Welcome to the warm Anthropocene. The growing volume of global temperature data adds to the evidence that we have left the Holocene and entered a new geological epoch dominated by human activities.
In a vacuum-sealed flask on a lab bench in Germany sits an emerald-green crystal that will cause some jaws to drop. The crystal is the first stable compound containing a triple chemical bond between two boron atoms, a feat that had previously been limited to only two other non-metal elements – carbon and nitrogen. Boron…
The climate is getting worse for wind-power companies, which are finding it increasingly difficult to attract venture backers. Investment in U.S. turbine farms and wind-energy businesses tumbled 38 percent last year to $9.7 billion, according to data from Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Venture capitalists have practically left the sector altogether. They invested only $177.6 million…
Click-click-click: This is what you hear when having a conversation with Stephen Hawking. No voice, no other sounds, no facial expressions. For those who know him, Hawking may be able to communicate through his eyes; but for the rest of us, his sole means of communicating is through infrared connection to his computer. January 8…
Drinking a moderate amount of alcohol can have an impact on the ability of brain cells to regenerate, according to new research. The study, published in the journal Neuroscience, suggests that even drinking a couple of glasses of wine each day could decrease the creation of adult brain cells by as much as 40%. Lead…
Individual homes could soon be powered with their own solid oxide fuel cell systems, thanks to a breakthrough in performance. The new system, from the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), achieves up to 57% efficiency – half as good again as previous versions of the same size. It uses methane as fuel,…
A Japanese deep sea drilling vessel, Chikyu, recently set a new world record, by drilling down over 2,111 meters below the seafloor to collect rock samples. The ship is off Shimokita Peninsula of Japan in the northwest Pacific Ocean, as part of the Deep Coalbed Biosphere expedition, which aims to collect high-quality samples from the…