In an exclusive interview published today on Nature Reports Climate Change, climate scientist James Hansen talks about his forthcoming book, Storms of My Grandchildren. You can read the full interview here [free access].
Arguably the world’s most famous climate scientist, and Director of NASA’s Goddard Institute of Space Studies in New York, Hansen’s conviction that a climate catastrophe is looming has led him, in recent years, to increasingly take on the role of advocate, sending numerous pleading letters to world leaders and CEOs, and attending well-publicized protests against coal plants.
Humans appear to ‘hear’ with their skin, according to a study published today in Nature. Bryan Gick and Donald Derrick found that the inaudible puffs of air produced by vocalising certain sounds actually modify the way those hearing the sounds perceive them.
Siberian tiger numbers are down 40% on their 12-year average, according to a new report from the Wildlife Conservation Society.
WCS scientists recorded only 56 tigers at their 16 monitoring sites, these cover 15–18% of existing tiger habitat in Russia. The total number of Siberian tigers across the entire range was estimated at 500 in 2005, says the WCS, but there has been a four year decline in numbers.
This week, how a spintronic device may pave the way for information processing in the future, we discover the role of a pair of ‘bone’ proteins in the menopause, and learn that we hear not only with our ears but also our skin. Plus, a round-up of what’s hot elsewhere in Nature. Read more
“While salt might not save the world alone, we believe osmotic power will be an interesting part of the renewable energy mix of the future.”
Baard Mikkelsen, chief executive of the Statkraft utility company, discusses the opening of the world’s first osmotic power plant, which produces electricity via the mixing of fresh and salt water (Reuters).
“Many journals did not require authors to sign disclosure statements, and there was variability in how [Conflict of Interest] was defined. … Readers should consider the potential for undisclosed COIs in medical journals that lack explicit disclosure requirements.”
Researchers report in JAMA on how medical journals differ in requiring paper authors to report their potential conflicts of interest.
“These observations, taken over four days, represent the first visible-light video of Saturn’s auroras.”
The Cassini probe has come up with more footage for you to swoon over.
Taking time off from officially pardoning a giant turkey, US President Barack Obama today announced that not only will he be going to Copenhagen on 9 December for the climate talks, he’ll also be taking with him a gift. Read more
The report produced by the investigators does not say so explicitly, probably out of fear of prejudicing future criminal/civil inquiries,… ... Read more
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