November 22, 2016 – A new multi-institutional study of the temporary slowdown in the global average surface temperature warming trend observed between 1998 and 2013 concludes the phenomenon represented a redistribution of energy within the Earth system, with Earth’s ocean absorbing the extra heat. The phenomenon was referred to by some as the “global warming […]
Sci/Tech
Saarland University computer scientists work to prevent hackers from remotely controlling cars
Nov. 21, 2016 – A luxury vehicle today contains multiple computers. During an hour’s drive, it thus produces multiple gigabytes of data. Even less expensive vehicles are now brimming with information technology. The growing interconnection of the individual components opens dangerous security holes. One of these has now been closed by computer scientists at the […]
NOAA’s GOES-R satellite heads to orbit, will improve weather forecasting
Nov. 19, 2016 – GOES-R, the first of NOAA’s highly advanced geostationary weather satellites, lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 6:42 pm EST today. The satellite will boost the nation’s weather observation network and NOAA’s prediction capabilities, leading to more accurate and timely forecasts, watches and warnings. In about two weeks, once GOES-R is […]
NASA Study Finds Widespread Land Losses from 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
Nov. 17, 2016 – Dramatic, widespread shoreline loss is revealed in new NASA/U.S. Geological Survey annual maps of the Louisiana marshlands where the coastline was most heavily coated with oil during the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Following the spill, the length of shoreline that receded more than 13 […]
A possible explanation for recurring breast cancer
Nov. 16, 2016 – In October, we mourned those who died of breast cancer and celebrated all of the women (and men) who have survived. What many of those survivors worry about, though, is that their breast cancer may come back. It has puzzled scientists and health care providers that cancer can suddenly reappear, often […]
The brain’s cannabis receptors may be used to treat chronic pain without side effects of opiods or medical marijuana
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. Nov. 14, 2016 – Indiana University neuroscientist Andrea Hohmann took the stage at a press conference Nov. 14 in San Diego to discuss research conducted at IU that has found evidence that the brain’s cannabis receptors may be used to treat chronic pain without the side effects associated with opioid-based pain relievers or […]
Stanford study of abandoned oil and gas wells reveals new ways of identifying and fixing the worst methane emitters
November 14, 2016 – A small percentage of abandoned oil and gas wells in Pennsylvania produces the vast majority of the state’s methane emissions, according to Stanford and Princeton scientists and their colleagues. The work in Pennsylvania, which has the longest history of oil and gas development in the United States, could help scientists learn […]
It’s Not a Bird! It’s Not a Plane! It’s the Fastest Flying Mammal
KNOXVILLE, Nov. 10, 2016 — When most people think of animals moving at high speed, they envision cheetahs or swiftly diving raptors. They can now add the Brazilian free-tailed bat — a tiny nocturnal mammal — to the list. A new study from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, shows that the Brazilian free-tailed bat can […]
Hello La Niña
November 10, 2016 – La Niña has arrived and is favored to stick around through winter. Forecasters say the climate phenomena will likely contribute to drier and warmer weather in the southern U.S. and wetter, cooler conditions in the Pacific Northwest and across to the northern tier of the nation this winter. NOAA scientists declared […]
Hotter Mediterranean will trigger massive change
LONDON, Nov. 7, 2016 – If nations fail to limit global warming to 1.5°C this century, at least one region of the globe will experience change not seen in the last 10,000 years. Temperatures in the Mediterranean basin are already 1.3°C higher than they were between 1880 and 1920. If they go on getting much […]
Reducing exposure to bisphenol A lowers levels of this environmental estrogen in women
NEW ROCHELLE, NY, Nov. 3, 2016 – Women who avoided foods, cosmetics, and other products packaged in BPA-containing plastic containers for 3 weeks had significant reductions in urinary levels of BPA, a commonly used “endocrine disruptor” associated with negative health effects including weight gain. Over the 3-week study period, the women who participated in an […]
GRAPES-3 muon telescope indicates a crack in Earth’s magnetic shield
Nov. 3, 2016 – The GRAPES-3 muon telescope located at TIFR’s Cosmic Ray Laboratory in Ooty recorded a burst of galactic cosmic rays of about 20 GeV, on 22 June 2015 lasting for two hours. The burst occurred when a giant cloud of plasma ejected from the solar corona, and moving with a speed of […]
Study: West Coast record low snowpack in 2015 influenced by high temperatures
The western-most region of the continental United States set records for low snowpack levels in 2015 and scientists, through a new study, point the finger at high temperatures, not the low precipitation characteristic of past “snow drought” years. The study suggests greenhouse gases were a major contributor to the high temperatures, which doesn’t bode well […]
133 million-year-old dinosaur brain fossil found in England
SALT LAKE CITY, UT, Oct. 31, 2016 – Soft tissues such as hearts and muscles are very rarely preserved in the fossil record. For that reason, nearly all study of dinosaur soft tissue has to be reconstructed from fossil bones. However, researchers in the United Kingdom recently identified a genuine fossilized brain from a roughly […]
Study: Conservation preferred way to protect drinking water
Oct. 28, 2016 – The water crisis in Flint, Michigan put the need to protect and invest in clean drinking water front and center in the minds of many Americans. But how to go about investing, as well as how to get the public on board with such spending, is a difficult challenge that faces […]
The common swift flies ten months on end without landing
Oct. 28, 2016 – The common swift flies ten months on end without landing. The hypothesis on these birds’ life in the air was presented by British researcher Ron Lockley back in 1970, but it is only now that researchers at Lund University in Sweden have managed to prove the extreme lifestyle of the species. […]
Burning Fossil Fuels Poses Existential Threat to Earth
Oct. 27, 2016 – Burning coal for electricity is in decline, while the use of natural gas, solar and wind power are on the rise. But how close are we to creating a clean energy economy to help protect our planet from the impacts of climate change? Rutgers Today asked Paul G. Falkowski, Bennett Smith […]
World’s largest study shows effects of air pollution and traffic noise on blood pressure
Oct. 26, 2016 – Long-term exposure to air pollution is linked to a greater incidence of high blood pressure, according to the largest study to investigate the effects of both air pollution and traffic noise by following over 41,000 people in five different countries for five to nine years. The study, which was published Tuesday […]
Researchers Invent ‘Perfect’ Soap Molecule That Is Better for the Environment
MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL, Oct. 26, 2016 – A team of researchers, led by the University of Minnesota, has invented a new soap molecule made from renewable sources that could dramatically reduce the number of chemicals in cleaning products and their impact on the environment. The soap molecules also worked better than some conventional soaps in challenging […]
Extreme cold winters in U.S. and UK fueled by jet stream and climate change
Oct. 26, 2016 – Scientists have agreed for the first time that recent severe cold winter weather in the UK and US may have been influenced by climate change in the Arctic, according to a new study. The research, carried out by an international team of scientists including the University of Sheffield, has found that […]