Global Warming >>

Traditional spice producers and synthetic biologists don't have to compete – there's room for both ...

Scientists have dispelled a long-held theory that the Titanic was unlucky for sailing in a year with an exceptional number of icebergs and say the risk of icebergs is actually higher now. Previously it had been suggested that the seas which sank the famous cruise ship -- which set off on its maiden voyage 102 years ago today (10 April 2014) -- had an exceptional number of icebergs caused by lunar or...

The La Brea Tar Pits are celebrated for saber-toothed cats and mastodons. The site's insect collection is also of great significance. Recent examination of fossil leafcutter bee nest cells exemplifies how fossil insects reveal insights into the habitat and climate at the La Brea Tar Pits toward the last Ice Age. ...

Expanding access to reliable energy offers better route to address global challenges, climate and energy scholars say in new report. "Climate change can't be solved on the backs of the world's poorest people," said a report co-author. "The key to solving for both climate and poverty is helping nations build innovative energy systems that can deliver cheap, clean and reliable power." ...

When digesting ruminants exhale methane. Their contribution to this global greenhouse gas is considerable. So far the assumption had been that camels with similar digestion produce the same amount of the climate-damaging gas. However, researchers have now shown camels release less methane than ruminants. ...

Boris Johnson says biotech is the new banking – and talks about a love for nuclear physics and why robots will pay the congestion charge ...

The California condor was one of the first species to be listed under the Endangered Species Preservation Act in 1966 when the population was reduced to a handful of birds. Through a massive collaborative effort, the condor population has grown to more than 400 birds, more than half of which are now free-flying in the wild. Unfortunately, there is overwhelming evidence that lead poisoning from accidental...

A fraction of the carbon that finds its way into Earth's oceans -- the black soot and charcoal residue of fires -- stays there for thousands for years. A first-of-its-kind analysis shows how some black carbon breaks away and hitches a ride to the ocean floor on passing particles. ...

Although India's main political parties place the battle against corruption at the heart of their manifestos, science also features heavily ...

Detecting drought before it causes more catastrophe: the news could go down like a cool drink of water for regions feeling the heat. To trace the dynamics around agricultural drought, researchers implemented an Event-based Spatial-Temporal Data Model (ESTDM) to detect, track and monitor conditions. The framework organizes data into objects, sequences, processes and events. ...

Future generations will have to pay more for today's carbon emissions than what governments across the world currently understand. The climate models used by policymakers around the world to estimate the economic and social costs of CO2 emissions have to be improved according to experts. ...

Climate feedbacks from decomposition by soil microbes are one of the biggest uncertainties facing climate modelers. A new study shows that these feedbacks may be less dire than previously thought. ...

The recent slowdown in the warming rate of the Northern Hemisphere may be a result of internal variability of the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation -- a natural phenomenon related to sea surface temperatures, according to researchers. ...

Researchers have found new evidence that permafrost thawing is releasing large quantities of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere via plants, which could accelerate warming trends. Permafrost is soil that is frozen year round and is typically located in polar regions. As the world has gotten slightly warmer, that permafrost is thawing and decomposing, which is producing increased amounts of methane....

Climate change is hitting home -- in the pantry, this time. A field study of wheat demonstrates how the nutritional quality of food crops can be diminished when elevated levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide interfere with a plant's ability to process nitrate into proteins. "Several explanations for this decline have been put forward, but this is the first study to demonstrate that elevated carbon dioxide...

Researchers have found that arid areas, among the biggest ecosystems on the planet, take up an unexpectedly large amount of carbon as levels of carbon dioxide increase in the atmosphere. The findings give scientists a better handle on the earth's carbon budget -- how much carbon remains in the atmosphere as CO2, contributing to global warming, and how much gets stored in the land or ocean in other...

The risk of dengue fever beginning to spread in Europe is imminent. According to researchers, this is no longer just an issue for the scientific community but also for politicians and policy makers, who need to be prepared and develop preventive measures. ...

Investment in clean energy has fallen but nevertheless renewables like solar and wind are going global ...

Earth is the only planet whose surface is known to be divided into shifting tectonic plates. An analysis of fragile rock may explain why         ...

Increasing uncertainty in the climate system compels a greater urgency for climate change mitigation, according to new research. Scientists have shown that as uncertainty in the temperature increase expected with a doubling of CO2 from pre-industrial levels rises, so do the economic damages of increased climate change. Greater uncertainty also increases the likelihood of exceeding 'safe' temperature...