Earth

The current reduction in Arctic sea-ice extent causes unpredictable weather phenomena in the Arctic Ocean (strong winds, high waves, and rapid sea-ice movement associated with cyclones) also over the mid-latitudes (heat waves, severe winters, etc.). With such changing background conditions, more accurate weather forecasts are needed to safely navigate along the Northern Sea Route (NSR) and to understand the climatic linkage between the Arctic and the mid-latitudes. However, this is difficult because of the sparse number of atmospheric observations across the Arctic Ocean.

Organic-inorganic perovskite materials are key components of the new generation of solar cells. Understanding properties of these materials is important for improving lifetime and quality of solar cells. Researchers from the Energy Materials and Surface Sciences (EMSS) Unit, led by Prof. Yabing Qi, at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST) in collaboration with Prof. Youyong Li's group from Soochow University (China) and Prof.

What do astrophysics, telecommunications and pharmacology have in common? Each of these fields relies on polarimeters -- instruments that detect the direction of the oscillation of electromagnetic waves, otherwise known as the polarization of light.

The current reduction in Arctic sea-ice extent causes unpredictable weather phenomena in the Arctic Ocean (strong winds, high waves, and rapid sea-ice movement associated with cyclones) also over the mid-latitudes (heat waves, severe winters, etc.). With such changing background conditions, more accurate weather forecasts are needed to safely navigate along the Northern Sea Route (NSR) and to understand the climatic linkage between the Arctic and the mid-latitudes. However, this is difficult because of the sparse number of atmospheric observations across the Arctic Ocean.

Scientists working at Loughborough University, UK, and the University of Cordoba, Spain, have developed a new method for the rapid diagnosis of poisoning in apparently drunk patients.

The saliva-based test offers the potential to screen for poisons commonly associated with the cheap or imitation manufacture of alcohol, and γ-hydroxybutyric acid, the so-called 'date rape' drug GHB.

The results are published today, Jan. 8, 2016, in the Journal of Breath Research.

A study by Simon Fraser University health sciences professor Dr. Julian Somers reveals that a growing number of those experiencing longstanding homelessness and mental disorders in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside (DTES) have migrated from elsewhere. Service use records of more than 400 homeless individuals with psychiatric comorbidities were analyzed to examine patterns of geographic relocation, as well as health, justice, and social welfare service utilization.

COLLEGE STATION - Private landowners and managers tend to shy away from the use of prescribed fire for maintaining rangeland and forest ecosystems in spite of the known benefits due to the potential liability factor, according to a Texas A&M University study.

This is a concern, said Dr. Bill Rogers, a Texas A&M AgriLife Research professor in the department of ecosystem science and management in College Station, as fire has historically played an important role in achieving land management objectives, and eliminating its use could have detrimental effects.

Despite their diversity, the structure of most tropical rainforests is highly predictable. Scientists have described the various sizes of the trees by a simple mathematical relationship called a power law.

Alexandria, VA - In an effort to reduce water use in California, communities are turning to wastewater purification. This wastewater is being made so pure that it's actually causing problems: EARTH Magazine reports on a new study that showed that ultra-purified water allowed minute amounts of arsenic to leach from the surrounding bedrock into the water.

KNOXVILLE --Tropical rainforests play a vital role in the well-being of our planet, soaking up carbon dioxide and helping stabilize the global climate. Understanding the science of rainforests--the "lungs" of the planet--is critical to maintaining the fragile balance of Earth's ecosystems.

Advocates of huge hydroelectric dam projects on the Amazon, Congo, and Mekong rivers often overestimate economic benefits and underestimate far-reaching effects on biodiversity, according to an article in the Jan. 8 issue of Science by scientists representing 30 academic, government, and conservation organizations in eight countries.

Outdated land management practices, a dearth of local decision-making bodies with real powers, a lack of long-term planning, along with long-standing educational and financial disempowerment and marginalization are among the hurdles the prevent Arctic communities from adapting to climate change, says a McGill-led research team. But Arctic communities inherently have the capacity to adapt to significant climate change. That's partly because they are used to accepting a changeable and uncertain climate.

to an average reduction in energy intake of 38.4 kcal (calories) per day by the end of the 5th year and this would lead to an average reduction in body weight of 1.20kg in adults, resulting in a reduction in overweight and obese adults by approximately 0.5 million (1.0%) and 1.0 million (2.1%) respectively. This would in turn prevent 274,000-309,000 obesity-related type 2 diabetes over the next two decades.

Scientists have recreated an elusive form of the material that makes up much of the giant planets in our solar system, and the sun.

Experiments have given a glimpse of a previously unseen form of hydrogen that exists only at extremely high pressures - more than 3 million times that of Earth's atmosphere.

Hydrogen - which is among the most abundant elements in the Universe - is thought to be found in this high-pressure form in the interiors of Jupiter and Saturn.

A new study shows that the increase in human activities and nutrient release have led to the current rise in the number of hypoxic lakes worldwide.

This finding has just been released in the journal Global Change Biology. The international research team has found out that the onset of lacustrine hypoxia is mainly due to direct and local anthropogenic impacts rather than to recent climate change. The study also showed that aquatic rehabilitation programs have failed so far to return lake bottoms to their original well-oxygenated status.