Roller coaster geese
Bangor, UK (SPX) Jan 21, 2015 -
Roller Coaster migratory flights of geese give unique insights into bird physiology and biomechanics at high altitudes. An international team of scientists studying the migratory biology of bar-headed geese (Anser indicus), during their high altitude flights across the Tibetan plateau and Himalayan Mountains, have revealed how these birds cope with flying in the relatively low-density mountain a ...
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A voyage from the Earth's crust to its mantle and back again
Zurich, Switzerland (SPX) Jan 21, 2015 -
From the beginning of time, uranium has been part of the Earth and, thanks to its long-lived radioactivity, it has proven ideal to date geological processes and deduce Earth's evolution. Natural uranium consists of two long-lived isotopes uranium-238 and the lighter uranium-235.
A new study of the global cycle of these uranium isotopes brings additional perspectives to the debate on how th ...
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Paleontologist names 9-foot-long 'predator croc' that preceded dinosaurs
Blacksburg VA (SPX) Jan 21, 2015 -
Finding a new species of dinosaur is pretty rare. Getting a hand in the discovery and naming of one - that's rarer still. Or it would be for anyone other than 32-year-old Sterling Nesbitt, an assistant professor of geological sciences in the College of Science and the newest addition to Virginia Tech's paleontology team.
Nesbitt has been responsible for naming more than half a dozen reptil ...
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Geophysicists find the culprits behind sudden tectonic movements
New Haven CT (SPX) Jan 21, 2015 -
Yale-led research may have solved one of the biggest mysteries in geology - namely, why do tectonic plates beneath the Earth's surface, which normally shift over the course of tens to hundreds of millions of years, sometimes move abruptly?
A new study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences says the answer comes down to two things: thick crustal plugs and ...
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Biggest fish in the ocean receives international protection
Seattle WA (SPX) Jan 21, 2015 -
Whale sharks are among the largest living fish in the world - weighing up to 40,000 pounds and 40 feet in length. They are also so docile that humans often swim with them without concern, snapping photographs of their incredible size.
But it is exactly their enormous bulk that had an international commission adopt restrictions protecting them from impacts associated with the international ...
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Japan, Thai firms invest $10.4 billion in China's Citic
Tokyo (AFP) Jan 20, 2015 -
Japanese trading house Itochu said Tuesday that it is teaming up with Thai agricultural giant Charoen Pokphand Group to invest $10.4 billion in Chinese conglomerate Citic Group.
The deal would see the pair acquire a 10 percent stake in Citic for HK$34.4 billion ($4.4 billion) and invest another HK$45.9 billion in convertible preferred shares, which could ultimately double the size of their s ...
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Norway updates Arctic ice map in boost to oil exploration
Oslo (AFP) Jan 20, 2015 -
Norway wants to redefine the contours of the Arctic ice edge, the government announced Tuesday in a controversial decision that would further open the Barents Sea to oil and gas exploration.
Within hours of the decision, the oil ministry offered companies 57 blocks, nearly all in the Barents Sea, some in the most northern waters ever opened for exploration.
A 2013 agreement between the m ...
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