Ghana has a serious flood problem. Over about 50 years, 4 million people have been affected by floods, resulting in economic damage exceeding USD$780 million. At least one major flood disaster has occurred every year over the past 10 years. | Continue reading
One of the greatest challenges of astronomy is locating objects in space that are obscured by the light of nearby, brighter objects. In addition to making extra-solar planets very difficult to directly image, this problem also intrudes on surveys of the local Universe, where astr … | Continue reading
In the way things often happens in science, Amey Apte wasn't looking for two-dimensional tellurium while experimenting with materials at Rice University. But there it was. | Continue reading
A new paper recently released in Geology by researchers Jacob Mulder, Karl Karlstrom, and other Australian colleagues provides a new dataset that may resolve the more than three decades-long debate about which continents were adjacent to southwestern USA within the 1 billion year … | Continue reading
RUDN chemists have developed a new method for obtaining titanium-based nanoparticles to clean water from phenols—toxic aromatic hydrocarbons with an OH-group. The atoms of metals in the nanoparticles oxidize the pollutants under the influence of light and turn them into water and … | Continue reading
When asked to describe a vampire, most people think of a tall, pale creature, with fangs and a cloak. But were the creatures of folklore inspired by real traits seen in the animal kingdom? From avoiding sunlight to using a cloak, here are five classic vampire characteristics that … | Continue reading
On Saturday 20th October the Royal Research Ship (RRS) James Cook departed on an expedition during which a new automated system of collecting climate data will be trialed. If successful, the new technology could help improve long-range European weather forecasts in the future. | Continue reading
Using the Gemini Observatory and NASA's Chandra spacecraft, a team of astronomers has provided new information about the radio galaxy 3C 17 and its environment. The observations show that 3C 17 is the brightest member of a newly found galaxy cluster. The finding is reported in a … | Continue reading
Researchers at the University of Huddersfield have undertaken the largest study to date into the effectiveness of solar panels across the UK and discovered that parts of the country are suffering an overall power loss of up to 25% because of the issue of regional 'hot spots'. Hot … | Continue reading
A Japan-based research team led by Kanazawa University has isolated 17 secondary metabolites, including three novel compounds from the valuable endangered tropical plant species Alangium longiflorum. A newly isolated compound, 8-hydroxytubulosine, showed growth inhibitory effects … | Continue reading
The idea is simple. A team headed by Franz Georg Pikl, a Ph.D. student at the Institute of Hydraulic Engineering and Water Resources Management at TU Graz, has combined the advantages of pumped storage technology and heat storage using water as a medium to create a "hot-water pum … | Continue reading
In plants, the cell wall acts like a skeleton, providing support and stability, and also like muscle, passing water from the ground all the way to the highest leaves and branches. The structure responsible for water transport is the secondary cell wall, composed of xylem, which N … | Continue reading
A team from the Institute of Fundamental Biology and Biotechnology of SFU used glycerol and sucrose to simulate the intracellular environment of luminescent bacteria and carried out a number of enzymatic reactions. They hope to develop fragments of metabolic chains with different … | Continue reading
Alcohol has been celebrated throughout history. The ancient Greeks worshiped Dionysus, while the Chinese recognized Yidi as the creator of libertine drink. Unknowingly, both were actually servants of the true alcohol master, yeast. In Japan, some of the best sake is the result of … | Continue reading
The planets so far discovered across the Milky Way are a motley, teeming multitude: hot Jupiters, gas giants, small, rocky worlds and mysterious planets larger than Earth and smaller than Neptune. As we prepare to add many thousands more to the thousands found already, the search … | Continue reading
Cells are constantly performing small tasks such as repairing wounds. They exert force by changing shape. But how do cells translate their shape into exerting a force in a specific direction? Experimental and theoretical physicists from Leiden University have now found a clue to … | Continue reading
This Hubble Space Telescope image shows the unbarred spiral galaxy NGC 5033, located about 40 million light-years away in the constellation of Canes Venatici (the Hunting Dogs). The galaxy is similar in size to our own galaxy, the Milky Way, at just over 100,000 light-years acros … | Continue reading
It's autumn in the Northern Hemisphere, which means many people living in mountainous areas are awakening to fog-filled valleys. | Continue reading
Many cells, including cancer cells, are known to secrete short RNAs in tiny vesicles, which then move inside other cells—potentially a form of cell-to-cell communication. | Continue reading
A model developed by researchers at The University of Queensland could address soil problems that cost Australia's wheat producers almost $2 billion a year. | Continue reading
Less than 10 per cent of international students and backpackers in Australia recover unpaid wages, even when they are aware they are being underpaid. | Continue reading
A gigantic cold front in the Perseus galaxy cluster has been observed by a trio of X-ray telescopes. | Continue reading
The young star Eta Carinae shines prominently in the skies of the southern hemisphere. Although located relatively far away from Earth (about seven thousand light-years away, as compared with the average distance of naked-eye stars of about a thousand light-years), it can be seen … | Continue reading
Researchers from the Theory Department of the MPSD in Hamburg and North Carolina State University in the US have demonstrated that the long-sought magnetic Weyl semi-metallic state can be induced by ultrafast laser pulses in a three-dimensional class of magnetic materials dubbed … | Continue reading
Today, much of the biology underlying the cellular composition of lipids is a black box to scientists. Even though lipids are a major group of biomolecules, they are difficult to study because their synthesis is regulated by complicated metabolism. | Continue reading
The recent commercialization of the EnChroma glasses has generated great expectations among the color blind thanks to a strong campaign on social networks and the media. Users of the glasses hoped to see new colors or even correct their color blindness. | Continue reading
New particle formation in the atmosphere provides the nucleation centres required for the formation of clouds, making it an important process for understanding climate. Efforts to investigate the complex balance of chemistry and physics that leads to new particle formation have r … | Continue reading
A substance in young mouse tears makes female mice more likely to reject male sexual advances. This research is part of ongoing efforts at the University of Tokyo to understand how animals communicate using chemicals called pheromones. | Continue reading
South Africa's eastern Mpumalanga province has the most polluting cluster of coal-fired power stations in the world producing record levels of nitrogen dioxide, a report by environmental campaign group Greenpeace said Monday. | Continue reading
Lattice thermal conductivity strongly affects the applications of materials related to thermal functionality, such as thermal management, thermal barrier coatings and thermoelectrics. In order to understand lattice thermal conductivity more quantitatively and in a time- and cost- … | Continue reading
Not every diver's dream is to watch shimmering shoals of fish swim through coral reefs in dazzlingly blue seas. | Continue reading
Air pollution is slowly easing in EU countries but still causes nearly half a million early deaths each year, the European Environment Agency (EEA) said in its annual report published Monday. | Continue reading
The first Franco-Chinese satellite was launched into orbit on Monday to study ocean surface winds and waves around the clock, better predict cyclones and improve scientists' understanding of climate change. | Continue reading
IBM said Sunday it has reached a deal to buy open source software company Red Hat for $34 billion, among the biggest tech mergers in history which the computing giant said would enhance its cloud offerings. | Continue reading
It was the kind of security lapse that gives election officials nightmares. In 2017, a private contractor left data on Chicago's 1.8 million registered voters—including addresses, birth dates and partial Social Security numbers—publicly exposed for months on an Amazon cloud serve … | Continue reading
Oil spills spell disaster for affected wildlife, leading to a number of detrimental outcomes, including suffocation, poisoning and longer-term problems related to exposure to crude oil and its components. New research out of the University of Guelph in Canada takes a closer look … | Continue reading
In all animals, including humans, smell—the oldest of the five senses—plays a predominant role in many behaviors essential for survival and reproduction. It has been known since ancient times that animals react to odours. | Continue reading
A Japanese rocket on Monday lifted the United Arab Emirates' first locally made satellite into orbit successfully from a space center in southern Japan. | Continue reading
Until recently, Molly struggled to imagine life beyond the end of each repetitive day: work in someone else's fields and earn enough to eat, rinse, repeat. | Continue reading
China's first attempt to deploy a privately developed rocket capable of carrying a satellite has failed. | Continue reading
A kangaroo that hopped into the sea for a dip at a Melbourne beach had to be rescued by Australian police and brought back to life with CPR, officers said Sunday. | Continue reading