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Texas A&M University plans huge solar project
The proposed “Center for Solar Energy” at Texas A&M University’s Central Texas branch will make the school the world’s first all-solar university. The university has come up with this innovative project to save power costs and reduce its carbon footprint. It will utilize nearby unused land for the world’s biggest solar test farm. The solar…
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New forensic method tells the difference between poached and legal ivory
Forensic-dating could end a major loophole in the current global ban on ivory, according to a new paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Scientists have developed a method to determine the age of ivory, allowing traders to tell the difference between ivory taken before the ban in 1989, which is…
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Plants Under Attack Release VOCs, Attract Herbivore Predators and Caterpillars
Did you know that plants emit airborne distress signals when they are getting eaten? When damaged, plants release volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and according to a new study, these compounds can serve two functions, one to attract enemies that might attack the herbivorous insects eating the plant, and two, to ward off the herbivorous insects,…
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Don’t turn a blind eye to what’s in your food- it could be killing elephants
Palm oil is a key ingredient in everything from cereal, biscuits and margarine to shampoo, lipstick and toothpaste. Unless we curb our desire for it critical forests and wildlife habitat will be gone forever, says Dan Bucknell. From the minute we have breakfast to the moment we brush our teeth and go to bed, the…
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Croatian fishermen worry about EU rules
An English-language sign at the fishermen’s pier in the Croatian town of Umag reads: “This fishing port was rebuilt with the support of the European Union”. But most of the 3,700 fishermen who ply their trade in Croatia’s eastern Adriatic fear that the country’s accession to the EU on 1 July, and strict new laws…