Top Stories

City Mouse-Country Mouse Study Shows Link in Environment, Worm Infections

When laboratory mice moved to the countryside where they could burrow in dirt, forage for food, and generally live like ordinary mice, they became more susceptible to infection with parasitic whipworms than mice that stayed in the lab, a new study has found.

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Study says Mekong River Dams Could Disrupt Lives, Environment

The Mekong River, one of the world’s largest, traverses six Southeast Asian countries and supports the livelihoods of millions of people. New efforts to provide hydroelectric power to a growing and modernizing population include more than eight proposed main-stem dams and 60 or more existing tributary dams in the lower Mekong basin. A new article from University of Illinois and Iowa State University scientists lays out what dam construction could mean for residents and the environment in the region.

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Early-Killed Rye Shows Promise in Edamame

With the rise of herbicide-resistant weeds in most grain and vegetable crops, farmers are looking for alternatives to herbicides to control weeds. Cover crops offer one potential weed management tool. Their use in specialty crops is limited, and no testing has been done so far in edamame. However, a new University of Illinois study reports that early-killed cereal rye shows promise for edamame growers.

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So Much Depends on the Velocity of Tiny Droplets Cast Upward

A day at the beach beset by heavy clouds or the sticky heat of a salty haze can seem like the work of large, unpredictable forces. But behind such atmospheric phenomena are billions of tiny interactions between the air and microscopic drops of saltwater cast upward as bubbles on the ocean’s surface burst.

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Wildlife Conservation in North America May Not be Science-Based After All

A study led by recent Simon Fraser University PhD alumnus Kyle Artelle has unveiled new findings that challenge the widespread assumption that wildlife management in North America is science-based.

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Diverse Tropical Forests Grow Fast Despite Widespread Phosphorus Limitation

Accepted ecological theory says that poor soils limit the productivity of tropical forests, but adding nutrients as fertilizer rarely increases tree growth, suggesting that productivity is not limited by nutrients after all.

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Weather Satellites Aid Search and Rescue Capabilities

The same satellites that identify severe weather can help save you from it.

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Study shows smartphones harm the environment

At the end of winter term in 2014, Lotfi Belkhir was approached by a student taking his Total Sustainability and Management course who asked, “What does software sustainability mean?”

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Sorry, Groundhog: February and Winter 2018 were warmer than average for the U.S.

In a “prediction” that mirrored last year, Punxsutawney Phil, the famous furry forecaster, saw his shadow in early February and as the legend goes, supposedly six more weeks of winter for the U.S. Unfortunately for Phil, his forecast has not been supported by the climate record, so far.  

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Desertification and Monsoon Climate Change Linked to Shifts in Ice Volume and Sea Level

A new study shows that, during the Ice Age, both the East Asian summer monsoon and desertification in Eurasia were driven by fluctuating Northern Hemisphere ice volume and global sea level. 

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