Plans are being implemented to create plastic floating islands containing papyrus plants to help protect the ecosystems of a renowned lake in the Rift Valley, Kenya.
The German REWE Group is funding a papyrus restoration partnership between UK-owned tea producer and flower grower Finlays and Dr David Harper, a Senior Lecturer at the University of Leicester, which aims to recreate the water-cleansing services of papyrus as artificial floating islands.
On average, children in Switzerland are 9 years old when they use the internet for the first time. They spend on average 64 minutes per day online, which is substantially less than the European average (88 minutes). These are the results of a new study carried out by the Institut für Publizistikwissenschaft und Medienforschung (Institute of Mass Communication and Media Research) at the University of Zurich. The survey was conducted in the German-speaking and western part of Switzerland with 1,000 children and young people as well as one of their parents in each case.
EUGENE, Ore. -- (Sept. 20, 2012) -- University of Oregon scientists have found a way to correctly reproduce not only the structure but also important thermodynamic quantities such as pressure and compressibility of a large, multiscale system at variable levels of molecular coarse-graining.
The method is a mathematically driven predictive modeling of a real system, built on liquid state theory, and utilizing powerful computing resources. The team's theory appears in the Sept. 21 issue of the journal Physical Review Letters.
Climate-prediction models show skills in forecasting climate trends over time spans of greater than 30 years and at the geographical scale of continents, but they deteriorate when applied to shorter time frames and smaller geographical regions, a new study has found.
NEW YORK - September 19, 2012 - Sally and Harry are about to invest in their company's 401(k) plan. Sally chooses the best performing mutual fund, which has high risks but boasts a 25 percent year-to-date return. Harry, after considering the tradeoffs between risks and rewards, opts for a lower performing fund with an 8 percent year-to-date return. When they receive their next quarterly performance reports, both Sally and Harry discover that their funds have met their initial expectations. Are they satisfied? If not, why? And how could their levels of satisfaction be improved?
(Santa Barbara, Calif.) –– A multi-university team has employed a high-powered laser based at UC Santa Barbara to dramatically improve one of the tools scientists use to study the world at the atomic level. The team used their amped-up electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectrometer to study the electron spin of free radicals and nitrogen atoms trapped inside a diamond.
The improvement will pull back the veil that shrouds the molecular world, allowing scientists to study tiny molecules at a high resolution.
A multi-university team has employed a high-powered laser to dramatically improve one of the tools scientists use to study the world at the atomic level. The team was able to use their amped-up electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectrometer to study the electron spin of free radicals and nitrogen atoms trapped inside a diamond.
The improvement will pull back the veil that shrouds the molecular world, allowing scientists to study tiny molecules at a high resolution.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. --- An international team of scientists is rewriting a page from the quantum physics rulebook using a University of Florida laboratory once dubbed the coldest spot in the universe.
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A new study of the sense of smell lends support to a controversial theory of olfaction: Our noses can distinguish both the shape and the vibrational characteristics of odorant molecules.
Large normal-sense displacement on the South Tibetan fault system in the eastern HimalayaF.J. Cooper et al., School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287, USA. Posted online 4 Sept. 2012; 10.1130/G33318.1.
Carbon dioxide (CO2) released into the oceans as a result of water pollution by nutrients — a major source of this greenhouse gas that gets little public attention — is enhancing the unwanted changes in ocean acidity due to atmospheric increases in CO2. The changes may already be impacting commercial fish and shellfish populations, according to new data and model predictions published today in ACS's journal, Environmental Science & Technology.
A study on how gold atoms bond to other atoms using a model that takes into account bonds direction has been carried out by physicist Marie Backman from the University of Helsinki, Finland, and colleagues. These findings, which are about to be published in EPJ B, are a first step toward better understanding how gold binds to other materials through strong, so-called covalent, bonds.
A study has highlighted the sensitivity of Australia's species and ecosystems to climate change, and the need for new ways of thinking about biodiversity conservation.
Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed a new computational method for identifying candidate refrigerant fluids with low "global warming potential" (GWP) — the tendency to trap heat in the atmosphere for many decades — as well as other desirable performance and safety features.
While wave watching is a favorite pastime of beachgoers, few notice what is happening in the shallowest water. A closer look by two University of Colorado Boulder applied mathematicians has led to the discovery of interacting X- and Y-shaped ocean waves that may help explain why some tsunamis are able to wreak so much havoc.