New sensor to help scientists study inside avalanches
Bochum, Germany (UPI) Nov 30, 2016 -
Scientists believe a new sensor will enable them to conduct the first comprehensive survey of the insides of an avalanche.
"We don't know what exactly happens when an avalanche moves down a mountain, because avalanches have only ever been observed from the outside," Christoph Baer, a researcher at Ruhr-University Bochum, said in a news release.
The new radar sensor developed by B ...
more
S. Korea confirms more cases of deadly bird flu
Seoul (AFP) Nov 30, 2016 -
South Korea Wednesday revealed new cases of a deadly strain of bird flu as authorities said they had slaughtered two million chickens and ducks in a bid to control the outbreak.
The H5N6 virus was first confirmed on November 18 at a farm in central South Korea and it has since spread to farms around the country, with the total number of cases now standing at 46.
Authorities have stepped ...
more
Coral survey reveals 5,000-year-old genotypes
State College, Pa. (UPI) Nov 30, 2016 -
New research suggests coral colonies can persist for thousands of years, much longer than previously thought. Scientists discovered 5,000 year-old genotypes of elkhorn corals, Acropora palmata, in Florida and the Caribbean.
For conservationists, the research - detailed in the journal Molecular Ecology - offers both good and bad news.
"Our study shows, on the one hand, that some ...
more
Philip Morris looking towards cigarette phase-out
London (AFP) Nov 30, 2016 -
Tobacco giant Philip Morris is aiming to stop selling conventional cigarettes and replace them with a less harmful product, its chief executive said Wednesday.
As the firm launched its smokeless iQOS cigarette in Britain, Andre Calantzopoulos told BBC radio that the company would try to move smokers over to the new product.
The iQOS heats tobacco rather than burns it and it is claimed th ...
more
World mayors gather to plot Trump-era climate plan
Mexico City (AFP) Nov 30, 2016 -
Mayors from scores of the world's biggest cities gathered in Mexico Wednesday to plot their strategy for fighting climate change in the face of skepticism from US President-elect Donald Trump.
As leaders of busy, polluted cities home to millions of people, they want countries to push on with adopting the so-called Paris Agreement to limit harmful emissions - an accord that Trump has cast do ...
more
How did the Sahara Desert get so dry?
College Station, Texas (UPI) Nov 30, 2016 -
Some 6,000 years ago, the Sahara Desert was regularly drowned by tropical rains. It wasn't a desert at all, but vast grasslands. Today, the Sahara features some of driest acreage on Earth.
Recently, a pair of researchers from Texas A&M University and Yale University set out to explain how such a vast climatic transformation can happen in such a short amount of time. In order to do so, t ...
more
