223 articles from MONDAY 9.12.2019

Strategies to lower risk for violent crime and gun violence

With violent crimes and gun violence rising annually and the number of gun deaths in the U.S. surpassing all other nations, researchers at the annual meeting of The Society for Risk Analysis (SRA) present a series of studies during its Study of Violent Crime and Gun Violence symposium which contributes several new frameworks that can be used toward improving laws, civilian strategies, legislation...

Cities and their rising impacts on biodiversity—a global overview

The rapid expansion of cities around the world is having an enormous impact on biodiversity. To gain a clearer picture of the situation, an international group of scientists, including Professor Andrew Gonzalez from McGill's Biology Department, surveyed over 600 studies on the impacts of urban growth on biodiversity. They published their findings today in Nature Sustainability.

Tackling air pollution: researchers present emissions inventory for Nepal

Data on emission amounts and sources have an important role to play in shaping policy on climate protection and air quality. Now, scientists from the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) in Potsdam, Germany, have presented the first high-resolution inventory to record emissions of greenhouse gases and air pollutants in Nepal over an extended period of time. Their research reveals...

Climate change and the threat to global breadbaskets

Climate change is not just resulting in a steady increase in temperatures, but also in an increased frequency and severity of extreme climatic events, like droughts, heat waves, and floods. These extreme conditions are particularly damaging for agriculture. Climate variability is responsible for at least 30% of the annual fluctuations in worldwide agricultural yield. Under "normal" climatic...

Asian water towers are world's most important and most threatened

Scientists from around the world have assessed the planet's 78 mountain glacier-based water systems. For the first time, they ranked them in order of their importance to adjacent lowland communities while assessing their vulnerability to future environmental and socioeconomic changes. These systems, known as mountain water towers, store and transport water via glaciers, snow packs, lakes and...

Volcano F is the origin of 'floating stones'

Stones do not float in water—this is a truism. But there is hardly a rule without exception. In fact, some volcanic eruptions produce a very porous type of rock with a density so low that it does float: Pumice. An unusually large amount of it is currently drifting in the Southwest Pacific towards Australia. When it was first sighted in the waters around the island state of Tonga at the beginning...

480-million-year-old fossils reveal sea lilies' ancient roots

Sea lilies, despite their name, aren't plants. They're animals related to starfish and sea urchins, with long feathery arms resting atop a stalk that keeps them anchored to the ocean floor. Sea lilies have been around for at least 480 million years—they first evolved hundreds of millions of years before the dinosaurs. For nearly two centuries, scientists have thought about how modern sea lilies...

Wing genes responsible for tiny treehopper's extraordinary helmet

Why the treehopper developed the enlarged, three-dimensional hood ornament that distinguishes it from the rest of the insect world remains a mystery to scientists, though it's theorized that mimicry or camouflage designed to protect it from predators is a likely reason. But a study from researchers in UConn's Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department, published today in the journal Nature...

Identification of a key protein linked to aging

Aging is a dramatic public health issue in the face of the current demographic changes: the proportion of 60 and over in the world's population will almost double by 2050. In this context, a new discovery has just broadened scientific knowledge. Researchers shed light on the mechanisms of senescence, by identifying a key protein associated with aging.

Tackling air pollution: Researchers present emissions inventory for Nepal

Data on emission amounts and sources have an important role to play in shaping policy on climate protection and air quality. Now, scientists have presented the first high-resolution inventory to record emissions of greenhouse gases and air pollutants in Nepal over an extended period of time. Their research reveals that the air pollution problem is growing at a much faster rate than the economy.

Liquid flow is influenced by a quantum effect in water

Researchers have discovered that the viscosity of solutions of electrically charged polymers dissolved in water is influenced by a quantum effect. This tiny quantum effect influences the way water molecules interact with one another. Yet, it can lead to drastic changes in large-scale observations. This effect could change the way scientists understand the properties and behavior of solutions of...

Storing data in everyday objects

Researchers and an Israeli scientist have discovered a new method for turning nearly any object into a data storage unit. This makes it possible to save extensive data in, say, shirt buttons, water bottles or even the lenses of glasses, and then retrieve it years later. The technique also allows users to hide information and store it for later generations. It uses DNA as the storage medium.

Explaining the tiger stripes of Saturn's moon Enceladus

Slashed across the south pole of Saturn's moon Enceladus are four straight, parallel fissures or 'tiger stripes' from which water erupts. These fissures aren't quite like anything else in the Solar System. Researchers now think they have a model to explain them.