peers do: swim by beating their flagellum.
However, on occasions, Euglena perform harmoniously coord ... more |
Innovative nanocoating technology harnesses sunlight to degrade microplastics Washington DC (SPX) Feb 25, 2019
Low density polyethylene film (LDPE) microplastic fragments, successfully degraded in water using visible-light-excited heterogeneous ZnO photocatalysts.
The innovative nanocoating technology was developed by a research team from KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden and was further investigated together with PP Polymer, Sweden, as part of the EU Horizon 2020 funded project CLAIM: Clea ... more |
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Fierce winds fan forest fires in Corsica Ajaccio, France (AFP) Feb 24, 2019
Firefighters battled a series of forest fires Sunday on the French Mediterranean island of Corsica that were being driven by strong winds across hard-to-access mountain ranges, authorities said.
One of the biggest blazes began overnight in Calenzana, a village near the northern coastal city of Calvi, burning nearly 1,300 hectares (3,200 acres) by Sunday afternoon.
"There's a lot of wind ... more |
More water resources over the Sahel region of Africa in the 21st century under global warming Beijing, China (SPX) Feb 25, 2019
precipitation change under global warming is essential. However, current climate models exhibit large uncertainty on the projection of Sahel precipitation.
A group of scientists from Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences found that the projection uncertainty of Sahel summer precipitation among the climate models is closely related to the historical precipitation sim ... more |
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Winds battering central Italy kill four Rome (AFP) Feb 23, 2019
Strong winds whipping through central Italy killed four people on Saturday, including a teenager who died when his father fell off the roof and crushed him, media reports said.
The 14-year old in Capena near Rome was holding the ladder for his father as he attempted to fix damage to the family roof, when the latter was knocked off by a gust of wind, falling six metres and landing on his son, ... more |
Standard Chartered's 2018 profits rise despite setting aside fine cash Hong Kong (AFP) Feb 26, 2019
Standard Chartered's pre-tax profit surged to $3.9 billion in 2018, the bank said Tuesday, after previously warning it had set aside nearly $1 billion for regulatory fines in the US and Britain.
The UK-based bank has been stalked for years by probes on both sides of the Atlantic over alleged violations of United States sanctions against Iran and investigations related to foreign exchange tra ... more |
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NASA Selects Mission to Study Space Weather from Space Station Washington DC (SPX) Feb 26, 2019
NASA has selected a new mission that will help scientists understand and, ultimately, forecast the vast space weather system around our planet. Space weather is important because it can have profound impacts - affecting technology and astronauts in space, disrupting radio communications and, at its most severe, overwhelming power grids.
The new experiment will, for the first time, obtain g ... more |
Dogs' personalities can change, research suggests Washington (UPI) Feb 25, 2019
Most longtime pet owners would likely agree that dogs can have distinct personalities, and research has shown those personalities are shaped by their owners.
Now, new findings out of Michigan State University suggest dogs' personalities change over time.
Life-changing events can transform human personalities. The results of a new survey, published in the Journal of Research in Pe ... more |
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