National park visitors cut new trails in sensitive soil. They pried open gates while no one was watching. They found bathrooms locked, so they went outside. One off-roader even mowed down an iconic twisted-limbed Joshua tree in California. | Continue reading
Large-scale agriculture, primarily for growing oil palms, remains a major cause of deforestation in Indonesia, but its impact has diminished proportionately in recent years as other natural and human causes emerge, a new Duke University study finds. | Continue reading
NASA instrument scientist Bryan Blair had just finished writing the flight software for the agency's Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter, or MOLA, when he was invited in 1991 to fly a lidar instrument aboard a P-3 research aircraft to test new lidar techniques over the ice sheets in Gre … | Continue reading
Many fleet managers are looking at alternative fuels and advanced vehicle technologies to reduce their environmental footprint and save money. The AFLEET Tool, and its newly launched web-based version, AFLEET Online, developed by the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne Nati … | Continue reading
A mollusk with teeth that can grind down rock may hold the key to making next generation abrasion-resistant materials and nanoscale materials for energy. | Continue reading
Spectrally pure lasers lie at the heart of precision high-end scientific and commercial applications, thanks to their ability to produce near-perfect single-color light. A laser's capacity to do so is measured in terms of its linewidth, or coherence, which is the ability to emit … | Continue reading
A professor in Virginia Tech's College of Science wants to power planes and cars using energy stored in their exterior shells. He may have discovered a path toward that vision using porous carbon fibers made from what's known as block copolymers. | Continue reading
With X-ray microscopes, researchers at PSI look inside computer chips, catalysts, small pieces of bone, or brain tissue. The short wavelength of the X-rays makes details visible that are a million times smaller than a grain of sand—structures in the nanometer range (millionths of … | Continue reading
When it comes to processing coffee beans, longer fermentation times can result in better taste, contrary to conventional wisdom. Lactic acid bacteria play an important, positive role in this process. Other species of microbes may play a role in this process as well, but more rese … | Continue reading
Extreme cold weather can produce unusual phenomena, from so-called sea smoke to slushy ocean waves. As atmospheric scientist Scott Denning explains, these striking events are caused mainly by the behavior of water at very cold temperatures. | Continue reading
Vice Media unveiled plans Friday to cut 10 percent of its staff, or some 250 jobs, in the latest round of job slashing in the once-sizzling digital media sector. | Continue reading
Whether you rock sideburns or baby-smooth legs, all shavers share one concern—the threat of razor-sharp metal. But luckily, shaving cream packs the right chemistry to keep us looking good while protecting our sensitive skin. | Continue reading
Take a whiff when it rains after a dry spell, and breathe in the earthy scent that pervades the air. That smell comes from decomposing bacteria, and scientists call the compound geosmin. | Continue reading
Johns Hopkins researchers have found that rhomboid enzymes, which are special proteins that cut other proteins, are able to break the "cellular speed limit" as they move through the cell membrane. Rhomboid enzymes do this by warping their surroundings, letting them glide quickly … | Continue reading
Florida State University researchers have found that abrupt variations in the seafloor can cause dangerous ocean waves known as rogue or freak waves—waves so catastrophic that they were once thought to be the figments of seafarers' imaginations. | Continue reading
Rice coproducts in pig diets add fat and fiber, but too much fiber can decrease energy absorption and digestibility. A recent study from the University of Illinois characterizes the chemical composition of fiber in rice and rice coproducts, which could lead to diet interventions … | Continue reading
Medicine was transformed in the 20th century by the discovery and development of antibiotics, the vast majority of which came from one source: soil bacteria. | Continue reading
The impressively high conversion rates of natural enzymes partly result from increasing the catalytic activity of a selected few amino acid side chains through precise positioning within the protein binding cavity. Scientists have now demonstrated that such fine-tuning is also po … | Continue reading
Rice University engineers have figured out how soil contaminated by heavy oil can not only be cleaned but made fertile again. | Continue reading
Ponds are taken for granted. Perhaps it's because most of us have seen them – and on occasion, fallen into them – and think they're only good for goldfish. Ponds may be the number one habitat for children's "minibeast" hunts, but we are supposed to grow out of them in adulthood. | Continue reading
A rare whale was found dead in the waters of Florida's Everglades National Park. | Continue reading
Scientists have many tools at their disposal to study, manipulate and copy genes. | Continue reading
In December 2018, Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, visited Boston University to discuss funding opportunities with faculty and researchers. While on campus, he also gave a talk about NASA's current and future missions. Afterward, Z … | Continue reading
Apple says it's fixed the FaceTime bug that allowed people to eavesdrop on others while using its group video chat feature. It plans to turn the service back on next week via a software update. | Continue reading
How familiar are you with native advertising? Do you think you can recognize which online content is news and which is a paid promotion? Chances are you've been fooled—more than once. | Continue reading
The humpback whale calf is so new that its dorsal fin and tail flukes appear soft and flimsy, and its mother is still excreting blood, while sometimes supporting the calf on her back. The rare video minutes after birth was captured by the University of Hawaiii at Manoa's Marine M … | Continue reading
How does carbon behave when it is more than one meter (a bit more than 3 feet) below the land surface? For scientists, this has been a frustrating question. Why? The carbon levels this far down are typically 10 to 200 times lower than in surface soils. Such low levels pose a dist … | Continue reading
In the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, which is particularly susceptible to influencing sea levels, rates of mass loss are especially sensitive near the point at which a glacier or ice shelf transitions into a regime of self-sustained retreat. In this state, the effects of ocean warmin … | Continue reading
Brrr … it's cold out there! Children are flocking to the television in hopes of hearing there will be a snow day; the bread and milk aisles at grocery stores are empty because of an impending snow storm; and utility trucks are out spraying salt or salt water on the roads. | Continue reading
Researchers at the University of Tübingen have discovered a natural substance that could compete with the controversial herbicide glyphosate: a newly discovered sugar molecule synthesized from cyanobacteria that inhibits the growth of various microorganisms and plants but is harm … | Continue reading
A new study published in Nature Communications suggests that global warming of 1.5 or 2°C will lead to more intense and frequent extreme heatwave events. Increased socio-economic development can, however, help reduce their impact on society in low development countries. | Continue reading
Our oceans are littered with plastics. Indeed, we are regularly exposed to images and stories of whales and sea turtles choking to death on plastic trash. Ocean plastic is clearly a problem but what is the solution? | Continue reading
Migrant women with temporary visa status are particularly vulnerable when it comes to domestic and family violence. That vulnerability is intensified when you add technology to the mix. | Continue reading
Coming home from a bone-chilling winter commute and buying a new coat online could lead to buyer's remorse, according to new research by University of Salzburg (UoS) and Cass Business School academics. | Continue reading
The fate of abandoned mines are a familiar problem for those living in communal spaces, with common rooms and shared kitchens: "Who is going to clean up this mess?" and "Who is going to pay for the damages?" | Continue reading
Countless historical coins that differ from each other only in details are in storage at German state museums. Unlike paintings, these archaeological artifacts may not be labeled, marked or barcoded. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Factory Operation and Automation IFF … | Continue reading
Talks between the Trump administration and California over rules requiring automakers to steadily decrease car emissions are no closer to reaching a deal than when they began months ago, setting the stage for a protracted legal battle. | Continue reading
Invented stories, distorted facts: fake news is spreading like wildfire on the internet and is often shared on without thought, particularly on social media. In response, Fraunhofer researchers have developed a system that automatically analyzes social media posts, deliberately f … | Continue reading
Making electric cars lighter also involves reducing the weight of the motor. One way to do that is by constructing it from fiber-reinforced polymer materials. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology ICT are working together with the Karlsruhe Institute of … | Continue reading
Permafrost underlies nearly 85 percent of Alaska and nearly a quarter of the landmass in the northern hemisphere. This perennially frozen soil contains twice as much carbon as is found in the Earth's atmosphere. Since the Arctic is warming twice as fast as the rest of the planet, … | Continue reading
Nanoparticles can be found in processed food (e.g. food additives), consumer products (e.g. sunscreen) and even in medicine. While these tiny particles could have large untapped potential and novel new applications, they may have unintended and harmful side effects, according to … | Continue reading