News and Articles


New Technology Could Simplify Removal of Arsenic from Drinking Water

With almost 100 million people in developing countries exposed to dangerously high levels of arsenic in their drinking water and unable to afford complex purification technology, scientists today described a simple, inexpensive method for removing arsenic based on chopped up pieces of ordinary plastic beverage bottles coated with a nutrient found in many foods and dietary supplements.

Free Disaster Recovery App Available for Those Recovering from Hurricane Irene

The Disaster Recovery Log app helps you record information about damages to your home and property using text, images and audio.

Analysis Shows Namibia's Seals are Worth More Alive Than Dead

It reveals that, in 2008, the seal hunt generated only $513,000 – a poor comparison to seal-watching, which netted $2 million in direct tourism expenditure in the same period

Federal Study of East Coast Earthquake Had to Move Fast

The investigation team had to move fast to take samples, create maps and photograph regional damage to subsurface and infrastructure locations before Hurricane Irene made landfall August 27.

Successful Rainwater Harvesting Systems Combine New Technology With Old Social Habits

Drawing from game theory, a biomedical engineer argues that a successful common pool resource (CPR) depends on participant behavior, which requires monitoring and management.

Scientist Puts Forth a 'Fast, Cheap' Way to Slow Global Warming

A new study of dust-like particles of soot in the air provides fresh evidence that reducing soot emissions from diesel engines and other sources could slow melting of sea ice in the Arctic faster and more economically than any other quick fix, a scientist reported.

Novel Alloy Could Produce Hydrogen Fuel From Sunlight

Scientists from the University of Kentucky (UK) and the University of Louisville (UofL) have determined that an inexpensive semiconductor material can be "tweaked" to generate hydrogen from water using sunlight.

Mysteries of Ozone Depletion Continue 25 Years After the Discovery of the Antarctic Ozone Hole

Even after many decades of studying ozone and its loss from our atmosphere miles above the Earth, plenty of mysteries and surprises remain, including an unexpected loss of ozone over the Arctic this past winter,

Cars Could Run on Recycled Newspaper

Here’s one way that old-fashioned newsprint beats the Internet: Tulane University scientists have discovered a novel bacterial strain, dubbed “TU-103,” that can use paper to produce butanol, a biofuel that can serve as a substitute for gasoline.

Panda Poop May Be a Treasure Trove of Microbes for Making Biofuels

Panda poop contains bacteria with potent effects in breaking down plant material in the way needed to tap biomass as a major new source of “biofuels” produced not from corn and other food sources, but from grass, wood chips and crop wastes, scientists reported.

Researchers Build a Tougher, Lighter Wind Turbine Blade

Efforts to build larger wind turbines able to capture more energy from the air are stymied by the weight of blades. A Case Western Reserve University researcher has built a prototype blade that is substantially lighter and eight times tougher and more durable than currently used blade materials.

Are New England's Iconic Maples At Risk?

Results from the first study of the Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) in forests show that the invasive insect can easily spread from tree-lined city streets to neighboring forests.

Tips Tuesday: How to Stay Safe on Your Boat this Weekend

Labor Day is coming, with the chance to get in one last weekend of watersports fun before fall and winter make the lake off-limits. Make sure you stay safe for next year's boat season with these tips.

Wastewater Recycling Can Multiply Greenhouse Gas Emissions

New research shows that wastewater recycling processes may generate more greenhouse gases than traditional water-treatment processes. Despite this finding, there are good reasons to continue keep wastewater recycling among the water-resource tools for urban areas

High Ozone Levels in Midwest Could Depress Soybean Yields

Satellite views of the Midwestern United States show that ozone levels above 50 parts per billion (ppb) along the ground could reduce soybean yields by at least 10 percent, costing more than $1 billion in lost crop production, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists.

Scientist Floats New Hypothesis on Ocean Acidification

A researcher at the Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology, an organized research unit in the University of Hawai'i at Manoa's School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology has come up with a new explanation for the effects of ocean acidification on coral reefs.

Testing the Water for Bioenergy Crops

Many energy researchers and environmental advocates are excited about the prospect of gaining more efficient large-scale biofuel production by using large grasses like miscanthus or switchgrass rather than corn. They have investigated yields, land use, economics and more, but one key factor of agriculture has been overlooked: water.

Professor Warns of Nitrogen’s Double-Edged Sword

Billions of people owe their lives to nitrogen fertilizers – a pillar of the fabled Green Revolution in agriculture that averted global famine in the 20th century – but few are aware that nitrogen pollution from fertilizers and other sources has become a major environmental problem that threatens human health and welfare in multiple ways.

Greenhouse Effect Could Extend Habitable Zone

The distant region beyond Saturn is too cold for liquid water, a necessity for life as we know it. New research indicates that rocky planets far from their parent star could generate enough heat to keep water flowing - if their atmospheres were made up primarily of hydrogen.

As Droughts Decrease Water for Irrigation, Less-Productive Crops Consume Less Carbon

Water shortages - already forecasted to be a big problem as the world warms - could contribute to yet more warming through a positive feedback loop.