Earth | Page 1135 | Science Codex

Radical overhaul of farming could be 'game-changer' for global food security

STOCKHOLM (22 August 2011)—According to the authors of new research released today at the World Water Week in Stockholm, a radical transformation in the way farming and natural systems interact could simultaneously boost food production and protect the environment—two goals that often have been at odds. The authors warn, however, that the world must act quickly if the goal is to save the Earth's main breadbasket areas—where resources are so depleted the situation threatens to decimate global supplies of fresh water and cripple agricultural systems worldwide.

Enzyme's structure reveals basis for head, sex organ deformities

Scientists in Texas, Wisconsin and the Czech Republic also reported the structure of two enzyme mutations that result in congenital defects.

Growth of cities endangers global environment

The explosive growth of cities worldwide over the next two decades poses significant risks to people and the global environment, according to a meta-analysis published Aug. 18 in PLoS One.

Insulation from public pressure leads to more accurate suicide reporting by death investigators

Medical examiners and appointed coroners are less likely to underreport suicides than are elected coroners, that's according to a new study from Temple University.

The grass is always greener

By combining data from 17 of the largest and longest-running biodiversity experiments, scientists from universities across North America and Europe have found that previous studies have underestimated the importance of biodiversity for maintaining multiple ecosystem services across many years and places.

Is oil pricing itself out of the market?

University of Alberta researcher Andrew Leach likes the way Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal thinks.

Deadly medication?

The corpus delicti is a plain flacon from among the possessions of Pharaoh Hatshepsut, who lived around 1450 B.C., which is on exhibit in the permanent collection of the Egyptian Museum of the University of Bonn. For three and a half millennia, the vessel may have held a deadly secret. This is what the Head of the collection, Michael Hoeveler-Moeller and Dr. Helmut Wiedenfeld from the university's Pharmacology Institute just discovered.

Smoke-free policies could save landlords up to $18 million a year in cleaning costs

But by implementing complete smoke-free rules throughout their properties, owners of California multi-unit rental buildings could save up to $18 million a year statewide on the cost of cleaning apartments vacated by tenants who smoke. These policies can also protect their other tenants from the secondhand smoke that seeps between units.

Emergency workers will respond

Worries that first responders will shirk duties in a disaster are overblown, but they do need assistance with family matters, University of Delaware study shows.

Bacteria from dog feces prevalent in outdoor air of urban areas

City people may make fun of the country but they do it while breathing in dog poop.

Bacteria from fecal material -- in particular, dog fecal material -- may constitute the dominant source of airborne bacteria in Cleveland's and Detroit's wintertime air, says a new University of Colorado Boulder study.

The CU-Boulder study showed that of the four Midwestern cities in the experiment, two cities had significant quantities of fecal bacteria in the atmosphere -- with dog feces being the most likely source.

Long-term, intimate partnerships can promote unhealthy habits

New research uncovers how intimate partners believe they directly and indirectly contribute to one another's unhealthy habits.

Fudging in greenhouse gas stats - sketchy emission reports revealed

Fluorinated hydrocarbons are potent greenhouse gases, emission of which must be reduced under the Kyoto Protocol. If you rely on the official reports of the participating countries, the output of trifluoromethane (HFC-23) in Western Europe is indeed significantly decreasing. However, pollutant measurements carried out by Empa now reveal that several countries under-report their emissions. For instance, Italy emits 10 to 20 times more HFC-23 than it officially reports.

Not too late: The polar ice caps can recover from climate-induced warming

A growing body of recent research indicates that there is no temperature 'tipping point' beyond which polar sea ice cannot recover if temperatures come back down. The cycle has happened too many times in the past for a permanent thaw to be convincing.

New University of Washington research indicates that even if Earth warmed enough to melt all polar sea ice, the ice could recover if the planet cooled again.

Penn Physicists Disrupt The ‘Coffee Ring Effect’

A team of University of Pennsylvania physicists has shown how to disrupt the "coffee ring effect" -- the ring-shaped stain of particles leftover after coffee drops evaporate -- by changing the particle shape. The discovery provides new tools for engineers to deposit uniform coatings.

The research was conducted by professor Arjun Yodh, director of the Laboratory for Research on the Structure of Matter; doctoral candidates Peter Yunker and Matthew Lohr; and postdoctoral fellow Tim Still, all of the department of Physics and Astronomy in Penn’s School of Arts and Sciences.

Greenhouse Gases: The Measurement Challenge

The continuing increase in the level of carbon dioxide and other "greenhouse gases" in the Earth's atmosphere has been identified as a cause for serious concern because it may radically accelerate changes in the Earth's climate. Developing an effective strategy for managing the planet's greenhouse gases is complicated by the many and varied sources of such gases, some natural, some man-made, as well as the mechanisms that capture and "sequester" the gases.