157 articles from THURSDAY 3.11.2022

'Hazardous' smog chokes India's capital

Smog in New Delhi hit "hazardous" levels on Thursday as smoke from thousands of crop fires in northern India combined with other pollutants to create a noxious grey cocktail enveloping the megacity.

EXPLAINER: Where will Hawaii's biggest volcano erupt from?

The ground is shaking and swelling at Mauna Loa, the largest active volcano in the world, indicating that it could erupt. Scientists say they don't expect that to happen right away but officials on the Big Island of Hawaii are telling residents to be prepared in case it does erupt soon. Here's are some things to know about the volcano.

Waikīkī Beach studies reveal complex drivers of changing shoreline

The Royal Hawaiian Beach in Waikīkī is a popular beach at the center of Hawai'i's tourism hub, with a valuation of $2.2 billion, according to a 2016 study. Two recently published studies from researchers at the University of Hawai'i (UH) at Mānoa's Climate Resilience Collaborative (CRC) provide new understanding of how and why this iconic beach is chronically eroding—enabling coastal managers...

Good Night Oppy review – cutesy Spielberg-assisted Mars documentary

The fascinating story of two Nasa rovers that ended up spending 15 years on Mars verges into cloying territoryDusty, colder than cold, 139,000 miles away from the sun, Mars isn’t the most hospitable of environments. Nor is it the most universally compelling of film settings. Not everybody, after all, wants to go on a space odyssey, let alone one whose protagonists are robotic vehicles. Ryan...

Invasive mosquito could disrupt Africa’s ‘landscape of malaria’ after cases rise

Insecticide-resistant newcomer caused unprecedented urban outbreak in Ethiopia and can survive the dry season, scientists sayScientists are warning that the invasion of an insecticide-resistant mosquito could change Africa’s “landscape of malaria” after research showed it caused an unprecedented urban outbreak in Ethiopia.An investigation into a steep rise in cases in the Ethiopian city of...

Scientists zap clouds with electricity to make them rain

Experiment finds electrical charge can alter size of water droplets and cause them to ‘explode’Gloomy foggy days are frequent in November, but there’s not a lot we can do about them. Or is there? A new experiment has shown that zapping clouds with electrical charge can alter droplet sizes in fog or, potentially, help a constipated cloud to rain.Last year Giles Harrison, from the University...

Cop27: a chance for change – or more of the same?

On Sunday, world leaders, negotiators and industry representatives will begin to arrive in Sharm el-Sheik in Egypt for Cop27, the UN’s climate change conference. A UN report set the stage for talks last week, stating that there is “no credible pathway to 1.5C in place” and that progress on limiting global temperature rises has been “woefully inadequate”. So will governments take the...

Artificial intelligence makes enzyme engineering easy

You can't move a pharmaceutical scientist from a lab to a kitchen and expect the same research output. Enzymes behave exactly the same: They are dependent upon a specific environment. But now, in a study recently published in ACS Synthetic Biology, researchers from Osaka University have imparted an analogous level of adaptability to enzymes, a goal that has remained elusive for over 30 years.

Researchers find that 60% of home 'compostable' plastic doesn't fully break down and ends up in our soil instead

In a UK-wide study, researchers have found that 60% of home-compostable plastics do not fully disintegrate in home compost bins, and inevitably end up in our soil. The study also found that citizens are confused about the labels of compostable and biodegradable plastics, leading to incorrect plastic waste disposal. These results highlight the need to revise and redesign this supposedly sustainable...