Nature & Environment : Science World Report

Apr 10, 2012 11:57 AM EDT

Research Finds Bright Future for Alternative Energy with Greener Solar Cells

Even alternative energy technologies can sometimes be a little greener, according to a Kansas State University graduate student's research.

Apr 10, 2012 11:23 AM EDT

800-year-old Farmers Could Teach us How to Protect the Amazon

In the face of mass deforestation of the Amazon, recent findings indicate that we could learn from its earliest inhabitants who managed their farmland sustainably. An international team of archaeologists and paleoecologists, including Dr. Mitchell Power, curator of the Garrett Herbarium at the Natur...

Apr 10, 2012 07:18 AM EDT

The Electric Car DeLorean Could Hit the Market Next Year

Yes, you read that right. An all-electric DeLorean made its debut at the New York Auto Show last week and not just as a cool concept, but with an actual plan for production -- and soon. According to Autoblog, DeLorean Motor Company president Stephen Wynne said the DMCev should hit the market in earl...

Apr 08, 2012 07:53 AM EDT

Experiment Explores Optics with iPad

As any other dutiful scientist, Dr. Weilin "Will" Hou, an oceanographer in the Oceanography Division at NRL Stennis Space Center (NRL-SSC), did his research. Earlier last summer, he decided the hottest tablet computer available on the market-the iPad-was the best option for an upcoming experiment.

Apr 08, 2012 07:44 AM EDT

Leveraging New Media and the Internet for Nuclear Education

The IAEA has long been a champion of the concept and use of professional networks to advance best practices in diverse areas of nuclear technology. Through inter-departmental initiatives, the Agency has set up a number of networks to encourage experts to contribute and share their knowledge and reso...

Apr 07, 2012 11:10 AM EDT

Confirming Carbon's Climate Effects

Harvard scientists are helping to paint the fullest picture yet of how a handful of factors, particularly world-wide increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide, combined to end the last ice age approximately 20,000 to 10,000 years ago.

Apr 06, 2012 10:26 AM EDT

Long-term Studies Detect Effects of Disappearing Snow and Ice

Ecosystems are changing worldwide as a result of shrinking sea ice, snow, and glaciers, especially in high-latitude regions where water is frozen for at least a month each year-the cryosphere. Scientists have already recorded how some larger animals, such as penguins and polar bears, are responding ...

Apr 06, 2012 10:06 AM EDT

Long-term Research Reveals Causes and Consequences of Environmental Change

As global temperatures rise, the most threatened ecosystems are those that depend on a season of snow and ice, scientists from the nation's Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network say."The vulnerability of cool, wet areas to climate change is striking," says Julia Jones, a lead author in a spec...

Apr 06, 2012 09:59 AM EDT

Which Plants Will Survive Droughts, Climate Change?

New research by UCLA life scientists could lead to predictions of which plant species will escape extinction from climate change.

Apr 06, 2012 09:38 AM EDT

New Online Portal, App Provide Information on Tsunami Zones in the Northwest

A new suite of online portal and smartphone apps is providing information on tsunami zones in the U.S. Pacific Northwest. The Pacific Northwest Tsunami Evacuation Zones online portal and free apps provide an at-a-glance view of tsunami hazard zones along the coasts of Oregon and Washington.

Apr 06, 2012 06:37 AM EDT

NRL Scientists Identify New Coupling Mode Between Stratosphere and Ionosphere

Scientists at the Naval Research Laboratory have identified a new mode of coupling between the stratosphere - which can drive variations at the summer mesopause - and the ionosphere, thereby establishing a new means where changes in the stratosphere can impact space weather. This research appeared i...

Apr 06, 2012 06:26 AM EDT

U.S. Island Was Green Victory to Save Slice of Paradise

When the Mackle brothers, Elliot, Robert and Frank Jr., first set foot on the deserted beaches of Marco Island in 1962 there were more pelicans, terns and mosquitoes than people.