Archive by date | July 2011

Nuclear commission eyes new path on waste as legal battle resumes over Yucca Mountain

Nuclear commission eyes new path on waste as legal battle resumes over Yucca Mountain

The White House’s Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future released its interim report on Friday, calling for the establishment of a new public process – as well as a new independent organization with access to truly dedicated funding – to identify a long-term solution for nuclear waste disposal (Washington Post).  Read more

Bt cotton cuts pesticide poisoning

Bt cotton cuts pesticide poisoning

Over the past ten years that farmers in India have been planting Bt cotton – a transgenic variety containing genes from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis making it pest resistant – pesticide use has been cut by at least half, a new study shows.

Atacama’s ALMA prepares to study the Universe

Atacama's ALMA prepares to study the Universe

The European partners of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) – a radio telescope in Chile – have finally delivered a radio antenna to the project (press release). And it’s a significant one: the 16th, which means that the telescope’s first original science observations can begin in September.

European Research Council grantees want better status in Italy

European Research Council grantees want better status in Italy

Italian scientists are exceptionally good at winning European Research Council (ERC) grants. That means a lot, since ERC Starting Grants and Advanced Grants are highly prestigious and unusually lucrative – they can bring up to €3.5 million to the host institute over five years, enough to establish a well-endowed research group.

Gliding is quick, but hard work

Gliding is quick, but hard work

Gliding from tree-tops in South East Asia, colugos use special flaps of skin between their limbs to move from tree to tree, covering distances of nearly 150 metres in a single glide. But instead of saving energy, the nocturnal lemur-like creatures actually glide to save time, according to a study published today in the Journal of Experimental Biology.

At long last, CRU releases climate data

Following years of bitter dispute with climate change sceptics, the Climate Research Unit(CRU) at the University of East Anglia (UEA) in Norwich yesterday released most of the meteorological raw data it had used to put together a contested global land temperature dataset, CRUTEM. The release had been ordered last month by the UK Information Commissioner.