How spiders spin silk
Uppsala, Sweden (SPX) Aug 06, 2014 -
Spider silk is an impressive material; lightweight and stretchy yet stronger than steel. But the challenge that spiders face to produce this substance is even more formidable. Silk proteins, called spidroins, must convert from a soluble form to solid fibers at ambient temperatures, with water as a solvent, and at high speed.
How do spiders achieve this astounding feat? In new research publ ...
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Scientists uncover combustion mechanism to better predict warming by wildfires
Los Alamos NM (SPX) Aug 06, 2014 -
Scientists have uncovered key attributes of so-called "brown carbon" from wildfires, airborne atmospheric particles that may have influenced current climate models that failed to take the material's warming effects into account. The work was described by a collaborative team of researchers from Los Alamos National Laboratory, Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Montana in the journa ...
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China quake toll nears 600 as volunteers told to stay away
Longtoushan, China (AFP) Aug 06, 2014 -
The death toll from an earthquake that devastated a remote region of China jumped to nearly 600 people Wednesday, authorities said, as volunteer rescuers were warned away.
Yet some slivers of hope remained, among them the dramatic rescue of a woman who was pulled out alive from the debris 67 hours after the quake.
Rescue efforts in the southwestern province of Yunnan, where the 6.1-magni ...
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Emergency declared in Canada over mine tailings spill
Ottawa (AFP) Aug 06, 2014 -
A state of emergency was declared Wednesday in parts of westernmost Canada after effluent from a gold and copper mine tailings pond spilled into Rocky Mountains waterways.
Spill estimates doubled since Monday when an earthen dam breach at the Mount Polley Mine sent waste water and mining debris from the pond into nearby pristine rivers and lakes.
Up to 10 million cubic metres of water an ...
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France, Italy help battle Sweden's massive forest fire
Stockholm (AFP) Aug 06, 2014 -
French and Italian air tanker fire planes flew in to fight a huge forest fire raging in central Sweden on Wednesday, the worst seen in Scandinavia in 40 years, officials said.
Two French Canadair CL-415s, which flew from their base near Marseille in the south of France, joined two similar Italian aircraft water-bombing the wildfire, which has been raging since July 31 near Sala, Swedish medi ...
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Guatemala's Fire volcano rumbles back to life
Guatemala City (AFP) Aug 05, 2014 -
Guatemala's Fire volcano erupted Tuesday for the first time in nearly two years, causing panic in nearby villages and prompting aviation authorities to re-route air traffic.
The volcano, in the country's southwest spewed smoke and ash Tuesday, at the rate of three or four times per hour, officials said.
Geologists said the volcano belched out huge columns of smoke measuring as high as 4, ...
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New Nigeria Ebola cases amid fears epidemic 'out of control'
Lagos (AFP) Aug 06, 2014 -
The death toll of the Ebola epidemic neared 1,000 on Wednesday as fears rose that the disease is now taking hold in Africa's most populous nation of Nigeria after a second death among seven confirmed cases in Lagos.
The spread of the disease comes as the World Health Organization (WHO) met in an emergency session in Geneva to decide whether to declare an international crisis.
The latest ...
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