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. A University of Oklahoma environmental science graduate student will travel to Ethiopia in June to test materials she has been investigating as possible solutions to fluorosis—a widespread problem in the Rift Valley, where high levels of fluoride in the drinking water result in dental and skeletal disease. http://phys.org/news224781267.html Space & Earth Mon, 16 May 2011 16:14:46 EST news224781267 A team of scientists in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands are reporting disturbing evidence that soil microbes have become progressively more resistant to antibiotics over the last 60 years. Surprisingly, this trend continues despite apparent more stringent rules on use of antibiotics in medicine and agriculture, and improved sewage treatment technology that broadly improves water quality in surrounding environments. Their report appears in ACS' bi-weekly journal Environmental Science and Technology. http://phys.org/news186838292.html Space & Earth Wed, 03 Mar 2010 12:00:01 EST news186838292 With concern over mercury contamination of tuna on the rise and growing information about the health effects of eating contaminated fish, scientists would like to know exactly where the pollutant is coming from and how it's getting into open-ocean fish species. http://phys.org/news186746178.html Space & Earth Tue, 02 Mar 2010 09:56:38 EST news186746178 Hawaii's strong farming history and its indigenous people's relationships to 'aina (the land) and 'ohana (immediate and extended family) provide the landscape for an experiment in culturally relevant learning. Researchers from the University of Hawaii at Manoa transformed an agricultural and environmental science professional development course for K󈝸 teachers to strengthen the community of educators and build stronger connections between science and culture. The results are reported in the 2010 edition of the Journal of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Education, published by the American Society of Agronomy. http://phys.org/news186647471.html Biology Mon, 01 Mar 2010 06:50:01 EST news186647471 A University of Iowa study supports an earlier UI report that found polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in sediments lining the Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal (IHSC) in East Chicago, Ind. The study also presents data showing that the sediments are a significant source of PCBs found in surrounding air and in Lake Michigan. http://phys.org/news186252999.html Space & Earth Wed, 24 Feb 2010 17:10:01 EST news186252999 A University of Rhode Island researcher who studies chemical pollutants in the marine environment has called on colleagues around the world to establish a global monitoring network to verify that the chemicals banned by the United Nations in 2003 are no longer in use. http://phys.org/news184958402.html Space & Earth Tue, 09 Feb 2010 17:50:02 EST news184958402 (PhysOrg.com) -- Beef produced in feedlots has a smaller carbon footprint than meat raised exclusively on pastures, according to the surprise results of a new study. http://phys.org/news184420606.html Space & Earth Wed, 03 Feb 2010 12:20:01 EST news184420606 The simple formula we've learned in recent years - forests remove the greenhouse gas CO2 from the atmosphere; therefore forests prevent global warming - may not be quite as simple as we thought. Forests can directly absorb and retain heat, and, in at least one type of forest, these effects may be strong enough to cancel out a good part of the benefit in lowered CO2. This is a conclusion of a paper that will be published tomorrow, Friday 22, in Science by scientists in the Weizmann Institute's Faculty of Chemistry. http://phys.org/news183304619.html Space & Earth Thu, 21 Jan 2010 14:00:19 EST news183304619 With many companies investing heavily in algae-based biofuels, researchers from the University of Virginia's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering have found there are significant environmental hurdles to overcome before fuel production ramps up. They propose using wastewater as a solution to some of these challenges. http://phys.org/news183301828.html Space & Earth Thu, 21 Jan 2010 13:10:42 EST news183301828 (PhysOrg.com) -- A cancer epidemic under way in southeast China may have been initiated by a string of Siberian volcanoes that spewed ash across the Earth 250 million years ago, according to a study published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology. http://phys.org/news182600452.html Space & Earth Wed, 13 Jan 2010 10:21:13 EST news182600452 You can conserve fish and eat them too, according to a fisheries economist at UC Santa Barbara, along with a team of experts. http://phys.org/news182093559.html Biology Thu, 07 Jan 2010 14:10:01 EST news182093559 (PhysOrg.com) -- New research from scientists at The University of Manchester is set to improve predictions about climate and air quality - and make life easier for those suffering from respiratory problems. http://phys.org/news180628222.html Space & Earth Mon, 21 Dec 2009 14:30:58 EST news180628222 Getting the most out of every drop of water is a high priority for grape growers in the southern Napa Valley, where summers are hot and dry and vines have to be irrigated to make it through the growing season. But Stanford researchers have found that a significant portion of the water applied to the vines zips right by the plants, hardly even pausing. http://phys.org/news180182242.html Space & Earth Wed, 16 Dec 2009 11:00:03 EST news180182242 (PhysOrg.com) -- Fictional secret agent Angus MacGyver knew that tough situations demand ingenuity. Jessica Lundquist takes a similar approach to studying snowfall. The University of Washington assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering uses dime-sized temperature sensors, first developed for the refrigerated food industry, and tennis balls. In summer months she attaches the sensors to tennis balls that are weighted with gravel, and uses a dog-ball launcher to propel the devices high into alpine trees where they will record winter temperatures. http://phys.org/news180013148.html Technology Mon, 14 Dec 2009 12:00:01 EST news180013148 (AP) -- A consumer group contends one of the holiday season's must-have toys is unsafe. http://phys.org/news179331396.html Medicine & Health Sun, 06 Dec 2009 14:30:04 EST news179331396 (PhysOrg.com) -- Research conducted by University of Wyoming Professor Paul Johnson and others demonstrates that genetically modified tadpoles work well as sensitive monitors for rapidly detecting water pollution. http://phys.org/news179084594.html Space & Earth Thu, 03 Dec 2009 18:30:02 EST news179084594 The analysis of carbon and oxygen isotopes embedded in tree rings may shed new light on past climate events in the Mackenzie Delta region of northern Canada. http://phys.org/news179073024.html Space & Earth Thu, 03 Dec 2009 14:40:02 EST news179073024 Scientists are reporting the first identification of substances involved in the Jekyll-and-Hyde transformation that changes harmless marine bacteria into killers that cause "coral bleaching." Their study appears in ACS' Environmental Science & Technology. http://phys.org/news178979141.html Space & Earth Wed, 02 Dec 2009 12:26:10 EST news178979141 Scientists are reporting evidence that air pollution — a well-recognized problem at major airports — may pose an important but largely overlooked health concern for people living near smaller regional airports. Those airports are becoming an increasingly important component of global air transport systems. The study, one of only a handful to examine airborne pollutants near regional airports, suggests that officials should pay closer attention to these overlooked emissions, which could cause health problems for local residents. It appears online in ACS' Environmental Science & Technology. http://phys.org/news177772475.html Space & Earth Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:40:03 EST news177772475 Georgia Tech City and Regional Planning Professor Brian Stone publishes a paper in the December edition of Environmental Science and Technology that suggests policymakers need to address the influence of global deforestation and urbanization on climate change, in addition to greenhouse gas emissions. http://phys.org/news177139558.html Space & Earth Wed, 11 Nov 2009 06:00:01 EST news177139558 Where does it come from? Scientists in Arizona are reporting a surprising answer to that question, which has puzzled and perplexed generations of men and women confronted with layers of dust on furniture and floors. Most of indoor dust comes from outdoors. Their report is scheduled for the Nov. 1 issue of ACS' Environmental Science & Technology. http://phys.org/news175953318.html Space & Earth Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:20:02 EST news175953318 Deep under the sea, a fossil the size of a sand grain is nestled among a billion of its closest dead relatives. Known as foraminifera, these complex little shells of calcium carbonate can tell you the sea level, temperature, and ocean conditions of Earth millions of years ago. That is, if you know what to look for. http://phys.org/news175446825.html Space & Earth Thu, 22 Oct 2009 16:15:01 EST news175446825 (PhysOrg.com) -- With technology similar to that used by physicians to perform magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, researchers from six institutions -- including the National Institute of Standards and Technology -- working at the Hollings Marine Laboratory (HML) in Charleston, S.C., are studying the metabolic activity of a pathogen shown to cause coral bleaching, a serious threat to undersea reef ecosystems worldwide. http://phys.org/news175281650.html Space & Earth Tue, 20 Oct 2009 18:50:18 EST news175281650 Swiss researchers have found that Alpine glaciers melting under the impact of climate change are releasing highly toxic pollutants that had been absorbed by the ice for decades. http://phys.org/news174735023.html Space & Earth Wed, 14 Oct 2009 10:31:07 EST news174735023 "Green" roofs, those increasingly popular urban rooftops covered with plants, could help fight global warming, scientists in Michigan are reporting. http://phys.org/news172933931.html Space & Earth Wed, 23 Sep 2009 14:50:01 EST news172933931 Denver released the largest amount of greenhouse gases (GHG) and Barcelona the smallest amount in a new study documenting how differences in climate, population density and other factors affect GHG emissions in global cities. The study, which could identify ways in which cities can reduce GHG emissions, is scheduled for October 1 issue of ACS' Environmental Science & Technology. http://phys.org/news172932327.html Space & Earth Wed, 23 Sep 2009 13:45:57 EST news172932327 More computers discarded by consumers in the United States are getting a second life in developing countries than previously believed, according to a new study -- the most comprehensive ever done on the topic -- reported in ACS' semi-monthly journal Environmental Science & Technology. The findings may ease growing concerns about environmental pollution with toxic metals that can result from dismantling and recycling computer components in developing countries. http://phys.org/news171127352.html Space & Earth Wed, 02 Sep 2009 17:30:01 EST news171127352 A paper by two University of Delaware researchers was recently highlighted on the web site of Environmental Science & Technology (ES&T), which publishes papers in advance of their appearance in the print version of the journal. http://phys.org/news170953380.html Space & Earth Mon, 31 Aug 2009 16:03:19 EST news170953380 Contaminants from natural coal deposits in the Gulf of Alaska are not easily bioavailable, unlike the crude oil from the Exxon Valdez tanker catastrophe. This clearly disproves the theory that natural coal deposits were the cause of observed environmental damage. PAH pollutants were blamed for the continuing degradation of the ecosystem off the coast of Alaska. Then a dispute erupted over the origins of these pollutants in science. According to an international team of researchers writing in specialist journal Environmental Science & Technology, the crude oil from the Exxon Valdez was the main source of the bioavailable PAH contaminants. http://phys.org/news170937855.html Space & Earth Mon, 31 Aug 2009 11:45:17 EST news170937855 (PhysOrg.com) -- Burning plastic can give off less carbon dioxide than burying it, scientists claim in a Royal Society of Chemistry journal. http://phys.org/news170403521.html Space & Earth Tue, 25 Aug 2009 07:40:02 EST news170403521