Top Stories

NASA Sees Post Tropical Cyclone Nate's Wide Rainfall Reach

NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite analyzed the temperatures in Post-tropical cyclone Nate's cloud tops as the storm moved over the Ohio Valley. Satellite imagery showed the storm was bringing rainfall from the northeastern U.S., to the Mid-Atlantic and south through the Appalachian Mountains.  

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Clear Lakes Disguise Impaired Water Quality

Looks can be deceiving.

Look at a hundred lakes in the agricultural heartland of the United States and you will likely see green lakes surrounded by green fields. The nitrogen and phosphorus in agricultural fertilizers that help crops grow also fuel the growth of algae and cyanobacteria that in excess can turn lakes the color of pea soup.

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University of Leicester scientists investigate link between air pollution and type 2 diabetes

An interdisciplinary team of scientists from the Universities of Leicester and other institutions has played a pivotal role in research investigating a possible link between air pollution and the rise in type 2 diabetes.

New research, published in the journal Environment International, examined data from 10,443 participants from diabetes screening studies in Leicestershire, UK.

The exposure to air pollution, the number of cases of type 2 diabetes and the impact of demographic and lifestyle factors were all considered.

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U.S. warmer and drier than average in September; 3rd warmest and wettest year to date

Though September was warmer and drier than average for the U.S, it will long be remembered for the devastating impacts from Hurricanes Irma and Maria, as well as the remnants of Harvey, to southern parts of the U.S. and the Caribbean.

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Activated Carbon Could Stop Dioxin Health Risk

New research from Michigan State University has shown for the first time that activated carbon – a substance widely used in water purification – can help eliminate the health risks associated with soils, sediments and surface water polluted by highly toxic dioxins.

Stephen Boyd, a University Distinguished Professor in the MSU Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences, led the study, which is published online in the journal Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. The research looked specifically at soil and freshwater ecosystems that had been contaminated mainly through the industrial manufacture of pesticides and other chemicals.

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You Can See That From Here: New Telescope Attachment Allows Ground-Based Observations of New Worlds to Rival Those From Space

A new, low-cost attachment to telescopes allows previously unachievable precision in ground-based observations of exoplanets -- planets beyond our solar system. With the new attachment, ground-based telescopes can produce measurements of light intensity that rival the highest quality photometric observations from space. Penn State astronomers, in close collaboration with the nanofabrication labs at RPC Photonics in Rochester, New York, created custom “beam-shaping” diffusers -- carefully structured micro-optic devices that spread incoming light across an image -- that are capable of minimizing distortions from the Earth’s atmosphere that can reduce the precision of ground-based observations. A paper describing the effectiveness of the diffusers appears online on October 5, 2017, in the Astrophysical Journal.

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What Earth's climate system and topological insulators have in common

New research shows that equatorial waves — pulses of warm ocean water that play a role in regulating Earth’s climate — are driven by the same dynamics as the exotic materials known as topological insulators.

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Heating Dirt Could Cause a Runaway Rise in Carbon Emissions

Tucked into the apple-growing hills of Western Massachusetts is the Harvard Forest, a 3,700-acre wooded preserve that hosts school kids on field trips, day-tripping hikers, and, for more than a quarter century, a highly unusual science experiment.

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Group Tests Topical Treatment Strategy for Fighting Skin Cancer

Researchers at the University of São Paulo (USP), in Brazil, are testing a technique in mice that combines low-intensity electric current with a formulation containing nanoencapsulated chemotherapy to treat skin cancer. 

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Primary Care Unable to Adequately Care for Cancer Survivors

Primary care medicine is currently not able to meet the health care needs of cancer survivors, despite a decade-long effort by the medical establishment to move long-term survivorship care out of the specialists’ realm, according to a new Rutgers study.

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