Water


Study Reveals that National Forests can Provide Public Health Benefits

Each year, more than 170 million people visit national forests for recreation. And the physical activity associated with these visits burns 290 billion food calories. That equals enough french fries laid end to end to reach the Moon and back -- twice -- according to a recent study in the Journal of Forestry.

Study Finds Consumers Have Some Misperceptions About Sustainable Apparel

A recent study from a duo in Kansas State University's department of apparel, textiles and interior design found that when it comes to consumers' rationale for not purchasing sustainable clothing, perception and reality aren't always cut from the same cloth.

Public Opinion Research Shows American Interest in Living Green

A new report offers insight into public opinion about the environment, including the need to conserve and safeguard the health of our ocean.

First Global Portrait of Greenhouse Gases Emerges from Pole-to-Pole Flights

The far-reaching field project, known as HIPPO, is enabling researchers to generate the first detailed mapping of the global distribution of gases and particles that affect Earth’s climate.

World's Smallest Electric Motor Made From a Single Molecule

Chemists at Tufts University's School of Arts and Sciences have developed the world's first single molecule electric motor, a development that may potentially create a new class of devices that could be used in applications ranging from medicine to engineering.

New USGS Database Provides Models on Excessive Nutrients in Rivers

The USGS has released an online, interactive decision support system that provides easy access to six newly-developed regional models describing how rivers receive and transport nutrients from natural and human sources to sensitive waters, such as the Gulf of Mexico.

Texas A&M Study Shows Clouds Don't Cause Climate Change

Clouds only amplify climate change, says a Texas A&M University professor in a study that rebuts recent claims that clouds are actually the root cause of climate change.

Recycling Fat Might Help Worms Live Longer

At Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham), a team led by Malene Hansen, Ph.D., uses a type of worm called Caenorhabditis elegans to work out the molecular underpinnings of the aging process. In a study appearing online Sept. 8 in Current Biology, they found that two cellular processes—lipid metabolism and autophagy -- work together to influence worms' lifespan.



German Water Bodies Unlikely to Meet EU Quality Standards by 2015 Deadline

This is the conclusion of a study in which data from the four largest rivers in northern Germany – the Elbe, Weser, Aller and Ems – were analyzed over ten years.

Breakthrough in Protecting Global Crops from Disease

A new form of resistance to fungal disease has been discovered in oilseed rape, one of the world’s most important crops, which could hold the key to developing disease resistant crops.

New Synthetic Crystals First Step Toward Making High-Performance, Eco-Friendly Materials

Scientists have successfully created synthetic crystals whose structures and properties mimic those of naturally occurring biominerals such as seashells. The findings, published in the journal Nature Materials, could be an important step in the development of high-performance materials, which could be manufactured under environmentally-friendly conditions

Study Sharpens Picture of How Much Oil and Gas Flowed in Deepwater Horizon Spill

In a detailed assessment of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, researchers led by a team from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) have determined that the blown-out Macondo well spewed oil at a rate of about 57,000 barrels a day, totaling nearly 5 million barrels of oil released from the well between April 20 and July 15, 2010, when the leak was capped. In addition, the well released some 100 million standard cubic feet per day of natural gas

Arsenic, Uranium and Other Trace Elements a Potential Concern in Private Drinking Wells

About 20 percent of untreated water samples from public, private, and monitoring wells across the nation contain concentrations of at least one trace element, such as arsenic, manganese and uranium, at levels of potential health concern, according to a new study by the U.S. Geological Survey.

Crop Performance Matters When Evaluating Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Measuring the emission of greenhouse gases from croplands should take into account the crops themselves, according to new research.

Were the East Coast Hurricane and Earthquake Related?

An earthquake and a hurricane, all in the same week, on the same coast. Are they related?

Climate Change Seems Unfavorable for Toxic Blue Algae

The earth is warming up due to rising carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere. NWO-funded researchers have discovered that the increase in carbon dioxide can reduce the nuisance caused by toxic blue algae, a bacterium commonly found in swimming water throughout the Netherlands in the summer

Feeding Cows Natural Plant Extracts Can Reduce Ammonia Emissions, Feeding Costs

With citizens’ groups seeking government regulation of foul-smelling ammonia emissions from large dairy farms, scientists reported that adding natural plant extracts to cow feed can reduce levels of the gas by one-third while reducing the need to fortify cow feed with expensive protein supplements.

Chemical drum

Making Chemicals Safer

When many people think of industrial chemicals, they think of those scary-looking yellow drums, containing unknown but almost certainly hazardous goo. A new industry initiative, though hopes to change that by giving consumers more information on the chemicals they use every day.

Researchers Deploy a Shocking Method of Fish Collection

A group of fisheries scientists from Tennessee Tech University are busy monitoring the health of the Caney Fork River by pumping electricity into the water.

Air-Quality Researchers Find Troubling Health Implications for Ultrafine Particles

Three studies by a University of California, Davis, air-quality research group are adding to the growing body of data suggesting that very fine and ultra-fine airborne metal particles are closely linked to serious human-health problems, including heart disease.