Simple water test could prevent crippling bone disease

A simple colour-changing test to detect fluoride in drinking water, devised by researchers at the University of Bath, could in the future prevent the crippling bone disease, skeletal fluorosis, in developing countries such as India and Tanzania.

New Antarctic heat map reveals sub-ice hotspots

An international team of scientists, led by British Antarctic Survey (BAS), has produced a new map showing how much heat from the Earth’s interior is reaching the base of the Antarctic Ice Sheet. The map is published this week (Monday 13 November) in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.

Synthetic circuits can harvest light energy

By organizing pigments on a DNA scaffold, an MIT-led team of researchers has designed a light-harvesting material that closely mimics the structure of naturally occurring photosynthetic structures.

Time's ticking as ‘Doomsday Clock' scientists meet

With tensions running high amidst the continued North Korean nuclear threat, members of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists are getting ready for their annual meeting in Chicago on November 6. The group of experts on nuclear policy, climate change, and other potential global hazards, is better known as the keeper of the “Doomsday Clock,” the near-universally recognized minimalist representation of the likelihood of a man-made worldwide catastrophe—with midnight marking the terminus, the point of imminent disaster.

In Drive to Cut Emissions, Germany Confronts Its Car Culture

Germans like to think of themselves as the most environmentally friendly people on earth. They see their sophisticated recycling programs, their love of forests, and, most recently, the country’s drive to replace both nuclear and coal-fired power production with renewable sources — the so-called Energiewende, or “energy turn” — as evidence of their strong environmental consciousness, especially compared to top polluters like the United States and China.

New Map of Worldwide Croplands Supports Food and Water Security

ndia has the highest net cropland area while South Asia and Europe are considered agricultural capitals of the world.

A new map was released today detailing croplands worldwide in the highest resolution yet, helping to ensure global food and water security in a sustainable way.

After years of nearly flat growth, global fossil fuel emissions are inching up, according to report by Stanford-led group

Policymakers at this week’s international climate negotiations in Germany meet amid sobering news that gives their work new urgency. After three years of flat growth, global fossil fuel emissions are rising again, according to a series of reports from the Global Carbon Project, a group chaired by Stanford scientist Rob Jackson.

VIMS study identifies tipping point for oyster restoration

We’re all familiar with tipping points, when crossing what might seem a minor threshold can lead to drastically different outcomes—the Super Bowl favorite that falls to last place with injury to a single lineman, a tomato seedling that surges skyward the moment it tops the shadowy confines of its clay pot.

Texas' odds of Harvey-scale rainfall to increase by end of century

As the city of Houston continues to recover and rebuild following the historic flooding unleashed by Hurricane Harvey, the region will also have to prepare for a future in which storms of Harvey’s magnitude are more likely to occur.

NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP Finds Tropical Depression Haikui Dissipating

The final warning was issued on Tropical depression Haiku on Nov. 12 as it was dissipating due to strong vertical wind shear. NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite passed over the storm as it was fading.