The world's grasslands are being destabilized by fertilization, according to a paper recently published in the journal Nature. In a study of 41 grassland communities on five continents, researchers found that the presence of fertilizer weakened grassland species diversity.
The researchers surveyed grasslands in countries around the world, such as China, the U.S., Switzerland, Tanzania and Germany, and discovered that grassland communities that had not been managed by humans contained more species. They also had greater species asynchrony, which means that different species thrive at different times so that the grassland produces more consistently over time, resulting in more stable biomass production.
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Technology of the future is hard to see coming – sometimes because you can't see it.
Advances in nanotechnology are the driving force behind longer lasting Lithium-ion batteries.
Currently, Lithium-ion batteries are used to power every-day technologies like cell phones, computers, cameras and cars. Their energy source is a carbon-based graphite anode, which is nothing short of polarizing. Battery life has always been a major concern with Li-ion batteries.
The solution is the most abundant compound in the earth's crust: SiO2, - or – more commonly – sand. The next generation of battery technology is using sand as a source for the production of nano-silicon, an anode material for Li-ion batteries.
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Fenómenos meteorológicos extremos y otros desastres naturales cobraron la vida de más de 2,700 personas y causaron alrededor de $42,000 millones de dólares en daños en todo el mundo en el primer semestre de 2014. Pero esto estuvo muy por debajo de la primera mitad del año pasado y del promedio de 10 años, de acuerdo con una nueva investigación de la aseguradora Munich Re.
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US Government scientists have developed a new high-resolution climate model that shows southwestern Australia's long-term decline in fall and winter rainfall is caused by increases in manmade greenhouse gas emissions and ozone depletion. "This new high-resolution climate model is able to simulate regional-scale precipitation with considerably improved accuracy compared to previous generation models," said Tom Delworth, a research scientist at NOAA's Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory in Princeton, N.J., who helped develop the new model and is co-author of the research.
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It’s not really the kind of "first" you want to be: The peculiar-looking but oddly beautiful scalloped hammerhead shark has just become the first shark species to be added to the US Endangered Species List.
Sphyrna lewini, as they're known, are coastal to semi-oceanic sharks with a number of extremely vulnerable subpopulations. The move to classify them as endangered is in response to lobbying from several animal welfare groups who hoped to secure additional protections for these amazing creatures before it's too late.
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Millions of urban Europeans are exposed to aviation noise that contributes to stress, high blood pressure and even weight gain, say health specialists who want stronger measures to make flying quieter.
While new-generation jet engines are on average 75% quieter than than their 20th century predecessors, the advance in technology has been offset by a steady rise in flights and a demand for bigger passenger planes.
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