SciTech News Articles Archive Page 13 from Tue 03 May 2011 to Wed 01 Jun 2011

NASA forest map shows carbon storage

Posted Wed, 01 Jun 2011 07:05:00 GMT by Gracie Valena

NASA researechers have mapped the earth's forests as a baseline for carbon research and monitoring efforts, and as a tool for managing global carbon dioxide. The map shows that the tropical forests that store the most carbon are in Latin America.

NASA forest map shows carbon storage

Climate change killed off Viking settlement on Greenland

Posted Tue, 31 May 2011 14:50:00 GMT by Colin Ricketts

It was global cooling rather than global warming, but American climate scientists say new evidence points to the catastrophic effects of climate change on a Viking settlement on Greenland.

Climate change killed off Viking settlement on Greenland

Rotterdam plans electric vehicle fleet

Posted Mon, 30 May 2011 11:11:00 GMT by Julian Jackson

75 EVs to be road tested as part of low-carbon transportation network. The Dutch port city of Rotterdam is pushing forward on its plan to explore the possibilities of Electric Vehicles (EVs) for public transport and utilities. 75 EVs of different types are to operate on the roads in this bustling maritime city.

Rotterdam plans electric vehicle fleet

Intelligent vehicles: It's good for cars to talk too

Posted Fri, 27 May 2011 11:41:00 GMT by John Dean

With car manufacturers continually improving fuel efficiency, attention is turning not just to the technology but also to the way we drive. As part of that growing awareness, US manufacturer Ford has been experimenting with vehicles which save fuel by helping motorists to avoid congestion and the waste of fuel which can be caused by idling engines.

Intelligent vehicles: It's good for cars to talk too

Violent games = violent people

Posted Thu, 26 May 2011 16:24:00 GMT by Gracie Valena

An experiment by researchers from the University of Missouri proves that playing violent video games increases aggression. It takes only common sense and knowing a child who plays violent video games to know that such games increase aggression. So it isn't suprising that according to a recent study ''scientists have known for years that playing violent video games causes players to become more aggressive.''

Violent games = violent people

Country's largest quake means more risk not less of future shocks say scientists

Posted Thu, 26 May 2011 15:09:00 GMT by Colin Ricketts

The devastating off-shore earthquake and acompanying tsunami doesn't signal a perdio of seismic peace for the people of Japan according to new research which, instead, warns of an increased risk of a major shock hitting Tokyo.

Country's largest quake means more risk not less of future shocks say scientists

Rock-breathing bacteria to power microbial batteries?

Posted Mon, 23 May 2011 19:00:00 GMT by Martin Leggett

An off-the-wall alternative energy source - bacterial batteries - is drawing closer thanks to new research published today, on the electricity-generating potential of 'rock-breathing' microbes. A paper out in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences describes in detail the mechanism by which these bizarre bacteria can pass electrical currents when attached to iron particles.

Rock-breathing bacteria to power microbial batteries?

'Greenhouse' Effect Endangers Ocean Life

Posted Thu, 19 May 2011 15:09:01 GMT by Kieran Ball

Scientists discover that the 'greenhouse' effect isn't constrained to the atmosphere. A team of geologists from Newcastle University in the UK have discovered evidence that 'greenhouse oceans' occurred in prehistoric times, resulting in areas of ocean with little or no life due to low levels of oxygen in the water.

'Greenhouse' Effect Endangers Ocean Life

Melting model for Greenland's accelerating ribbons of ice shows 'locked-in' sea level rise

Posted Mon, 16 May 2011 19:02:00 GMT by Martin Leggett

A new study has projected future sea-level rises, just from Greenland's melting ice-sheets, at 3.5 inches over this century. The paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science attempts to produce more complex computer models of recent dramatic ice-shelf losses that have kick-started accelerating Greenland glaciers - something the IPCC admits is poorly understood.

Melting model for Greenland's accelerating ribbons of ice shows 'locked-in' sea level rise

African farmers to benefit from genes resistant to cattle 'sleeping sickness'

Posted Mon, 16 May 2011 19:00:00 GMT by Martin Leggett

An important research project that could ultimately see the defeat of the trypanosome parasite - the scourge of Africa's cattle herds - comes out today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. With millions of African farmers reliant on healthy cattle for food, as milk-producers and for the plowing of fields, the discovery of the specific genes responsible for resistance to the cattle-form of 'sleeping sickness' is being seen as a major breakthrough.

African farmers to benefit from genes resistant to cattle 'sleeping sickness'

Calls for Independent Monitoring of Deep Sea Oil Exploitation

Posted Fri, 13 May 2011 22:33:00 GMT by Mike Campbell

Dr Henry Ruhl of the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton and Professor Monty Priede of the University of Aberdeen, argued for independent monitoring of the deep-sea hydrocarbon industry as a means to gain a better understanding of its potential ecological activity and as a means of providing early warning of problems.

Calls for Independent Monitoring of Deep Sea Oil Exploitation

Hot Jupiters - Flipped or Otherwise

Posted Thu, 12 May 2011 17:12:00 GMT by Mike Campbell

A ''hot Jupiter'' is a planet larger than the Jupiter of our own solar system which occupies an orbit close into its own star - hence ''hot Jupiter''. The conundrum was why should these giants be travelling in the wrong direction?

Hot Jupiters - Flipped or Otherwise

Semiconductor uses solar power to take H2 from water

Posted Wed, 11 May 2011 17:22:00 GMT by Gracie Valena

In what is being touted as artificial photosynthesis, researchers at the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne have devised a technique for coating a cuprous oxide semiconductor so that it can use energy from the sun to take hydrogen from water.

Semiconductor uses solar power to take H2 from water

World's Largest Fleet of Electric Taxis Celebrates One Year of Operation

Posted Mon, 09 May 2011 12:55:01 GMT by Julian Jackson

Chinese city of Shenzhen has success with zero-emission public transport. China is making great strides to reduce its position as the world's number one greenhouse gas emitter. It has the largest fleet of electric taxis in the world, operating in the southern city of Shenzhen, near Hong Kong. Fifty of these five-seat taxis have been taking passengers since April 29th 2010 and have clocked up over 1,730,000 all-electric miles.

World's Largest Fleet of Electric Taxis Celebrates One Year of Operation

Scientists' research sounds warning for our oceans

Posted Wed, 04 May 2011 14:52:00 GMT by John Dean

Scientists in America have unveiled information that suggests oceans can take vast amounts of time to recover from disasters such as mass extinctions. Researchers from the University of Chicago, West Virginia University and The Ohio State University examined fossil records dating from a mass extinction that devastated ocean life 360 million years ago, known as the Hangenberg event.

Scientists' research sounds warning for our oceans

Ancient hominid goes from from nut-cracker to grass-grazer

Posted Tue, 03 May 2011 14:06:01 GMT by Martin Leggett

A remote ancestor of humans, which had long been thought to have jaws and teeth specially adapted for nuts, has now been found to be more of a grass-mower than a nut-chomper. That's the conclusion of carbon isotope analysis of teeth enamel of Paranthropus boisei, published today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Ancient hominid goes from from nut-cracker to grass-grazer

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