May 10 2012

Growth of Carbon Capture and Storage Stalled in 2011

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Global funding for carbon capture and storage technology, a tool for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, remained unchanged at US$23.5 billion in 2011 in comparison to the previous year, according to a new report from the Worldwatch Institute. Although there are currently 75 large-scale, fully integrated carbon capture and storage projects in 17 countries at various stages of development, only eight are operational—a figure that has not changed since 2009. Carbon capture and storage, more commonly known as CCS, refers to the technology that attempts to capture carbon dioxide from a human-created source—often industry and power generation systems—and then store it in permanent geologic reservoirs so that it never enters the atmosphere. The United States is the leading funder of large-scale CCS projects, followed by the European Union and Canada. The new Worldwatch report, part of the Institute’s Vital Signs Online series analyzing key global trends, discusses a variety of new CCS projects and facilities throughout the world. Among these is the Century Plant in the United States, which began operating in 2010.
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May 10 2012

Stone-Throwing Chimp Is Back — And This Time It’s Personal

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Three years ago, a stone-throwing chimpanzee named Santino jolted the research community by providing some of the strongest evidence yet that nonhumans could plan ahead. Santino, a resident of the Furuvik Zoo in Gävle, Sweden, calmly gathered stones in the mornings and put them into neat piles, apparently saving them to hurl at visitors when the zoo opened as part of angry and aggressive "dominance displays."
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May 10 2012

‘The real Hunger Games’: a million children at risk as Sahel region suffers punishing drought

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The UN warns that a million children in Africa's Sahel region face malnutrition due to drought in region. In all 15 million people face food insecurity in eight nations across the Sahel, a region that is still recovering from drought and a food crisis of 2010. In some countries the situation is worsened by conflict.
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May 08 2012

The Joy of Jogging

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Running is a means of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. It is simply defined in athletics terms as a gait in which at regular points during the running cycle both feet are off the ground. This is in contrast to walking, where one foot is always in contact with the ground. Undertaking regular jogging increases the life expectancy of men by 6.2 years and women by 5.6 years, reveals the latest data from the Copenhagen City Heart study presented at the EuroPRevent2012 meeting. Reviewing the evidence of whether jogging is healthy or hazardous, Peter Schnohr told delegates that the study’s most recent analysis (unpublished) shows that between one and two-and-a-half hours of jogging per week at a slow or average pace delivers optimum benefits for longevity. The EuroPRevent2012 meeting, held 3 May to 5 May 2012, in Dublin, Ireland, was organized by the European Association for Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation (EACPR), a registered branch of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).
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May 08 2012

Not ALL Spiders use a web to catch prey

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The Trapdoor Spider builds a tunnel with a trapdoor on one end. It hides in this lair until hungry and then emerges to capture an unsuspecting meal. Trapdoor Spiders are found in many warm locations around the globe. Researchers at Auburn University reported the discovery a new trapdoor spider species from a well-developed housing subdivision in the heart of the city of Auburn, Ala. Myrmekiaphila tigris, affectionately referred to as the Auburn Tiger Trapdoor spider, is named in honor of Auburn University’s costumed Tiger mascot, Aubie. The research team, directed by Biological Sciences professor Jason Bond, lead investigator and director of the Auburn University Museum of Natural History, and Charles Ray, a research fellow in the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, was excited at the prospect of such a remarkable find just underfoot. Bond and Ray actually live in the neighborhood where the new species was discovered.
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May 07 2012

The Development of the Human Brain

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A brain-development gene found exclusively in humans has an unusual evolutionary history and could contribute to what makes us distinctly human. Equally surprising, this is a partial gene created from an incomplete duplication of its parent gene in the prehistoric human genome. The incomplete duplication of the gene may account for its behavior. This may have been some ancient error which was reproduced successfully. Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a nucleic acid containing the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of living organisms. The DNA segments carrying this genetic information are called genes. Likewise, other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in regulating the use of this genetic information.
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May 07 2012

Load Bearing Exercise for Young Men Prevents Bone Loss in Later Years

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A new study from the University of Gothenburg in Sweden suggests a new reason for young men to ditch their "couch potato" lifestyle. They say that men in their early 20s who engage in load-bearing exercise including sports such as basketball and volleyball for four hours per week are less likely to suffer from osteoporosis in old age. The hard exercise in the early years increases their bone mass and density, protecting them from bone loss later on. Bottom line, the more the body moves, the more the bones are built.
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May 07 2012

Hybrid Vehicles Create Cost Advantages for Businesses

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High fuel prices are back and are slowing our economy's growth, eating into businesses' profit margins and sapping household discretionary budgets. Today, consumers have a range of options for buying hybrid or even electric vehicles to help reduce their fuel costs. But businesses are far behind consumers in their adoption rate of hybrid vehicles. However, high fuel prices have created conditions in which hybrids are now sound business investments. Those businesses that take action now will outperform their competitors.
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May 07 2012

Streetkleen Taps Man’s Best Friend for Renewable Biogas

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The idea of converting dog waste to renewable biogas started off as a modest art project in Cambridge, Massachusetts, two years ago, and it has struck a spark across the pond. A new company in Wales called Streetkleen has constructed a dog waste-to-biogas conversion station in the county of Flintshire and plans are already in the works to expand into a network throughout the U.K.
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May 06 2012

Israel To Help India Clean Up The Ganges River

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Young Israeli tourists are so common in India that in certain regions, restaurants hang signs and write menus in Hebrew. But Israel is now in the process of sending more than just tourists to the region. At the end of April, Israeli news site Ynet reported that Israel would be sending engineers, researchers and representatives from water technologies companies to help India clean up the notoriously-polluted Ganges River. The river has become an increasingly problematic site for India as it has caused the spread of infections and diseases. Since February, the Indian government has been gearing up a campaign to clean up the river, promoting its importance as a religious site and also as a freshwater resource.
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