USGS Scientists Develop New Tool to Determine if Vermiculite Insulation Contains Asbestos

U.S. Geological Survey scientists and partners have created an onsite, time-saving technique for building inspectors to ascertain whether vermiculite insulation contains amphibole asbestos. The findings are featured in the April 2 edition of American Mineralogist.

Green Technologies Friendly to Environment, Profits

Companies looking to reduce their environmental impact without negatively affecting profits may want to consider increasing their investment in green technology and other sustainable IT solutions, according to a new study on information technology and sustainability published in Production and Operations Management.

A New Blood Test Useful to Detect People at Risk of Developing Alzheimer’s Disease

There is as yet no cure for Alzheimer’s disease. It is often argued that progress in drug research has been hampered by the fact that the disease can only be diagnosed when it is too late for an effective intervention. Alzheimer’s disease is thought to begin long before patients show typical symptoms like memory loss. Scientists have now developed a blood test for Alzheimer’s disease and found that it can detect early indicators of the disease long before the first symptoms appear in patients. The blood test would thus offer an opportunity to identify those at risk and may thereby open the door to new avenues in drug discovery. The research is published today in EMBO Molecular Medicine.

Species Hitch a Ride on Birds and the Wind to Join Green Roof Communities

New research suggests that species that live on green roofs arrived by hitching lifts on birds or by riding air currents.

NUS Engineers Pioneer Greener and Cheaper Technique for Biofuel Production

A team of engineers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) recently discovered that a naturally occurring bacterium, Thermoanaerobacterium thermosaccharolyticum TG57, isolated from waste generated after harvesting mushrooms, is capable of directly converting cellulose, a plant-based material, to biobutanol.

Scientists Discover Hybrid Swarm in Global Mega-Pest

One of the pests, the cotton bollworm, is widespread in Africa, Asia and Europe and causes damage to over 100 crops, including corn, cotton, tomato and soybean.

New Study Shows Climate Change is Wreaking Havoc on Delicate Relationship Between Orchids and Bees

The first definitive demonstration of climate change upsetting the vital interdependent relationships between species has been revealed, thanks to a study led by the University of Sussex.

NASA Sees Tropical Cyclone Iris Weakening off Queensland Coast

NASA's Terra satellite passed over the Coral Sea and captured an image of Tropical Cyclone Iris as it continued weakening and moving away from the coast of Queensland, Australia.  

The Australian Bureau of Meteorology dropped all warnings for land areas, but maintained a High Seas Weather Warning for Metarea 10.

Carbon taxes could make significant dent in climate change, study finds

Putting a price on carbon, in the form of a fee or tax on the use of fossil fuels, coupled with returning the generated revenue to the public in one form or another, can be an effective way to curb emissions of greenhouse gases. That’s one of the conclusions of an extensive analysis of several versions of such proposals, carried out by researchers at MIT and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

Student develops smart system for detecting owl calls

A graduate student at the University of Alberta has developed an automated system for detecting owl calls, eliminating the need for researchers to spend nights in the field.