Earth

The new study shows that dams and irrigation considerably raise the global human consumption of freshwater by increasing evapotranspiration. This effect increases the loss of freshwater to the atmosphere and thereby reduces the water available for humans, societies and ecosystems on land.

Scientists and engineers are engaged in a global race to make new materials that are as thin, light and strong as possible. These properties can be achieved by designing materials at the atomic level, but they are only useful if they can leave the carefully controlled conditions of a lab.

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have now created the thinnest plates that can be picked up and manipulated by hand.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 3, 2015 -- It's time to fend off the flu, and millions are getting their shot to defend against this year's predicted strains. The latest Speaking of Chemistry episode highlights recent research that might make this annual tradition more effective and less frequent. Speaking of Chemistry's Sophia Cai explains the chemistry behind a shot that could keep you from getting the flu for years to come. Check it out here: https://youtu.be/A1vEOVm9ZWQ.

Exposure to cold temperatures is known to mimic the effects of exercise, protecting against obesity and improving metabolic health. A study published December 3 in Cell now reveals that the beneficial health effects of cold exposure are mediated in part by gut microbes. The researchers found that cold exposure dramatically alters the composition of intestinal bacteria in mice and that this microbial shift is sufficient to burn fat, improve glucose metabolism, and reduce body weight.

MANHATTAN, KANSAS -- Kansas State University researchers have developed a new testing method to help millers assure wheat flour purity that will meet baking industry standards and consumers' expectations.

The test introduces sophisticated molecular methods that focus on high, endosperm purity in flour extracted from wheat kernels.

Religion can be a 'lynchpin' for achieving widespread global action on climate change, says a researcher from QUT, in Brisbane, Australia.

Dr Paul Bain, from QUT's School of Psychology and Counselling, led a three-year research program, published in Nature Climate Change, into people's motivations to act on climate change.

The study found people around the world were willing to act on climate change, by both reducing their carbon footprints and supporting government action, to promote a more caring and moral society.

Every measurement is potentially prone to systematic error. The more sensitive the measurement method, the more important it is to make sure it is also accurate. This is key for example in measuring magnetic fields in state-of-the-art fundamental physics experiments. Now, an international team of physicists has developed an extremely high-precision method for the determination of magnetic fields. The resulting device, they found, has an intrinsic sensitivity that makes it ideal for fundamental physics and cosmology experiments attempting to explain the missing antimatter of the universe.

Nearly all of the world's countries have announced targets for reducing their greenhouse gas emissions. However, more ambitious emission reductions are needed in order to limit global warming to two degrees. This is shown by VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland in their analysis of the emission targets from 159 countries.

The humble pine cone is more than a holiday decoration, it's an ancient form of tree sex.

Flowers may be faster and showier, but the largest living things in the world? The oldest? They all reproduce with pine cones.

PBS “Deep Look” dives into the reproductive roles of pine cones. You can see more below, but don’t worry it’s safe for work.

MIAMI - A University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science-led research team analyzed the sediments of mesophotic coral reefs, deep reef communities living 30-150 meters below sea level, to understand how habitat diversity at these deeper depths may be recorded in the sedimentary record. The findings showed that sediments provide an important record of the bottom dwelling organisms that formed the architecture of coral reef ecosystems and support their high biodiversity today.

EAST LANSING, Mich. --- As world leaders meet this week and next at a historic climate change summit in Paris, a new study by Michigan State University environmental scientists suggests opponents of climate change appear to be winning the war of words.

The research, funded by the National Science Foundation, finds that climate-change advocates are largely failing to influence public opinion. Climate-change foes, on the other hand, are successfully changing people's minds -- Republicans and Democrats alike -- with messages denying the existence of global warming.

Global climate change isn't new -- the phenomenon has been around for millions of years. But now, a core from the ocean floor in the Santa Barbara Basin provides a remarkable ultra-high-resolution record of Earth's paleoclimate history during a brief, dynamic time hundreds of thousands of years ago.

AMES, Iowa - Replacing an old incandescent lightbulb with new LED lighting might seem insignificant in reducing energy consumption. It is a simple step, but an effective one that shouldn't be overlooked, said Yu Wang, an assistant professor of political science, who studies global energy policy and energy efficiency, at Iowa State University.

Alpha particles, as the nuclei of the helium atom are also called, play a decisive role in the formation of heavier elements. Carbon, for instance, is formed from the fusion of these alpha particles. If another helium nucleus is added, oxygen is formed - another prerequisite for the development of life on Earth. In the current issue of the journal Nature, an international team of researchers is now presenting a new method using supercomputers to create detailed simulations of these birth processes inside stars.

Washington, D.C., Dec. 2, 2015 - Hybrid optoelectronic devices based on blends of hard and soft semiconductors can combine the properties of the two material types, opening the possibility for devices with novel functionality and properties, such as cheap and scalable solution-based processing methods. However, the efficiency of such devices is limited by the relatively slow electronic communication between the material components that relies on charge transfer, which is susceptible to losses occurring at the hybrid interface.