A team at the University of Southampton are pioneering a technique to predict when an ecosystem is likely to collapse, which may also have potential for foretelling crises in agriculture, fisheries or even social systems preventing another "Easter Island" collapse from occuring. The scientists applied a mathematical model to a real world situation, the environmental collapse of a lake in China, to help prove a theory which suggests an ecosystem 'flickers', or fluctuates dramatically between healthy and unhealthy states, shortly before its eventual collapse.
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Mankind must go green or die, says Prince Charles
The Prince of Wales has warned that mankind is on the brink of “committing suicide on a grand scale” unless urgent progress is made in tackling green issues such as carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, intensive farming and resource depletion.
Adopting uncharacteristically apocalyptic language, the Prince said the world was heading towards a “terrifying point of no return” and that future generations faced an “unimaginable future” on a toxic planet. In a pre-recorded speech broadcast in acceptance of an lifetime environmental achievement award, the Prince said green views that had once seen him written off as a “crank” were now backed by hard evidence. |  |
Australian scientists find excess greenhouse gas near fracking
Environmental researchers have detected excess greenhouse gas levels near the site of Australia's biggest coal seam gas field, prompting calls for halting expansion of hydraulic fracturing until scientists can determine whether it might be contributing to climate change.
The reported findings of methane, carbon dioxide and other compounds at more than three times normal background levels have stirred new controversy in eastern Australia over the pros and cons of boosting natural gas output by "fracking," a process that blasts sand, water and chemicals into deep underground wells.
The reported findings of methane, carbon dioxide and other compounds at more than three times normal background levels have stirred new controversy in eastern Australia over the pros and cons of boosting natural gas output by "fracking," a process that blasts sand, water and chemicals into deep underground wells.
Electricity from the marshes
An unexpected source of new, clean energy has been found: the Plant-Microbial Fuel Cell that can generate electricity from the natural interaction between living plant roots and soil bacteria. The technique already works on a small scale and will soon be applied in larger marshland areas throughout the world.
On 23 November, researcher Marjolein Helder will defend her PhD research on generating electricity via plants at Wageningen University. She has also founded a spin-off company called Plant-e with her colleague David Strik.
On 23 November, researcher Marjolein Helder will defend her PhD research on generating electricity via plants at Wageningen University. She has also founded a spin-off company called Plant-e with her colleague David Strik.
Whiz kid from Sierra Leone built own battery, radio transmitter
Kelvin Doe’s neighborhood in Sierra Leone has power lines, but they seldom deliver electricity. So, the 16-year-old whiz kid built his own battery out of acid, soda, and metal parts scavenged from trash bins that he now uses to light up area homes and help him work on his own inventions.
Among other gadgets to his credit are a homemade radio transmitter, plus a generator to power it, that he uses to run his own community radio station under the handle DJ Focus. |  |
US Postal Service finally delivers postcard mailed in 1943
A postcard mailed from Rockford, Ill., to two sisters in Elmira, NY, in 1943 finally arrived at its destination last week. After 69 years, a postal worker delivered it to a house along Bridgman Street now owned by Adam and Laura Rundell, the Elmira Star-Gazette reported.
“It was delivered in mint condition. We were so shocked,” Laura Rundell told the Elmira Star-Gazette. “It’s a treasure that just showed up in the mailbox with our address on it.” The postcard was sent to Pauline and Theresa Leisenring from their parents, who were visiting their brother George at the Medical Center Barracks at Camp Grant, an Army post during World War II, the Associated Press reported. The family lived in the house at the time. |  |
The mysterious fairy circles of Namibia
In the grasslands of Namibia are millions of strangely bare circles. They're called "fairy circles." Although we know, roughly, what happens during their lifespan, no one knows why they crop up, or why they eventually fade.
The term "fairy ring" means different things in different parts of the world. For some reason, they all center on botany. In some parts, they refer to a ring of mushrooms that pop out of the ground seemingly at random. In my neck of the woods, they refer to a circle of trees, most often redwoods, that surround the stump of a fallen tree. In Namibia, they refer to the strange bare patches that pepper some stretches of grassland. |  |
Daydreamers could be onto something, great ideas come after some 'time out'
From Einstein to Newton, some of the best ideas and most important scientific breakthroughs have been dreamt up during a little 'down time'.
And in news that will cheer bored office workers and pupils, it is not only the geniuses among us who find inspiration in imagination - scientists have found we could all benefit from a spot of daydreaming. A study from the University of California, Santa Barbara, showed that people who returned to a difficult task after taking a break and doing an easy task boosted their performance by around 40 per cent. But there was little or no improvement for people who did another demanding task during the break, used it to rest or did not have a break at all. |  |
Time to end the war on drugs
With his final election behind him, and the final attack ads safely off the air, President Obama now returns to his regularly scheduled programming — governing. Yet, the chatter about his second term agenda, from deficit reduction to immigration reform, ignores one critical issue: ending our nation’s inhumane, irrational — and ineffective — war on drugs.
Since its launch in 1971, when President Nixon successfully branded drug addicts as criminals, the war on drugs has resulted in 45 million arrests and destroyed countless families. The result of this trillion dollar crusade? Americans aren’t drug free — we’re just the world’s most incarcerated population. We make China look like Woodstock. We’re also, according to the old definition, insane; despite overwhelming evidence of its failure, our elected officials steadfastly refuse to change course.
Since its launch in 1971, when President Nixon successfully branded drug addicts as criminals, the war on drugs has resulted in 45 million arrests and destroyed countless families. The result of this trillion dollar crusade? Americans aren’t drug free — we’re just the world’s most incarcerated population. We make China look like Woodstock. We’re also, according to the old definition, insane; despite overwhelming evidence of its failure, our elected officials steadfastly refuse to change course.
Most Canadians In Favour Of Decriminalization Or Legalization, Poll Shows
The majority of Canadians support the legalization or decriminalization of marijuana, a new poll shows.
Sixty-five per cent of Canadians over 18 support either pot legalization and taxation, or the decriminalization of small amounts of marijuana, according to the survey from Forum Research. Since December 2011, support for legalization has decreased from 40 per cent to 33 per cent, while support for decriminalization has increased from 26 per cent to 32 per cent. The poll surveyed 1,849 Canadians randomly.
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Bones of giant tree-wombat unearthed
The fossil discovery of an extinct 70kg tree-dwelling marsupial reveals clues about the impact of climate change on Australia's rainforest habitats.
In Australia today, the biggest tree-dwelling mammals are our iconic and much loved koala and the enigmatic Bennett’s tree-kangaroo. The largest males of both species weigh a mere 14 kg. But a study of skeletons unearthed in a World Heritage–listed fossil cave in Queensland – published in PlosONE this week – has revealed that 15 million years ago, Australia’s ancient forest canopies were home to herds of 70 kg wombat-like marsupials. These marsupials were called Nimbadon, and were the largest arboreal marsupial herbivores ever known. |  |
Birdlike dinos had tough time flying
Some of the first birdlike creatures to emerge during the age of the dinosaurs probably couldn't get their heavy wings to take them off the ground, and they likely opted for gliding over flying, new research shows.
Modern flying birds have a single primary layer of easily separated long feathers covered with short ones — a design that helps them overcome drag when taking flight. A new analysis of the fossils of two of their ancestors shows that the arrangement of feathers for primitive birds was quite different. |  |
Owl feathers inspire quieter change
An owl glides by on silent wings. Many holiday travelers probably wish airplanes could do the same.
"On airplanes, the back edge of the wing is where you get most of the noise," Justin Jaworski, a mathematician at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, told TechNewsDaily. "My work is looking at developing theoretical models to explain trailing-edge noise." Most recently, he and his colleague Nigel Peake showed, mathematically, that the noise from airplane wings could be reduced tenfold if their designers took a few cues from the feathers that fringe the trailing edge of an owl's wings. |  |
Artist aims to transform billboards into hanging gardens
Garages buckled, highways collapsed. Swift but violent, the 1994 Northridge earthquake damaged buildings for miles around.
But Los Angeles artist Stephen Glassman noticed one type of structure held strong: Billboards. The memory stayed with Glassman over the years. Then he had a thought. Why not entirely re-imagine those everyday pillars of steel? "Urban Air," his latest project, aims to transform billboards into suspended bamboo gardens and create "an open space" in the city skyline. |  |
India's capital widens ban on plastic bags
The Delhi government imposed a blanket ban on the use of all plastic bags on Friday in an attempt to tackle the city's mounting rubbish problems, an official said.
Thin plastic bags—measuring less than 40 microns thick—were banned in India's capital in 2009, but the new rules will cover all plastic packaging for items such as magazines and greeting cards as well as garbage bags. "From today, the government has banned all use, sale and manufacture of plastic bags in the city. No exceptions will be made," a senior official in the Delhi chief minister's office told AFP on condition of anonymity. |  |
Gulf spill harmed small fish, studies indicate
LONG BEACH, Calif. — Two years after BP’s Deepwater Horizon well blowout, laboratory studies are finally offering clues to the spilled oil’s impact on sea life. Brief, very low exposures to oil were capable of killing many fish embryos and hatchlings, new studies show. Those that survived often exhibited major deformities that would diminish an animal’s fitness.
Affected species ranged from the young of large open-ocean denizens, such as tuna, to minnow-sized coastal homebodies — the tiny fish that serve as lunch for everyone bigger. Researchers shared their findings in mid-November during a symposium at the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry’s annual meeting.
Affected species ranged from the young of large open-ocean denizens, such as tuna, to minnow-sized coastal homebodies — the tiny fish that serve as lunch for everyone bigger. Researchers shared their findings in mid-November during a symposium at the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry’s annual meeting.
Kenya bans GMOs
The Kenyan government has banned imports of genetically modified organisms over health fears. On Wednesday, Health Minister Beth Mugo announced a ban on foods containing GM ingredients, effective immediately, pending tests on the health effects of the foods.
Ms Mugo said health officials would ensure GM foods are removed from sale while tests are ongoing. She said, “My ministry wishes to clarify the decision was based on genuine concerns that adequate research had not been done on GMOs and scientific evidence provided to prove the safety of these foods.”.
Ms Mugo said health officials would ensure GM foods are removed from sale while tests are ongoing. She said, “My ministry wishes to clarify the decision was based on genuine concerns that adequate research had not been done on GMOs and scientific evidence provided to prove the safety of these foods.”.
Overwhelming Public Support for Whistleblowers
New research by the University of Greenwich shows 4 out of 5 Britons think that people should be supported for revealing serious wrongdoing, even if it means revealing inside information. However, under half of the respondents (47%) thought whistleblowing is an acceptable thing to do in our society. Hence, people think society is less supportive of it than it should be.
Three quarters of respondents, who are employees or members of an organisation, also indicated that if they observed wrongdoing, they would feel personally obliged to report it to someone in their organisation.
Three quarters of respondents, who are employees or members of an organisation, also indicated that if they observed wrongdoing, they would feel personally obliged to report it to someone in their organisation.
Google promotes 'Take Action' campaign for free, open web
Google is actively promoting its "Take Action" campaign to defend its views for building a free and open World Wide Web.
As explained in a Google+ post on Tuesday morning, the Internet giant is getting its agenda out there now ahead of the meeting of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Dubai starting on Monday, December 3:
"Some governments want to use this meeting in Dubai to increase censorship and regulate the Internet," Google wrote.
EyeSee store mannequins gather intelligence on shoppers
Do you ever get the creep feeling that store mannequins are ... watching you? Well, that feeling may now be justified. Italian display form company Almax has recently introduced its EyeSee line of mannequins, that are equipped with cameras and microprocessors in their heads.
The idea behind the mannequins is that they could be located in storefront windows or specific areas of the store, where they would gather demographic data on the customers. Using facial recognition software, they can reportedly determine things such as a person’s age range, gender and race. |  |
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