National forests whose names come from their large, majestic trees—such as Redwood National Park and Sequoia National Park in California—may need to rethink their brands as droughts increase in frequency and severity in many regions around the world due to climate change. New research published this week in the journal Nature Plants finds it’s the large trees that suffer most … [Read more...]
99% of all seabirds will have ingested plastic by 2050
Most seabirds have already eaten plastic in the oceans, and scientists project that 99 percent will have done so by 2050. Plastics are pervasive in the world's waters due to pollution, and birds - including albatrosses, penguins and gulls - can mistake brightly colored bottle tops or other fragments for food. Birds can become sick and die if they ingest too much … [Read more...]
Stellenbosch team may have solved crucial solar puzzle
It is a problem that has so far stumped even Google’s brainy engineers – how to generate cheap solar electricity using a small-scale array of mirrors to concentrate the sun’s energy. Now a team at a South African university – led by a former Intel strategic planner – believes they have cracked it. Once they have completed a prototype system in October they have big plans for … [Read more...]
Climate change is turning male dragon lizards into females
A climate-induced change of male dragons into females occurring in the wild has been confirmed for the first time, according to University of Canberra research recently published on the cover of international journal Nature. The researchers, who have long studied Australia's bearded dragon lizards, have been able to show that a reptile's sex determination process can switch … [Read more...]
Autism study shows links to pesticides and other toxic chemicals
The cause of autism is still unknown, but we are definitely closer to figuring it out. A new study published in the journalPLOS Computational Biology, from researchers at the University of Chicago revealed that autism and intellectual disability (ID) rates are linked with exposure to harmful environmental factors during congenital development. “Essentially what happens is … [Read more...]
Earth’s 6th mass extinction rears its head in Hawaii
Hawaii has been labeled the "extinction capital of the world." New research indicates that the rate of extinction could have been equal to 14% of the fauna per decade, as only 15 of the 325 species of the most diverse grou of Hawaiian land snails, the Amastridae, could still be found alive on the island. The extinction crisis in Hawaii has been the research focus of the … [Read more...]
Saving the world’s seventh largest economy - the ocean
These are the most challenging times in our history. With a thirst for higher living standards and the need to support a global population set to hit 9bn by mid-century, we are overwhelming nature. Science tells us that we are pushing natural limits on climate, biodiversity, nutrient cycles, freshwater and ocean health. While research has never been clearer on defining … [Read more...]
Scientific model flags risk of civilisation’s collapse by 2040
If we don’t change course, in less than three decades industrial civilisation will essentially collapse due to catastrophic food shortages, triggered by a combination of climate change, water scarcity, energy crisis, and political instability, show new scientific models supported by the British government's Foreign Office. Before you panic, the good news is that the … [Read more...]
Rate of climate change to soar by 2020s
New research from a major national lab projects that the rate of climate change, which has risen sharply in recent decades, will soar by the 2020s. This worrisome projection — which has implications for extreme weather, sea level rise, and permafrost melt — is consistent with several recent studies. The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) study, “Near-term … [Read more...]
WHO admits Monsanto’s glyphosate ‘probably’ causes cancer
The chemical industry's stronghold over many of the world's largest and most influential regulatory trendsetters appears to be waning after the World Health Organization (WHO), defying the propaganda endorsements of U.S. regulatory agencies, found that Monsanto's Roundup herbicide, which contains the weed-killing chemical glyphosate, "probably" causes cancer in animals and … [Read more...]
GM maize transgenes penetrate small farmers’ seed supplies
A first study of its kind has found that GM maize transgenes have penetrated the informal seed supplies of smallholder farmers in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. The study screened for transgenes in external fields, home gardens and local household seed holdings in a village where GM insect-resistant maize had been previously grown from 2001–2008 and also analysed the seed … [Read more...]
US government fraud over GMOs exposed in new book
In an acclaimed new book being launched Wednesday in London, American public interest attorney Steven Druker reveals how the US government and leading scientific institutions have systematically misrepresented the facts about GMOs and the scientific research that casts doubt on their safety. The book, Altered Genes, Twisted Truth, features a foreword by the renowned … [Read more...]
CO2 emissions may help tropical rainforests grow faster
A new NASA-led study shows that tropical forests may be absorbing far more carbon dioxide than many scientists thought, in response to rising atmospheric levels of the greenhouse gas. The study estimates that tropical forests absorb 1.4 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide out of a total global absorption of 2.5 billion -- more than is absorbed by forests in Canada, Siberia … [Read more...]
