Earth News, Earth Science, Energy Technology, Environment News

July 28, 2016

Towards smarter crop plants to feed the world
Champaign IL (SPX) Jul 28, 2016
Plant scientists at Lancaster University, with support from the University of Illinois, have made an important advance in understanding the natural diversity of a key plant enzyme which could help us address the looming threat of global food security. Rubisco is the central enzyme responsible for photosynthesis in plants, it enables them to absorb carbon from the atmosphere, which they depend upon to live and grow. But until now, the extent of natural diversity of Rubisco across plant species was ... read more

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Could the deadly mosquito-borne yellow fever virus cause a Zika-like epidemic in the Americas? Yellow fever virus (YFV), a close relative of Zika virus and transmitted by the same type of mosquito, is the cause of an often-fatal viral hemorrhagic fever and could spread via air travel from end ... more		Exploring one of the largest salt flats in the world A recent research report about one of the largest lithium brine and salt deposits in the world in Chile's Atacama Desert by geoscientists from the University of Massachusetts Amherst is the first to ... more		Distant volcanic eruptions foster saguaro cacti baby booms One hundred and thirty years ago, the volcano Krakatoa erupted in what is now Indonesia, unleashing a cataclysm locally and years of cool temperatures and rain globally. On the far side of the world ... more
				Measure of age in soil nitrogen could help precision agriculture What's good for crops is not always good for the environment. Nitrogen, a key nutrient for plants, can cause problems when it leaches into water supplies. University of Illinois engineers developed ... more		Dirty to drinkable Graphene oxide has been hailed as a veritable wonder material; when incorporated into nanocellulose foam, the lab-created substance is light, strong and flexible, conducting heat and electricity qui ... more

Transition from Operations to Decommissioning by Preparing a Safe, Cost-Effective Shut Down and Waste Management Strategy

New model is first to predict tree growth in earliest stages of tree life Land managers, forestry professionals and conservationists seek to predict how trees will grow so they can better manage existing forests and regrow forests after logging operations. Previous tree g ... more		Ancient temples in the Himalaya reveal signs of past earthquakes Tilted pillars, cracked steps, and sliding stone canopies in a number of 7th-century A.D. temples in northwest India are among the telltale signs that seismologists are using to reconstruct the exte ... more		Collaborative Agreement to Advance Solar Arrays for Satellite Power Systems Diraq progresses to new stage in DARPA drive for practical quantum computers FSU physicists discover new state of matter in electrons, platform to study quantum phenomena		Ancient rice DNA data provides new view of domestication history Rice, or Oryza sativa as its scientifically known, feeds more than a third of the globe. Yet the majority of rice crops that supply 90 percent of the world come from just two domesticated varieties, ... more
				Middle atmosphere in sync with the ocean Water plays a major role for our planet not only in its liquid form at the surface. In the atmosphere too, it considerably affects our lives as well as weather and climate. Clouds and rainfall are o ... more		Water resilience that flows Communities around the world are familiar with the devastation brought on by floods and droughts. Scientists are concerned that, in light of global climate change, these events will only become more ... more

2nd Integrated Air and Missile Defense - Securing the Complex Air Domain: Requirements for Sustainable, Global, and Reliable Solutions to Next Generation Air & Missile Threats - 28-30 September, 2016 | Washington D.C.

The World's Largest Commercial Drone Conference and Expo - Sept 7-9 - Las Vegas

Rainforest greener during 'dry' season Although the Amazon Jungle may appear to be perpetually green, a University of Illinois researcher believes there are actually seasonal differences of photosynthesis, with more occurring during the ... more		Voice control in orangutan gives clues to early human speech An adolescent orangutan called Rocky could provide the key to understanding how speech in humans evolved from the time of the ancestral great apes, according to new research. In an imitation " ... more		Arrival of US aircraft carrier fuels Venezuelan fears of attack Russia offers US nuclear talks in bid to ease tensions US-China tensions weigh on Lisbon's Web Summit		Plasma technology can be tapped to kill biofilms on perishable fruit, foods Seeing fruit "turn bad and going to waste" inspired a team of researchers in China to explore using atmospheric pressure nonequilibrium plasma - already widely used for medical purposes - as a novel ... more
Cod and climate In recent decades, the plight of Atlantic cod off the coast of New England has been front-page news. Since the 1980s in particular, the once-seemingly inexhaustible stocks of Gadus morhua - one of t ... more		Tesla on Autopilot was speeding before fatal crash: probe The Tesla electric car driving in semi-autonomous mode when it crashed and killed its driver was speeding just ahead of impact with a tractor-trailer, a preliminary probe showed Tuesday. ... more		Pollution from commercial jets harms environment: US Greenhouse gases emitted by commercial airplanes contribute to global warming and endanger public health and the environment, US officials concluded Monday, opening the path for regulation of passenger planes. ... more		Can palm oil be sustainable Land used for palm oil production could be nearly doubled without expanding into protected or high-biodiversity forests, according to a new study published in the journal Global Environmental Change ... more

	Scientists unlock 'green' energy from garden grass Garden grass could become a source of cheap and clean renewable energy, scientists have claimed. A team of UK researchers, including experts from Cardiff University's Cardiff Catalysis Institute, ha ... more		Floods, landslides kill at least 58 in Nepal At least 58 people have died in floods and landslides triggered by heavy rains in Nepal, the government said Wednesday. ... more

New Structures Could Keep Astronauts Fit During Long Missions

Aerospace modules completed for Artemis lunar crew mission

MIT researchers propose a new model for legible, modular software

Marine carbon sinking rates confirm importance of polar oceans		Cities face dramatic increase in water treatment spending when watersheds are developed		ISRO to launch weather satellite next month		'Super ants' invading British gardens faster than ever		US, Senegal troops wind up first-ever emergency exercise
Flood, landslides kill 33 after heavy rains in Nepal		Grain drain, Laos' sand mining damaging the Mekong		Libya unity government demands explanation over French troops		World Bank freezes funds for DR Congo dam project		Chinese demolitions at Buddhist institute draw fire

Frank grows into hurricane off Mexico Pacific coast

Hong Kong journalists jailed on mainland: lawyer

Ivory Coast banana growers on the comeback trail

Raging wildfire engulfs California homes, film set

In Chesapeake Bay, clean air and water are a package deal

China to chart Communist Party future amid crackdowns

Scientists find evidence of planetary carbon release valve

African children to suffer as El Nino winds down: NGO

Colombia declares its Zika epidemic over

Nearly 300 dead or missing from China flooding: media

Paleontology: Aftermath of a mass extinction

A recent pause in Antarctic Peninsula warming

Oceanographers grow, sequence genome of ocean microbe important to climate change

Scientists release recommendations for building land in coastal Louisiana

Mines hydrology research provides 'missing link' in water modeling

Historical Records Miss a Fifth of Global Warming

University of Montana research unveils new player in lichen symbiosis

Stanford researchers reveal cost-effective path to drought resiliency

Biologists home in on paleo gut for clues to our evolutionary history

Watering solar cells makes them grow ... in power

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