http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Researchers from the University of Granada have patented a new system, based on placing modules as the foundations for building cheaper, inflatable hydraulic dams, which can be assembled and dismantled very easily. http://phys.org/news285330051.html Technology Tue, 16 Apr 2013 11:21:10 EST news285330051 Europe's tyre waste production is 3 million tonnes per year. Currently 65% to 70% of used tyres end up in landfills. Not only are they causing environmental damage, but a loss of added value in the form of new products that recycling can generate. One of the approaches for recycling tyres is now being investigated in a EU funded project called TyGRE. http://phys.org/news284290904.html Technology Thu, 04 Apr 2013 10:41:52 EST news284290904 Crews were working Thursday to clean up as much as 30,000 gallons of oil that spilled onto a Minnesota field after a mile-long train derailed. http://phys.org/news283693844.html Space & Earth Thu, 28 Mar 2013 13:10:01 EST news283693844 Across most of Earth, a tourist attraction that sees 35,000 visitors a year can safely be labeled sleepy. But when it's Antarctica, every footstep matters. http://phys.org/news282630967.html Space & Earth Sat, 16 Mar 2013 05:36:18 EST news282630967 Europe moved Thursday towards agreement on new rules governing offshore oil and gas drilling in response to a major environmental disaster off the United States, but environmentalists criticised the omission of terms covering Arctic exploration. http://phys.org/news280681195.html Space & Earth Thu, 21 Feb 2013 15:00:18 EST news280681195 (Phys.org)—A team of researchers with members from several countries around the world, and led by Chinese agriculturalist Fusuo Zhang has found that nitrogen deposition over China has increased by over 60 percent over the past 30 years, leading to widespread environmental damage. In their paper published in the journal Nature, the team describes how nitrogen pollutants such as ammonia and nitrogen oxides are converted to ammonium and nitrates which then fall to Earth as part of natural precipitation. The result, they say, is the widespread deposition of nitrogen pollutants across large swaths of the country. http://phys.org/news280664532.html Space & Earth Thu, 21 Feb 2013 10:22:24 EST news280664532 In an attempt to limit the harm of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, three million liters of dispersant were used to dissipate the oil. "The question is whether that was the best approach," said Tinka Murk, Professor of Environmental Toxicology at Wageningen University. On the surface the damage seems limited, but the seabed is covered with a thick layer of gunk. http://phys.org/news272620841.html Space & Earth Tue, 20 Nov 2012 08:00:54 EST news272620841 Oil giant Chevron said it was disappointed by the US Supreme Court's decision not to block an $18 billion fine sought by Ecuador for environmental damage in the Amazon. http://phys.org/news269017706.html Space & Earth Tue, 09 Oct 2012 16:08:48 EST news269017706 France's top court on Tuesday upheld energy giant Total's conviction for negligence in a 1999 shipwreck and oil spill that blackened much of the country's Atlantic coastline. http://phys.org/news267790366.html Space & Earth Tue, 25 Sep 2012 11:12:52 EST news267790366 The spiralling use of chemicals, especially in developing countries, is inflicting a rising bill by damaging people's health and the environment, according to a UN report issued on Wednesday. http://phys.org/news266047227.html Space & Earth Wed, 05 Sep 2012 07:00:41 EST news266047227 An oil slick from a sunken cargo vessel has been contained and is no longer a threat to beach resorts popular with foreign tourists, Sri Lankan authorities declared on Sunday. http://phys.org/news265262278.html Space & Earth Mon, 27 Aug 2012 05:30:01 EST news265262278 For millions of the women around the world cooking the family meal is a daily, dangerous chore. Sweating over smoky open stoves, they put their lives and their children at risk every day. http://phys.org/news264933878.html Other Sciences Thu, 23 Aug 2012 10:00:03 EST news264933878 France has no intention of lifting its ban on shale gas exploration because of continued concerns over its environmental impact, Environment and Energy Minister Delphine Batho said Friday. http://phys.org/news262015847.html Space & Earth Fri, 20 Jul 2012 15:11:04 EST news262015847 An independent report into a huge coal power station being built in energy-starved India on Tuesday called for construction to be halted immediately due to environmental damage. http://phys.org/news260540275.html Space & Earth Tue, 03 Jul 2012 13:18:01 EST news260540275 Scientists at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) in Germany have discovered that tiny vanadium pentoxide nanoparticles can inhibit the growth of barnacles, bacteria, and algae on surfaces in contact with water, such as ship hulls, sea buoys, or offshore platforms. Their experiments showed that steel plates to which a coating containing dispersed vanadium pentoxide particles had been applied could be exposed to seawater for weeks without the formation of deposits of barnacles, bacteria, and algae. In comparison, plates that were coated only with the ship's normal paint exhibited massive fouling after exposure to seawater for the same period of time. The discovery could lead to the development of new protective, antifouling coatings and paints that are less damaging to the environment than the ship coatings currently used. http://phys.org/news260446390.html Nanotechnology Mon, 02 Jul 2012 11:14:00 EST news260446390 Weedy plants, many introduced to the U.S. for sale through plant nurseries, are responsible for extensive environmental damage and economic costs. Although legislation restricts the introduction of certain species, the procedures used to select species for inclusion on the restricted list are haphazard and out of date. http://phys.org/news260109301.html Biology Thu, 28 Jun 2012 13:35:13 EST news260109301 (Phys.org) -- Can organic agriculture feed the world? http://phys.org/news254576380.html Biology Wed, 25 Apr 2012 13:00:03 EST news254576380 French energy giant Total aims to plug the leak of potentially explosive gas from its stricken North Sea rig by the end of April, a senior executive told a Scottish newspaper on Wednesday. http://phys.org/news253358694.html Space & Earth Wed, 11 Apr 2012 10:40:01 EST news253358694 (AP) -- China has set up a rare earths industry association to fend off trade complaints and help regulate the sector that is critical to global high-tech manufacturing. http://phys.org/news253188849.html Technology Mon, 09 Apr 2012 11:14:35 EST news253188849 (AP) -- Officials from the United States, the European Union and Japan are pledging to work closer together on ways to ensure secure supplies of strategically vital rare earths and other critical materials. http://phys.org/news252154651.html Technology Wed, 28 Mar 2012 11:58:32 EST news252154651 The world's surging population is a big driver of environmental woes but the issue is complex and solutions are few, experts at a major conference here say. http://phys.org/news252081194.html Space & Earth Tue, 27 Mar 2012 15:40:38 EST news252081194 Japan said Wednesday it will host the European Union and United States at a meeting on developing alternatives for rare earths as Chinese controls on the key minerals raise fears of a supply squeeze. http://phys.org/news251525454.html Technology Wed, 21 Mar 2012 05:30:01 EST news251525454 The growing ranks of wealthy Asians and their increasing appetite for more expensive fish are threatening stocks, potentially causing wider environmental damage, experts at a UN conference said on Tuesday. http://phys.org/news246597159.html Biology Tue, 24 Jan 2012 04:00:01 EST news246597159 Concerns about the worldwide energy supply and national, environmental and economic security have resulted in a search for alternative energy sources. A new University of Illinois study shows Miscanthus x giganteus (M. x giganteus) is a strong contender in the race to find the next source of ethanol if appropriate growing conditions are identified. http://phys.org/news246201865.html Biology Thu, 19 Jan 2012 13:24:32 EST news246201865 An increase in human activity is posing a threat to natural aquatic ecosystems in Tanzania and contributing to environmental damage and ecological changes. Doctoral research carried out by Hezron Emmanuel Nonga shows that agriculture and livestock farming leads to eutrophication in lakes and the proliferation of cyanobacteria which produce microcystins. New information about microcystins and other mycotoxins in Tanzanian lakes is useful for appraising the risk linked to drinking water and edible fish, which in turn affects the health of both humans and animals. http://phys.org/news244313659.html Space & Earth Wed, 28 Dec 2011 16:54:30 EST news244313659 Brazil could slap fines of more than $145 million (105 million euros) on Chevron over its oil spill, and the US energy giant could be barred from operating in the country's deepwater fields, officials said Tuesday. http://phys.org/news241205248.html Space & Earth Tue, 22 Nov 2011 17:27:36 EST news241205248 The US government slapped BP, Transocean and Halliburton with citations for violating oil industry regulations in what is expected to lead to massive fines for the deadly 2010 oil spill. http://phys.org/news237694998.html Space & Earth Thu, 13 Oct 2011 03:24:09 EST news237694998 US oil group Chevron said Tuesday it had shut down a pipeline off the coast of Louisiana in the Gulf of Mexico to investigate a "potential leak." http://phys.org/news235191665.html Space & Earth Wed, 14 Sep 2011 04:01:30 EST news235191665 (AP) -- A European trade envoy said Chinese officials indicated Thursday that Beijing might change its curbs on exports of rare earths after a World Trade Organization panel rejected similar restrictions on other metals. http://phys.org/news229850906.html Technology Thu, 14 Jul 2011 08:40:03 EST news229850906 An oil spill off China's eastern coast kept hidden from the public for weeks has caused long-term environmental damage that will hurt the area's fishing industry, state media reported Tuesday. http://phys.org/news229055490.html Space & Earth Tue, 05 Jul 2011 03:31:46 EST news229055490