News
-
New insight from MIT on what killed off the dinosaurs
Posted: December 12, 2014Sixty-six million years ago, an asteroid more than five miles wide smashed into the Earth at 70,000 miles per hour, instantly vaporizing upon impact. The strike obliterated most terrestrial life,…
More -
How birds hear without ears
Posted: December 11, 2014Unlike mammals, birds have no external ears. The outer ears of mammals play an important function in that they help the animal identify sounds coming from different elevations. But birds…
More -
Pollution May Cause Problems for Pollinators
Posted: December 11, 2014While unpleasant car exhaust makes us wrinkle our noses, such human-made fumes may pose serious problems to insects searching for nectar. Researchers recently revealed that background odors make finding flowers…
More -
Nitrous Oxide emissions and Ice Ages
Posted: December 11, 2014Nitrous oxide (N2O) is an important greenhouse gas that doesn’t receive as much notoriety as carbon dioxide or methane, but a new study confirms that atmospheric levels of N2O rose…
More -
Scientists estimate the total weight of plastic floating in the world's oceans
Posted: December 10, 2014Nearly 269,000 tons of plastic pollution may be floating in the world's oceans, according to a study published December 10, 2014 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Marcus Eriksen…
More -
What to do with all that zoo poop
Posted: December 10, 2014Ron Patalano, director of operations at Roger Williams Park Zoo, has high praise for his staff. After all, it takes a mighty amount of shoveling to fill the two 30-yard…
More -
Can organic crops compete with industrial agriculture?
Posted: December 10, 2014A systematic overview of more than 100 studies comparing organic and conventional farming finds that the crop yields of organic agriculture are higher than previously thought. The study, conducted by…
More -
Warming climate puts wetlands more at risk to invasive species
Posted: December 10, 2014In the battle between native and invasive wetland plants, a new Duke University study finds climate change may tip the scales in favor of the invaders — but it's going…
More -
Abandoned Wells Identified as Greenhouse Gas 'Super-emitters'
Posted: December 9, 2014Princeton University researchers have uncovered a previously unknown, and possibly substantial, source of the greenhouse gas methane to the Earth's atmosphere. After testing a sample of abandoned oil and natural gas…
More -
Do Wind Turbines Affect Property Values?
Posted: December 9, 2014Wind turbine developments have no effect on property values of nearby homes and farms, according to new research from the University of Guelph. Published in a recent issue of the Canadian…
More