Research News
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Nuanced picture emerges of IS land seizure effect on agriculture in Iraq and Syria
Land seizures by Islamic State (IS) in areas of Iraq and Syria have had mixed effects on agriculture, according to a new study. The study, led by researchers from Lund University, Sweden, found the emergence of IS and the related violence had reshaped the agricultural landscape in Iraq and Syria, but that low intensity agriculture […]
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Nano-notch sends self-assembling polymers into a spiral
Template modification could speed up the fabrication of sensing substrates and other novel structures A simple circular or hexagonal pit written into silicon can be used to generate self-assembling polymer spirals thanks to the addition of a tiny notch in the template, report scientists in the launch issue of Nano Futures. What’s more, modifying the […]
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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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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) […]
