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Houston, we're here to help the farmers![]() Washington DC (SPX) Mar 11, 2019 Farmers irrigating their crops may soon be getting some help from space. In 2018, scientists launched ECOSTRESS, a new instrument now attached to the International Space Station. Its mission: to gather data on how plants use water across the world. "Technically, the instruments are measuring surface temperature, which reflects the heat stress of plants," explains Joshua Fisher of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Fisher is the science lead on the ECOSTRESS mission. "By measuring the temperature, w ... read more |
'Meatless Mondays' on horizon for New York City schoolsNew York (AFP) March 12, 2019 Starting in September, New York city's 1.1 million school students will eat vegetarian meals on "Meatless Mondays," Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Monday. ... more
Duque asks court to allow banned weedkiller on cocaineBogota (AFP) March 7, 2019 President Ivan Duque asked Colombia's constitutional court Thursday to modify a ban on aerial spraying of the herbicide glyphosate in order to tackle record cocaine crops. ... more
EU food watchdog must disclose glyphosate studies: courtLuxembourg (AFP) March 7, 2019 An EU court ruled Thursday that the bloc's food watchdog must make public studies about the toxic or carcinogenic nature of glyphosate, a key ingredient in weedkiller. ... more
China says 'pests' found in blocked Canadian canola shipmentsBeijing (AFP) March 6, 2019 China's removal of the export permit of a major Canadian canola company followed the discovery of "hazardous pests" in shipments, the foreign ministry said Wednesday in a move that has stoked diplomatic tensions. ... more |
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 Philippines evacuates hundreds of thousands as super typhoon nears Tornado kills six, injures 750 as it wrecks southern Brazil town Winds, rain lash Philippines as super typhoon nears Tornado kills six, wrecks town in Brazil Tornado kills five, injures more than 400 in Brazil |
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| Previous Issues | Mar 14 | Mar 13 | Mar 12 | Mar 11 | Mar 08 |
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Plants' drought alert system has unlikely evolutionary origin: underwater algaeGainesville FL (SPX) Mar 04, 2019 Plants' water-to-land leap marks one of the most important milestones in the evolution of life on Earth. But how plants managed this transition when faced with unfamiliar challenges such as drought ... more
Improving ecosystems with aquatic plantsDavie FL (SPX) Mar 06, 2019 Researchers Lyn Gettys and Kimberly Moore conducted a study and a series of experiments at the University of Florida to determine whether littoral aquatic plants could be grown effectively using a v ... more
Canada FM decries China halting canola shipmentsOttawa (AFP) March 5, 2019 Ottawa's foreign minister on Tuesday decried Beijing's move to block a major Canadian canola exporter's sales in China, the latest escalation in a burgeoning row between the two countries. ... more
Researchers discover sustainable and natural alternative to man-made chemical pesticidesCardiff UK (SPX) Mar 06, 2019 Repurposing a strain of beneficial bacteria could offer a safe, sustainable and natural alternative to man-made chemical pesticides, according to research from Cardiff University. Finding natu ... more
Trump urges China to remove tariffs on US agricultural productsWashington (AFP) March 2, 2019 US President Donald Trump on Friday urged China to abolish tariffs on agricultural products imported from the United States - adding that trade talks between the rival powers were going well. ... more |
![]() 'Equine strep throat' kills 4,000 donkeys in Niger
Boost for Australian grain industryMelbourne, Australia (SPX) Feb 27, 2019 New findings from research by La Trobe University and CSIRO made possible with GRDC investment could lead to a significant increase in the Australian wheat crop yield - adding potentially around $1. ... more |
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French vineyards say ready to break glyphosate addictionParis (AFP) Feb 27, 2019 The vaunted terroirs of France's vineyards have for decades been saturated with the world's most widely used weedkiller, but grape growers say the day is soon coming when glyphosate will no longer be part of the fine wine process. ... more
Discovery of sour genes in citrus may pave way for sweeter lemons, limesWashington (UPI) Feb 27, 2019 Using gene expression experiments, scientists have identified the genes responsible for giving citrus fruits their sour taste. ... more
An uneasy alliance: Indigenous Traditional Knowledge enriches western scienceLos Angeles CA (The Conversation) Feb 27, 2019 An article I published last year in The Conversation and republished in Smithsonian Magazine about Indigenous Traditional Knowledge and western science touched a nerve among some readers. My article ... more
Can we address climate change without sacrificing water quality?Washington DC (SPX) Feb 28, 2019 Strategies for limiting climate change must take into account their potential impact on water quality through nutrient overload, according to a new study from Carnegie's Eva Sinha and Anna Michalak ... more
Getting to the core of underwater soilWashington DC (SPX) Feb 28, 2019 Soils all over the Earth's surface are rigorously tested and managed. But what about soils that are down in the murky depths? Although not traditional soils, underwater soils have value and function ... more |
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Nitrogen dioxide pollution mapped Paris (ESA) Mar 13, 2019
New maps that use information from the Copernicus Sentinel-5P satellite reveal nitrogen dioxide emission being released into the atmosphere in cities and towns across the globe.
Air pollution is a global environmental health problem that is responsible for millions of people dying prematurely every year. With air quality a serious concern, the Copernicus Sentinel-5P satellite was launched ... more |
One step closer to a clock that could replace GPS and Galileo Sussex UK (SPX) Mar 13, 2019
Scientists in the Emergent Photonics Lab (EPic Lab) at the University of Sussex have made a breakthrough to a crucial element of an atomic clock - devices which could reduce our reliance on satellite mapping in the future - using cutting-edge laser beam technology. Their development greatly improves the efficiency of the lancet (which in a traditional clock is responsible for counting), by 80% - ... more |
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Billions pledged to halt Africa's forest loss Nairobi (AFP) March 14, 2019
With the world's forests increasingly under threat from climate change and logging, leaders and top bank chiefs pledged billions on Thursday to help reverse the steep decline in Africa's woodland areas.
So far this century East Africa alone has lost around 6 million hectares of forest, swathes of which contain plants and wildlife found nowhere else on Earth.
"Our forests are the lungs t ... more |
Engineered microbe may be key to producing plastic from plants Madison WI (SPX) Mar 08, 2019
With a few genetic tweaks, a type of soil bacteria with an appetite for hydrocarbons shows promise as a biological factory for converting a renewable - but frustratingly untapped - bounty into a replacement for ubiquitous plastics.
Researchers, like those at the University of Wisconsin-Madison-based, Department of Energy-funded Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, hoping to turn woody pl ... more |
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Mixed-cation perovskite solar cells in space Beijing, China (SPX) Mar 13, 2019
With the continuous improvement of efficiency and stability, perovskite solar cells are gradually approaching practical applications. PSCs may show the special application in space where oxygen and moisture (two major stressors for the stability) barely exist.
Publishing in Sci. China-Phys. Mech. Astron., a group of researchers at Peking University in China, led by Dr. Rui Zhu and Prof. Qi ... more |
Improved hybrid models for multi-step wind speed forecasting Beijing (SPX) Mar 14, 2019
To help mitigate global warming by reducing the emissions that are largely responsible, wind is widely expected to become an alternative source of energy. Wind power generation utilizes the surface atmosphere, where movement blows the wind turbine to generate the power output.
However, due to the turbulence in the near-surface layer, wind speeds show strong variation and disturbance charac ... more |
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China investigates officials after deadly mine accident Beijing (AFP) Feb 28, 2019
Five officials are under investigation in northern China after 22 miners were killed when their transport crashed into the side of a mine tunnel, local authorities said.
The accident, which left another 28 miners injured, happened last Saturday in the region of Inner Mongolia after the vehicle experienced brake failure.
A photo published by state-run media shows a bus-like vehicle with h ... more |
West using Christianity to subvert Chinese state: official Beijing (AFP) March 12, 2019
A Chinese official accused "anti-China forces" in the West of using Christianity to subvert the country's political power and said worshippers must follow a Chinese form of religion.
China's officially atheist government, which oversees religious groups through state-sponsored institutions, has tightened its grip on all faiths in recent years.
"Anti-China forces in the West are attemptin ... more |
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How intelligent is artificial intelligence? Singapore (SPX) Mar 13, 2019
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning algorithms such as Deep Learning have become integral parts of our daily lives: they enable digital speech assistants or translation services, improve medical diagnostics and are an indispensable part of future technologies such as autonomous driving. Based on an ever increasing amount of data and powerful novel computer architectures, learning a ... more |
Leaders appeal for 'urgent action' on environment Nairobi (AFP) March 14, 2019
World leaders gathered in Kenya on Thursday to lend political muscle to UN environment talks, calling for "urgent action" to slow the destruction of natural habitats and accelerate funding for green development.
French President Emmanuel Macron and Kenyan counterpart Uhuru Kenyatta were among several heads of state in Nairobi for the fourth UN Environment Assembly - a vast gathering of mini ... more |
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The day the world burned Santa Barbara CA (SPX) Mar 14, 2019
When UC Santa Barbara geology professor emeritus James Kennett and colleagues set out years ago to examine signs of a major cosmic impact that occurred toward the end of the Pleistocene epoch, little did they know just how far-reaching the projected climatic effect would be.
"It's much more extreme than I ever thought when I started this work," Kennett noted. "The more work that has been d ... more |
How marine snow cools the planet Sydney, Australia (SPX) Mar 14, 2019
University of Sydney scientists have modelled how carbonate accumulation from 'marine snow' in oceans has absorbed carbon dioxide over millennia and been a key driver in keeping the planet cool for millions of years.
The study, published in Geology, also helps our understanding of the ocean's future capacity to store carbon dioxide, which is vital given warming-ocean acidity has increased ... more |
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Tornadoes leave swath of destruction in Alabama, killing 23 Washington (AFP) March 4, 2019
Rescuers in Alabama were set to resume search operations Monday after at least two tornadoes killed 23 people, uprooted trees and caused "catastrophic" damage to buildings and roads in the southern US state.
"The devastation is incredible," Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones told the local CBS affiliate late Sunday.
"I cannot recall at least in the last 50 years... a situation where we have ha ... more |
EU sets out 10-point plan to rebalance China ties Brussels (AFP) March 12, 2019
The EU on Tuesday set out a 10-point plan aimed at rebalancing relations with Beijing as fears grow about Chinese investment and influence on critical infrastructure, including new communication technology.
European leaders will be asked to sign off on the proposals at when they meet next week in Brussels, with senior officials urging them to take action to protect EU values and standards, w ... more |
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Probability of catastrophic geomagnetic storm lower than estimated Barcelona, Spain (SPX) Mar 13, 2019
Three mathematicians and a physicist from the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (UAB), the Mathematics Research Centre (CRM) and the Barcelona Graduate School of Mathematics (BGSMath) propose a mathematical model which allows making reliable estimations on the probability of geomagnetic storms caused by solar activity.
The researchers, who published the study in the journal Scientific Repo ... more |
Fast and furious: Vietnam's elephant race draws cheers, and critics Buon Don, Vietnam (AFP) March 12, 2019
Mahout Y Hoi Bya sits atop his elephant, whacking him with a large stick to urge him toward the finish line at the Buon Don race in Vietnam's central highlands.
Locals say the race is a celebration of the much-revered animals - traditionally thought of as family members in this part of Vietnam - but conservation groups are calling for an end to the festival, which they say is cruel and ou ... more |
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