Saharan dust smothers Switzerland, southeast France
An exceptionally rare haze of Saharan dust cloaked Switzerland and southeastern France on Saturday, sparking health warnings as a yellow hue tinged the sky......»»
Cell contraction drives the initial shaping of human embryos, study finds
Human embryo compaction, an essential step in the first days of an embryo's development, is driven by the contractility of its cells. This is the finding of a team of scientists from CNRS, Institut Curie, Inserm, AP-HP and the Collège de France. Pub.....»»
Mass fish die-off in Vietnam as heat wave roasts Southeast Asia
Hundreds of thousands of fish have died in a reservoir in southern Vietnam's Dong Nai province, with locals and media reports suggesting a brutal heat wave and the lake's management are to blame......»»
Adaptation of photosynthetic mechanism in air plants occurs through gene duplication, study finds
Researchers at the University of Vienna, along with collaborators from France, Germany, Switzerland and the U.S., have achieved a breakthrough in understanding how genetic drivers influence the evolution of a specific photosynthesis mechanism in Till.....»»
Schools closed, warnings issued as Asia swelters in extreme heat wave
South and Southeast Asia braced for more extreme heat on Sunday as authorities across the region issued health warnings and residents fled to parks and air-conditioned malls for relief......»»
Most people still rely on memory or pen and paper for password management
Bitwarden surveyed 2,400 individuals from the US, UK, Australia, France, Germany, and Japan to investigate current user password practices. The survey shows that 25% of respondents globally reuse passwords across 11-20+ accounts, and 36% admit to usi.....»»
Warming Arctic reduces dust levels in parts of the planet, study finds
Climate change is a global phenomenon, but its impacts are felt at a very local level. Take, for example, dust. Dust can have a huge impact on local air quality, food security, energy supply and public health. Yet, little is known about how global cl.....»»
Heatstroke kills 30 in Thailand this year as Southeast Asia bakes
Millions of people across South and Southeast Asia sweltered through unusually hot weather on Thursday, as the Thai government said heatstroke has already killed at least 30 people this year......»»
The guardian angels of the source of the Seine
The river Seine, the centerpiece of the Paris Olympics opening ceremony in July, starts with a few drops of water in a mossy grotto deep in the woods of central France......»»
The story of the first Alor people adapting to climate change 43,000 years ago
As humans, our greatest evolutionary advantage has always been our ability to adapt and innovate. When people first reached the expanded coastline of Southeast Asia around 65,000 years ago, and faced the sea crossings necessary to continue east into.....»»
Vastly bigger than the Black Summer: 84 million hectares of northern Australia burned in 2023
It may come as a surprise to hear 2023 was Australia's biggest bushfire season in more than a decade. Fires burned across an area eight times as big as the 2019–20 Black Summer bushfires that tore through 10 million hectares in southeast Australia......»»
Observations explore globular cluster system in the galaxy NGC 4262
Using the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT), Indian astronomers have performed wide and deep field observations of a polar ring galaxy known as NGC 4262. Results of the observational campaign, published April 15 on the pre-print server arXiv, she.....»»
Report: Apple acquires French startup behind AI and computer vision technology
Apple has reportedly acquired Datakalab, a Paris, France-based startup specializing in artificial intelligence compression and computer vision technology. According to French business magazine Challenges, the acquisition was finalized in December......»»
Wild and domestic ungulates are key to Mediterranean ecosystem sustainability, finds study
Researchers from Miguel Hernández University of Elche (UMH) have conducted a vegetation analysis over the last 30 years using satellite images from two environments in the Sierra de Cazorla Natural Park (southeast Spain)—one with wild ungulates su.....»»
Are Titan"s dunes made of comet dust?
A new theory suggests that Titan's majestic dune fields may have come from outer space. Researchers had always assumed that the sand making up Titan's dunes was locally made, through erosion or condensed from atmospheric hydrocarbons. But researchers.....»»
The effects of climate variability on children"s migration and childcare practices in sub-Saharan Africa
Shifting weather caused by climate change, especially drought and heat, is linked to a rise in the number of children being raised outside of their biological parents' households in sub-Saharan Africa, according to a study led by researchers at Penn.....»»
Bodies found in Neolithic pit were likely victims of ritualistic murder
One victim may have been hogtied alive in pit, à la Mafia-style ligature strangulation. Enlarge / Three female skeletons found in a Neolithic storage pit in France show signs of ritualistic human sacrifice. (credit: . Beeching/L.....»»
The Aral Sea has made Central Asia significantly dustier, according to study
The drying up of the Aral Sea has made Central Asia 7% dustier in the last 30 years. Between 1984 and 2015, dust emissions from the growing desert almost doubled from 14 to 27 million tons. This is the result of a study by the Leibniz Institute for T.....»»
Peptides on interstellar ice: Study finds presence of water molecules not a major obstacle for formation
A research team led by Dr. Serge Krasnokutski from the Astrophysics Laboratory at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy at the University of Jena had already demonstrated that simple peptides can form on cosmic dust particles. However, it was previo.....»»
Researchers investigate culture-specific trauma responses in Switzerland
The heavy impact of traumatic experiences can differ depending on culture and geography. According to a new study from the University of Zurich, the culture-specific sequelae of trauma found in Switzerland align with the norms of a competitive and in.....»»
Tesla asks shareholders to approve Texas move and restore Elon Musk’s $56B pay
Tesla board calls June 13 shareholder vote on Musk's pay and move to Texas. Enlarge / Tesla CEO Elon Musk at an opening event for Tesla's Gigafactory on March 22, 2022, in Gruenheide, southeast of Berlin. (credit: Getty Images |.....»»