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
Dana Gas extends legacy in Egypt
Sharjah, United Arab Emirates (UPI) Sep 29, 2014 -
Emirati energy company Dana Gas said Monday it was the successful bidder for two onshore license areas in the Nile Delta region onshore Egypt.
Regional subsidiary Dana Gas Egypt was awarded the rights to operate in the North el-Salhiya and el-Matariya onshore areas in the Nile Delta.
"We are extremely pleased to have been awarded these two new blocks," Dana Gas Chief Executive Of ...
more
British study reviews impact of marine CCS leaks
London (UPI) Sep 29, 2014 -
A report from the British Geological Survey found leaks from subsea carbon capture and storage pose a minimal risk to marine ecosystems.
BGS published a study in journal Nature Climate Change that found damage to marine life from a controlled small-scale leak of carbon dioxide from CO2 storage reservoirs was minimal.
"The results show that small-scale leakage will not be catastro ...
more
Rosneft gives nod to Western partners with arctic oil find
Moscow (UPI) Sep 29, 2014 -
Russian oil company Rosneft said the discovery of oil in an arctic license area came as the result of a united effort with its Western energy partners.
Rosneft estimates the discovery at an area in the Prinovozemelskiy-1 license area in the Kara Sea holds at least 700 million barrels of oil.
"This is an outstanding result of the first exploratory drilling on a completely new offs ...
more
Canada's Encana takes major chunk of Permian oil shale
Calgary, Alberta (UPI) Sep 29, 2014 -
Canadian energy company Encana Corp. said Monday it acquired Texas rival Athlon Energy to become one of the largest oil players in the Permian shale basin.
"This transformative acquisition further accelerates our strategy and provides us with a prime position in what is widely acknowledged as one of North America's top oil plays," Encana President and Chief Executive Officer Doug Suttle ...
more
Petronas sees YPF, Petronas nods as regional boosters
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (UPI) Sep 29, 2014 -
Malaysian oil company Petronas said it signed agreements with its Mexican and Argentine partners to expand its footprint in the Americas.
Petronas, Mexican oil company Petroleos Mexicanos, known also as Pemex, and Argentine oil company YPF signed a trilateral memorandum of understanding on exploration and production.
Petronas President Tan Sri Dato' Shamsul Azhar Abbas said the L ...
more
Vietnam's growth accelerates despite anti-China riots
Hanoi (AFP) Sept 29, 2014 -
Vietnam's economy grew at its fastest rate for three years in the first nine months of 2014, government figures showed Monday, despite deadly anti-China riots that targeted factories and threatened to dent foreign investment.
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew at 5.62 percent between January and September this year, up from 5.14 percent in the first three quarters of 2013 and 4.73 percent ove ...
more
Solar power could become lead energy source with the right planning
Paris (UPI) Sep 29, 2014 -
Policymakers and investors alike need a clear road map to capitalize on the true potential of solar energy, the Paris-based International Energy Agency said.
IEA published a report Monday finding that solar energy resources could combine to become the world's largest source of electricity by 2050, while at the same time offsetting more carbon dioxide emissions than the United State curr ...
more
China's Huawei seeks to invest 1.5bn euros in France: report
Paris (AFP) Sept 29, 2014 -
The founder of Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei announced Monday plans to invest 1.5 billion euros ($1.9 billion) in France to develop smartphones, the online edition of Les Echos business daily reported Monday.
Ren Zhengfei, who met French Prime Minister Manuel Valls in Paris, said Huawei's plan would be carried out over three years.
"Our investments will have a significant impac ...
more
LME says will ramp up trading fees by 34%
London (AFP) Sept 29, 2014 -
The London Metal Exchange, the main global metals market, said Monday it will raise fees by about a third in the first hike since its takeover by the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
The LME said in a statement that transaction fees will increase by an average of 34 percent from January 1, 2015, in order to help fund investment in the exchange.
The rise is the first in seven years, LME chief ex ...
more
Cree Introduces Industry's First 1.7kV All-SiC Power Module
Durham NC (SPX) Sep 30, 2014 -
Cree continues to extend its leadership in silicon carbide (SiC) power device technology with the release of the industry's first all-SiC 1.7kV power module in an industry standard 62mm housing.
Powered by Cree's C2M large area SiC chip technology, the new half-bridge module exhibits an impressive 8mOhm on-resistance and 10-times higher switching efficiency than existing silicon (Si) modul ...
more
On the Road to Artificial Photosynthesis
Berkeley CA (SPX) Sep 30, 2014 -
The excessive atmospheric carbon dioxide that is driving global climate change could be harnessed into a renewable energy technology that would be a win for both the environment and the economy. That is the lure of artificial photosynthesis in which the electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide is used to produce clean, green and sustainable fuels.
However, finding a catalyst for reducin ...
more
Blue LED breakthrough for efficient electronics
Ann Arbor MI (SPX) Sep 30, 2014 -
In a step that could lead to longer battery life in smartphones and lower power consumption for large-screen televisions, researchers at the University of Michigan have extended the lifetime of blue organic light emitting diodes by a factor of 10.
Blue OLEDs are one of a trio of colors used in OLED displays such as smartphone screens and high-end TVs. The improvement means that the efficie ...
more
New Technology May Lead to Prolonged Power in Mobile Devices
Dallas TX (SPX) Sep 30, 2014 -
Researchers from The University of Texas at Dallas have created technology that could be the first step toward wearable computers with self-contained power sources or, more immediately, a smartphone that doesn't die after a few hours of heavy use.
This technology, published online in Nature Communications, taps into the power of a single electron to control energy consumption inside transi ...
more
Police Department Generates Power from Q CELLS Solar Modules
Thalheim, Germany (SPX) Sep 30, 2014 -
A photovoltaic facility with Q CELLS solar modules has become operational atop the new site of the Thuringia State Office of Criminal Investigations (LKA) in Erfurt, Germany. The PV power is fed into the grid from the police department. On the four roughly one-thousand sq. metre roofs, 560 Q CELLS solar modules have been installed within three weeks by maxx-solar and energie GmbH and Co. KG.
...
more
How things coil
New York NY (SPX) Sep 30, 2014 -
When one sends an email from Boston to Beijing, it travels through submarine optical cables that someone had to install at some point. The positioning of these cables can generate intriguing coiling patterns that can also cause problems if, for instance, they are tangled or kinked.
The deployment of a rodlike structure onto a moving substrate is commonly found in a variety of engineering a ...
more
Future mega cities will need solar roof energy
Jarfalla, Sweden (SPX) Sep 30, 2014 -
Seven billion people will live and work in urban areas by 2050 and the demand for energy for all these people will be huge. Local production of energy will be needed with building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) key to make cities at least partially self-sufficient with energy. Rapid development in thin film solar cell efficiency strengthens the business case for BIPV, with great opportunities f ...
more
Kremlin ready to act if trilateral energy proposal collapses
Moscow (UPI) Sep 29, 2014 -
Russia is ready to respond should its Ukrainian or European Union partners renege on trilateral energy agreements, a Kremlin spokesman said Monday.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Russian government is operating under guidelines spelled out last week during trilateral talks in Berlin.
"Russia is guided by the agreements reached at the three-party talks, but at the same t ...
more
Smart, eco-friendly new battery to solve problems
Uppsala, Sweden (SPX) Sep 30, 2014 -
Present-day lithium batteries are efficient but involve a range of resource and environmental problems. Using materials from alfalfa (lucerne seed) and pine resin and a clever recycling strategy, Uppsala researchers have now come up with a highly interesting alternative. Their study will be presented soon in the scientific journal ChemSusChem.
'We think our discovery can open several doors ...
more
