Wiping out all of Africa’s elephants could accelerate Earth’s climate crisis by allowing 7% more damaging greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, scientists say. But conserving forest elephants may reverse the trend, providing a service worth $43billion in storing carbon, the academics found. The research, published in Nature Geoscience, shows that …
Thanks to all our plastic pollution and nuclear testing, humans have cut short a 11,700-year-old geological epoch known as the Holocene, and have initiated a new, human-influenced epoch called the Anthropocene, experts say. An international team of researchers recommended to the International Geological Congress in Cape Town, South Africa on …
It may be too late to save many species of plants from extinction at the hands (or vines) of invasive plant species. Researchers from South Africa and Australia teamed up to study how invasive plants were linked to the extinction of native species. In order to have a framework to …
More temperature could mean increased snowfall in Antarctica which could in turn help reduce the global sea-level rise by 51 to 79 millimetres by 2100, according to a new study. When Antarctica's air temperature rises, moisture in the atmosphere increases. That should mean more snowfall on the frozen continent, the …
Areas in green show where water has turned into land and those in blue show where land has become water Scientists have used satellite images to study how the water on the Earth's surface has changed over 30 years. They found that 115,000 sq km (44,000 sq miles) of land …
Man-made greenhouse gases began to nudge up the Earth's temperatures almost 200 years ago as the Industrial Revolution gathered pace, far earlier than previously thought, scientists said on Wednesday. Greenhouse gas emissions from industry left their first traces in the temperatures of tropical oceans and the Arctic around 1830, they …
By way of a light-driven bacterium, Utah State University biochemists are a step closer to cleanly converting harmful carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel combustion into usable fuels. Using the phototropic bacterium Rhodopseudomonas palustris as a biocatalyst, the scientists generated methane from carbon dioxide in one enzymatic step. "It's a …
Ever imagine eating your food wrapper? Now, it's possible, as a team of scientists discovered a revolutionary biodegradable film made of milk protein, which can replace plastic wraps. According to researchers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, led by Peggy Tomasula and Laetitia Bonnaillie, the material uses a specific milk …
Scrap tires have been on environmentalists' blacklist for decades. They pile up in landfills, have fed enormous toxic fires, harbor pests and get burned for fuel. Scientists trying to rid us of this scourge have developed a new way to make synthetic rubber. And once this material is discarded, it …
Scientists from ExxonMobil and Georgia Institute of Technology claim 'revolutionary' system could save industry $2bn a year Scientists from oil giant ExxonMobil and the Georgia Institute of Technology claim to have developed a "revolutionary" new technology which can boost energy efficiency and reduce emissions produced during the process of manufacturing …
Researchers at the Australian National University deliver thermal efficiency of 97 per cent Scientists at the Australian National University have created the world's most efficient solar thermal installation, achieving conversion rates of 97 per cent using a new receiver deployed on a specially designed solar concentrator dish. The new system …
The Earth is likely to get relief in 2017 from record scorching temperatures that bolstered governments' resolve last year in reaching a deal to combat climate change, scientists said on Wednesday. July was the hottest single month since records began in the 19th century, driven by greenhouse gases and an …
Scientists on Thursday set the outlines of a report on how to restrict global warming to a limit agreed last year by world leaders - even though the temperature threshold is at risk of being breached already. The U.N.-led study, due to be published in 2018 as a guide for …
A small island, a short boat trip from Timor-Leste’s capital, Dili, appears to have the most biodiverse waters anywhere in the world. There is a push for the site to be protected with a view to developing an ecotourism industry for the country’s struggling economy. Atauro Island sits just 24km …
Researchers develop a new system that uses satellite observations to study the world's vegetation. Researchers have developed a new system to map the world's "biomes" - large-scale vegetation formations - that may help track the effect of climate change on Earth's ecosystems. The system uses satellite observations of the timing …
Scientists have discovered a new type of fire tornado called the "blue whirl." But unlike its counterparts, which pose a threat to life and property, the "blue whirl" is surprisingly eco-friendly and can even help in pollution and oil spills. According to the study published in the journal Proceedings of …
One drug can treat three deadly and neglected infections - Chagas disease, leishmaniasis and sleeping sickness - animal studies show. It has been described as a "new hope" for tackling the parasitic infections which affect millions of people in the poorest parts of the world. The discovery, reported in the …
Scientists say they are a step closer to providing effective treatments for three "neglected" diseases after making a chemical which can kill the parasites that cause the illnesses. Chagas disease, leishmaniasis and human African trypanosomiasis (also known as sleeping sickness) affect 20 million people worldwide and lead to more than …
A global warming limit agreed by world leaders with great fanfare is feared to be coming close to being broken just eight months on. Climate change scientists have warned it may be nearly impossible to keep global warming below the 1.5C target set at the Paris negotiations in December after …
Melbourne, Aug 2 (IANS) Australian scientists have discovered a toxic form of mercury in Antarctic's atmosphere and sea ice. The study, led by a team from the University of Melbourne, found significant amounts of methylmercury, an especially dangerous strain of mercury, in the Southern Ocean, Xinhua news agency reported. Caitlin …
Devastated American scientists are probing a sudden, cataclysmic loss of up to half the coral in a section of a Gulf of Mexico marine sanctuary. "To say I'm shocked would be an understatement. I've studied this area for 19 years and I've never seen anything like this," said Emma Hickerson, …
