2017
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Global temperature hiatus claims ‘based on statistical errors’
Claims of a ‘slowdown’ or ‘hiatus’ in rising global temperatures are not supported by an in-depth analysis of statistical evidence, a new study has shown. The study, conducted by researchers from Germany and the USA, examined global-mean surface temperature (GMST) trends, in the light of a recent series of three record-breaking years in a row […]
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African forests threatened by global demand for commodity crops
International demand for commodity crops like cocoa is putting increasing pressure on tropical forests in sub-Saharan Africa, according to new research. The study – the first comprehensive empirical assessment of land-use change impacts of commodity crop expansion in sub-Saharan Africa, and their effects on tropical deforestation – published today in the journal Environmental Research Letters. […]
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Earth’s rotation affects the wide world of sports
The inertial forces generated by the Earth as it rotates can have an impact on sports as varied as cricket, bowls, rowing, swimming and horse racing, Australian researchers have shown. Dr Garry Robinson, from the University of New South Wales, Canberra, and his brother Dr Ian Robinson, from Victoria University, Melbourne, looked at how the […]
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Can you create 2D nanosheets from cat litter?
What do talcum powder, beach sand and cat litter have in common? Surprisingly, they can all be used to create two-dimensional materials, known as nanosheets. In what’s believed to be a world first, researchers from Trinity College Dublin and the University of Manchester used a technique called liquid phase exfoliation (LPE) to create 2D sheets […]
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Bee grooming behaviour could help with microelectromechanical cleaning
A new study on the grooming habits of bees has given new physical insight into the process of pollination, and could have implications for future microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). Researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, USA, and Kiel University in Germany, examined how pollenating insects that purposely cover themselves with millions of pollen […]
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IOP Publishing launches Journal of Physics Communications
IOP Publishing is pleased to announce the launch of Journal of Physics Communications, a new multidisciplinary open access journal, offering researchers an accelerated and innovative way to publish their work. The journal welcomes the submission of papers from all areas of research relating to physics. It has a particular interest in interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary studies […]
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Environmental impact overlooked as ethanol production drives grassland loss
More than three million acres of grassland around ethanol refineries in the USA was lost to crop production between 2008 and 2012, as the USA sought to increase biofuel production, according to a new study. Introduced as part of the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007, the Renewable Fuel Standard version 2 (RFS2) […]
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Liquid breathing moves a step closer thanks to measurement study
Liquid ventilation –breathing a liquid instead of air – has long been the stuff of science fiction, and despite experimental clinical use, its potential for treating severe pulmonary or cardiac trauma, and use in deep diving and space travel, it is still not widely used or understood. However, thanks to the work of German researchers […]
