Tag: science
U.K. researchers develop new grass type to better capture water runoff
A warming climate is likely to mean rising rainfall totals in part of the world -- which could lead to flooding. But scientists in the United Kingdom are hoping to ameliorate that somewhat, by producing a new kind of grass that helps the soil absorb more water....
Oregon to try paying pregnant women to quit smoking
Some 19 percent of U.S. adults smoke, some of them when they're pregnant. Oregon is launching a new program that will offer financial incentives to women who smoke and quit while they're pregnant. ...
Researcher pioneers low-cost means of storing energy
When it comes to storing energy, there are few simple solutions. But a group of Canadian scientists has changed an old technology to make it more convenient and cost effective to store energy on a large scale....
Police still looking for evidence as focus shifts to new suspect in ricin letters
For several days, Paul Kevin Curtis was the prime suspect in the investigation into the mailing of letters contaminated with ricin poisoning to the president and Capitol Hill. But now, James Everett Dutschke has come under suspicion, though he too, pleads his innocence....
London's water service looking to turn sewer's 'fatbergs' into power
London's sewer system, like in most major cities around the country, are often clogged by accumulations of fat that must be freed by sewer workers. But now, London is trying to turn that trash literally into treasure. They want to use the fat to fuel a power plant....
Supreme Court grapples with question of whether human genes can be patented
The U.S. Supreme Court is being asked to decide whether a company can be issued a patent for a human gene. The company says it needs the patent to protect the genetic tests its developed; a group of doctprs says human genes are nature in action and should be ineligible for patent protection....
New research shifts model on how forests contribute to carbon sequestration
New research out of Sweden, published recently in the Science magazine, changes the way scientists view trees' contribution to carbon sequestration. Ecologist Karina Clemmensen learned that trees continue to store carbon in the environment for its entire life because of fungus growing on the tree roots....
Monitoring infectious diseases online, on Twitter, gives early warning of outbreaks
Scientists and public health officials are increasingly using digital surveillance tools to monitor diseases and plan how to react to outbreaks. The new technology has shortened by half the amount of time it takes for public health officials to determine that an outbreak has occurred....
Australia's 'magnetic' termites interesting to study, tough to understand
Scientists who study insects are fascinated by a little-known species in Australia called "magnetic" termites. They won't stick to your refrigerator, but they do build their homes, mounds, in a particular orientation, seemingly based on the Earth's magnetic field....
New research seeks to determine what dreams mean
Researchers at Brown University are putting people to sleep -- in the name of research. They're trying to determine what people dream, and what it means, by subjecting people to MRI scans as they dream, and then waking them up and asking what they were dreaming about....
