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A wonder pill that prolongs life and cuts the risks of developing deadly diseases. Scientists have been looking for such a drug for a long time. Research in this direction shows that enhancing the expression of a certain gene called SIRT1 (sirtuin 1) may fare good results in this respect. Recently, researchers at the National Institute […]
During the harvest last year, many farmers from Jordan and Mozambique reported that their plants looked nothing like what they’ve been harvesting for decades, instead turning into something like this: Scientists first discovered that this fungus was wreaking havoc in Southeast Asia in the early 1990s. Since then, the pathogen, known as the Tropical Race 4 […]
Hydraulic fracking has grown to unimaginable hights in the past few years, growing by some 20% a year, and reaching a total market cap of $37 billion today. Recent tumbling prices for natural-gas have slightly detered exploration, but North America at least, which accounted for 87 percent of the fracking market last year, shows no […]
The low quality of the Chinese air is more than simply a nuisance – China has by far the worst air quality out of all the industrialized countries, and it’s estimated that 16 of the world’s 20 most polluted cities are in China. Needless to say this significantly raises mortality and causes a myriad of […]
In attempt to mitigate the adverse effects of global warming, one of the key measures considered by policy makers is the introduction of a carbon regulation in hopes that alternative, cleaner energy sources may be supported. In the event of a hypothetical carbon tax, households in the lowest income group would pay as a percent of […]
You may not find many interesting things to see when glaring into a chicken’s eye, but after closely studying its retina researchers at Washington University have come across a most fascinating discovery. It seems chicken eyes bear a never before seen state of matter in biology, an arrangement of particles that is both ordered and […]
I love Bill Nye, and I think the world needs more people like him. I don’t mindlessly follow him, I don’t always agree with what he does, but ultimately, his reasoning and actions speak very clearly to me. You can watch the video below and I highly recommend watching it to the very end, especially […]
San Francisco, for the nice and laid back city that it is, has many problems – and I was pretty surprised to hear that public urination is one of them. Now, they’ve come up with a solution that could not only solve this problem, but also green up the city. PPlanter is a smart and […]
Sometimes it’s best to make use of what’s already available and “designed”. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel when nature has been gracious enough to offer the fruits of billions of years worth of evolution – to those who have the ears and reason to discover, of course. For instance, a team of researchers […]
Researchers have developed a three dimensional atlas which shows the concentrations of iron dissolved in the world’s oceans. This monumental achievement can be very valuable for scientists, but also for policy-makers. Why is mapping iron in the oceans such a big deal ? Well for starters, iron plays a crucial role in the oceanic carbon […]
If you’ve ever had a nice fuzzy feeling whenever you heard the voice of a loved one, then, you’re not alone. If somebody’s ever told you that ‘we need to talk’ and out of their tone you understood that something’s bad, then again, you’re not alone. A new study has shown that dogs have an […]
What nature seems to perform effortlessly with photosynthesis has proven to be an immense hurdle for scientists trying to mimic it with so called artificial leafs. In recent years, important breakthroughs have been made with this scope in mind, yet the artificial leaf is so inefficient at the moment that it’s absolutely not worth pursuing […]
A report released to the public by the USDA Inspector General states that numerous beef samples were found to contain penicillin, the antibiotics florfenicol, sulfamethazine and sulfadimethoxine, the antiparasite drug ivermectin, the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug flunixin and heavy metals. Some of the meat entered the human food supply, and as we all know what your food ate you […]
Bees are one of the most intelligent insects, and their resourcefulness is well recognized. Despite bee populations as a whole are facing die-offs all around the world, most likely due to pesticides, a number of bee species show amazing adaptability. For instance, in Canadian urban environments biologists and animal behaviorists have surprised many hives which […]
Some 252 million years ago, 96 percent of marine species and 70 percent of life on land became extinct following a yet unconfirmed series of cataclysmic events. Around this time, billions and billions of organisms were killed and life on Earth faced its most dire moments. This is known as the end-Permian extinction, and many theories […]
Since the turn of the industrial revolution, round the 1750’s, the share of methane gas in the atmosphere has nearly doubled. Methane molecules are roughly 26 times more potent than carbon dioxide in trapping heat, and thus they’re one of the most dangerous types of emissions. Burning methane, however, is a whole lot better (actually […]
We could exploit energy from deep down in the earth, as a report from a geothermal borehole suggests. The project developed under the name of Icelandic Deep Drilling Project (also known as IDDP), and the shafts have been drilled to almost five kilometers deep, with the purpose of harnessing the heat in the volcanic bedrock […]
A new study published in Environmental Research Letters ranks the the top seven contributing countries to global warming. Together, these nations account for more than 60 percent of pre-2005 global warming. Before we go on to pointing fingers, it’s important to note that the study incorporates various metrics. This way you can see how each country dumps […]
For some, it might seem like recycling popped out of the blue in the 1970’s, once with introduction of the Earth Day concept or the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency. That’s only when awareness finally grew and it became a popular subject, though. Recycling under one form of the other can be traced back to ancient times, […]
The new year started with a glim of hope for environmentalists and animal rights activists all over the world, after China sent a strong message when it destroyed six tonnes of seized ivory. While the action may be righteous, the balance is still unfavorably tilted against endangered species. A new report published by the South […]
It’s always depressing when we hear stories of dogs attacking people, more so when injuries lead to death. As always after such an unfortunate, yet statistically isolated, event there’s always a massive group of people bantering and calling for “something to be done.” In some countries, public pressure can rule death sentences for thousands of […]
One of the biggest arguments against renewable energy deployment on the truly massive scale is their unreliability. Justly so, wind doesn’t always blow at desired velocities and the sun fluctuates in sunshine throughout the day. With this in mind, if you don’t have a back-up storage medium, intermittent renewables will always be an alternative – […]
What evolutionary traits helped humans become the dominant species on Earth? Our dexterous limbs and complex nervous system certainly played a major role, allowing human to manipulated the world and handle tools. Physicians are very interested in studying motor neural circuits to make better therapies when things go wrong, and to attain a comprehensive understanding […]
Researchers at University of California, Berkeley toyed around with novel materials and found a way to make them move and twist in response to light. A first application would be smart curtains that simply open or close according to how much light is in the room – no remote, no batteries, no electricity. It uses […]
While happiness and meaningfulness often overlap, the two are distinct states of being. A Stanford project looked into the lives of various people inline between the two and found some key differences based on how people choose spend their time and what experiences they cultivate. The findings may surprise some of you, while others will choose […]
One of the most beautiful cities in Europe, Hamburg has embarked on an ambitious plan that aims to promote cycling and walking as the main means of transportation throughout the huge hub. The local administration claims that within 15-20 years the city would have completed its green network that virtually connects any part of the […]
The effects of urban pollution in China are started to get out of hand, and by now, it’s pretty safe to say that they are dealing with a major pollution crisis – the smog in Beijing particularly is so severe you can easily see it from outer space. Now, a new study has concluded that […]
This week a big part of North America was paralyzed after powerful winds and freezing gusts swept the continent in the aftermath of the polar vortex. Well, that doesn’t mean you can’t have some fun. Apparently, throughout the Midwest people have tried to recreate a neat trick where your boil water and then quickly throw […]
Whenever you buy an electronic, that ‘Made in [country]‘ label only shows where it was maufactured or put together – there’s no way of knowing where the materials for it came from; usually, they come from troubled countries, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo. But today Intel CEO Brian Krzanich promised at the Consumer […]
When you think about mongooses, cruel, despotic females probably don’t come to mind – but according to a new study, that’s exactly the case. To ensure groups remain ‘productive’, some social animals ‘police’ selfish reproduction by subordinate animals by killing any offspring they produce. In order to adapt to this behavior, some mammals may have […]
Sure to raise a slew of controversy and debate, researchers in Japan are currently investigating the possibility of growing human organs, like kidneys, livers or even hearts, inside pigs. A real life chimeric tale, as if spawned from the Island of Dr. Moreau. The challenges are numerous though, both technical (we’re talking about growing human […]
Japanese authorities have approved the construction of a futuristic farming project in Japan’s Fukushima prefecture, in a part of the land which has been radioactively contaminated. It seems the most unlikely place to try to put a utopian blueprint into practice, since the prefecture was severely contaminated by the meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear […]
A big part of the US and Canada is currently in the grip of a polar vortex – extreme colds, strong winds, cancelled flights and overall chaos in many parts of the continent – it’s big, and it’s nasty. But what is a polar vortex, and what’s causing it? What’s a polar vortex anyway? A […]
It may be one heck of a coincidence, or it could be the fact that renewable energy causes a major drop in emissions – choose your pick. Remarkable new figures from Spain’s grid operator have revealed that greenhouse gas emissions from the country’s energy sector have fallen by approximately 23.1% last year, as wind and […]
Every dog owner can attest that canines are remarkable navigators, like some sort of living, breathing compasses. For some time, researchers have suspected that they can sense Earth’s magnetic field and use it in turn for navigation. A recent study confirmed this as a fact, however the findings came after studying the dogs in one […]
A while ago, we were telling you about the mysterious “fenced” white cocoons – of which researchers knew nothing about. The strange structures were photographed by graduate student Troy Alexander in the Peruvian Amazon. Now, we finally know what built them. Finding such a peculiar and unknown structure quickly went viral on the internet and […]
Although some scientists suggest that coral reefs are headed for certain doom, a new study by University of Florida and Caribbean has shown that even damaged reefs can recover, but immediate and consistent action is required. Saving Coral Reefs Corals are very sensitive to environmental conditions. Even slight warming and increased ocean acidification (two processes […]
The fact that chimpanzees are extremely intelligent should no longer surprise anyone. Most people also know that they have their own social cues and are very sensitive to them, but even so, they usually refuse to conform to what the majority of group members are doing, preferring to stick with their personal preferences. However, now, […]
In 1959, an American geologist built a rock cairn 1.2 meters away from this glacier; he left a note, asking whoever finds it to measure the distance to the glacier. Today, that distance has grown up to 101.5 meters. Researchers who found the incredibly creative and unusual note say it’s highly unexpected for a scientist […]
Chemists at University of Toronto report a new greenhouse gas has been added to the roster – perfluorotributylamine, or PFTBA. Like other compounds in its class, PFTBA is a frighting good heat absorbent but nobody was expecting, however, for it to be 7,100 times more powerful than carbon dioxide in terms of the effects one molecule […]
This is the cat That killed the rat That ate the malt They say it’s easy to train a cat only to do whatever it wants – but cats have come a long way since their wilderness days. Thousands of years before they were immortalized in this lovely English lullaby, cats were doing just fine […]
A song of ice and fire Antarctica is split in two different areas: East Antarctica and West Antarctica – and East Antarctica wears the pants in this relationship: it’s pushing West Antarctica around – literally. Since the Western part is losing weight due to melting and ice loss (billions of tons of ice per year), […]
Fuel cells are absolute wonders of technology – electrochemical systems that directly convert the chemical energy of a fuel (hydrogen and oxygen) into electricity and heat. There’s no combustion, and consequently fuel cells aren’t limited by the same thermodynamic cycles as a typical heat engine. A theoretical efficiency of 70% is thus reached – which […]
NASA scientists have revealed new data on the ozone hole that forms each year above Antarctica and found that the decrease of chlorine in the atmosphere hasn’t had any significant positive impact. Chlorine is the most dangerous substance for the ozone layer. 20 years ago, the Montreal Protocol was installed. The Montreal Protocol on Substances […]
We haven’t actually shied away from praising the marvels of 3D printing. We’ve told you all about printing fossils, medical implants, even skin, bones, bacteria or organs! Of course, these are some eccentric uses since, after all, 3-D printing was designed for manufacturing in mind. It’s easy imagine a not so distant future where most goods […]
They’re small and cute, and while indeed these creatures are completely harmless, make no mistake – these are some tough ‘gummy bears’. Called tardigrades or water bears, these eight-legged invertebrates have evolved to survive in some of the most extreme environments on Earth. Rightfully so, they’ve been classed by scientists as extremophiles – creatures that are […]
Scientists have found huge reserves of freshwater in a totally unexpected area: several kilometers offshore, beneath the oceans. This new discovery has the potential to avert or at least minimize the effects of the almost certain water crisis some areas of the world will be facing in future years. A new study published in Nature […]
Imperial College London accepts heavy criticism from independent reviewers after exposé by animal-rights group. The Imperial College London is one of the most prestigious Universities in the world, but they are currently under severe criticism today from an independent review set up in the wake of allegations of malpractice. As the report claims, the university’s […]
We’ve written extensively about the impending global disaster triggered by the crippling of bee populations worldwide at the hand of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). Just recently, I wrote an article discussing the findings of a new paper that suggests the leading factors that cause CCD are most complex than previously thought – namely, a whole brew […]
Over the past six years, and estimated 10 million beehives have been wiped out as a result of the so-called Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), causing damage worth $2 billion. It’s difficult to put a price tag on billions of bees, though, or the actual damage their collapse is causing. As you may know, bees pollinate […]
