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Environmental

A collection of 1049 articles

How multi-celled animals developed: Evolutionary discovery to rewrite textbooks

Using new technology to investigate how multi-celled animals developed, their findings revealed a surprising truth.Professor Bernie Degnan said the results contradicted years of tradition.

Earth's heavy metals result of supernova explosion, research reveals

In a finding that may overthrow our understanding of where Earth's heavy elements such as gold and platinum come from, new research by a University of Guelph physicist suggests that most of them were spewed from a largely overlooked kind of star explosion far away in space and time from

Origin of life: A prebiotic route to DNA

How were the building-blocks of life first formed on the early Earth? As yet, only partially satisfactory answers to this question are available.

Two hours a week is key dose of nature for health and wellbeing

Research led by the University of Exeter, published in Scientific Reports and funded by NIHR, found that people who spend at least 120 minutes in nature a week are significantly more likely to report good health and higher psychological wellbeing than those who don't visit nature at all during an

Global commodities trade and consumption place the world's primates at risk of extinction

The world's primate fauna, distributed in the Neotropics, Africa and in South and Southeast Asia, represents an important global component of the Earth ́s land-based biodiversity..

Africa's elephant poaching rates in decline, but iconic animal still under threat

However, the team say the continent's elephant population remains threatened without continuing action to tackle poverty, reduce corruption and decrease demand of ivory..

The fellowship of the wing: Pigeons flap faster to fly together

Birds that fly in 'V'-formations, such as geese, are able to conserve energy by flying in aerodynamically optimal positions.

Squid could thrive under climate change

Dr Blake Spady, from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies (Coral CoE) at James Cook University (JCU), led the study.

Zebras' stripes could be used to control their temperature, study reveals

The authors argue it is the special way zebras sweat to cool down and the small-scale convection currents created between the stripes which aid evaporation, while the previously unrecorded ability of zebras to erect their black stripes is a further aid to heat loss. These three elements are key to

Electrode's 'hot edges' convert carbon dioxide gas into fuels and chemicals

The research team, from the University of Bath, Fudan University, Shanghai, and the Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, hopes the catalyst design will eventually allow the use of renewable electricity to convert CO2 into fuels without creating additional atmospheric carbon -- essentially acting like an electrochemical 'leaf'

Polymers jump through hoops on pathway to sustainable materials

Most consumer plastics are blends of linear polymers..

Australian islands home to 414 million pieces of plastic pollution

The study led by IMAS researcher Dr Jennifer Lavers and published in the journal Scientific Reports estimated beaches on the Indian Ocean islands are littered with 238 tonnes of plastic, including 977,000 shoes and 373,000 toothbrushes. Dr Lavers' research made headlines around the world when in May 2017

Scientists propose rethinking 'endangered species' definition to save slow-breeding giants

"Critical thresholds in so-called vital rates -- such as mortality and fertility rates among males and females of various ages -- can signal an approaching population collapse long before numbers drop below a point of no return," says lead author Dr. Shermin de Silva, President Founder of Asian elephant conservation

Nearly a quarter of West Antarctic ice is now unstable

A team of researchers, led by Professor Andy Shepherd from the University of Leeds, found that Antarctica's ice sheet has thinned by up to 122 metres in places, with the most rapid changes occurring in West Antarctica where ocean melting has triggered glacier imbalance. This means that the affected glaciers

Iceland volcano eruption in 1783-84 did not spawn extreme heat wave: Massive Laki volcano eruption led to unusually cold winter in Europe

The study, in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, will help improve predictions of how the climate will respond to future high-latitude volcanic eruptions..