Mineral particles played a key role in raising oxygen levels in the Earth's atmosphere billions of years ago, with major implications for the way intelligent life later evolved, according to new research.
A wholly sustainable plastics economy is feasible
A new study shows what it will take for the plastics industry to become completely sustainable: lots of recycling combined with the use of CO2 from the air and biomass. It is also the image of plastics that need to change.
Toothed Whales Catch Food in the Deep Using Vocal Fry
Dolphins and other toothed whales are large brained top predators that captivate our imagination; they are extremely social, they cooperate, and can hunt prey down to 2km deep in complete darkness with echolocation.
Sea level rise poses particular risk for Asian megacities
Sea level rise this century may disproportionately affect certain Asian megacities, according to new research that looks at the effects of natural sea level fluctuations in addition to climate change. The study identified several Asian megacities that may face especially significant risks by 2100, including Chennai, Kolkata, Yangon, Bangkok, Ho...
The world’s first horse riders
The earliest evidence of horse riders has likely been found by an international team of archaeologists and bioanthropologists.
Cheap charcoal air filters offer improvements to in-vehicle air quality
A cheap charcoal air filter can reduce nitrogen dioxide (NO2) inside vehicles by as much as 90%, compared to levels outside the vehicle.
Most detailed geological model reveals Earth’s past 100 million years
Previous models of Earth's recent (100 million years) geomorphology have been patchy at best. For the first time a detailed continuous model of the Earth's landscape evolution is presented, with potential for understanding long-term climate and biological development.
Livestock farming: Additive to make slurry more climate-friendly
Livestock farming produces large quantities of greenhouse gases, especially methane, which is particularly harmful to the climate. Among other things, it escapes during the storage of animal excrement, the slurry. A study now shows that methane emissions can be reduced by 99 percent through simple and inexpensive means. The method...
Wildfires in 2021 emitted a record-breaking amount of carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide emissions from wildfires, which have been gradually increasing since 2000, spiked drastically to a record high in 2021, according to an international team of researchers.
Illuminating the Science of Black Holes and Gamma-Ray Bursts Using High-Power Lasers
High-power lasers now create record-high numbers of electron-positron pairs, opening exciting opportunities to study extreme astrophysical processes, such as black holes and gamma-ray bursts.