5 things you might not know about mountains and climate change
Ancient. Enduring. Unshakable? The health of the world’s mountains is not set in stone. As the climate changes, mountains are changing, and their contributions to the health of the planet — and to human well-being — could shift in ways we cannot predict. On March 15, Conservation International released “Mountain,” the newest film in its “Nature […]
Controlling the helicity of light by electrical magnetization switching
Waser, R. (ed.) Nanoelectronics and Information Technology: Advanced Electronic Materials and Novel Devices 3rd edn (Wiley-VCH, 2012). Žutić, I., Fabian, J. & Das Sarma, S. Spintronics: fundamentals and applications. Rev. Mod. Phys. 76, 323–410 (2004). Article ADS Google Scholar Fiederling, R. et al. Injection and detection of a spin-polarized current in a light-emitting diode. Nature […]
3 ways climate change affects tropical rainforests
This post was updated on December 8, 2020. Not everyone lives in a tropical rainforest — but everyone benefits from them. Home to nearly half of the plants and wildlife on Earth, tropical rainforests perform an essential function for the climate by absorbing carbon dioxide. Unfortunately, tropical forests are being cut down at […]
The surprising history of the Southern Ocean’s super current
Nature, Published online: 27 March 2024; doi:10.1038/d41586-024-00678-5 Reconstructions of the strength of a powerful current that circles the South Pole reveal that it has undergone no long-term change in the past five million years, even though Earth cooled substantially over that time. Source link
Vers des revêtements anti-reflet inspirés des cicadelles ?
Quelle nouveauté a émergé dans le domaine des matériaux en ce mois de mars ? Des granules synthétiques issues des cicadelles, pour des revêtements très absorbants… Les cicadelles sont des insectes suceurs de sève, faisant partie des hémiptères (cigales, pucerons). Les scientifiques savent depuis les années 1950 qu’elles sécrètent des molécules très particulières, nommées brochosomes. Celles-ci […]
5 ways indigenous knowledge can solve global problems
Too often, the voices of the world’s 370 million indigenous people are left out of global conversations on critical issues, such as climate change. This isn’t just bad news for indigenous groups; the traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples could help address environmental problems that plague the entire planet. As Conservation International’s (CI) Johnson Cerda framed […]
Climate change has slowed Earth’s rotation — and could affect how we keep time
Climate change is starting to alter how humans keep time. An analysis1 published in Nature on 27 March has predicted that melting ice caps are slowing Earth’s rotation to such an extent that the next leap second — the mechanism used since 1972 to reconcile official time from atomic clocks with that based on Earth’s […]
4 things you didn’t know elephants do for you
Editor’s note: On April 18, 2018, Conservation International released its virtual reality film, “My Africa.” The film tells the story of a young Samburu woman in Kenya whose community is working to save elephants, reknitting an ancient coexistence between people and wildlife. In honor of this film, Conservation News is telling stories about the people, […]
Electrons flip a switch on optical communications
Nature, Published online: 27 March 2024; doi:10.1038/d41586-024-00663-y Clever manipulation of electrons has enabled scientists to change a key property of light emitted by a device using electrically controlled magnetization. The method could lead to stable and energy-efficient information transfer. Source link
3 things you didn’t know trees did for you
Without forests, life on Earth as we know it would be unthinkable. Regular readers of this blog know that forests are home to a wealth of biodiversity, that they provide water for billions of people and regulate the climate for everyone. But did you know that they can make you smarter? Or that — scientists […]