28 articles from SATURDAY 14.12.2019
Toronto launches $3B project to improve water quality in Lake Ontario and city's waterways
City officials on Saturday launched Toronto’s largest and most significant storm water management program — the Don River and Central Waterfront and Connected Project — which aims to halt the flow on sewage into Lake Ontario and clean up...
1-in-3 Calgary e-scooter trips replaced a trip with a car: report
Calgary's e-scooter pilot project is hibernating for the winter but according to a city report in just four months it's already had a big impact in reducing car...
Anger erupts at UN climate summit as major economies resist bold action
Major economies resisted calls for bolder climate commitments as a UN summit in Madrid limped toward a delayed conclusion on Saturday, dimming hopes that nations will act in time to stop rising temperatures that will devastate people and the natural...
How does our Milky Way galaxy get its spiral form?
A question that has long puzzled scientists is how our Milky Way galaxy which has an elegant spiral shape with long arms, took this form.
Following the lizard lung labyrinth
- ScienceDaily
- 19/12/14 18:25
Birds and mammals are on extreme ends of the airflow spectrum. Mammals inhale oxygen-rich air and they exhale depleted air, exhibiting a so-called tidal flow pattern. In contrast, bird breath travels tidally through part of the respiratory system, but in a one-way loop throughout most of the lung. Biologists have discovered that Savannah monitor lizards have lung structures that are hybrid system...
Conscious visual perception occurs outside the visual system
- ScienceDaily
- 19/12/14 18:25
A new study finds that the conscious perception of visual location occurs in the frontal lobes of the brain, rather than in the visual system in the back of the brain. The results are significant given the ongoing debate among neuroscientists on what consciousness is and where it happens in the brain.
Mitochondria are the 'canary in the coal mine' for cellular stress
- ScienceDaily
- 19/12/14 18:25
Mitochondria, tiny structures present in most cells, are known for their energy-generating machinery. Now, researchers have discovered a new function of mitochondria: they set off molecular alarms when cells are exposed to stress or chemicals that can damage DNA, such as chemotherapy. The results could lead to new cancer treatments that prevent tumors from becoming resistant to chemotherapy.
Excessive antibiotic prescriptions for children in low-, middle-income countries
- ScienceDaily
- 19/12/14 18:25
Between 2007 and 2017, children in eight low- and middle-income countries received, on average, 25 antibiotic prescriptions from birth through age 5 -- up to five times higher than the already high levels observed in high-income settings. The number of antibiotic prescriptions for young children ranged from one per year for children in Senegal to 12 per year for children in Uganda.
UN climate talks unravelling, face failure
A UN climate summit in Madrid risked collapsing Saturday after all-night negotiations between countries left them more divided than ever over on how to fight global warming and pay for its ravages.
Cholera kills over 27,000 pigs in Indonesia
More than 27,000 pigs have died in a hog-cholera epidemic that has struck Indonesia, with thousands more at risk, an animal welfare official said.
US finally giving boot to official foot measurement
Change is afoot for the official measuring stick used to size up big places in America.
Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon up by more than double: data
Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon in November surged by 104 percent compared to the same month in 2018, according to official data released Saturday.
Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock: ‘I have no doubt that aliens are out there’
The space scientist, 51, on appearing in The Clangers, being the class clown, how science can save us and extraterrestial life formsI can’t remember a time when I wasn’t fascinated by space. I was born in 1968, a year before the moon landings. It’s hard now to comprehend just how exciting that was for my generation. It really was moon madness. But it was also because of The Clangers, the...
Researchers get their hands dirty in one of the last frontiers of science
Several researchers from across Canada have teamed up to get the dirt on dirt."It's fascinating because soil is one of the last frontiers," said Claudia Goyer of Agriculture Canada in Fredericton.Goyer and her colleagues are attempting to collect and document all of the organic matter and micro-organisms in topsoil — with a focus on agricultural land and forests.They'll compile...
5 new skyscrapers broke records as the tallest buildings in their countries this year — take a look
At 752 feet tall, The Leonardo overlooks "the richest square mile in Africa." It also comes with one of South Africa's most expensive...
5 new skyscrapers broke records as the tallest buildings in their countries this year — take a look
At 752 feet tall, The Leonardo overlooks "the richest square mile in Africa." It also comes with one of South Africa's most expensive...
US finally giving boot to official foot measurement
Change is afoot for the official measuring stick used to size up big places in America. Some land surveyors use what’s known as the U.S. survey foot. Others use the definition that’s more accepted by the broader world: the international...
The Water Crisis In Cities Everywhere Is Worsening Already Terrible Inequality
While the rich can drill wells and keep swimming pools filled, poorer residents line up for water and struggle to...
Tidal forces carry the mathematical signature of gravitational waves
The idea is something of a technicality, but nevertheless an interesting one.
Five years of thirst: S.Africa's Eastern Cape battles brutal drought
South African farmer Steve Bothma heaved a sigh of relief when the weatherman finally predicted rain.
Thousands of 'penis fish' exposed on California beach
Thousands of marine worms dubbed "penis fish" for their shape and color appeared this week on a California beach after a strong winter storm exposed them.
Mitochondria are the 'canary in the coal mine' for cellular stress
Mitochondria, tiny structures present in most cells, are known for their energy-generating machinery. Now, Salk researchers have discovered a new function of mitochondria: they set off molecular alarms when cells are exposed to stress or chemicals that can damage DNA, such as chemotherapy. The results, published online in Nature Metabolism on December 9, 2019, could lead to new cancer treatments...
Savannah monitor lizards have a unique airflow pattern that is a hybrid of bird and mammal flow patterns
Take a deep breath in. Slowly let it out.
A greener tour? Musicians work toward net-zero emissions on the road
Conversations about climate change are happening everywhere — including within the music industry, often blasted for the environmental impact of concert tours. But some musicians are stepping up with concrete actions to cut down their carbon...
Richer nations accused of stalling progress on climate crisis
Brazil, India and China singled out in UN talks as acting to block agreement on article 6 of Paris agreementPoor countries have accused a handful of richer nations of holding up progress on tackling the climate crisis at UN talks in Madrid, as demonstrators and activists vented their frustration in the final hours of two weeks of negotiations.The talks, which had been due to end on Friday, dragged...
13 fascinating animal species discovered in the last decade, from the 'Wakanda' fish to the world's tiniest frog
Scientists travel to remote mountain forests and the deepest regions of the seas to catalogue new animals from the unknown 86% of Earth's...
13 fascinating animal species discovered in the last decade, from the 'Wakanda' fish to the world's tiniest frog
Scientists travel to remote mountain forests and the deepest regions of the seas to catalogue new animals from the unknown 86% of Earth's...
Satellite evades ‘day of reckoning' to discover puzzling weather phenomenon on Jupiter
At first glance, these newly released images by NASA may look like lava churning in the heart of a volcano, but they reveal otherworldly storm systems whirling in a way that surprised scientists.The swirls in the photos are cyclones around Jupiter's south pole, captured by NASA's Juno spacecraft on Nov. 3, 2019. Juno has been orbiting the solar system's largest planet since 2016 and...