In the past decades, large areas of forest in Sumatra, Indonesia have been replaced by cash crops like oil palm and rubber plantations. New research, published in the European Geosciences Union journal Biogeosciences, shows that these changes in land use increase temperatures in the region. The added warming could affect plants and animals and make parts of the country more vulnerable to wildfires.
articles
NASA Finds Heavy Rain, Wind Shear and Towering Clouds in Tropical Storm Saola
NASA satellites have provided various views of Tropical Storm Saola as it tracks toward Japan in the northwestern Pacific Ocean. The GPM and Suomi NPP satellites found heavy rainfall, towering thunderstorms and a tropical cyclone still being affected by vertical wind shear.
New Fractal-Like Concentrating Solar Power Receivers Are Better at Absorbing Sunlight
Sandia National Laboratories engineers have developed new fractal-like, concentrating solar power receivers for small- to medium-scale use that are up to 20 percent more effective at absorbing sunlight than current technology.
Sussex Physicists Have Breakthrough on Brittle Smartphone Screens
Scientists at the University of Sussex may have found a solution to the long-standing problem of brittle smartphone screens.
Living Close to Green Spaces is Associated with Better Attention in Children
How do green spaces affect cognitive development in children? A new study from the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), an institute supported by “la Caixa” Foundation, concludes that children with more greenness around their homes may develop better attention capacities.
Discovery Lights Path for Alzheimer's Research
A probe invented at Rice University that lights up when it binds to a misfolded amyloid beta peptide — the kind suspected of causing Alzheimer’s disease — has identified a specific binding site on the protein that could facilitate better drugs to treat the disease.