articles

The world’s largest ice sheet may be less stable than previously thought, posing an even greater threat to Florida’s coastline. The first-ever marine geologic survey of East Antarctica’s Sabrina Coast, published this week in Nature, concludes that some regions of the massive East Antarctic Ice Sheet have been sensitive to climate change for millions of years. Much like the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, this region of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet is grounded below sea level and local glaciers are experiencing ice mass loss due to ocean warming.

What are crows saying when their loud cawing fills a dark winter’s evening? Despite the inescapable ruckus, nobody knows for sure. Birds congregate daily before and after sleep, and they make some noise, but what might be happening in those brains is a mystery.

Curious about these raucous exchanges, researchers at the University of Washington Bothell are listening in. They are placing equipment on the roof of their building — a meeting place for some of the thousands of crows that sleep in nearby campus trees — and using a sort of computerized eavesdropping to study the relationship between calls and the birds’ behavior.

Al acercarse la segunda mitad del siglo, es probable que los Estados Unidos experimenten aumentos en el número de días con calor extremo, la frecuencia y duración de las olas de calor y la duración de la temporada de crecimiento. En respuesta, se prevé que las necesidades sociales, agrícolas y ecológicas aumentarán la demanda de recursos naturales ya tensos, como el agua y la energía. Los investigadores de la Universidad de Illinois han desarrollado nuevos modelos climáticos de alta resolución que pueden ayudar a los responsables de las políticas a mitigar estos efectos a nivel local.

How long might a rocky, Mars-like planet be habitable if it were orbiting a red dwarf star? It’s a complex question but one that NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution mission can help answer.

When cattle arrive at a slaughterhouse on a Friday but are held for processing until Monday, they have an increased incidence of producing tough, low-grade meat, new research shows.

“It can happen if there are too many cattle and there’s a backup, or if there’s a plant breakdown,” said Heather Bruce, an associate professor of carcass and meat science in the Faculty of Agricultural, Life & Environmental Sciences.