A research team from Ohio State University has been studying the effects of solar radiation on skin cells. They have been able to replicate the process within the tight scrutiny of their laboratory. What they found is that the key biological molecules, which operate during the repair of sunburned cells,... 

WASHINGTON, DC – President Obama today announced a historic agreement with thirteen major automakers to pursue the next phase in the Administration’s national vehicle program, increasing fuel economy to 54.5 miles per gallon for cars and light-duty trucks by Model Year 2025. The President was... 

ScienceDaily (July 28, 2011) — In a study published in this week’s issue of Nature, Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) senior scientist Gauis Shaver and his colleagues, including lead author Michelle Mack of the University of Florida, describe the dramatic impacts of a massive Arctic wildfire... 

In the first of a two-part sport and environment special, Isabella Kaminski reports on how habitat damage, waste, nanotechnology and persistent organic pollutants are increasingly linked to our favourite outdoor pursuits. See the original post here: How the boom in climbing, biking and sailing is costing... 

by Jess Zimmerman. Plastic is actually a pretty revolutionary material — we wouldn't want to go back to a time before it existed (just a time before people started throwing it in the ocean ). But it's made from petroleum, and we haven't really got to spare. So viable plastic alternatives... 

by Sarah Laskow. For the climate skeptics who dragged us all through Climategate on the conviction that climate scientists are lying jerks, here is the data you wanted to see. Here it is . The University of East Anglia put it online for all to access. This might make it harder for scientists to get... 

by Sarah Laskow. Photovoltaic cells, the basic unit of solar power systems, turn light into electricity. But fueling photovoltaics with sunlight isn't always practical. MIT scientists came up with a way around this issue: they found a really efficient way to turn heat into light. Scientists have... 

by Sarah Laskow. Japanese people are already kicking Americans' butts when it comes to energy efficiency: they use half as much energy as we do already, despite their proclivity for gadgets like automatic toilets. But since the Fukushima meltdown, they've gotten even more hyper-aware of the... 

by Jess Zimmerman. Bill Nye's years of experience teaching science to children seem to have prepared him well for talking to Fox News hosts. Here, he attempts to help Happening Now host  Read More →

Once again the United States is experiencing record hot temperatures this summer, which means that electric grids are working harder than ever to provide the energy needed to keep commercial buildings and their employees cool. And, as businesses try to keep costs down the increased use of air conditioners... 

Enacted in 1993, before climate change was so prominent in the public media eye, the US Northwest Forest Plan’s primary goal was the conservation of old growth forests on public land, and thereby also protecting threatened and endangered species, such as the northern spotted owl. Forest harvests... 

The biomedical research community is elated by today’s federal court decision to throw out a lawsuit that threatened to shut down federally funded research on human embryonic stem cells (hESCs). U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Chief Judge Royce Lamberth, who earlier had ruled against... 

As much of Texas suffers through one of its worst droughts, many rain-starved Texans are doing something they thought they would never do — looking forward to the arrival of a tropical storm. “Someone’s going to get it. We hope that it’s us,” is how Danielle Hale sums up... 

Being eaten by lions is probably something we’d all like to avoid. Deadly 60 presenter Steve Backshall shares his top tips to help us steer clear of the killer jaws of big cats. 1. Stay in the car. “Lions don’t see a car as prey, so you’re safer inside’, our director Giles insists,... 

by Jess Zimmerman. This infographic from the BBC shows how much newly built North American, and especially U.S., homes dwarf those currently being built in Europe. The average new U.S. home is more than twice as big as the average new home in the U.K. Continue reading here: Good lord, American homes... 

by Jess Zimmerman. A one that is not cold is scarcely a one at all, but keeping beer frosty on a hot day normally sucks up energy. Not anymore. This ancient innovation uses clay pots, sand, and water to keep stuff cool even on a hot day.  Read More →

by Sarah Laskow. Both options currently on the table for raising the debt ceiling would cut environment and energy spending. The president will announce new fuel economy standards — cars and light-duty trucks will need to be at 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025. The EPA is proposing the first air... 

by Jess Zimmerman. Plastic bags are the genital warts of litter — they're incredibly widespread, nearly impossible to get rid of, and can lead to much worse problems down the line. The only thing that works is prevention — i.e. not using them in the first place. But the plastics industry... 

by Sarah Laskow. What do you do with the empty plastic bottles that you really shouldn't have been drinking out of, anyway? These British school children spent a year and half collecting 1,500 of them and used the bottles to construct a greenhouse, in which they are very successfully growing tomatoes.... 

[CEBU, PHILIPPINES] Inoculating rice seeds with fungi makes the plants more tolerant of salt, drought and cold — all of which may become more common as the climate changes, according to researchers. Read this article: Fungi could protect rice against climate change  Read More →