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Dec 31, 2006

Study: Microwaves Kill Kitchen Germs

Sponges and kitchen scrub brushes can be loaded with disease-causing viruses and bacteria. So microwave them, scientists say. Researchers soaked sponges and scrubbers in a disgusting brew of raw wastewater containing fecal bacteria, viruses, protozoan parasites and bacterial spores, including Bacillus cereus spores—known for being very hard to kill with...

Dec 31, 2006

Drilling Caused Deadly 'Mud Volcano'

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) -- A mud volcano that inundated dozens of villages was probably triggered by commercial gas drilling, research published in a respected scientific journal shows, contradicting an Indonesian government minister who insists it was a natural disaster. It is very likely'' that the mud flow on the island...

Dec 31, 2006

Pest and Virus Cooperate in Global Invasion

A rapidly spreading crop pest is teaming up with a virus to speed up both their invasions across the globe, scientists in China reported today. A variety of the whitefly Bemisia tabaci known as the B biotype is a super-invasive organism, Shu-Sheng Liu, an entomologist at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou,...

Dec 31, 2006

The History of Climate Change Science

This is the text of an essay on the web site “The Discovery of Global Warming” by Spencer Weart, January 2007. For an overview see the book of the same title (Harvard Univ. Press, 2003). Copyright © 2003-2007 Spencer Weart & American Institute of Physics. Reprinted here with permission. Here...

Nov 30, 2008

Photos of Melt: Glaciers Before and After

Agassiz Glacier (1913) (Image credit: 1913 photograph by W. C. Alden (Glacier National Park Archives))BEFORE: Take a look at Agassiz Glacier, in this photograph taken in 1913, near Boulder Pass, Glacier National Park. NEXT IMAGE: Agassiz Glacier (2005) Agassiz Glacier (2005) (Image credit: 2005 photograph by Greg Pederson (USGS))AFTER: Compare...

Nov 30, 2008

Antarctica Has More Species than Galapagos

Islands around the Antarctic Peninsula have more known species than the Galapagos Islands and many temperate and tropical regions, a new inventory at the polar region reveals. A team of 23 scientists from five research institutes, including team members from the British Antarctic Survey, undertook the first comprehensive inventory of...

Nov 30, 2008

How Fishy Technology Could Power the Future

Editor's Note: Each Wednesday LiveScience examines the viability of emerging energy technologies — the power of the future. Think like a fish not like a bird, say researchers trying to harvest energy from water currents. Their new fish-inspired power generator can work in slow-moving currents where traditional turbines are less...

Nov 30, 2008

Great Empires Declined as Climate Changed

Great empires come and go, but it's not clear why some of them fell. New clues to the demise of two dynasties may have just emerged from a cave. Evidence found in a cave near Jerusalem reveal increasingly dry weather from 100 A.D. to 700 A.D., a period that coincided...

Nov 30, 2008

2008 Will Be Just a Second Longer

On Dec. 31 this year, your day will be just a second longer. Like the more well-known time adjustment, the leap year, a leap second is tacked on to clocks every so often to keep them correct. Earth's trip around the sun — our year with all its seasons —...

Nov 30, 2008

The Energy Debates: Ethanol

Editor's Note: The Energy Debates is a LiveScience series about the pros, cons, policy debates, myths and facts related to various alternative energy ideas. We invite you to join the debate by commenting directly on each article. The Facts Instead of relying on just gasoline, many cars are now also...

Nov 30, 2008

U.S. Death Map: Where and How Nature Kills Most

A new map plotting deaths resulting from forces of nature reveals where Mother Nature is most likely to kill you. People living in the South along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts have a higher likelihood of dying from a natural hazard compared to residents of the Great Lakes area and...

Nov 30, 2008

Vote: The Best Alternative Energy Idea

In The Energy Debates, we examined the pros, cons, policy debates, myths and facts related to all these alternative energy ideas: Biodiesel, Clean Coal, Electric Cars, Ethanol, Geothermal Energy, Hybrid Vehicles, Hydrogen Vehicles, Nuclear Power, Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion, Power from Flowing Water & Waves, Solar Energy at Home, Solar...

Nov 30, 2008

Science Returns to the White House

In announcing four top science advisers Saturday, President-elect Barack Obama set lofty goals for an open and honest scientific process and dialogue in his new administration. The truth is that promoting science isn't just about providing resources — it's about protecting free and open inquiry, Obama said in his weekly...

Nov 30, 2008

Global Warming Might Cook Up Too Many Male Fish

Many reptiles have no sex chromosomes. Instead, their gender is determined by temperature. In crocodiles, for example, males are hot: eggs incubated in sand above a certain “pivotal temperature” almost always hatch males. That could spell trouble, because Earth is warming so fast that natural selection may not have time...

Oct 31, 2008

Solar Cells Set New Performance Mark

Researchers have announced a solar energy breakthrough that could lead to its more widespread use with their achievement of the highest efficiency ever for one type of solar cells. The photovoltaic cells, called dye-sensitized solar cells or Gräztel cells, could expand the use of solar energy for homes, businesses and...