Colombia mulls future of massive coal mine as water dries up
Colombia's massive El Cerrejon coal mine has landed in the crosshairs of President Gustavo Petro, who has blamed the open-pit operation for plunging the local Indigenous community into a severe water crisis......»»
Metro Awakening and Batman: Arkham Shadow are the future of VR gaming
Metro Awakening and Batman: Arkham Shadow are both stunning examples of how to bring a traditional gaming franchise to VR......»»
Record drought in Amazon impacts 420,000 children: UNICEF
More than 420,000 children in the Amazon basin are being badly affected by a drought parching much of South America that is impacting water supplies and river transport, UNICEF said Wednesday......»»
The natural environment is declining—are companies doing their part to save it?
The natural environment across the globe is deteriorating, leading to crises like climate change, biodiversity loss, and water scarcity. Companies and industries play a major role in this decline, and they are expected to take responsibility for thei.....»»
Examining how stellar threats impact the habitable zone of exoplanets
When we think of exoplanets that may be able to support life, we home in on the habitable zone. A habitable zone is a region around a star where planets receive enough stellar energy to have liquid surface water. It's a somewhat crude but helpful fir.....»»
States’ Abortion Rights Wins May Be Short-Lived Under a Second Trump Term
More than two years after a historic Supreme Court decision ended the national right to an abortion, some states are fighting back—but the future of abortion rights remains in doubt......»»
Pathogens that cling to microplastics may survive wastewater treatment
Wastewater treatment fails to kill several human pathogens when they hide out on microplastics in the water, reports a study led by Ingun Lund Witsø of the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, published November 6, 2024 in the open-access journal.....»»
New PFAS testing method could make water testing more affordable, portable and accessible
University of Massachusetts Amherst researchers have discovered a new way to detect per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in water. This marks an important step forward in creating testing devices that are simpler, more cost-effective, faster an.....»»
Mighty radio bursts linked to massive galaxies: New clues about how magnetars form
Since their discovery in 2007, fast radio bursts—extremely energetic pulses of radio-frequency light—have lit up the sky repeatedly, leading astronomers on a chase to uncover their origins. Currently, confirmed fast radio bursts, or FRBs, number.....»»
Food security in Africa: Managing water will be vital in a rapidly growing region
Sub-Saharan Africa's population is growing at 2.7% per year and is expected to reach two billion by the year 2050. The region's urban population is growing even faster: it was at 533 million in 2023, a 3.85% increase from 2022......»»
New research reveals how stormy conditions affect albatrosses" ability to feed
Albatrosses are exceptionally mobile and use the wind to travel hundreds of thousands of miles to feed on squid, fish, or other animals found near the water surface in the open ocean. In fact, some larger species of albatrosses are so reliant on the.....»»
Tracking biodiversity: Researchers outline strengths and challenges in new monitoring framework
As the UN COP16 on biodiversity meets in Calì, Colombia, experts from McGill University are on-site, providing important input into the global conversation. These experts have been instrumental in shaping the global biodiversity monitoring framework.....»»
Water overuse in Brazil"s MATOPIBA region could mean failure to meet up to 40% of local demand for crop irrigation
Considered one of the fastest-growing agricultural frontiers in Brazil, and the area with the highest greenhouse gas emissions in the Cerrado, Brazil's savanna-type biome, the region known as MATOPIBA, risks facing water shortages in the years ahead......»»
Scientists find key to engineering water-responsive biopolymers
Scientists at the Advanced Science Research Center at the CUNY Graduate Center (CUNY ASRC) have developed a novel approach to better understand and predict the behaviors of water-responsive materials—solid matter that can change shape by absorbing.....»»
Flow of the future: AI models tackle complex particle drag coefficients
Accurately modeling particle movement through fluids is crucial in fields ranging from chemical engineering to aerospace. The drag coefficient, which influences how particles settle and move in fluid environments, is a core factor in these calculatio.....»»
Sustainable hydrophobic cellulose shows potential for replacing petroleum-related products
A recent study has aimed to create hydrophobic paper by exploiting the mechanical properties and water resistance of cellulose nanofibers, and so produce a sustainable, high-performance material suitable for packaging and biomedical devices. This inv.....»»
Earth underwent a massive, rapid melting period after the last global ice age, new study suggests
At the end of the last global ice age, the deep-frozen Earth reached a built-in limit of climate change and thawed into a slushy planet. Results from a Virginia Tech-led study provide the first direct geochemical evidence of the slushy planet—other.....»»
The best games on Xbox Game Pass right now (November 2024)
From RPGs to shooters to indie hits, the list of the best games on Xbox Game Pass is massive and keeps growing. Here are the titles you should dive into first......»»
iOS 18 could soon show you how long it will take for your iPhone to charge
iOS 18 adds a lot of new features to the iPhone, and there are even more to come with future updates like iOS 18.2. In addition to Genmoji, Image Playgrounds and a new Mail app, Apple has also been working on something else: the ability to show users.....»»
Will the lights go out on Cuba"s communist leaders? With fewer options to prop up economy, their future looks dimmer
Cuba's communist leaders are in the midst of crisis—and not for the first time......»»
Defibrillation devices can still save lives using 1,000 times less electricity, optimized model finds
In a paper published in Chaos, researchers from Sergio Arboleda University in Bogotá, Colombia, and the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta used an electrophysiological computer model of the heart's electrical circuits to examine the effect o.....»»