Earth News, Earth Science, Energy Technology, Environment News

February 15, 2015

An ocean of plastic
Santa Barbara CA (SPX) Feb 15, 2015
Ocean currents have been carrying floating debris into all five of the world's major oceanic gyres for decades. The rotating currents of these so-called "garbage patches" create vortexes of trash, much of it plastic. However, exactly how much plastic is making its way into the world's oceans and from where it originates has been a mystery - until now. A new study published today in the journal Science, quantifies the input of plastic waste from land into the ocean and offers a roadmap for develop ... read more

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Ebola virus may have been present in West Africa long before 2014 outbreak It is not known what triggered the transmission of Ebola virus from its natural host to humans and the rapid human-to-human spread of the deadly virus throughout Western Africa last year. Howe ... more		Study recommends closing the high seas to fishing SFU biologist Isabelle Cote has co-authored a new study that finds little would be lost by eliminating high seas fishing. The high seas globally should be closed to fishing argues a new study in the ... more		Making teeth tough: Beavers show way to improve our enamel Beavers don't brush their teeth, and they don't drink fluoridated water, but a new Northwestern University study reports beavers do have protection against tooth decay built into the chemical struct ... more
				Lab-in-a-box takes aim at doctors' computer activity San Diego CA (SPX) Feb 15, 2015 They call it "the Lab-in-a-Box." According to Nadir Weibel, a research scientist in the Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) department at the University of Califo ... more		Earliest-known arboreal and subterranean ancestral mammals discovered The fossils of two interrelated ancestral mammals, newly discovered in China, suggest that the wide-ranging ecological diversity of modern mammals had a precedent more than 160 million years ago. ... more

Nuclear Decommissioning Conference Europe May 2015

Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison & Memory Foam Mattress Review

Make like a squid and transform The principle of adaptation - the gradual modification of a species' structures and features - is one of the pillars of evolution. While there exists ample evidence to support the slow, ongoing pr ... more		New techniques reveal how microbes shape the health and biodiversity of oceans Microbes in the ocean take up massive amounts of carbon dioxide, contributing to the global carbon cycle and affecting climate change. These microbes are abundant, diverse and critical to the health ... more		New standards needed to manage marine carbon removal efforts Microbes join forces to quickly clean up uranium pollution Record support in Norway for fossil fuel drilling: study		Warming pushes Western US toward driest period in 1,000 years During the second half of the 21st century, the U.S. Southwest and Great Plains will face persistent drought worse than anything seen in times ancient or modern, with the drying conditions "driven p ... more
				African nations to invest in meteorology to 'save lives' African countries agreed Saturday to strengthen their meteorological services to reduce the impact of extreme weather events at a meeting of ministers in Cape Verde. ... more		S. Korea cracks down on foreign-focused plastic surgery clinics South Korea on Friday announced a crackdown on illegal brokers and unregistered clinics in a bid to protect medical tourists, especially those drawn by the country's booming plastic surgery industry. ... more

Nearly 200 whales stranded along New Zealand coast At last count, at least 198 pilot whales had become stranded on the beaches of New Zealand's South Island. Officials with New Zealand's Department of Conservation confirmed Friday that at least 24 of those whales had perished. Conservation officials and local volunteers are racing to save the remaining whales. ... more		UN climate blueprint agreed in Geneva Negotiators in Geneva approved a climate-rescue blueprint on Friday, a symbolic milestone in the fraught UN process that must culminate in a universal pact in December. ... more		Europe 'not ready' for Russian drone attack: EU defence chief Zelensky meets Macron seeking air defence deal for Ukraine: AFP North Korea says Seoul-US sub deal will trigger 'nuclear domino' effect		NASA captures bird's-eye view of two African volcanoes Don't look down. NASA's Landsat 8 satellite has captured impressive color imagery of Africa's Nyamuragira and Nyiragongo volcanoes from a nauseating elevation of 440 miles above Earth's surface. ... more
UN to formally end support for DR Congo operation The United Nations is pulling its support for a Democratic Republic of Congo military operation against rebels after Kinshasa missed a deadline to sack two generals, a UN official said Saturday. ... more		Rare ray of hope in UN climate talks The detente achieved at UN talks that concluded Friday with a framework for a world climate pact is only temporary, achieved by kicking the difficult decisions down the road, parties and observers say. ... more		China official's mandatory 'two children' proposal draws rebuke China should roll back its one-child policy and instead mandate that all couples have two children, a family planning official has said, drawing criticism Friday from a ruling Communist Party newspaper. ... more		Nigerian president calls for US help as Boko Haram invade city Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan appealed for more US help in fighting Boko Haram, as the Islamists struck again on Saturday and called for a boycott of upcoming general elections. ... more

	USDA approves new biotech apple for growth in U.S. They say an apple a day keeps the doctor away, but a new genetically modified variation of the fruit - approved Friday for growth in the United States - also keeps the spoiling away. At least for a while. ... more		Bubonic bottleneck: UNC scientists overturn dogma on the plague For decades, scientists have thought the bacteria that cause the bubonic plague hijack host cells at the site of a fleabite and are then taken to the lymph nodes, where the bacteria multiply and tri ... more

Can America Beat China Back to the Moon?

Why Data Privacy Compliance Matters for the Space Industry

Copernicus Sentinel-6B begins mission to advance ocean science

Curious monkeys share our thirst for knowledge		Reality is distorted in brain's maps		Global rainfall satellites require massive overhaul		NASA Aircraft, Spacecraft Aid Atmospheric River Study		Mud Matters
ORCA Prototype Ready for the Open Ocean		Plant power from above		In Kenya, the end is nigh for northern white rhinos		Swiss tourist dies of swine flu in India as toll mounts		China tiger farms put big cats in the jaws of extinction

Pope asks cardinals to back Vatican reform

Chemical cloud over Spanish town after factory accident

Scientists try to unravel warming's impact on jet stream

Swedish children visit virtual hospital before surgery

Sri Lanka's new leaders seek $4.0 bln IMF bail-out

Dogs recognize facial cues like smiles and scowls

Even crocodiles need to let loose

UN negotiators plot route to climate pact

Canada goes to WTO in China wood pulp row

Monster hurricanes hit northeast in past warm ocean periods

Apes prefer the glass half full

Carbon release from ocean helped end the Ice Age

Long-term changes in dead wood reveal new forest dynamics

Water ice renders short-lived molecule sustainable

What makes the feather soar

Scientists urge more research on climate intervention

Predicting plant responses to drought

Climate intervention techniques not ready for wide-scale deployment

Is climate change fuelling war?

Sandstorm lashes Middle East, halting Suez traffic

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