How plant architectures mimic subway networks

It might seem like a tomato plant and a subway system don’t have much in common, but both, it turns out, are networks that strive to make similar tradeoffs between cost and performance.

Using 3D laser scans of growing plants, Salk scientists found that the same universal design principles that humans use to engineer networks like subways also guide the shapes of plant branching architectures. The work, which appears in the July 26, 2017, issue of Cell Systems, could help direct strategies to increase crop yields or breed plants better adapted to climate change.

NASA Eyes Compact Hurricane Hilary

When the NASA-NOAA Suomi NPP satellite passed over the Eastern Pacific Ocean on July 25 it captured a visible close-up of Hurricane Hilary.

The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument aboard the NASA-NOAA Suomi NPP satellite captured a visible light image of Hilaryon July 25 at 5:54 p.m. EDT (2154 UTC). The Suomi NPP image showed that Hilary appeared somewhat asymmetric.

Coral Gardening Is Benefiting Caribbean Reefs, Study Finds

A new study found that Caribbean staghorn corals (Acropora cervicornis) are benefiting from “coral gardening,” the process of restoring coral populations by planting laboratory-raised coral fragments on reefs.

The research, led by scientists at the University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science and partners, has important implications for the long-term survival of coral reefs worldwide, which have been in worldwide decline from multiple stressors such as climate change and ocean pollution.

NASA Watching Typhoon Noru Head West in Northwestern Pacific

NASA's Aqua satellite provided a near-infrared look at Typhoon Noru as it continued its western track at sea, far to the southeast of Japan.

Near-infrared satellite imagery from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder or AIRS instrument that flies aboard NASA's Aqua satellite taken on July 26 at 0211 UTC (July 25 at 10:11 p.m. EDT) showed provided a look at the temperatures of Noru’s clouds. That data was false colored and made into an image at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California to highlight cloud top temperatures.

NASA Sees Newly Formed Tropical Storm Nesat Near Philippines

Tropical Storm Nesat formed early on July 26 just east of the Philippines and NASA's Aqua satellite passed overhead gathering temperature data to determine the location of the most powerful storms. Imagery showed strong storms from Nesat's western side were affecting the central Philippines.

Infrared satellite imagery from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder or AIRS instrument that flies aboard NASA's Aqua satellite taken on July 26 at 0529 UTC (1:29 a.m. EDT) provided a look at the temperatures of Nesat’s clouds. That data was false colored and made into an image at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California to highlight cloud top temperatures.

Study projects deaths from heat and cold for 10 U.S. metros through 2090

A new analysis projects that inaction on climate change could lead to tens of thousands more heat-related deaths annually in U.S. metropolitan areas within a few generations.

New membranes help reduce carbon dioxide emission

The University of Twente and the German Research Centre Jülich are collaborating on developing membranes for an efficient separation of gasses, to use for the production of oxygen or hydrogen, for example.

How Wildfires Could Radically Change Forests, Your Life

A lonely bird call breaks my concentration and I glance upward. Where glacier-topped mountains should be filling the horizon, instead my view is obscured by a strange orange haze. Even the bright sun has given up. It seems to float in the sky as a faint pink ball.

I am a field ecologist working east of the Denali mountain range in Alaska, but the postcard-worthy view of my sites today is obscured by smoke drifting across the border from wildfires burning throughout British Columbia. I have been studying boreal wildfires for years and have a strong understanding of the importance of fire to the boreal forest of Canada.

How physical activity changes with the seasons – and how that affects a person's health

These hot summer days may prompt you to cut back on outdoor activity – just as cold weather during the winter can be a reason to sit on your sofa.

A research team at the University of Regina, led by Dr. Katya Herman, Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology and Health Studies, is looking into how the seasons affect physical activity.

TOXIC TAX Motorists face rush-hour bans and pollution taxes as part of the Government's war on 'dirty' roads

MOTORISTS face rush-hour bans and pollution taxes in up to 17 towns and cities across the UK as the Government vows to clean up the ‘dirtiest roads’ in Britain.

Environment Secretary Michael Gove will pave the way for local authorities to slap yet more tax on drivers as part of his radical blueprint.

His plans reveal that air pollution needs to be addressed on 81 roads – 33 of which are outside London such as the A360 in Sheffield or A35 in Southampton.

Nitrogen dioxide emissions along each of them breach the legal limit.

Mr Gove will insist that councils first exhaust all other possible options to improve air quality, such as tackling chronic congestion.