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  Tokyo (AFP) March 11, 2019 With flowers, silent prayers and tearful tributes, Japan Monday marked the eighth anniversary of a crippling earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster that devastated its northeastern coast and left some 18,500 people dead or missing. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, lawmakers and family members who lost their loved ones in the disaster bowed their heads in prayer at a ceremony in Tokyo at 2:46 pm (0546 GMT) - the exact moment the magnitude-9.0 quake struck. "We can't help but feel sorrow when we thin ... read more |
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Fukushima: current state of the clean-upTokyo (AFP) March 8, 2019 Eight years have passed since a tsunami smashed into the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan, sparking a meltdown and the worst atomic crisis since Chernobyl. ... more  
Plastic in crosshairs at UN environment forumNairobi (AFP) March 11, 2019 Countries from around the world set their sights Monday on a pivotal deal to curb plastic waste, a source of long-term pollution and worsening contamination of the ocean's food chain. ... more  
The mind distracted: technology's battle for our attentionParis (AFP) March 8, 2019 Between distractions, diversions and the flickering allure of a random suggestion, the major computer platforms aim to keep us glued to our screens come what may. Now some think it is time to escape the tyranny of the digital age. ... more 
China says air pollution dropped in 2018Beijing (AFP) March 11, 2019 China's air quality improved substantially last year, the environment ministry said Monday, following a government crackdown on pollution and a weakening economy. ... more |
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| Previous Issues | Mar 11 | Mar 09 | Mar 08 | Mar 07 | Mar 06 |
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Scientists share plans for planetwide biodiversity censusWashington (UPI) Mar 11, 2019 Biologists and data scientists have developed a plan for tracking the numbers and locations of the planet's millions of plant and animal species - a global biodiversity census of sorts. ... more 
Philippines survey shows 'shocking' plastic wasteManila (AFP) March 8, 2019 An audit in the Philippines has shown the country uses a "shocking" amount of single-use plastic, including nearly 60 billion sachets a year, a new report said Friday. ... more 
Floods kill 10 in Mozambique: UNMaputo (AFP) March 11, 2019 At least 10 people have been killed after heavy rains deluged two flood-prone provinces of Mozambique, the UN said Monday, as meteorologists issued a cyclone warning. ... more 
Twelve dead in Brazil floodsSao Paulo (AFP) March 11, 2019 Floods caused by torrential rain in and around Brazil's financial hub Sao Paulo killed 12 people and hurt six others overnight, firefighters said Monday. ... more  
South African man escapes jaws of whalePort Elizabeth, South Africa (AFP) March 11, 2019 Like the Bible's Jonah, Rainer Schimpf has narrowly survived after being caught in the jaws of a whale. ... more |
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 UN environment talks open under shadow of Ethiopian plane crash  
US envoy defends his criticism of Chinese religious persecutionTaipei (AFP) March 11, 2019 US envoy for religious freedom Sam Brownback defended his remark that China is "at war with faith" after the Chinese foreign ministry issued an angry statement condemning the envoy's words as a "malicious attack and slander on China's religious policies". ... more  |
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It's raining on the Greenland ice - in the winterNew York NY (SPX) Mar 11, 2019 Rainy weather is becoming increasingly common over parts of the Greenland ice sheet, triggering sudden melting events that are eating at the ice and priming the surface for more widespread future me ... more 
Atmospheric scientists reveal the effect of sea-ice loss on Arctic warmingBeijing, China (SPX) Mar 11, 2019 Enhanced warming in the Arctic (north of 67N) is found in both recent observational investigations and model simulations with greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions increasing. Global warming is occurrin ... more 
What triggered the 100,000-year Ice Age cycle?Washington DC (SPX) Mar 11, 2019 A slowing of ocean circulation in the waters surrounding Antarctica drastically altered the strength and more than doubled the length of global ice ages following the mid-Pleistocene transition, a n ... more 
Scientists engineer mouse 'smart house' to study behaviorLondon, UK (SPX) Mar 11, 2019 Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute have developed a 'smart house' for mice, that allows them to study the animals' behaviour with minimal disturbance for periods of up to 18 months. Th ... more 
Ecologists find a 'landscape of fearlessness' in a war-torn savannahPrinceton NJ (SPX) Mar 11, 2019 A team of Princeton ecologists took advantage of a rare opportunity to study what happens to an ecosystem when large carnivores are wiped out. "Large carnivores play a critical, and disproport ... more |
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 Tokyo (AFP) March 8, 2019 
Eight years have passed since a tsunami smashed into the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan, sparking a meltdown and the worst atomic crisis since Chernobyl.
Eight years on, the disaster zone remains a huge building site with the immediate danger cleared but an immensely difficult clean-up job still looming.
- What is the state of the clean-up? -
The clean-up operation is progr ... more |
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 Seattle WA (SPX) Mar 08, 2019 
Future technologies based on the principles of quantum mechanics could revolutionize information technology. But to realize the devices of tomorrow, today's physicists must develop precise and reliable platforms to trap and manipulate quantum-mechanical particles.
In a paper published Feb. 25 in the journal Nature, a team of physicists from the University of Washington, the University of H ... more |
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 Quito (AFP) March 8, 2019 
A new breeding ground for endangered hammerhead sharks has been found in the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador's government said.
This natural refuge off the island of Santa Cruz is home to about 20 of the sharks, the environment ministry said.
It is the second such refuge detected in the archipelago. The first, found in 2017, was shown to host around 30 hammerheads.
At the new one, researc ... more |
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 Washington DC (SPX) Mar 11, 2019 
A slowing of ocean circulation in the waters surrounding Antarctica drastically altered the strength and more than doubled the length of global ice ages following the mid-Pleistocene transition, a new study finds. For the last several million years, the natural cycle of Earth's climate has been dominated by the regular ebb and flow of glacial and interglacial periods.
These cycles are gene ... more |
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 Washington (UPI) Mar 7, 2019 
For the first time, scientists have taken a biomedical approach to measuring the impacts of pesticides on bumblebees and their genes.
Their findings, published in the journal Molecular Ecology, suggest insecticides alter dozens of genes responsible for a diverse array of biological processes.
Most studies measuring the impacts of pesticides on bees focus on bee behavior and healt ... more |
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 Washington (UPI) Mar 11, 2019 
Scientists in Japan have developed a new method for sensing earthquakes. Their analysis suggests subtle gravitational signatures precede an earthquake's earliest tremors.
The new detection strategy could help earthquake warning systems sound an alarm before a quake begins, providing people more time to evacuate buildings and seek safe ground.
Scientists at the University of Tokyo ... more |
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 Nairobi (AFP) March 11, 2019 
A world forum on addressing the planet's environmental crisis opened in Nairobi on Monday, the mood darkened by the Ethiopian Airlines tragedy that killed 157 people a day earlier, including at least 22 UN staff, many headed for the event.
Delegates arrived at the sprawling compound to see the UN flag flying at half-mast and the usually colourful display of national flags removed.
As the ... more |
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 Washington (AFP) March 7, 2019 
Like humans, chimpanzees are culturally diverse but those differences are being eroded by human incursion, international researchers say in a groundbreaking study published Thursday.
The striking results, published in the American journal "Science," show that the behavioral diversity of chimpanzees was reduced by an average 88 percent in areas with the highest human impact, compared to remot ... more |
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 Washington (UPI) Mar 7, 2019 
Scientists are poised to dramatically expand the record of ancient climatic conditions thanks to a new laser imaging technique used to analyze mollusk shells.
The remains of shells have long been used by archaeologists to gain insights into distribution and movement patterns of ancient coastal communities. Ancient shells give researchers insights into the use of natural resources by ear ... more |
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 Bremen, Germany (SPX) Mar 06, 2019 
Methane is a very special molecule. It is the main component of natural gas and we heat our apartments with it, but when reaching the atmosphere it is a potent greenhouse gas.
It is also central in microbiology: In the absence of oxygen, a special group of microorganisms, the so-called methanogenic archaea, can produce methane. Other microorganisms - archaea living in symbiosis with bacter ... more |
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 London, UK (SPX) Mar 11, 2019 
Dinosaurs were unaffected by long-term climate changes and flourished before their sudden demise by asteroid strike.
Scientists largely agree that an asteroid impact, possibly coupled with intense volcanic activity, wiped out the dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous period 66 million years ago.
However, there is debate about whether dinosaurs were flourishing before this, or whethe ... more |
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 Norwich UK (SPX) Feb 27, 2019 
Efforts to cut emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and tackle climate change in developed economies are beginning to pay off according to research led by the Tyndall Centre at the University of East Anglia (UEA).
The study suggests that policies supporting renewable energy and energy efficiency are helping to reduce emissions in 18 developed economies. The group of countries represents 28 pe ... more |
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 Los Alamos NM (SPX) Mar 11, 2019 
A new tungsten-based alloy developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory can withstand unprecedented amounts of radiation without damage. Essential for extreme irradiation environments such as the interiors of magnetic fusion reactors, previously explored materials have thus far been hobbled by weakness against fracture, but this new alloy seems to defeat that problem.
"This material showed ... more |
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 Washington (UPI) Mar 7, 2019 
Scientists have developed a "smart house" for mice, which will allow scientists to observe the behavior of tested mice while limiting disturbance levels.
Researchers are constantly working to ensure external factors and outside influence, like the presence of a peering scientists, aren't influencing test results. Designers of the new digs claim their "Autonomouse" system will improve th ... more |
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 Taipei (AFP) March 11, 2019 
US envoy for religious freedom Sam Brownback defended his remark that China is "at war with faith" after the Chinese foreign ministry issued an angry statement condemning the envoy's words as a "malicious attack and slander on China's religious policies".
Brownback criticised the Chinese government in a speech on Friday in Hong Kong, saying the Chinese government is engaged in the persecutio ... more |
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 Libreville (AFP) March 6, 2019 
Customs officers have seized a major haul of kevazingo, a precious wood whose exploitation is banned in Gabon where it is considered sacred, a report said Wednesday.
About 1,000 cubic metres of the rare hardwood - or 30 large container-loads - were confiscated along with other wood in a warehouse at the Owendo timber port on the Libreville peninsula last week, campaigning group Conservatio ... more |
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