Dec 22 2013

Turkey constructing undersea water pipeline to Cyprus

and has no comments yet.
Turkey has started constructing what will be the world’s longest undersea water pipeline. The 107 kilometer pipe will draw water from the Dragon River and unite the Turkish mainland with northern Cyprus in the Mediterranean Sea. Proponents are hoping it will unify the island, divided for the past 39 years. The suspended pipeline, moored to the floor of the seabed and well lower than where submarines can go, will carry freshwater from Turkish sources as much as 280 meters (919 feet) under water, Bloomberg is reporting. The first kilometer of pipe has been laid, in what will be a $484 million project. The divided island is one of the most water-stressed places on Earth, and Turkey and Turkish Cypriots in the north have bickered with Cyprus over offshore natural gas discoveries recently.
Categories: News
Dec 20 2013

GMO Labeling Law in Connecticut

and has no comments yet.
Connecticut's new GMO-labeling law is a first – in more than one way. With ceremonious flourish last week, Governor Dannel Malloy signed into law a bill that would require labeling on all products meant for human consumption that contain genetically modified ingredients (GMO). The legislation was passed by voters in June and actually received the governor's formal endorsement at that time.
Categories: News
Dec 19 2013

World Sufferes Warmest November on Record

and has no comments yet.
Last month was the warmest November on record, according to new analysis from the NOAA. Temperatures were 0.78 degrees Celsius (1.40 degrees Fahrenheit) above the average November in the 20th Century. Global temperatures are on the rise due to climate change caused primarily by burning fossil fuels, but also by deforestation and land-use change.
Categories: News
Dec 19 2013

Can aging be reversed?

and has 1 comment.
Medical researchers have found a cause of ageing in animals that can be reversed, possibly paving the way for new treatments for age-related diseases including cancer, type 2 diabetes, muscle wasting and inflammatory diseases. The researchers hope to start human trials late next year. The study, which is published today in the journal Cell, relates to mitochondria, which are our cells' battery packs and give energy to carry out key biological functions. The work, led by UNSW Medicine's David Sinclair, found a series of molecular events enable communication inside cells between the mitochondria and the nucleus. As communication breaks down, ageing accelerates.
Categories: News
Dec 19 2013

Good news for corn farmers worth millions of dollars

and has 1 comment.
Good news for corn farmers: a major corn crop pest, the European corn borer (ECB) has seen a significant population decline in the eastern United States. This information comes from Penn State researchers on the heels of reports of similar population declines in the Midwest. As a result, farmers will save millions of dollars in some parts of the country because they will no longer need to treat for this pest.
Categories: News
Dec 19 2013

More than 40% of Scotland’s energy demand is now met by renewables

and has 1 comment.
Scotland’s renewable electricity output has reached record-high levels, according to official statistics released today. The figures, published by the Department of Energy and Climate Change, show that renewables met a record-breaking 40.3 per cent of gross electricity consumption in 2012, confirming that Scotland is on track to meet its interim target of 50% by 2015.
Categories: News
Dec 19 2013

Mountain Pikas Eat Moss to Survive Climate Changes

and has 1 comment.
Pikas are small mammals closely related to rabbits and hares that are native to cold, alpine climates in North America, Asia and Eastern Europe. Pikas are very sensitive to heat, dying if they spend more than two hours above 78 degrees Fahrenheit, so cold climate is important to their survival. And sadly, as increasing temperatures continue to play a role in our changing climate, pikas have gone extinct in some mountain ranges and moved to higher peaks in others in the American West. However, researchers have also discovered pikas living in rockslides near sea level in Oregon. But how is this species surviving in these warmer gorge areas when they are dependent on colder weather? Well, biologists claim pikas survive hot weather simply by eating moss.
Categories: News
Dec 19 2013

Amazing study shows how dinosaurs walked

and has no comments yet.
For the first time scientists have learnt how the largest four-legged dinosaurs got from A to B. The new research, published in Plos ONE, wanted to understand how one of the biggest animals to have lived on Earth, the Argentinosaurus, walked. The Argentinosaurs, at 80 tonnes and 40m long was the equivalent of fifteen elephants, and scientists were unsure how such a big animal could even move.
Categories: News
Dec 17 2013

Rutgers University study looks at climate change and interrelated variables

and has 1 comment.
The changing climate is more complicated to model than we assumed. There are interrelated variables that work together to amplify the effects. For example, as summer sea-ice and snow shrink back in the Arctic, the number of summertime "extreme" weather events in the middle latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere is increasing, according to research published recently in Nature Climate Change by two Chinese scientists and their Rutgers colleague. "It's becoming increasingly clear, I think, that the loss of sea ice and snow cover is setting up the conditions that jump-start summer," said Jennifer Francis, research professor at the Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences in Rutgers’ School of Environmental and Biological Sciences. "The soil dries out earlier and that allows it to get hotter earlier. This phenomenon is also changing circulation patterns in the atmosphere."
Categories: News
Dec 16 2013

COLLEGIATE CORNER: Must we drink bottled water?

and has 1 comment.
More than 780 million people lack access to safe drinking water, two and a half times the population of the United States. More than half of all Americans drink bottled water, yet almost every U.S. household has access to safe drinking water.
Categories: News
1 2 3 4 5 … 7