By analyzing samples taken directly from a cow's cellulose-digesting foregut, the authors of a new study elucidated a new catalogue of nearly 30,000 enzymes that could lead to more efficient production of cellulosic biofuel...
A genome-level understanding of how the fungus Grosmannia clavigera, a symbiont of the mountain pine beetle, withstands its host tree's chemical defenses could help ecological modelers better forecast the range and extent of the epidemic...
Citing a lack of information, scientists argue a consultant's conclusion that Saskatchewan's Weyburn oil field is leaking greenhouse gas is unfounded
Do video games change behavior? This question may be the subject of debate for years, but researchers have now shown the answer to be yes—for microorganism behavior, at least.
In another step for synthetic biology, genes designed in the lab and not seen in nature have been used by researchers to rescue bacterial cells from death
A new study finds a previous estimate of wastewater's potential as a renewable energy source "a substantial underestimation"
The nature of the congresswoman's injury, along with prompt emergency care kept her alive
Two recent studies highlight a debate within the world of marine fisheries science over how to interpret available fisheries data
Ocean acidification, the result of roughly a third of global CO2 emissions dissolving into the seawater and lowering its pH, has complicated and poorly understood consequences for ocean ecosystems...
Humpback whales are impressively agile swimmers—thanks in no small part to the rows of bumps, called tubercles, on the leading edges of their flippers.
Rather than raising alarm, new study results could help pave the way toward better methods for monitoring geologic carbon sequestration areas and detecting CO2 leaks
Researchers have found a gene that promotes faster-growing and larger roots, which could lead to plants with a robuster ability to sequester excess atmospheric carbon
Does Bjorn Lomborg add value to the global warming conversation or does he set it back? That depends on whom you ask. In 2008 The Guardian named the Danish academic and author of the 2004 controversial bestseller The Skeptical Environmentalist "one of the 50 people who could save the planet." In contrast, many see him as a disruptive and even damaging force in the ongoing debate regarding humanity's best course for dealing with global warming.A similar dichotomy characterizes the political discussion, at least in the United States, around the issue of climate change...
In a new study scientists used "paleothermometers" to gauge CO2 and temperatures that prevailed during a long-lived primordial global warming event, and found CO2 to be the culprit
Could purple wind turbines decrease the carnage wreaked in the night by looming towers with spinning blades on Halloween's iconic flying mammals?
A new analysis using a standard drought index augurs that by the end of the century devastating drought conditions will take hold over much of the populated areas of the world
Are surface winds around the world really slowing down? That's the suggestion of a new study in Nature Geoscience . The authors built on previous studies indicating such a trend by analyzing surface wind data from 822 wind stations in Europe, Asia and North America...
A new review sums up options for increasing global carbon sequestration by flora and speculates that genetically engineering crops and trees could enhance the process, trapping gigatons of the greenhouse gas as well as increasing bioenergy production...
The participants of the 36th annual Nikon microscopic photography competition won prizes for minuscule masterpieces rendering really close close-ups of everything from mosquito hearts and rat retinas to soy sauce and soap film...
Renewable energy made big national headlines October 12 as a group of investors, including search engine giant Google, announced plans to build a 560-kilometer offshore wind power transmission "backbone" off the U.S...
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