NASA Sees Hurricane Jose In Between Bahamas and Bermuda

NASA’s Terra satellite is one of many satellites keeping a close eye on Hurricane Jose and saw the storm between the Bahamas and Bermuda.

New UBC Research Suggests Bird Songs Isolate Species

Two birds that look the same, but have songs so different they can’t recognize each other, should be considered distinct species, suggests new UBC research.

Low-Level Radiation Less Harmful to Health Than Other Lifestyle Risks

Human populations have always been exposed to ionizing radiation, and more so in modern life due to its use in medicine, industry and the armed forces. Whilst the risks to human health from medium and high-level radiation are relatively well-understood, the risks at lower levels are less clear.  Mixed messages about the safety of low doses of radiation from different sources have created confusion for the public and for policy makers.  

Helping Chinese Farmers Tackle Erosion, Increase Profits

On the steep farming slopes of China, Bozhi Wu and his research associates are finding ways to improve economic and environmental stability.

Latin America Could Lose Up to 90 Percent of its Coffee-Growing Land by 2050

Studies have previously estimated that the amount of land worldwide suitable for growing coffee could shrink by an estimated 50 percent by 2050 as global temperatures rise, rain patterns change, and ecosystems shift due to climate change. But a new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences predicts a far worse situation for Latin America, the world’s largest coffee supplier: The region could lose nearly 90 percent of its coffee-growing land by mid-century.

Type 2 Diabetes is a Reversible Condition

A body of research putting people with Type 2 diabetes on a low calorie diet has confirmed the underlying causes of the condition and established that it is reversible.

An important process that fuels harmful algal blooms investigated in water bodies across Canada

For many Canadians, summer time means time at the lake, swimming, fishing, boating, and relaxing. Nothing can spoil this experience like blue-green mats of muck, caused by algal blooms. These blooms negatively affect not only recreational activities but also put drinking water source, property values, wildlife, and human health at risk. In the 1970s, scientists discovered that the nutrient phosphorus caused algal blooms, which led to new regulations and improved sewage treatment. Nevertheless, blooms continue to plague many Canadian lakes. To investigate what might be happening, scientists looked to see whether phosphorus might be recirculating from the mud at the bottom of lakes back into the water.

Hatching an idea

Backyard chickens are permitted in a number of Canadian cities, including Vancouver, Victoria, Whitehorse and some boroughs of Montréal.

Wanda Martin would like to see Saskatoon on that list.

Pipeline pain relief on horizon with spill-resistant bitumen

Ian Gates describes each pebble of bitumen as resembling a liquid-filled headache capsule and, for an Alberta struggling to build pipelines, this tiny package could spell pain relief indeed.

Freshly patented and weeks away from pilot-scale production, the professor’s revolutionary heavy oil and bitumen pellets may finally provide a pipeline-free solution to getting Alberta’s largest oil reserves to market in a cheap, sustainable manner, while vastly reducing the environmental risk of transportation.

"Keep it local" approach to protecting the rainforest can be more effective than government schemes

Conservation initiatives led by local and indigenous groups can be just as effective as schemes led by government, according to new research.