Last big chill suggests lower climate impact of carbon
One of the key measures of the impact of atmospheric carbon dioxide is called the climate sensitivity, which provides an estimate of how much the planet will warm in response to a doubling of the...
Google drops the axe on its internal renewable energy work
Google has shown a significant commitment to efficiency and renewable energy, using its RE < C initiative to invest in a variety of window power projects and map the US's geothermal resources. But, not...
Google drops the axe on its internal renewable energy work
Google has shown a significant commitment to efficiency and renewable energy, using its RE < C initiative to invest in a variety of wind power projects and map the US's geothermal resources. But, not...
US public accepts climate consensus; they just don’t know what it is
Recently, we've discussed how the US public is confused about some of the basic factual aspects of climate change, from the clear indications that temperatures are rising to the fact that there's very little disagreement...
Four-winged dinosaur fossilized after swallowing a bird
Feathered dinosaurs existed for millions of years before the origin of birds and, for a time, there was a period where feathered dinosaurs and early birds coexisted with animals that don't fit neatly into either...
Over time, Linux package dependencies show predator/prey relationship
You'll frequently hear references to a "software ecosystem" on various platforms, but it's relatively rare to see someone take that sort of terminology seriously. A group of evolutionary biologists, however, has now used the too...
Fast neutrinos, C-P violations, and the shrinking space for the Higgs
It has been a busy week in the world of particle physics, with attention focused on the home of the LHC: CERN. This year, the LHC generated five inverse femtobarns worth of data—nearly half...
New, recyclable plastic lets you weld pieces together with a hairdryer
Organic polymers can be used to create materials with very distinct properties (both good and bad). For example, thermoset materials resist heat and solvents, making them extremely durable and allowing them to be used...
The Great Dying: first it warmed, then it burned
Recently, we discussed evidence that the Earth's biggest mass extinction, the End Permian (often called the Great Dying), was triggered by a physiological crisis: high levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide lowered the ocea...
Yes, that’s a button! The Kindle Touch reviewed
When Amazon introduced its most recent crop of Kindles, the company kept the devices and the press thoroughly separated. Which was a bit of a shame, because one of the newer introductions, the Kindle Touch, demanded some hands-......
Cleaner shrimp have a calculating, murderous sex life
If you've ever watched a nature program on coral reefs, you've probably seen a cleaner shrimp. These animals set up cleaning stations on the reefs where passing fish let the shrimp pluck off parasites....
Why meat from a petri dish is still a long way from the supermarket
On Friday, Reuters ran a story about a Dutch scientist who is attempting to make the first synthetic animal meat, starting with nothing more than stem cells. In it, the reporter focused on some of...
