Chemists Observe Key Reaction To Produce 'Atmosphere's Detergent'
Philadelphia PA (SPX) Sep 30, 2014 -
Earth's atmosphere is a complicated dance of molecules. The chemical output of plants, animals and human industry rise into the air and pair off in sequences of chemical reactions. Such processes help maintain the atmosphere's chemical balance; for example, some break down pollutants emitted from the burning of fossil fuels.
Understanding exactly how these reactions proceed is critical for ...
more
If trees could talk
Panama, Panama (SPX) Sep 30, 2014 -
Permafrost thaw drives forest loss in Canada, while drought has killed trees in Panama, southern India and Borneo. In the U.S., in Virginia, over-abundant deer eat trees before they reach maturity, while nitrogen pollution has changed soil chemistry in Canada and Panama.
Continents apart, these changes have all been documented by the Smithsonian-led Center for Tropical Forest Science-Fores ...
more
Greenland Ice Sheet more vulnerable than previously thought
Cambridge, UK (SPX) Sep 30, 2014 -
A new model developed by researchers at the University of Cambridge has shown that despite its apparent stability, the massive ice sheet covering most of Greenland is more sensitive to climate change than earlier estimates have suggested, which would accelerate the rising sea levels that threaten coastal communities worldwide.
In addition to assessing the impact of the increasing levels of ...
more
Tooth serves as evidence of 220 million-year-old attack
Knoxville TN (SPX) Sep 30, 2014 -
At the beginning of the age of dinosaurs, gigantic reptiles-distant relatives of modern crocodiles-ruled the earth. Some lived on land and others in water and it was thought they didn't much interact. But a tooth found by a University of Tennessee, Knoxville, researcher in the thigh of one of these ancient animals is challenging this belief.
Stephanie Drumheller, an earth and planetary sci ...
more
Ancient genome from southern Africa throws light on our origins
Sydney, Australia (SPX) Sep 30, 2014 -
What can DNA from the skeleton of a man who lived 2,330 years ago in the southernmost tip of Africa tell us about ourselves as humans? A great deal when his DNA profile is one of the 'earliest diverged' - oldest in genetic terms - found to-date in a region where modern humans are believed to have originated roughly 200,000 years ago.
The man's maternal DNA, or 'mitochondrial DNA', was sequ ...
more
Smart meters could cause conflict for housemates
Nottingham, UK (SPX) Sep 29, 2014 -
Arguments about whose turn it is to do the washing up, negotiating rights to the TV remote control and disputes over noise - as many students returning to university for the new academic year are about to learn the hard way, sharing a house can be a tricky business.
And now research from academics at The University of Nottingham has revealed that new technology to allow people to monitor t ...
more
Iran said oil exports 'acceptable' and revenues on the rise
Tehran (UPI) Sep 29, 2014 -
Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said Monday oil exports from the Islamic republic were "acceptable" and revenue was on the rise.
Iran, under the terms of a November 2013 agreement with Western powers, secured relief from some of the sanctions targeting its energy sector in exchange for a pledge to cut back on its nuclear research activity. The U.S. Treasury Department in July extend ...
more
