Dinosaur discovery casts light on final flurry of animals' evolution

Dinosaur discovery casts light on final flurry of animals' evolution Edinburgh UK (SPX) Nov 11, 2016 - A dinosaur fossil that almost went undiscovered is giving scientists valuable clues about a family of creatures that flourished just before the mass extinction. The bird-like species, found at a building site in southern China and nicknamed the 'Mud Dragon', was preserved almost intact, lying on its front with its wings and neck outstretched. Scientists speculate that the creature may have ... more

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A warm climate is more sensitive to changes in CO2

A warm climate is more sensitive to changes in CO2 Manoa HI (SPX) Nov 11, 2016 - It is well-established in the scientific community that increases in atmospheric CO2 levels result in global warming, but the magnitude of the effect may vary depending on average global temperature. A new study, published this week in Science Advances and led by Tobias Friedrich from the International Pacific Research Center (IPRC) at the University of Hawaii at Manoa (UHM), concludes that warm ... more

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A warm climate is more sensitive to changes in CO2

A warm climate is more sensitive to changes in CO2 Manoa HI (SPX) Nov 11, 2016 - It is well-established in the scientific community that increases in atmospheric CO2 levels result in global warming, but the magnitude of the effect may vary depending on average global temperature. A new study, published this week in Science Advances and led by Tobias Friedrich from the International Pacific Research Center (IPRC) at the University of Hawaii at Manoa (UHM), concludes that warm ... more

Dinosaur discovery casts light on final flurry of animals' evolution Edinburgh UK (SPX) Nov 11, 2016 - A dinosaur fossil that almost went undiscovered is giving scientists valuable clues about a family of creatures that flourished just before the mass extinction. The bird-like species, found at a building site in southern China and nicknamed the 'Mud Dragon', was preserved almost intact, lying on its front with its wings and neck outstretched. Scientists speculate that the creature may have ... more

+ Experts call on climate change panel to better reflect ocean variability in their projections
+ Geologists find key indicator of carbon sources in Earth's mantle
+ Thawing ice makes the Alps grow
+ In Iraq, fewer refugees than expected from Mosul push: US
+ Neanderthal inheritance helped humans adapt to life outside of Africa
+ Climate change ripples through life on Earth
+ Analog series-based scaffolds: a new definition that may aid medicinal chemistry
+ India top court orders Punjab state to share river water
+ Supermarket demands fuelling food waste crisis: UN
+ US climate pledges likely to go unmet: study
+ China home to 9 million 'left-behind' children: govt
+ Entering the field of zeptosecond measurement
+ Salty batteries
+ Bashed on trade, Beijing may benefit from President Trump
+ China auto sales growth falls back in October: group
+ Progress, but uphill slog for women in tech
+ French, Finns divided over nuclear dispute ruling
+ Melanin may boost strength of foams and fabrics
+ China producer prices rise for second straight month
+ VW's Audi hit with fresh emissions cheating lawsuit

The two types of liquid water

The two types of liquid water Washington DC (SPX) Nov 11, 2016 - There are two types of liquid water, according to research carried out by an international scientific collaboration. This new peculiarity adds to the growing list of strange phenomena in what we imagine is a simple substance. The discovery could have implications for making and using nanoparticles as well as in understanding how proteins fold into their working shape in the body or misfold to ca ... more

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Game theory shows how tragedies of the commons might be averted

Game theory shows how tragedies of the commons might be averted Atlanta GA (SPX) Nov 11, 2016 - Lake Lanier in Georgia is the primary water reservoir serving suburban and metropolitan Atlanta. When the lake's water level drops below a certain point, calls go out for water conservation and news reports show images of the red mud shoreline. In some affected counties, water restrictions are imposed. The combination of usage restrictions and changes in precipitation eventually averts the crisi ... more

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Narwhal echolocation beams may be the most directional of any species

Narwhal echolocation beams may be the most directional of any species London, UK (SPX) Nov 11, 2016 - Analysis of some of the first recordings of wintering narwhals showed that they may have the most directional sonar of any species, according to a study published November 9, 2016 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Jens Koblitz from Bioacoustics Network, Germany, and colleagues. The narwhal is considered one of the Arctic's most sensitive marine mammals: more than 80 percent winter in ... more

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A Box of 'Black Magic' to Study Earth from Space

A Box of 'Black Magic' to Study Earth from Space Pasadena CA (JPL) Nov 09, 2016 - Black magic... That's what radiofrequency engineers call the mysterious forces guiding communications over the air. These forces involve complex physics and are difficult enough to master on Earth. They only get more baffling when you're beaming signals into space.Until now, the shape of choice for casting this "magic" has been the parabolic dish. The bigger the antenna dish, the better it is at ... more

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Dinosaurs' rise was 'more gradual,' new fossil evidence suggests

Dinosaurs' rise was 'more gradual,' new fossil evidence suggests London, UK (SPX) Nov 11, 2016 - Researchers have discovered two small dinosaurs together with a lagerpetid, a group of animals that are recognized as precursors of dinosaurs. The discovery made in Brazil and reported in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on November 10 represents the first time that a dinosaur and a dinosaur precursor have ever been found together. The new lagerpetid (Ixalerpeton) and saurischian din ... more

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Climate, human influence conspired in Lake Urmia's decline

Climate, human influence conspired in Lake Urmia's decline Vienna, Austria (SPX) Nov 11, 2016 - The dramatic decline of Iran's Lake Urmia - once the second-largest hypersaline lake in the world - has both direct human and climatic causes, according to a new study published in the Journal of Great Lakes Research. The study was the first to compare the relative impact of climate and water management on the water flowing into the lake. "Saving Lake Urmia will require both national actio ... more

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NASA small satellites will take a fresh look at Earth

NASA small satellites will take a fresh look at Earth Washington DC (SPX) Nov 09, 2016 - Beginning this month, NASA is launching a suite of six next-generation, Earth-observing small satellite missions to demonstrate innovative new approaches for studying our changing planet. These small satellites range in size from a loaf of bread to a small washing machine and weigh from a few to 400 pounds (180 kilograms). Their small size keeps development and launch costs down as they of ... more

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Iceberg patrol gains faster updates from orbit

Iceberg patrol gains faster updates from orbit Paris (ESA) Nov 11, 2016 - The international iceberg patrol service set up after the sinking of the Titanic is now able to track drifting ice from orbit more swiftly through ESA-backed cloud computing. The icebergs drifting in transatlantic shipping lines typically break off from the Greenland ice sheet before being carried into Baffin Bay. From there, they typically either become grounded or continue southwards. Most are ... more

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