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. Scientists have known for two decades that sulfur compounds that are produced by bacterioplankton as they consume decaying algae in the ocean cycle through two paths. In one, a sulfur compound dimethylsulfide, or DMS, goes into the atmosphere, where it leads to water droplet formation – the basis of clouds that cool the Earth. In the other, a sulfur compound goes into the ocean's food web, where it is eaten and returned to seawater. http://phys.org/news224337538.html Space & Earth Wed, 11 May 2011 13:00:09 EST news224337538 Programs that allow facilities to buy and sell emission allowances have been popular and effective since they were introduced in the U.S. two decades ago. But critics worry the approach can create heavily polluted "hot spots" in low-income and minority communities. http://phys.org/news220675474.html Space & Earth Wed, 30 Mar 2011 03:45:14 EST news220675474 (AP) -- Pollution in China remains very serious as the country's rapid economic growth brings on new environmental problems, with nearly 1,000 contamination incidents in the last five years, a minister said Saturday. http://phys.org/news219123025.html Space & Earth Sat, 12 Mar 2011 03:30:41 EST news219123025 Kilauea volcano's latest eruption has decreased in activity and taken a breather from furiously spewing out lava for five days. http://phys.org/news219001673.html Space & Earth Thu, 10 Mar 2011 17:48:07 EST news219001673 (AP) -- Glowing, red-orange lava is shooting into the sky, creating fiery rivers from the newest vent at Kilauea volcano on Hawaii's Big Island. http://phys.org/news218723996.html Space & Earth Tue, 08 Mar 2011 03:28:52 EST news218723996 Sulfur is the sixth most abundant element on Earth and plays a key role in many geological and biological processes. A French-German team including CNRS and the Université Paul Sabatier has identified, on the basis of laboratory measurements, a novel form of sulfur present in geological fluids: the S3- ion. The discovery calls existing theories about the geological transport of sulfur into question, and could provide ways of identifying new deposits of precious metals such as gold and copper. These findings are published in the 25 February 2011 issue of the journal Science. http://phys.org/news218115949.html Space & Earth Mon, 28 Feb 2011 11:45:59 EST news218115949 A new analysis of sulfur emissions appearing in the journal Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics shows that after declining for a decade, worldwide emissions rose again in 2000 due largely to international shipping and a growing Chinese economy. An accurate read on sulfur emissions will help researchers predict future changes in climate and determine present day effects on the atmosphere, health and the environment. http://phys.org/news216919492.html Space & Earth Mon, 14 Feb 2011 15:26:49 EST news216919492 In the search for life on Mars or any planet, there is much more than the presence of carbon and oxygen to consider. Using Earth's biogeochemical cycles as a reference point, elements like nitrogen, iron and sulfur are just as important for supporting life. As explored in studies published in February's open-access Special Issue of Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, the most basic elements work together to support an extraordinary diversity of life. http://phys.org/news215885193.html Space & Earth Wed, 02 Feb 2011 16:06:49 EST news215885193 Australian researchers have suggested that nations should abandon the concept of carbon emissions trading in favor of a carbon swap bank that might lead to genuine reductions in the amount of carbon dioxide greenhouse gas entering the atmosphere and so provide a mechanism for reducing climate change. Details of the carbon swap bank are outlined in the journal Interdisciplinary Environmental Review. http://phys.org/news213531021.html Space & Earth Thu, 06 Jan 2011 10:11:10 EST news213531021 For the first time in history, a change will be made to the atomic weights of some elements listed on the Periodic table of the chemical elements posted on walls of chemistry classrooms and on the inside covers of chemistry textbooks worldwide. http://phys.org/news211643254.html Chemistry Wed, 15 Dec 2010 13:47:52 EST news211643254 China has started publishing hourly air-quality information for major cities across the country as the world's top source of greenhouse gas emissions tries to rein in its notorious pollution. http://phys.org/news209991427.html Space & Earth Fri, 26 Nov 2010 11:30:01 EST news209991427 An international team, including Jean-Loup Bertaux, CNRS senior researcher, has discovered a layer of sulfur dioxide (SO2) in the upper atmosphere of Venus. The researchers obtained this result using measurements performed by ESA's Venus Express spacecraft. They propose a new mechanism to explain this unexpected result. SO2 is of particular interest to them since this gas could be used to cool down the Earth via a geo-engineering process put forward by Chemistry Nobel Laureate Paul Crutzen. http://phys.org/news209139215.html Space & Earth Tue, 16 Nov 2010 14:14:06 EST news209139215 Scientists have sought to learn more about how the Earth's oceans absorb carbon dioxide and generally exchange gases with the atmosphere so they can better understand the corresponding effects on climate. To that end, many researchers are turning their attention to the microscopic organisms that help recycle carbon, nitrogen, sulfur and other elements through the oceans. Finding out exactly how and to what degree they do that is an ongoing scientific challenge, and scientists may first have to learn more about how the microbes interact with their environment at the scale of the individual microbe. http://phys.org/news207907948.html Biology Tue, 02 Nov 2010 09:12:42 EST news207907948 Power plants that burn fossil fuels remain the main source of electricity generation across the globe. Modern power plants have scrubbers to remove sulfur compounds from their flue gases, which has helped reduce the problem of acid rain. Now, researchers in India have devised a way to convert the waste material produced by the scrubbing process into value-added products. They describe details in the International Journal of Environment and Pollution. http://phys.org/news206876257.html Space & Earth Thu, 21 Oct 2010 10:38:05 EST news206876257 Kilauea Volcano on Hawaii's big island has been erupting on its east rift since 1983. But, in March 2008, an additional eruption vent opened at the volcano's summit, resulting in about triple the amount of sulfur dioxide gas (SO2) emissions drifting to the local community of Ka'u, raising health concerns over the risks associated with exposure to "vog," as the islanders refer to this volcanic air pollution. http://phys.org/news206784586.html Medicine & Health Wed, 20 Oct 2010 09:10:04 EST news206784586 (PhysOrg.com) -- The frigid ice of Jupiter's moon Europa may be hiding more than a presumed ocean: it is likely the scene of some unexpectedly fast chemistry between water and sulfur dioxide at extremely cold temperatures. Although these molecules react easily as liquids-they are well-known ingredients of acid rain-Mark Loeffler and Reggie Hudson at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., now report that they react as ices with surprising speed and high yield at temperatures hundreds of degrees below freezing. Because the reaction occurs without the aid of radiation, it could take place throughout Europa's thick coating of ice-an outcome that would revamp current thinking about the chemistry and geology of this moon and perhaps others. http://phys.org/news205430712.html Space & Earth Mon, 04 Oct 2010 17:05:28 EST news205430712 The fine particles of pollution that hang in the air can increase the risk for sudden cardiac arrest, according to a new study conducted by a team from Long Island Jewish (LIJ) Medical Center and The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research. http://phys.org/news204203165.html Medicine & Health Mon, 20 Sep 2010 12:20:04 EST news204203165 Volcanoes display the awesome power of Nature like few other events. Earlier this year, ash from an Icelandic volcano disrupted air travel throughout much of northern Europe. Yet this recent eruption pales next to the fury of Jupiter's moon Io, the most volcanic body in our solar system. http://phys.org/news203080119.html Space & Earth Tue, 07 Sep 2010 12:08:58 EST news203080119 (AP) -- The Obama administration is proposing new rules to tighten restrictions on pollution from coal-burning power plants in the eastern half of the country, a key step to cut emissions that cause smog. http://phys.org/news197657478.html Space & Earth Tue, 06 Jul 2010 18:10:03 EST news197657478 (PhysOrg.com) -- Io is one of the four moons of Jupiter that Galileo discovered after he turned his new telescope heavenward. They shocked him and his contemporaries because they demonstrated that heavenly bodies can orbit objects other than the Earth. http://phys.org/news195757568.html Space & Earth Mon, 14 Jun 2010 18:06:39 EST news195757568 Jupiter’s moon Io is the most volcanically active body in the solar system. Could it also be a habitat for life? http://phys.org/news195411129.html Space & Earth Thu, 10 Jun 2010 18:40:01 EST news195411129 (AP) -- Good news for asthmatics, children, the elderly and those who have breathing disorders. http://phys.org/news194847005.html Space & Earth Fri, 04 Jun 2010 05:30:02 EST news194847005 (PhysOrg.com) -- New photographs of the gas giant Jupiter, the first taken on May 9, show the massive reddish band of clouds known as the Southern Equatorial Belt in the planet’s southern hemisphere has disappeared from view. http://phys.org/news193037800.html Space & Earth Fri, 14 May 2010 06:37:11 EST news193037800 (AP) -- Six in 10 Americans - about 175 million people - are living in places where air pollution often reaches dangerous levels, despite progress in reducing particle pollution, the American Lung Association said in a report released Wednesday. http://phys.org/news191683998.html Space & Earth Wed, 28 Apr 2010 15:00:01 EST news191683998 Small but mighty, a beneficial microbe called Muscodor albus may help protect fresh grapes from troublesome gray mold. Experiments conducted over the past several years by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) plant pathologist Joseph L. Smilanick and his ARS and industry colleagues have shown that M. albus can combat Botrytis cinerea, the organism that causes gray mold. http://phys.org/news190633951.html Biology Fri, 16 Apr 2010 10:52:50 EST news190633951 Packaged fresh-cut grapes are becoming increasingly popular with consumers who like the convenience and health benefits of these ready-to-eat fruits. To keep table grapes fresh and increase shelf life, scientists are seeking advanced techniques that provide healthy, safe alternatives to conventional packing methods. Researchers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service (USDA ARS) have developed and tested an effective new technique that combines hot water treatment, rachis removal, and modified atmosphere packaging (MA) to extend the shelf life of table grapes. http://phys.org/news190570756.html Biology Fri, 16 Apr 2010 05:20:01 EST news190570756 (PhysOrg.com) -- The economic growth across much of Asia comes with a troubling side effect: pollutants from the region are being wafted up to the stratosphere during monsoon season. The new finding, in a study led by scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, provides additional evidence of the global nature of air pollution and its effects far above Earth's surface. http://phys.org/news188745631.html Space & Earth Thu, 25 Mar 2010 14:20:50 EST news188745631 (PhysOrg.com) -- The Herschel Space Observatory has revealed the chemical fingerprints of potentially life-enabling organic molecules in the Orion nebula, a nearby stellar nursery in our Milky Way galaxy. http://phys.org/news186939400.html Space & Earth Thu, 04 Mar 2010 15:37:00 EST news186939400 Geoengineering -- deliberate manipulation of the Earth's climate to slow or reverse global warming -- has gained a foothold in the climate change discussion. But before effective action can be taken, the Earth's natural biogeochemical cycles must be better understood. http://phys.org/news185559082.html Space & Earth Tue, 16 Feb 2010 16:12:29 EST news185559082 (PhysOrg.com) -- Clarkson University researchers are helping the University of Michigan’s School of Public Health to study the link between air pollutants and health problems in children in Detroit. http://phys.org/news183316493.html Medicine & Health Thu, 21 Jan 2010 17:15:24 EST news183316493