Globalization threatens benefits of an African 'green revolution'
Vancouver, Canada (SPX) Sep 11, 2014 -
A prospective "green revolution" in Africa could boost land use and carbon emissions globally, according to a study co-authored by a University of British Columbia researcher.
The term "green revolution" typically describes the use of agricultural innovations - such as the development of new seeds - to increase yields, particularly in developing countries.
Past green revolutions in A ...
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Mexico probes governor over dam amid political clash
Mexico City (AFP) Sept 11, 2014 -
Mexico's federal authorities opened an investigation Wednesday into whether a governor illegally built a river dam on his family's ranch property that may have affected local water supplies.
The accusations came amid a clash between federal officials and Sonora Governor Guillermo Padres, who said the allegations were a bid to discredit him over his complaints that authorities mishandled a de ...
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Female baboons with guy pals live longer
Nairobi, Kenya (UPI) Sep 11, 2014 -
Research has shown strong social relationships - both with friends and significant others - to be good for human health. Now a new study shows the same holds true for baboons.
Previous studies have shown same-sex social interaction to have positive impacts on the longevity of rats and dolphins, but the latest research out of Duke University showed the health and life expectancy of fem ...
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ADB, World Bank and others back climate financing
Manila (UPI) Sep 11, 2014 -
The World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and four other international institutions said Thursday they reinforced their commitment to climate financing.
ADB Vice President for Sustainable Development Bindi Lohani said the six banks - the African Development Bank, Asian Development Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, European Investment Bank, Inter-American Developm ...
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Earth's ozone layer is recovering, scientists say
Washington (UPI) Sep 11, 2014 -
Nearly a half-century after scientists first realized something wasn't quite right with the Earth's ozone layer, the protective layer of the Earth's stratosphere is showing signs of recovery.
According to a new report released by the United Nations, the hole in the ozone layer that appears every year above Antarctica has stopped growing and the layer is beginning to repair its vulnerabi ...
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Istanbul likely to experience major earthquake in the future
Istanbul, Turkey (UPI) Sep 11, 2014 -
A significant section of the North Anatolian Fault - the seismic fault line that runs beneath the Sea of Marmara, off the coast of Turkey - has grown eerily quiet in recent years, scientists say. And that could mean one of two things.
The less worrisome of the possibilities is that the two tectonic plates are gliding slowly, safely by. The other, more catastrophic option, is that a ha ...
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Study maps 15 years of carbon dioxide emissions on Earth
Tempe AZ (SPX) Sep 12, 2014 -
World leaders face multiple barriers in their efforts to reach agreement on greenhouse gas emission policies. And, according to Arizona State University researchers, without globally consistent, independent emissions assessments, climate agreements will remain burdened by errors, self-reporting, and the inability to verify emissions progress.
Now, an international research team led by ASU ...
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Scientists discover hazardous waste-eating bacteria
Manchester, UK (SPX) Sep 12, 2014 -
Tiny single-cell organisms discovered living underground could help with the problem of nuclear waste disposal, say researchers involved in a study at The University of Manchester.
Although bacteria with waste-eating properties have been discovered in relatively pristine soils before, this is the first time that microbes that can survive in the very harsh conditions expected in radioactive ...
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Green wave explains migratory bird routes
Ithaca NY (SPX) Sep 12, 2014 -
Migratory songbirds enjoy the best of both worlds-food-rich summers and balmy winters-but they pay for it with a tough commute. Their twice-a-year migrations span thousands of miles and are the most dangerous, physically demanding parts of their year.
Surprisingly, for many North American species the best route between summer and winter homes is not a straight line, according to new resear ...
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Scientists report first semiaquatic dinosaur, Spinosaurus
Washington DC (SPX) Sep 12, 2014 -
Scientists have unveiled what appears to be the first truly semiaquatic dinosaur, Spinosaurus aegyptiacus. New fossils of the massive Cretaceous-era predator reveal it adapted to life in the water some 95 million years ago, providing the most compelling evidence to date of a dinosaur able to live and hunt in an aquatic environment.
The fossils also indicate that Spinosaurus was the largest ...
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Biologists try to dig endangered pupfish out of its hole
Berkeley CA (SPX) Sep 12, 2014 -
Scientists estimate that fewer than 100 Devils Hole pupfish remain in their Mojave Desert home, but a conservation biologist at the University of California, Berkeley, is giving important guidance in the efforts to rescue them by establishing a captive breeding program.
Considered the world's rarest fish, with one of the smallest geographic ranges of any wild vertebrate, the tiny pupfish ( ...
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Study ties groundwater to human evolution
Sydney, Australia (SPX) Sep 12, 2014 -
Our ancient ancestors' ability to move around and find new sources of groundwater during extremely dry periods in Africa millions of years ago may have been key to their survival and the evolution of the human species, a new study shows.
The research - published in the journal PLOS ONE - combines geological evidence from the Olduvai sedimentary basin in Northern Tanzania, which formed abou ...
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A Mexican plant could lend the perfume industry more green credibility
Washington DC (SPX) Sep 12, 2014 -
The mere whiff of a dreamy perfume can help conjure new feelings or stir a longing for the past. But the creation of these alluring scents, from the high-end to the commonplace, can also incur an environmental toll.
That could change as scientists, reporting in the journal ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering, examine a more sustainable way to produce a key perfume ingredient and supp ...
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Evolutionary tools improve prospects for sustainable development
Copenhagen, Denmark (SPX) Sep 12, 2014 -
Solving societal challenges in food security, emerging diseases and biodiversity loss will require evolutionary thinking in order to be effective in the long run.
Inattention to this will only lead to greater challenges such as short-lived medicines and agricultural treatments, problems that may ultimately hinder sustainable development, argues a new study published online in Science Expre ...
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Non-dominant hand vital to the evolution of the thumb
Canterbury UK (SPX) Sep 12, 2014 -
Research shows non-dominant hand is likely to have played a vital role in the evolution of modern human hand morphology.
In the largest experiment ever undertaken into the manipulative pressures experienced by the hand during stone tool production, biological anthropologist's analysed the manipulative forces and frequency of use experienced by the thumb and fingers on the non-dominant hand ...
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UM Research Reveals Secrets of Animal Weapons
Missoula MT (SPX) Sep 12, 2014 -
From antlers to horns, humans have long been fascinated by animals' ability to defend themselves with their natural-born weapons. But until now, no studies have directly tested whether those weapons perform better at the animals' own style of fighting than they would using the fighting style of another species.
Researchers at the University of Montana recently discovered each species' weap ...
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New species of extinct dolphin sheds light on river dolphin history
Bethesda MD (SPX) Sep 12, 2014 -
The unusual river dolphins, some of them known for their poor eyesight and side-swimming behavior are all descendants of ocean-dwelling species. Until now, however, there has been no consensus about their relationships, and few specimens to help illuminate them.
In the new issue of the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, researchers describe a new fossil dolphin species from the Miocene (d ...
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US cityscapes show consistent patterns of 'urban evolution'
College Park, MD (SPX) Sep 12, 2014 -
Most people think of city landscapes as simpler, diminished versions of the wild forests and free-flowing streams found in remote places. But in a series of studies published in a special issue of the journal Biogeochemistry, scientists specializing in urban ecosystems say just the opposite is true.
Urban landscapes are more complex than they seem, and from coast to coast these ecosystems ...
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New defence mechanism against viruses discovered
Zurich, Switzerland (SPX) Sep 12, 2014 -
Researchers have discovered that a known quality control mechanism in human, animal and plant cells is active against viruses. They think it might represent one of the oldest defence mechanisms against viruses in evolutionary history.
When it comes to defence against viruses, the immune system has an arsenal of weapons at its disposal including killer cells, antibodies and messenger molecu ...
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Clean coal key to combating climate change: Rio Tinto
Sydney (AFP) Sept 09, 2014 -
Mining giant Rio Tinto said Tuesday clean coal was key to tackling climate change and that developing the technology was a challenge greater than the first moon landing.
The firm's energy chief Harry Kenyon-Slaney compared the twin challenges of meeting the world's energy needs, including growing demand from Asia, and combating climate change to the difficulties the US had to overcome for th ...
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Ikea reports strong sales: Chinese take to kit furniture
Stockholm (AFP) Sept 09, 2014 -
Swedish furniture giant Ikea reported growth in annual sales Tuesday, boosted mainly by improved performance in China and a recovery in Europe.
Ikea Group, a leader internationally in inexpensive, stylish kit furniture, reported a 5.7-percent increase in revenue to 28.7 billion euro ($37 billion) for the year to the end of August.
In the same period last year revenue grew by 3.2 percent. ...
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Work on Nicaragua canal to begin in December
Managua (AFP) Sept 09, 2014 -
Work on a huge project to rival the Panama Canal will begin in December with construction of a port on the Pacific coast of Nicaragua, an official said Monday.
The 40 billion dollar project through Nicaragua linking the Caribbean and the Pacific has been assigned to a Chinese company, HK Nicaragua Development Co.
More than 1,000 specialists from several countries are carrying out environ ...
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EU calls for study of 2020 renewable energy targets
Brussels (UPI) Sep 9, 2014 -
The European Union said it was looking for consultants to evaluate how consistent bloc-wide renewable energy targets are with national legislative measures.
The European Union's Energy Community Secretariat said it was looking for consultants to evaluate renewable energy and statistics.
"For renewable energy, the assessment will evaluate the viability and consistency of the 2020 ...
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China's promised reforms moving too slowly: EU businesses
Beijing (AFP) Sept 09, 2014 -
European businesses in China on Tuesday warned the Communist Party urgently to implement promised reforms or risk seeing growth in the world's second-largest economy plummet and incomes stagnate.
"The 'golden age' for business in China is drawing to a close," the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China said.
"China is nearing the end of its window of opportunity to create the framewo ...
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Tesla chief says self-driving cars just around corner
Tokyo (AFP) Sept 09, 2014 -
US electric car maker Tesla is developing technology that could see vehicles run on "full auto pilot" in as little as five or six years, according to its chief executive Elon Musk.
The colourful entrepreneur said his firm was stepping on the accelerator in the race against rivals such as Google and Volvo to create a driverless car, which could revolutionise the road by drastically cutting mo ...
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