An international research team led by Université de Montréal astrophysicist Lauren Weiss has discovered that exoplanets orbiting the same star tend to have similar sizes and a regular orbital spacing. This pattern, revealed by new W. M. Keck Observatory observations of planetary systems discovered by the Kepler Telescope, could suggest that most planetary systems have a different formation history than the solar system.
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Climate Change Drives Collapse in Marine Food Webs
University of Adelaide scientists have demonstrated how climate change can drive the collapse of marine “food webs”.
In urban streams, pharmaceutical pollution is driving microbial resistance
Resilient bacteria might help streams but could threaten human health
(Millbrook, NY) In urban streams, persistent pharmaceutical pollution can cause aquatic microbial communities to become resistant to drugs. So reports a new study published today in the journal Ecosphere.
Emma Rosi, an aquatic ecologist at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies and lead author on the study explains, "Wastewater treatment facilities are not equipped to remove many pharmaceutical compounds. We were interested in how stream microorganisms - which perform key ecosystem services like removing nutrients and breaking down leaf litter - respond to pharmaceutical pollution."
Tropical Cyclone Irving Appears Elongated in NASA Imagery
NASA's Aqua satellite passed over Tropical Cyclone Irving and found wind shear was stretching the storm out.
Sun, Wind, and Power Trading
Our power grid works at a frequency of 50 hertz – usually generated by turbines, for example in hydro- or coal power plants, which rotate at a speed of 50 revolutions per second. "When a consumer uses more electrical energy from the power grid, the grid frequency drops slightly before an increased energy feed-in re-establishes the original frequency," explains Benjamin Schäfer from the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization (MPIDS) in Göttingen and lead author of the study. "Deviations from the nominal value of 50 hertz must be kept to a minimum, as otherwise sensitive electrical devices could be damaged."
NASA Sees Tropical Cyclone Ava Fizzling South of Madagascar
NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite passed over the Southern Indian Ocean and captured a visible image of Tropical Cyclone Ava as it continued to move away from southeastern Madagascar and weaken.