Environment on ZME Science

Life had a big rebound following marine mass extinction event

In 1980, Luis Alvarez and his team shocked the whole world when they announced their theory that an asteroid impact that took place 65 millions years ago was responsible for the extinction of the dinosaurs and much of that time’s living organisms. Despite the fact that they delivered substantial evidence, there are still some minor […]

Immortality - just 20 years away

Raymond Kurzweil is one of the most prolific inventors and futurists; he’s the one who developed text to speech synthesis and a synthesizer that develops and even creates poetry, among others. He has also predicted new technologies that would appear and some directions that our society would take, and he got it right. Now, the […]

Huge dust storm chokes Sydney

A significant part of Australia’s east coast, including country’s biggest city, Sydney, has been engulfed by a shroud of red dust blown mostly from the desert outback. Visibility was so bad that most if not all flights were delayed, and of course, there were the usual folks who started screaming that this is the […]

Huge sustainable plan in the Incheon Free Economic Zone will unite North and South Korea via world's longest bridge

The leading architectural firm Foster + Partners has recently won an international competition in which companies where supposed to come up with schemes towards developing the Incheon Free Economic Zone. Foster’s plan, the winning plan, is incredibly bold, encompassing the islands of KangHwa and OnJin-gun, to the north west of Seoul, basically connecting the the […]

Devil's Claw brings new hope for arthritis

Deep in one of the warmest places on the planet, in the Kalahari desert, there lies the ‘Devil’s Claw’, a plant that may hold the key to effective treatment to arthritis, tendonitis and numerous related illnesses that affect millions and millions each year. Despite being a ‘desert plant’ the Devil’s Claw doesn’t thrive in extreme […]

The deadliest creature in the world

So, microorganisms and other humans aside, what do you think is the deadliest creature in animal kingdom? A snake, perhaps a lion or bear, a scorpion perhaps? Neah, not even close. The deadliest creature in the world is actually called a sea wasp. Specialists use the term ‘deadliest’ when they refer to venomous creatures, that […]

Invisibility cloak to give buildings protection against earthquakes

The surface waves. Not the Love wave you want to be in.Researchers from the University of Liverpool conducted a study that shows it is possible to create what they have called an ‘invisibility cloak’ that would in fact protect buildings from earthquakes. This would come just in time, as a major earthquake threat seems more […]

How global warming made Scotland's sheep shrink

Each of us can easily feel the effects of global warming especially now when we practically melt in our homes. However, it seems that there are some more… peculiar effects. Scientists have discovered that a wild species of sheep from the island of St. Kilda has begun to reduce their size as a result of […]

Half of ALL americans use vibrators

Ladies and gents (really, stay away from this one kids; trust me, save whatever is left of your innocence), I’ve got to admit this: I thought I forgot how to read. I read the study about 7-8 times, believing it was about half of all women. No, fail. It includes men. After the awe faded […]

Haiti needs water

Haiti is the poorest country in the Western hemisphere, with it’s dazzling 70% unemployment rate and more than 3 quarters of the people living in extreme poverty. To top it off, water, what you need the most for survival, is polluted. The World Bank pretty much summed it up in a few words: Haiti has […]

Tiny frozen microbe could shine light on extraterrestrial life

A new bacteria that has been named Herminiimonas glaciei, found in the heart of Greenland, trapped under more than 3 km beneath the ice, probably holds significant clues regarding what life forms may exist on other planets, according to Dr Jennifer Loveland-Curtze and a team of scientists from Pennsylvania State University. They published this finding […]

Komodo dragons are venomous

The Komodo dragon is definitely one of the most impressive and dangerous creatures to roam the Earth. Reaching 3 metres and more than 70 kilos and delivering one of the most fatal bites in the reptilian world, it’s no wonder that it inspired so many legends and fears. However, it does not all end here: […]

Volcano eruption could have caused global extinction

A previously unknown volcanic eruption was uncovered by scientists at the University of Leeds. It’s believed that this massive eruption took place 260 million years ago in South West China and released half a million cubic kilometers of lava covering a land mass the size of Great Britain and destroying marine life everywhere throughout the […]

Top 10 new animals of 2008

Every year, the International Institute for Species Exploration at Arizona State University and an international committee of taxonomists announce the top 10 new species described in the past year, and this year was a good one. We have among others the bacteria that lives in hairspray, the oldest known vertebrate (fossilized), an insect 56 cm […]

In Madrid and Barcelona cocaine is in the air

It’s quite impossible not to be aware of the fact that someone is smoking marijuana somewhere around you because of its particular smell. However, who would have suspected that the air people breathe in a certain area of a city could in fact hide traces of 5 powerful drugs in it? This is what researchers […]

World's first genome transplant - a step forward towards creating synthetic life forms

Once the first transplant was conducted the entire history stated to change and since then science has broken a lot of barriers. Now scientists are preparing to create synthetic life forms (don’t think about badass creatures half robots half reptiles, it’s all about bacteria) in order to stop our dependence on fuels (so in a […]

5 pandemics that plagued mankind before COVID-19

In late 2019, weird reports of a virus started emerging from a city most people have never even heard of (Wuhan). It didn’t cause a wave at first. Most people were just going about their lives, blissfully unaware of what was about to happen: a pandemic that would take the whole world by storm, causing […]

Marine researchers back with news from underwater volcanic eruption

The researchers who have just returned from the underwater volcano eruption report that the volcano is still active and it has grown considerably in size in these past three years. It supports a unique ecosystem thrives despite the constant eruptions. “This research allows us, for the first time, to study undersea volcanoes in detail and […]

Researchers find out why swine flu is harder on some than others

Despite the fact that some researchers claim the swine flu is already declining, we are still on the verge of a pandemic that threatens to spiral out of control if we don’t take action. However, the major problem was to understand the virus, because there are still many things we have yet to find out […]

Fossil magnetism proves mass extinction theory

The mass extinction theory is… a theory, because there are still some blanks left in to fill by scientists; of course, there are those who try to fight it and find other theories and those that try to back it up and fill in the missing pieces of the puzzle. Now, the latter camp recorded […]

How house ants pick their dream home

Seeing all the available houses in the neighborhood and then choosing is not necessarily the best option, at least if you’re an ant. These house-hunting rock ants manage to make a decision together even without going through the options they have. In this recent study conducted by Dr Elva Robinson and colleagues from the Bristol […]

Earth Day 2009 - don't let it be just another day!

In case you didn’t know, today is Earth Day and this year we are celebrating it for the 39th time. If you gladly supported Earth Hour this is a great new opportunity to show that you do care about the environment and that you believe in a sustainable future ( see here how). If you […]

Cleaning products give birth to deadly antibiotics-resistant bugs

Disinfectants, all kinds of shampoos, fabric softeners…we love them , we use them and then they go down the drain. Nothing bad about cleanliness, isn’t it? Unfortunately, our foamy friends can prove to be a timebomb as they can create invisible monsters: bugs that are not affected by antibiotics. Researchers from England have discovered this […]

Earth Hour 2009

Earth Hour is an initiative started by the WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature/World Wildlife Fund) that asks people everywhere in the world to turn off the light and other unnecessary household appliances for one hour, to raise awareness towards the need to tackle global warming and other environmental problems. The “grandfather” was an idea […]

The day our Sun brought darkness

About 20 years ago, on March 13, 1989, the whole province of Quebec, Canada, suffered a blackout that by now has reached legendary proportions among astronomers and electrical engineers. Still, what made it reach this status wasn’t its proportions, but the fact that it was caused by the sun, or a solar storm to be […]

Is the Dead Sea going to die?

Whenever we hear something about the Dead Sea, we immediately think about the deepest point on Earth and, of course, about salt…a whole lot of salt. However, all these may soon become part of the history as the sea is shrinking at an alarming level and according to researchers from the University of Technology in […]

Malaria to be defeated by starving parasite to death

It claims the life of a child every 30 seconds and about 40% of the entire world population is at risk because of it. About 500 million people become very ill with malaria every year and about 2 million of them don’t make it. The situation seems really grim especially as in some parts of […]

Satellites Confirm Half-Century of West Antarctic Warming

Despite whatever you may hear, it’s obvious that we still don’t have a clear understanding of the impact we’re having on the planet we call home; there are studies that show we’re totally destroying it, and there are studies that we’re an ant on a mountain, so it’s really hard to say for sure how […]

Early American culture defeated by natural calamities

In almost every belief there’s an apocalypse, hanging above the believers’ head like the sword of Damocles. But as far as we know so far, such an apocalypse is yet to come; this is where Mike Moseley, a distinguished professor of anthropology at the University of Florida steps in, claiming that actually, the earliest American […]

Martin Luther King day

Today, on the 3rd Monday of January, ZME Science pays homage to the man that was Martin Luther King, being grateful for all his lifetime achievements. Also, it’s not hard at all to observe how much today’s world would need a man of his calibre. He was an African American. He was an activist, and […]

Dr. Russell Blaylock about "The Rockefellers & Social engineering"

The term “social engineering” is often misunderstood; what it refers to is the act of manipulating people (or masses of people) into doing whatever it is that you want. The term is not quite similar to a people trick or a people fraud, and it’s often about making people divulge information. Russell Blaylock, M.D is […]

The science of 2008

Probably 2008 will remain in history as the year of the economic crisis, or perhaps of the LHC, or perhaps the year we landed on Mars… either way, it was a year filled with many problems, and many achievements; the achievements were mostly scientific, while the problems could find their solution… in the same field. […]

Over 1000 new species discovered near Mekong in the past year

According to a report launched by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), more than a thousand species were discovered just in the last decade in that particular area. A rat thought extinct for 11 million years and a hot pink, dragon millipede that produces cyanide are just two of the amazing species found there. If you’re […]

Obama's first green move

It’s obvious that one of the biggest challenges the president elect has to face is rejuvenating the infrastructure; let’s talk about traffic jams for a bit. Everybody hates them, we all want to avoid them, but they exist. They are an unintended consequence of personal driving. Some transportation planners often speak about the fact that […]

African cities and their ecological impact

No other continent in the world (that’s not counting Antarctica) is studied by less ecologists than Africa; that is actually paradoxal, because cities are growing here faster than any other continent on Earth. Just less than a century ago, 5% of people lived in urban areas, while now, almost 40% call a city their home. […]

Having a lousy boss may be lethal

We all know how unpleasant it is to have an incapable, grumpy and never-satisfied boss. It’s annoying, nerve-wrecking and even …lethal. According to some new research having an awful boss may have more implications than initially thought. If your boss has no consideration for your ideas, is not communicative enough or is simply incapable of […]

In sickness and in ... green

The city administration of Balikpapan (in East Kalimantan) has issued a new rule which will definitely please those interested in our planet’s “health”. Each couple has to plant a tree before they can marry. Basically, if don’t plant a tree, you don’t get the marriage license. “We have made it mandatory for those wanting to […]

76 recipients of the Nobel Prize endorse Obama

This year’s election is among the most significant in America’s history. The people need a visionary leader that could get the nation out of the way towards the dark ages, and that can make this country play its crucial role in the world. Under the Bush administration, scientific issues have been politicized in such a […]

Rare white lions go into the wild

In what is the culmination of years and years of work in the White Lion Project, a pride of white lions has been released in the Sanbona Wildlife Reserve in South Africa’s Western Cape Province. The project is sponsored by Shamwari Dubai World Africa Conservation team. Here is a small video of these African white […]

First sparks of life could have appeared from volcanoes

Jeffrey Bada is a researcher at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. He and his colleagues reanalyzed the classic experiment concerning the origins of life conducted by Stanley Miller who along with Harold Urey realized what we know today as the Miller-Urey experiment. This experiment showed that organic compounds can be created with no relative difficulty from […]

Pushing Species To The Brink

We don’t usually want to face it, but the fact is that mankind is pushing virtually ever other species to the very brink of their existance, in our quest for resources of every kind. Just a few days aco, IUCN published a study which concluded that thirty-five percent of the world’s birds, 52 percent of […]

First firm prediction of an incoming space rock confirmed

A very small asteroid exploded over the continent of Africa this week, confirming the prediction of astronomers. Despite the fact that nobody has seen and photographed the asteroid due to the fact that it entered in a very remote area, it was detected with an infrasound array in Kenya; it exploded without striking the Earth. […]

Feeling amuck makes people see inexistant patterns

It’s natural that when you are stressed out, you tend to search for an explanation for your current situation and to search for answers; too many people have felt this and this is a global issue even without the economy crisis that struck us. But in such times when you feel that your finances are […]

Alternative energy could be the key to the economic crisis

With the US economy tanking, natural disasters caused by climate change, several wars being fought in the world and with Italy announcing they will go back to nuclear power, it seems that nobody is looking deeper into the source of these problems and the solution that solving this problem brings. Climate change causes natural disasters, […]

Rhode Island goes for offshore energy

In the ever developing struggle for alternative energy, Rhode Island made a significant step towards achieving their goal of fifteen percent offshore energy when they awarded Deepwater Wind the right to build a wind farm that will cost more than 1 billion dollars. This will also give the state more green jobs, as well as […]

Fish that communicate by getting red

Most fish can’t even recognize the color red – let alone use it for some precise purpose. However, the exception here are some deep sea fish, yet Enneapterygius pusillus found a really interesting way of communicating. It literally glows in a deep red color, signaling different forms of intent. According to a study conducted in […]

World could head for a global pandemic caused by antibiotic resistance

Antibiotics are agents that act against microorganisms, such as bacteria, fungi or protozoa. It’s obvious that since the development of antibiotics, the world has changed significantly. Basically, in developed countries people take pills for anything, which could have a damaging long term effect, creating newer types of damaging microorganisms, which are more resistant to antibiotics. […]

'Green Gasoline' from sugar

This month, two independent teams have announced that they have succesfully converted sugar-potentially derived waste from agriculture and non-food plants into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and other chemical substances of high importance. Randy Cortright, a chemical engineer at Virent Energy Systems of Madison, Wisc. announced that carbohydrates and sugars can be processed into a number […]

'Upside down rainbow' caused by freak weather

It's one of the rarest phenomena you can see.

Incredible waster; half of Earth's food is wasted

It’s hard to believe that about half of the food produced on our planet is wasted, especially when about a quarter of Earth’s inhabitants are suffering from hunger; this, my friends is the wonderful world we live in. Not a world without resources, but a world in which we do not know how to use […]

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