When it comes to a song sparrow attracting a mate, the little feathered fellow may want forget about the singing audition and worry more about his smell, according to one Western PhD student.

The Global Precipitation Measurement mission or GPM core satellite passed over the Central Pacific Hurricane Center and analyzed Walaka’s rainfall and cloud structure as it was strengthening into a hurricane.

It started out like the camping trip from hell, but it turned into the research expedition of a lifetime for three University of British Columbia volcanologists.

Cattle ranching and conservation may seem an unusual pair in the American West, but new research reveals a clear link between the economic health of ranches and the ability to maintain habitat for an iconic wild bird that for years has been at the center of public land policy debate: the greater sage grouse. 

Strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and… groundcherries? A little-known fruit about the size of a marble could become agriculture’s next big berry crop. 

Pyrolysis – a process of biomass decomposition – can be organized automatically. That is, it is sufficient to heat biomass to a certain temperature and then the process proceeds in the autothermal mode due to its own heat release. This technology was studied by the scientists from Tomsk Polytechnic University in the article published in Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry (IF 2.209; Q2). The development of research in this domain will make energy generation out of biofuel more resource efficient and feasible.

Plant scientists have observed that when levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere rise, most plants do something unusual: They thicken their leaves.

Researchers at the University of Zurich have developed a nanoparticle type for novel use in artificial photosynthesis by adding zinc sulfide on the surface of indium-based quantum dots. These quantum dots produce clean hydrogen fuel from water and sunlight – a sustainable source of energy. They introduce new eco-friendly and powerful materials to solar photocatalysis.

When invasive species enter the picture, things are rarely black and white. A new paper has revealed that some plant invaders could help fight climate change by making it easier for ecosystems to store “blue carbon”—the carbon stored in coastal environments like salt marshes, mangroves and seagrasses. But other invaders, most notably animals, can do the exact opposite.

Tropical Storm Kirk just passed through the Leeward Islands and when the GPM satellite passed overhead, it revealed that Kirk continued to bring rain to the chain on Sept. 28.