304 articles from MONDAY 21.9.2020

Combining two tools would boost understanding of climate change

How much carbon dioxide, a pivotal greenhouse gas behind global warming, is absorbed by plants on land? It's a deceptively complicated question, so a Rutgers-led group of scientists recommends combining two cutting-edge tools to help answer the crucial climate change-related question.

Unexpected wildfire emission impacts air quality worldwide

In lab studies of wildfire, nitrous acid seems like a minor actor, often underrepresented in atmospheric models. But in the real-world atmosphere, during wildfires, the chemical plays a leading role—spiking to levels significantly higher than scientists expected, driving increased ozone pollution and harming air quality, according to a new study led by the University of Colorado Boulder and the...

Highly efficient perovskite solar cells with enhanced stability and minimised lead leakage

While the power conversion efficiency of perovskite solar cells (PVSCs)—a future of solar cells—has already greatly improved in the past decade, the problems of instability and potential environmental impact are yet to be overcome. Recently, scientists from City University of Hong Kong (CityU) have developed a novel method which can simultaneously tackle the leakage of lead from PVSCs and the...

How to get a handle on carbon dioxide uptake by plants

How much carbon dioxide, a pivotal greenhouse gas behind global warming, is absorbed by plants on land? It's a deceptively complicated question, so a group of scientists recommends combining two cutting-edge tools to help answer the crucial climate change-related question.

Biomarker indicating neurodegeneration identified in the eye

A new study indicates a well-known biomarker that serves as a marker for earlier diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases is now detectable in the eye. Neurofilament light chain, a protein previously detected in cerebrospinal fluid and blood that is being explored as a biomarker to detect neurodegeneration, has now been identified in the vitreous humor, or fluid within the eye.

Pandemic shows need for global response to climate change, says Attenborough

COVID-19 is a reminder that "we are all in it together" and the world needs a global response to the climate change crisis, David Attenborough said, as he launched a film about lessons learned during his seven decades as a television naturalist. The film "David Attenborough: A Life On Our Planet" sets out his "witness statement" on the destruction of the environment and ideas on how humans can...

Can the UK avoid 50,000 Covid-19 cases a day?

Continued doubling of infection rate feared by top advisers is unlikely to happen, say some expertsCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageOn one thing, everyone agrees: the UK is at a turning point.After a summer of crowded beaches and pubs reopening, followed by children returning to school and employees going back to the workplace, new cases of Covid-19 are definitely on...

Arctic sea ice suffers 'devastating' loss, shrinks to second lowest on record

Warming in the Arctic shrank the ice covering the polar ocean this year to its second-lowest extent in four decades, scientists announced Monday, yet another sign of how climate change is rapidly transforming the region. Satellites recorded this year's sea ice minimum at 3.74 million square kilometers on Sept. 15, only the second time the ice has been measured below 4 million square kilometers in...