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Environment
Results 141 - 160 of 178.
Life Sciences - Environment - 09.04.2018
Ancient bones suggest first humans travelled further than we think
The relic is the oldest human (Homo sapiens) fossil to have been found outside of Africa and the immediately adjacent Levant, and suggests that people travelled further than initially thought during the first reported human migration into Eurasia.
Environment - Astronomy / Space - 06.04.2018
Antarctica retreating across the sea floor
Antarctica's great ice sheet is losing ground as it is eroded by warm ocean water circulating beneath its floating edge, a new UCL and University of Leeds study has found. Research by the UK Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling (CPOM) has produced the first complete map of how the ice sheet's submarine edge, or "grounding line", is shifting.
Environment - Life Sciences - 06.04.2018
Climate change is wreaking havoc on delicate relationship between orchids and bees
New study shows climate change is wreaking havoc on delicate relationship between orchids and bees The first definitive demonstration of climate change upsetting the vital interdependent relationships between species has been revealed, thanks to a study led by the University of Sussex. Research led by Prof Michael Hutchings at the University of Sussex tracks how rising temperatures since the mid-17 th century have wrecked a relationship, which relies on precision timing to succeed, between a rare orchid species and the Buffish Mining-bee which pollinates it.
Environment - Life Sciences - 05.04.2018
Protecting the Bornean banteng
New research has found that preserving large forest areas is essential in protecting the most endangered large mammal in Sabah . The Bornean banteng is highly threatened by habitat loss, fragmentation and heavy poaching, leading it to become an endangered species. But collaborative research has uncovered factors that play a vital role in the conservation of this species.
Life Sciences - Environment - 26.03.2018
Research sheds new light on improving rice yields
Light is essential for plant growth but getting the right amount for crops out in the field at the mercy of the climate is very difficult, now plant scientists have found a way to tackle this with the help of a protein that allows rice crops to regulate the amount of light they can safely use.
Environment - 25.03.2018
Global carbon emissions could be cut 3% by following the UK’s example
The UK cut its emissions from electricity production by 25% in 2016, using a strategy many countries could adopt to quickly lower carbon emissions. The UK achieved an unprecedented drop in carbon emissions in 2016 by making full use of natural gas over coal. Changes in the way electricity is generated meant the average Briton saved 400 kg of carbon dioxide - equivalent to taking 1 in 3 of the country's cars off the road.
Environment - Life Sciences - 22.03.2018
Deep-sea wildlife more vulnerable to extinction than first thought
We have only known about the existence of the unusual yeti crabs (Kiwaidae) - a family of crab-like animals whose hairy claws and bodies are reminiscent of the abominable snowman - since 2005, but already their future survival could be at risk. New Oxford University research suggests that past environmental changes may have profoundly impacted the geographic range and species diversity of this family.
Environment - 15.03.2018
The Birmingham Effect - University of Birmingham Annual Meeting
Researchers from the University of Birmingham have undertaken one of the most comprehensive air quality monitoring projects at a railway station at Birmingham New Street. The station environment has been considered in terms of the European Union (EU) and Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) limits as part of the monitoring methodology, but it should be noted that these limits do not apply in this environment as the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulation 1999 and the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 are applicable.
Environment - 14.03.2018
Chain reaction of fast-draining lakes poses new risk for Greenland ice sheet
A growing network of lakes on the Greenland ice sheet has been found to drain in a chain reaction that speeds up the flow of the ice sheet, threatening its stability. Researchers from the UK, Norway, US and Sweden have used a combination of 3D computer modelling and real-world observations to show the previously unknown, yet profound dynamic consequences tied to a growing number of lakes forming on the Greenland ice sheet.
Environment - 09.03.2018
Unravelling the mystery of ice ages using ancient molecules
Researchers from Cardiff University have revealed how sea ice has been contributing to the waxing and waning of ice sheets over the last million years. In a new study published , the team have shown for the first time that ice ages, occurring every 100,000 years, are accompanied by a rapid build-up of sea ice in the Earth's oceans.
Life Sciences - Environment - 07.03.2018
Animals shield their families from a harsh world
Animals living in volatile habitats can gain major evolutionary benefits by shielding their families from the changing environment, suggests research from UCL, the University of Bristol and University of Exeter. In a study , biologists investigated an overlooked reason for widespread cooperation amongst animals and found that when their environment is prone to fluctuate unexpectedly, staying at home to help raise relatives can be much better than going solo.
Life Sciences - Environment - 07.03.2018
Animals shield their families from a harsh world
Animals living in volatile habitats can gain major evolutionary benefits by shielding their families from the changing environment, new research suggests. Biologists from the University of Bristol, the University of Exeter and UCL investigated an overlooked reason for widespread cooperation amongst animals.
Environment - 06.03.2018
Bearded pigs adapting to oil palm
Bearded pigs in Borneo are successfully adapting to palm oil expansion but still require significant protected forest areas, finds new research by the Sabah Wildlife Department, Danau Girang Field Centre, Cardiff University and University of Berkeley. The study found that the pigs, renowned for their long facial hair, were consistently found in both degraded forest areas and adjacent palm oil plantations, and were in good physical condition despite the degradation of adjacent forests.
Environment - Innovation - 06.03.2018
Running on renewables: how sure can we be about the future?
A variety of models predict the role renewables will play in 2050, but some may be over-optimistic, and should be used with caution, say researchers. The proportion of UK energy supplied by renewable energies is increasing every year; in 2017 wind, solar, biomass and hydroelectricity produced as much energy as was needed to power the whole of Britain in 1958 .
Environment - Life Sciences - 02.03.2018
New study confirms Cambodia’s last leopards on brink of extinction
A new study has confirmed that the world's last breeding population of leopards in Cambodia is at immediate risk of extinction, having declined by 72% during a five-year period. The population represents the last remaining leopards in all of eastern Indochina - a region incorporating Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.
Environment - Life Sciences - 01.03.2018
Omega Fish oils don’t improve school children’s reading skills or memory
Researchers at the University of Birmingham have discovered that the mass extinction seen in plant species caused by the onset of a drier climate 307 million years ago led to extinctions of some groups of tetrapods, the first vertebrates to live on land, but allowed others to expand across the globe.
Astronomy / Space - Environment - 01.03.2018
Antarctic Penguin hotspot discovery fuels need for marine reserve
Scientists have discovered a thriving colony of more than three quarters of a million penguins on the Danger Islands in the Weddell Sea, East Antarctic Peninsula, where the impacts of climate change have not yet been felt and there is little human activity. While the islands were thought to be home to some penguin 'super colonies', the population size was previously unknown and widely underestimated.
Earth Sciences - Environment - 28.02.2018
Man-made earthquake risk reduced if fracking is 895m from faults
The risk of man-made earthquakes due to fracking is greatly reduced if high-pressure fluid injection used to crack underground rocks is 895m away from faults in the Earth's crust, according to new research. The recommendation, from the ReFINE (Researching Fracking) consortium, is based on published microseismic data from 109 fracking operations carried out predominantly in the USA.
Environment - 27.02.2018
University of Birmingham officially opens new campus in Dubai
Air pollution in Nairobi is likely to become significantly worse by 2030 - putting thousands of lives at risk from one of the biggest killers in urban Africa - unless action is taken now, according to an alliance of African and British experts. They agree that, if nothing is done, people living in the Kenyan capital face increased health risks from air pollution as the population is set to nearly double, the number of people driving cars rises and per capita energy requirements increase.
Astronomy / Space - Environment - 26.02.2018
Researchers evaluate air quality at Birmingham New Street
A series of four studies have shed new light on the properties of the TRAPPIST-1 planetary system, currently our most optimal hope for evidence of biological life beyond the Solar system. Since the extent of the TRAPPIST-1 planetary system was revealed in February 2017, it has captured the imagination of people the world over.
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