Lighting the Way to Graphene-based Devices
Berkeley CA (SPX) May 20, 2014 -
Graphene continues to reign as the next potential superstar material for the electronics industry, a slimmer, stronger and much faster electron conductor than silicon. With no natural energy band-gap, however, graphene's superfast conductance can't be switched off, a serious drawback for transistors and other electronic devices.
Various techniques have been deployed to overcome this proble ...
more
Caught in the act: Study probes evolution of California insect
Houston TX (SPX) May 19, 2014 -
A first-of-its-kind study this week suggests that the genomes of new species may evolve in a similar, repeatable fashion - even in cases where populations are evolving in parallel at separate locations. The research is featured on the cover of the May 16 issue of Science.
A team of evolutionary biologists at Rice University, the University of Sheffield and eight other universities used a c ...
more
EU tackles massive food wasting 'best before' labelling
Brussels (AFP) May 19, 2014 -
Several EU countries pressed Monday to change 'best before' food labelling, blamed for millions of tons of food being thrown away when getting a square meal is a daily struggle for many.
European Union agriculture ministers discussed a document which argued that labels recommending consumption before a specific date were inappropriate for foodstuffs such as rice, pasta or coffee.
These p ...
more
Thailand's army invokes martial law: military TV
Bangkok (AFP) May 19, 2014 -
Thailand's army on Tuesday declared martial law across the crisis-gripped kingdom to restore order following months of anti-government protests that have left 28 people dead and hundreds wounded.
An announcement on military-run television said martial law had been invoked "to restore peace and order for people from all sides", stressing that the move "is not a coup".
"The public do not n ...
more
Drought sounds alarm, fuels hunger fears for indigenous Guyana
Georgetown, Guyana (AFP) May 18, 2014 -
Thousands of indigenous people near Guyana's border with Brazil are battling drought so persistent they fear crop failure and hunger.
Shirley Melville, a former legislator in Lethem, said Sunday that her family's well and many more in the town near northern Brazil have dried up because there has been no rainfall for at least seven months.
"This is the first time in 40 years that my well ...
more
US acts to fight disease harming 'fair trade' coffee
Washington (AFP) May 19, 2014 -
The US government announced Monday a new $5 million effort to fight a disease savaging Central America's "fair trade" coffee bean harvest and pressuring the price of a morning cup.
The US Agency for International Development said the outbreak of coffee rust has caused $1 billion in damage in Central and South America and the Caribbean since 2012 and threatens a half-million jobs.
It said ...
more
Balkans floods trigger Bosnia's worst exodus since war
Trpcic Polje, Bosnia-Hercegovina (AFP) May 19, 2014 -
Bosnia said Monday it was witnessing "the biggest exodus" since the 1990s war after the worst floods in a century inundated huge swathes of the Balkans, killing at least 47 people.
Muddy waters from the Sava River have submerged houses, churches, mosques and roads in Bosnia, Serbia and Croatia after record rainfall last week wreaked havoc across the region.
There were fears that dead bo ...
more
