Research News
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Study finds evidence of Deepwater Horizon oil in land-based birds
Results highlight food-web link between oil exposure and a terrestrial ecosystem The ecological consequences of an environmental disaster can extend further than one may imagine as effects propagate through interconnected food webs. Most recently, researchers in the US have found evidence suggesting that oil from the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) spillage has been incorporated into birds […]
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Novel reaction microscope scheme targets biologically relevant molecules
Latest spectrometer design is more sensitive to chemical fragments and can distinguish between isomers with more than one carbon atom Researchers in Germany and the US have upgraded the performance of a reaction microscope so that the technique — known as Cold Target Recoil Ion Momentum Spectroscopy, or COLTRIMS for short — can be extended […]
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Middle East dust storm not caused by conflict, study finds
Climate change, not the ongoing regional conflict, was behind last year’s huge dust storm in the Middle East, according to new research published in Environmental Research Letters. The storm in September 2015 affected Syria, Lebanon, Turkey and Cyprus, leading to scores of people being hospitalised, ports being closed, flights being cancelled, and large portions of […]
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Cheap loans for renewables would drive global energy transition
Achieving the global energy transition will not only require the introduction of carbon prices. In addition, costs of capital for wind and solar power plants will need to be reduced from about 10 per cent today to below five per cent in the emerging and developing countries. This could be accomplished by way of export […]
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Physicists make it possible to 3D print your own baby universe
Researchers have created a 3D printed cosmic microwave background – a map of the oldest light in the universe – and provided the files for download. The cosmic microwave background (CMB) is a glow the universe has in the microwave range that maps the oldest light in the universe. It was imprinted when the universe […]
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Dogs detecting cancer: putting the idea to the test
Study performed on smokers and ex-smokers examines whether canine scent detection could really be a suitable screening tool for lung-cancer under clinical conditions.
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Physicists refine polymer model to study the origins of life
Linear molecular system where DNA strand length is used as a proxy for groups of living organisms exhibits selective behaviour that can continue indefinitely.
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Seismic shield: large-scale metamaterials combat earthquakes in 3D model
Numerical analysis considers both surface and guided waves, accounts for soil dissipation, and provides design guidelines for implementing earthquake protection using an array of ground-based cavities Metamaterials – artificial structures that exhibit extraordinary vibrational properties – could come to the rescue of regions threatened by earthquakes, according to new results published in the New Journal […]
