Research News
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Microbe study highlights Greenland ice sheet toxicity
The Greenland ice sheet is often seen as a pristine environment, but new research has revealed that may not be the case. A Danish-led study, published today in the journal Environmental Research Letters, examined how microbes from the ice sheet have the potential to resist and degrade globally-emitted contaminants such as mercury, lead, PAH and […]
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Owls’ wings could hold the key to beating wind turbine noise
A new study has revealed how inspiration from owls’ wings could allow aircraft and wind turbines to become quieter. Researchers from Japan and China studied the serrations in the leading edge of owls’ wings, gaining new insight into how they work to make the birds’ flight silent. Their results, published today in the journal Bioinspiration […]
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Record UK rainfall in winter 2013-14 caused by the tropics, stratosphere and climate warming
New research has revealed the causes of the UK’s record rainfall and subsequent flooding during the 2013-14 winter. Using carefully tailored atmosphere/ocean model experiments, the research team found that a combination of unusual tropical conditions, the stratospheric polar vortex, and climate warming were behind the extreme rainfall, which led to severe flooding across many parts […]
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Injury measurement technique helps players get back in the game
A new method of measuring sports-related muscle injury could help provide accurate return-to-play time for athletes. That’s the finding of a new study published today in the journal Physiological Measurement. It was led by the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC), in collaboration with the medical team at Futbol Club Barcelona. The research explored using localised […]
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Implant infections could be banished thanks to scaffold breakthrough
Researchers in Ireland have taken a major step forward in the battle against medical implant infections. They developed a new type of implant scaffold to provide localised drug treatment and prevent infection, which has already proven effective against two types of major problem bacteria. Publishing their results today in the journal Biomedical Materials, the team […]
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Global diet and farming methods ‘must change for environment’s sake’
Reducing meat consumption and using more efficient farming methods globally are essential to stave off irreversible damage to the environmental, a new study says. The research, from the University of Minnesota, also found that future increases in agricultural sustainability are likely to be driven by dietary shifts and increases in efficiency, rather than changes between […]
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Temperature changes starting to make it easier for malaria to climb the Ethiopian highlands
The highlands of Ethiopia are home to the majority of the country’s population, the cooler climate serving as a natural buffer against malaria transmission. New data now show that increasing temperatures over the past 35 years are eroding this buffer, allowing conditions more favourable for malaria to begin climbing into highland areas. That is the […]
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Could renewable ‘power-by-wire’ help fix China’s air pollution problems?
Bringing renewable power ‘by wire’ from western China to its power-hungry Eastern cities could have benefits for both local air quality and global climate change, new research has found. The study, published today in the journal Environmental Research Letters, examined if ongoing power transmission capacity investment in China – driven largely by concerns over air […]
