Rampant wildfires once led to global mass extinction, scientists say. Can it happen again?
A long time ago, the carbon was rock, buried in the earth as securely as a secret. Then an environmental catastrophe of unprecedented scale began. The rocks burned, and the atoms inside them disassembled into carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.....»»
Missing link in species conservation: Pharmacists, chemists could turn tide on plant, animal extinction
As the world faces the loss of a staggering number of species of animals and plants to endangerment and extinction, one University of Michigan scientist has an urgent message: Chemists and pharmacists should be key players in species conservation eff.....»»
Researchers disprove current thinking on how to achieve global collaboration
The world's most pressing issues such as climate change will only be solved through global cooperation. New research by academics at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of S.....»»
Hong Kong team plants seeds to safeguard legacy grains
Far from the soaring skyscrapers synonymous with Hong Kong, scientists and farmers labor in a paddy field on the city's outskirts to revive dormant rice varieties that once sprung from local soil......»»
Abrupt permafrost thaw found to intensify warming effects on soil CO₂ emission
According to a recent study published in Nature Geoscience, scientists have found that soil carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are more sensitive to climate warming in permafrost-collapsed areas than in non-collapsed areas......»»
UK outlaws awful default passwords on connected devices
The law aims to prevent global-scale botnet attacks. Enlarge (credit: Getty Images) If you build a gadget that connects to the Internet and sell it in the United Kingdom, you can no longer make the default password "pass.....»»
Plastic pollution talks move closer to world-first pact
A fourth and penultimate round of UN-led negotiations to solve global plastic pollution wrapped up in Ottawa early on Tuesday with a world-first pact said to be within reach by year's end but without a cap on the production of polymers......»»
Scientists develop strong yet reusable adhesive from smart materials
Scientists from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) have developed a smart, reusable adhesive more than 10 times stronger than a gecko's feet adhesion, pointing the way for development of reusable superglue and grippers capabl.....»»
Climate change reveals intricate dynamics of reproductive barriers in marine species
Monash University scientists have uncovered insights into how rising temperatures influence the reproductive interactions and species boundaries of marine organisms......»»
Whale encounters in Mexico highlight need for global humpback research investment
Australia's East Coast will soon see the arrival of thousands of humpback whales on their northward migration to warmer waters......»»
NASA scientists gear up for solar storms at Mars
In the months ahead, two of NASA's Mars spacecraft will have an unprecedented opportunity to study how solar flares—giant explosions on the sun's surface—could affect robots and future astronauts on the Red Planet......»»
Underwater mass spectrometry achieves 500-fold sensitivity enhancement for dissolved methane detection
A research team led by Prof. Chen Chilai from Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of Chinese Academy of Sciences, amplified the detection sensitivity of dissolved methane in water by over 500 times, surpassing 500-fold enhancement, thus reaching bas.....»»
Scientists construct sophisticated synthetic system using self-replicating nanostructures
A research team led by the late Professor Liang Haojun from the Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale of University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) has developed a facile enthalpy-mediated strategy to precisely c.....»»
Scientists" research on RNA editing illuminates possible lifesaving treatments for genetic diseases
A team at Montana State University published research this month that shows how RNA, the close chemical cousin to DNA, can be edited using CRISPRs. The work reveals a new process in human cells that has potential for treating a wide variety of geneti.....»»
Researchers achieve electrosynthesis via superwetting organic-solid-water interfaces
Chinese scientists have recently achieved the direct synthesis of high-purity benzaldehyde chemicals from the selective electrooxidation of benzyl alcohol. The organic-solid-water (OSW) three-phase reaction system has shown particular advantages in r.....»»
Study provides new global accounting of Earth"s rivers
A study led by NASA researchers provides new estimates of how much water courses through Earth's rivers, the rates at which it's flowing into the ocean, and how much both of those figures have fluctuated over time—crucial information for understand.....»»
Bacteria "nanowires" could help develop green electronics
Engineered protein filaments originally produced by bacteria have been modified by scientists to conduct electricity. In a study published recently in the journal Small, researchers revealed that protein nanowires—which were modified by adding a si.....»»
Fruit fly helps unlock clues about how organs, tissue and cancer grow
The fruit fly, Drosophila, has been used by scientists for more than 100 years to unravel key features of life on Earth, such as how animals respond to the sun and how the bodies of animals are patterned from head to tail......»»
Scientists discover a new type of porous material that can store greenhouse gases
A new type of porous material that can store carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases has been developed by a team of scientists jointly led by Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland......»»
Reforestation study finds only a few tree species can survive a century of rapid climate change
Europe's forests have already been severely affected by climate change. Thousands of hectares of trees have already died due to drought and bark beetles. Scientists from the University of Vienna and the Technical University of Munich TUM have now inv.....»»
T. rex not as smart as previously claimed, scientists find
Dinosaurs were as smart as reptiles but not as intelligent as monkeys, as former research suggests. An international team of paleontologists, behavioral scientists and neurologists have re-examined brain size and structure in dinosaurs and concluded.....»»