Observations of Red Aurora over 1770 Kyoto Help Diagnose Extreme Magnetic Storm

Auroras are lightshows that typically occur at high latitudes such as the Arctic and Antarctic; however, they expand equatorward under severe magnetic storms. Past observations of such unusual auroras can therefore allow us to determine the frequency and severity of magnetic storms. The more information that can be gathered about historic intense magnetic storms, the greater the opportunity to mitigate disruption of power grids in a future event.

Red Sea Gene Pool Follows Water Flow

A collaboration between KAUST and several UK institutes has revealed that surface currents are important pathways for gene flow in the Red Sea, a finding which will help guide marine management programs.

Is Grass-Fed Beef Good or Bad for the Climate?

An international research collaboration has shed light on the impact that grass-fed animals have on climate change, adding clarity to the debate around livestock farming and meat and dairy consumption. 

Earth's Tectonic Plates Are Weaker Than Once Thought, According to Research by Penn Geologists

No one can travel inside the earth to study what happens there. So scientists must do their best to replicate real-world conditions inside the lab.

Stanford Researchers Found an Algorithm That Explains How Ants Create and Repair Trail Networks

Imagine you’re a member of the Cephalotes goniodontus species, an arboreal ant with a Darth Vader-like head that has inspired humans to call you “turtle ants.” You’re moving along a branch of the tangled tree canopy in Jalisco, Mexico, following a scent trail left by other ants from your colony, but you hit an abrupt end where the branch is broken. How do you know where to go?

Non-Invasive Imaging Predicts Cancer Malignancy

A new study by Osaka University scientists shows that non-labeling multiphoton microscopy (NL-MPM) can be used for quantitative imaging of cancer that is safe and requires no resection, fixation or staining of tissues. The report is expected to simplify and reduce the time of cancer diagnosis and can be read in Scientific Reports.

Worm Study Reveals Role of Stem Cells in Cancer

A new study carried out by the University of Oxford has used flat worms to look at the role of migrating stem cells in cancer.

AIM to Grow Conference held on the Agricultural Campus

The Dalhousie University Faculty of Agriculture, the Government of the Netherlands and a group of Dutch agri-food companies, Greenhouse industries and organizations, are teaming up to explore the possibilities of supporting more local food production and related R&D using innovative Controlled Environment Agriculture in Atlantic Canada.

Controlled-environment agriculture (CEA) is a technology-based approach toward food production. The aim is to provide protection and maintain optimal growing conditions throughout the development of the crop. Production takes place within an enclosed growing structure such as a greenhouse or building.

University of Saskatchewan hydrologist Howard Wheater to advise on U.S. national water future

The panel of leading water science experts is charged with identifying America’s highest-priority water science and resource challenges over the next 25 years, and making recommendations on the strategic water science and research opportunities to address those challenges. It will report its finding in 2018.

“The loss of life and $180-billion damage from Hurricane Harvey is a wake-up call to the U.S. for the need to better manage water-related threats, including risks from climate change. And the hurricane’s effect on rising gas prices in Canada shows the far-reaching impacts of extreme events on the global economy,” said Wheater who attended the panel’s first meeting in Washington this week.

Scientists Find New Source of Radioactivity from Fukushima Disaster

Scientists have found a previously unsuspected place where radioactive material from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant disaster has accumulated—in sands and brackish groundwater beneath beaches up to 60 miles away. The sands took up and retained radioactive cesium originating from the disaster in 2011 and have been slowly releasing it back to the ocean.

“No one is either exposed to, or drinks, these waters, and thus public health is not of primary concern here,” the scientists said in a study published October 2 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. But “this new and unanticipated pathway for the storage and release of radionuclides to the ocean should be taken into account in the management of coastal areas where nuclear power plants are situated.”