In the wild, gorillas are turning into primitive engineers as the newest field findings show that some of these large primates have taught themselves how to dismantle poaching traps in Africa. "It's just amazing", says Dr. Patricia Wright, a Primatologist at Stony Brook University in New York with over 27 years anthopological experience. "One of the most extraordinary things that has just happened is that very young gorillas, that are just four years old, have started to take apart traps and snares so that poachers can't catch gorillas."
Read more ...
Energy specialists Anesco is to undertake a major regeneration of a number of former colliery sites with the development of a 30MW solar portfolio.
The ground-mounted solar installations will be operational for 25 years and, once completed, will generate enough low-carbon energy to provide powerfor around 10,000 homes, while saving up to 15 tonnes of carbon per year.
Read more ...
China has ambitious goals for developing and deploying electric vehicles (EV). The stated intention is to "leapfrog" the auto industries of other countries and seize the emerging EV market. Since 2009, policies have included generous subsidies for consumers in certain locations, as well as strong pressure on local governments to purchase EVs. Yet four years into the program, progress has fallen far short of the intended targets. China has only about 40,000 EVs on the road, of which roughly 80% are public fleet vehicles such as buses and sanitation vehicles.
China’s EV industry faces the same challenges as companies in the West: a) high battery costs; b) inadequate range between charges; and c) no obvious infrastructure model for vehicle charging.
Read more ...
Pregnant women who lived in close proximity to fields and farms where chemical pesticides were applied experienced a two-thirds increased risk of having a child with autism spectrum disorder or other developmental delay, according to a new study. The research discovered the associations were even stronger when the exposures occurred during the second and third trimesters of the women's pregnancies.
Read more ...
Philopatry is the tendency of an organism to stay in, or return to its home area. Many animal species are considered philopatric because they often return to their birthplace year after year to breed. Revisiting the same site is advantageous because nests and courtship areas have already been established while competition from other animals is largely non-existent due to territoriality. Researchers have long thought that emperor penguins were a prime example of this phenomenon, however a new study shows that this species may be adapting to changing environments and may not necessarily be faithful to previous nesting locations.
Read more ...
Turns out that stones in the bird bath are more than just an aesthetic element. In fact, they may even save a life.
"This morning a little bird was flapping his wings frantically in the bird bath," said Crystal Carvotta-Brown, a cat rescue volunteer in Massachusetts. "At first I thought he was just cleaning his feathers but then I realized that he was in distress."
Crystal, an avid community organizer who has helped place hundreds of throw-away cats, was quick to take action when she sensed danger.
Read more ...
