BICEP3 tightens the bounds on cosmic inflation

Physicists looking for signs of primordial gravitational waves by sifting through the earliest light in the cosmos – the cosmic microwave background (CMB) – have reported their findings: still nothing. But far from being a dud, the latest results from the BICEP3 experiment at the South Pole have tightened the bounds on models of cosmic […]

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Bioenergy emissions scrutinised as UK plans to grow sector

The first detailed analysis of the emissions associated with burning woody biomass imported from the US suggests that in the UK, 13–16 million tonnes of carbon dioxide were added to the atmosphere in 2019. That’s equivalent to the yearly emissions of 6–7 million cars. Emissions from biomass burning are expected to grow to 17–20 million […]

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Plasma-based approach leads to more reactive oxygen donors for alkene epoxidation

UK-based researchers have devised a waste-free approach for oxidising alkenes to epoxides, in which atomic oxygen and carbon monoxide are both generated from carbon dioxide using non-thermal plasma. The method comes from a fairly unusual collaboration between organic chemist Benjamin Buckley and plasma scientist Felipe Iza, both at Loughborough University, and may help unlock the […]

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Keeping one step ahead of earthquakes

While accurately predicting earthquakes is in the realm of science fiction, early warning systems are very much a reality. As advances in research and technology make these systems increasingly effective, they’re vital to reducing an earthquake’s human, social and economic toll. Damaging earthquakes can strike at any time. While we can’t prevent them from occurring, […]

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A commonly found parasite could treat certain types of cancer, say scientists

Scientists have discovered that a deadly parasite, known to cause ill health in pregnant women and immunocompromised patients, could potentially be used to treat various types of tumours. The research, published today in the Journal for ImmunoTherapy Cancer, was carried out by experts from the University of Nottingham, Ningbo University and Shanxi Agricultural University in China. […]

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Drinking alcohol to stay healthy? That might not work, says new study

Increased mortality risk among current alcohol abstainers might largely be explained by other factors, including previous alcohol or drug problems, daily smoking, and overall poor health, according to a new study publishing November 2nd in PLOS Medicine by Ulrich John of University Medicine Greifswald, Germany, and colleagues. Previous studies have suggested that people who abstain from alcohol […]

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Uncovering the secrets behind Earth’s first major mass extinction

We all know that the dinosaurs died in a mass extinction. But did you know that there were other mass extinctions? There are five most significant mass extinctions, known as the “big five,” where at least three-quarters of all species in existence across the entire Earth faced extinction during a particular geological period of time. […]

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Earth’s orbit affects millennial climate variability

Abundant geological evidence demonstrates that Earth’s climate has experienced millennial-scale variability superimposed on glacial-interglacial fluctuations through the Pleistocene. The magnitude of millennial climate variability has been linked to glacial cycles over the past 800 thousand years (kyr). For the period before the Mid-Pleistocene Transition, when global glaciations were less pronounced but more frequent, scientists had been […]

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