Troubled Finnish nuclear reactor to enter test phase in 2016
Eurajoki, Finland (AFP) Aug 28, 2015 -
Finland's much-delayed EPR nuclear reactor is to begin testing in February next year, French atomic energy giant Areva and its Finnish counterpart TVO announced Friday.
Areva, together with German engineering group Siemens, is building a European Pressurised Reactor (EPR) - a new, third-generation reactor design considered one of the most advanced in the world - at the Olkiluoto plant in w ...
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US Iran's 'No.1 enemy' despite nuclear deal: cleric
Tehran (AFP) Sept 1, 2015 -
The United States remains Iran's "number one enemy" despite a recent nuclear deal with world powers, the chief of Tehran's top clerical committee said on Tuesday, Iranian media reported.
The Assembly of Experts is among Iran's most influential institutions, comprising 86 elected clerics who appoint and can dismiss the country's supreme leader.
It is led by the ultraconservative Ayatollah ...
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New peer-reviewed study rewrites genetic history of sheep
Beijing, China (SPX) Sep 02, 2015 -
At a time when the price of mutton is climbing and wool crashing, a groundbreaking new study has used advanced genetic sequencing technology to rewrite the history of sheep breeding and trading along the ancient Silk Road--insights that can help contemporary herders in developing countries preserve or recover valuable traits crucial to their food and economic security.
The new findings reg ...
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Will talk of the 'Big One' shake the US into quake prep?
Portland (AFP) Sept 2, 2015 -
The "Portland Mamas" listserv was on fire this summer. But the heated debates were not about schools and strollers in Oregon's largest city.
This time, the hot topic was the "Big One" - the massive earthquake that experts say will someday rock the region and kill thousands - and how to prepare for it.
"A whole bunch of people were posting there and totally freaking out," said Joelle M ...
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First global antineutrino emission map highlights Earth's energy budget
College Park MD (SPX) Sep 02, 2015 -
The neutrino and its antimatter cousin, the antineutrino, are the tiniest subatomic particles known to science. These particles are byproducts of nuclear reactions within stars (including our sun), supernovae, black holes and human-made nuclear reactors. They also result from radioactive decay processes deep within the Earth, where radioactive heat and the heat left over from the planet's format ...
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Climate change will irreversibly force key ocean bacteria into overdrive
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Sep 02, 2015 -
Imagine being in a car with the gas pedal stuck to the floor, heading toward a cliff's edge. Metaphorically speaking, that's what climate change will do to the key group of ocean bacteria known as Trichodesmium, scientists have discovered.
Trichodesmium (called "Tricho" for short by researchers) is one of the few organisms in the ocean that can "fix" atmospheric nitrogen gas, making it ava ...
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Understanding the deep sea is key to a sustainable blue economy
Strasbourg, France (SPX) Sep 02, 2015 -
A multi-disciplinary group of European researchers spanning natural science, socio-economics and law have joined forces to assess the current landscape of deep-sea research and investment in Europe. Once considered remote and inaccessible, commercial interest to exploit the deep sea is rising due to economic drivers and technology developments.
However, exploitation activities in the deep ...
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How wind sculpted Earth's largest dust deposit
Tucson AZ (SPX) Sep 02, 2015 -
China's Loess Plateau was formed by wind alternately depositing dust or removing dust over the last 2.6 million years, according to a new report from University of Arizona geoscientists. The study is the first to explain how the steep-fronted plateau formed. Wind blew dust from what is now the Mu Us Desert into the huge pile of consolidated dust known as the Loess Plateau, said lead author Paul ...
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Volcanic eruptions: Properties of magma influence forecasts
Munich, Germany (SPX) Sep 03, 2015 -
Many volcanoes are located in densely settled areas. Every time one of these becomes active, large populations are put at risk. Hence, one of the primary goals of the current generation of volcanologists is to develop tools that can accurately predict when volcanoes will erupt. In the case of an impending eruption, these tools are of key importance to those charged with making decisions about wh ...
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Columbia engineers develop new approach to modeling Amazon seasonal cycles
New York NY (SPX) Sep 02, 2015 -
With the rise of CO2 in Earth's atmosphere, understanding the climate of tropical forests--the Amazon in particular--has become a critical research area. A recent NASA study showed that these regions are the biggest terrestrial carbon dioxide sinks on our planet, absorbing 1.4 billion metric tons of CO2 out of a total global terrestrial absorption of 2.5 billion.
To simulate the tropical c ...
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Marine animal colony is a multi-jet swimming machine, scientists report
Woods Hole MA (SPX) Sep 03, 2015 -
Marine animals that swim by jet propulsion, such as squid and jellyfish, are not uncommon. But it's rare to find a colony of animals that coordinates multiple jets for whole-group locomotion.
This week in Nature Communications, scientists report on a colonial jellyfish-like species, Nanomia bijuga, that uses a sophisticated, multi-jet propulsion system based on an elegant division of labor ...
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Evidence of ancient life discovered in mantle rocks deep below the seafloor
Cape Cod MA (SPX) Sep 03, 2015 -
Ancient rocks harbored microbial life deep below the seafloor, reports a team of scientists from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), Virginia Tech, and the University of Bremen. This new evidence was contained in drilled rock samples of Earth's mantle - thrust by tectonic forces to the seafloor during the Early Cretaceous period. The new study was published in the Proceedings of the ...
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Iran puts figure on 2016 oil production goals
Tehran (UPI) Sep 2, 2015 -
Iranian oil production by the end of 2016 will be in excess of 4 million barrels per day, more than in the pre-sanctions era, the nation's oil minister said.
Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zangeneh said the country will increase net oil production by more than 1.5 million barrels per day, bringing total production for the Islamic republic to just over 4 million bpd.
"Around the end o ...
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Venezuela announces $5-bn Chinese loan for oil sector
Caracas (AFP) Sept 2, 2015 -
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced China has granted his government a $5-billion loan to boost oil output in the recession-hit OPEC state.
"We have signed a special program for a $5-billion loan to progressively increase oil production in the coming months," Maduro said on state television Tuesday night in a broadcast from China, where he is on a visit seeking support for Venezuel ...
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California Uber driver lawsuit gets class-action stamp
San Francisco (AFP) Sept 1, 2015 -
A federal judge on Tuesday granted class-action status to a suit filed by Uber drivers who argue they are treated like employees but paid as contractors who receive no benefits.
US District Court Judge Edward Chen ruled that the suit filed in Northern California by several Uber drivers also covers UberBlack, UberX and UberSUV drivers dating back to mid-August of 2009 in the state.
The ju ...
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Asia doing "pretty well" despite China slowdown: IMF chief
Jakarta (AFP) Sept 2, 2015 -
International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde said Wednesday Asian economies were doing "pretty well" despite the volatility created by China's slowdown and unease on global financial markets.
A fresh round of volatility shook Asian and European stocks on Wednesday, as further evidence of slowing growth in China's economy overshadowed global markets.
Financial markets have gyrated ...
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After delays, Finland's showcase nuclear reactor to face tests
Eurajoki, Finland (AFP) Sept 2, 2015 -
Repeated delays, cost overruns, lax controls: construction of the world's first European Pressurised Reactor (EPR) in Finland was meant to be a showcase of French-German know-how but has instead turned into a bitter debacle.
Areva, the French atomic energy giant together with German engineering group Siemens, is building the EPR, a third-generation reactor design considered the most advanced ...
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Hong Kongers fight to save beloved trams
Hong Kong (AFP) Sept 2, 2015 -
A controversial new proposal to take Hong Kong's beloved trams off the streets has sparked a wave of anger from residents who fear losing track of the city's past.
Known as "ding-dings" for the sound of their bells, trams have served the northern coastline of the city's main island for more than 110 years and still carry around 200,000 passengers a day.
As development changes the face o ...
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Sleeker smartwatches to shine at Berlin mega gadget fair
Berlin (AFP) Sept 2, 2015 -
Sleeker and sexier smartwatches are expected to premiere this week in Berlin at one of the world's biggest consumer electronics shows, with both phone manufacturers and watchmakers jostling for a share of the fast-growing market.
The annual IFA show, which began as an exhibition on the new medium of radio 90 years ago, has developed into a massive showcase for consumers to touch and feel the ...
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Foreign carmakers still driven to invest in China
Paris (AFP) Sept 2, 2015 -
Foreign carmakers that raced into China to profit from what has become the world's biggest automobile market by volume have no intention of backing out despite slowing sales as the Chinese economy shifts down.
While maintaining their upbeat view of the market's potential in the medium-term, auto manufacturers have had to make some adjustments.
They have lowered their forecasts for sales ...
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French electric car-sharing service launches in US
Washington (AFP) Sept 2, 2015 -
An electric car-sharing service took to the streets of Indianapolis on Wednesday as its French owner hopes to plug into the vast US market.
Bollore Group of France said its BlueIndy service is the first of its kind in the United States, and begins with an initial fleet of 50 electric cars that it plans to expand to 500.
"Indianapolis is the perfect home for our first venture into the Ame ...
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The World's First Clean Oil Sands Project: An Interview With Dr. Gerald Bailey
London, UK (SPX) Sep 04, 2015 -
After decades of exhaustive attempts to overcome the dirty reputation of oil sands, we finally have an environmentally-friendly and low cost method to tap into these vast resources in the state of Utah-good news both for Mother Nature and all oil and gas investors.
MCW Energy Group's CEO, former Exxon President of the Arabian Gulf region, Dr. R. Gerald Bailey, tells Oilprice.com in an excl ...
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Aqualis buys 49.9% of Adler Solar
Oslo, Norway (SPX) Sep 03, 2015 -
Engineering consultancy group Aqualis ASA (Aqualis) has signed a MoU to acquire a 49.9 percent stake in Adler Solar - a technical and engineering service provider for the global solar industry.
"The solar energy sector is rapidly growing and we want to be part of it. We are well established within oil and gas through Aqualis Offshore and in the offshore wind market through Offshore Wind Co ...
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Germany's E.ON eyes U.S. solar market
Dusseldorf, Germany (UPI) Sep 2, 2015 -
German energy company E.ON said it was working to expand its footprint in the U.S. utility sector through its activity in large-scale solar projects.
The German company said it started construction on the 20-megawatt Maricopa West solar project in southern California. With 89,000 panels, the company said it's the second such large-scale project built by E.ON in California.
In May ...
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Making fuel from light
Lemont, IL (SPX) Sep 03, 2015 -
Refined by nature over a billion years, photosynthesis has given life to the planet, providing an environment suitable for the smallest, most primitive organism all the way to our own species.
While scientists have been studying and mimicking the natural phenomenon in the laboratory for years, understanding how to replicate the chemical process behind it has largely remained a mystery - un ...
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