Earth

Illuminating fishing nets is a cost-effective means of dramatically reducing the number of sea turtles getting caught and dying unnecessarily, conservation biologists at the University of Exeter have found.

"This study was exciting, especially when we had our Eureka moment as it became clear that were onto something. We did not know what to expect when we started this work. To map the extent of wildland/urban areas all across Europe was already quite new. But to find that we can use that map to predict fire risk was a real breakthrough." - Professor Heiko Balzter, University of Leicester

A map of wildland areas close to cities (so-called 'Wildland-Urban Interface' (WUI) areas) across Europe has been released by a team of researchers led by the University of Leicester

When a hail storm moved through Fort Worth, Texas on May 5, 1995, it battered the highly populated area with hail up to 4 inches in diameter and struck a local outdoor festival known as the Fort Worth Mayfest.

The Mayfest storm was one of the costliest hailstorms in U.S history, causing more than $2 billion in damage and injuring at least 100 people.

Countries in the tropics are among the largest global exporters of key agricultural commodities such as oil palm, rice, soybean, sugarcane and cassava. They also represent the main source of new land for agriculture at the expense of forests. While international trade may generate economic benefits to the exporting countries, a recent study by researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) revealed that benefits from trade are unable to compensate for the loss of forests and ecosystems in those countries.

Today, at the Microbiology Society's Annual Conference in Liverpool, scientists will reveal how Arctic microbes are increasing the rate at which glaciers melt, in a process not accounted for in current climate change models.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (March 22, 2016) -- More and more physicians are becoming parents during their medical residency training. While most residency programs offer support for resident physicians during pregnancy, no formal ways to support parenting residents exist beyond the immediate birth of their children. Following a recent study of conflicts with work and family life, a University of Missouri School of Medicine researcher suggests that supportive residency training programs are needed to assist physicians who are managing demanding work and personal lives.

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals may contribute to reproductive health problems experienced by hundreds of thousands of women, costing European Union an estimated €1.4 billion ($1.5 billion) a year in health care expenditures and lost earning potential, according to a new study in Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

Researchers from the University of Liverpool's Institute of Translational Medicine and colleagues from The University of Bristol's School of Social and Community Medicine have conducted a review of the clinical and cost effectiveness of labour induction methods.

More than 150,000 pregnant women in England and Wales have their labours induced each year. Multiple pharmacological, non-pharmacological, mechanical and complementary methods are available to induce labour.

The effectiveness of e-cigarettes as a smoking substitute will likely rely on whether they can consistently provide the amount of nicotine a smoker needs to resist the desire to return to traditional cigarettes.

A recent study that evaluated a new method for measuring nicotine delivery from e-cigarettes found that 'first-generation' e-cigarettes, which use 'cartomizers', deliver nicotine less consistently than later-generation e-cigarettes, which use 'atomizers' that vaporize liquid contained in a refillable tank.

OAK RIDGE, Tenn., March 22, 2016--Your car's bumper is probably made of a moldable thermoplastic polymer called ABS, shorthand for its acrylonitrile, butadiene and styrene components. Light, strong and tough, it is also the stuff of ventilation pipes, protective headgear, kitchen appliances, Lego bricks and many other consumer products. Useful as it is, one of its drawbacks is that it is made using chemicals derived from petroleum.

Washington, D.C., March 22, 2016 -- Printing has come a long way since the days of Johannes Gutenberg. Now, researchers have developed a new method that uses plasma to print nanomaterials onto a 3-D object or flexible surface, such as paper or cloth. The technique could make it easier and cheaper to build devices like wearable chemical and biological sensors, flexible memory devices and batteries, and integrated circuits.

The earliest measurements of Earth's climate using thermometers and other tools start in the 1850s.

To look further back in time, scientists investigate air bubbles trapped in ice cores, expanding the scope of climate records to nearly a million years. But to study Earth's history over millions of years, researchers examine the chemical and biological signatures in deep-sea sediments.

WASHINGTON, March 22, 2016 -- For 1 to 2 percent of the global population, eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich could be potentially fatal. What makes peanut allergies so lethal, and why is the number of peanut-allergy sufferers on the rise? This week on Reactions, Andrew Maynard from Risk Bites explains what causes peanut allergies and why we need to rethink how we prevent them. Check it out here: https://youtu.be/Ge4I5DqLhhs.

Scientists have found that the global livestock sector can maintain the economic and social benefits it delivers while significantly reducing emissions, and in doing so help meet the global mitigation challenge.

The research group of Professor Hideo Ohno and Associate Professor Shunsuke Fukami of Tohoku University has developed a new-structure magnetic memory device utilizing spin-orbit- torque-induced magnetization switching.