New satellite data reveal that the amount of ultraviolet (UV) radiation reaching Earth's surface increased markedly from the period 1979 to 1998 and then stabilized, according to a study recently published in the Journal of Geophysical Research.
The primary culprit: decreasing levels of stratospheric ozone, a colorless gas that acts as Earth's natural sunscreen by shielding the surface from damaging UV radiation.
A new study in Environmental Science and Technology suggests that controlled burns release substantially less carbon dioxide emissions than wildfires of the same size and could be used to help the United States reduce its contribution to climate change.
Drawing on satellite observations and computer models of emissions, the researchers concluded that widespread prescribed burns can reduce fire emissions of carbon dioxide in the Western U.S. by an average of 18 to 25 percent, and by as much as 60 percent in certain forest systems.
Legislation restricting or banning smoking in public places reduces heart attacks, a study in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health suggests.
The study examined trends in acute heart attacks in Christchurch, New Zealand following the enactment of legislation which made smoking illegal in all workplaces including bars and restaurants.
Three years after a smoking ban in all workplaces was introduced hospital admissions for heart attacks among men and women aged 55-74 fell by 9 per cent. This figure rose to 13 per cent for 55-74 year olds who had never smoked.
Overall, the research showed heart attacks among people aged 30 and over fell by an average of 5 per cent in the three years following the ban.
The key to silk's pound-for-pound toughness, which exceeds that of steel, is its beta-sheet crystals, the nano-sized cross-linking domains that hold the material together, say researchers writing in Nature Materials.
Using computer models, researchers simulated how the components of beta sheet crystals move and interact with each other. They found that an unusual arrangement of hydrogen bonds--the "glue" that stabilizes the beta-sheet crystals--play an important role in defining the strength of silk.
Bees see the world almost five times faster than humans, giving them the fastest color vision of all animals, according to new research appearing in the Journal of Neuroscience.
The ability to see at high speed is common in fast-flying insects; allowing them to escape predators and catch their mates mid-air. However, until now it wasn't known whether the bees' full colour vision was able to keep up with their high speed flight. This research sheds new light on the matter; suggesting that although slower, it is also much faster than human vision.
Indiana and Rutgers researchers have modified Playstation 3 video game systems to help teenagers with cerebral palsy improve their hand functions. In a pilot trial with three participants, the system improved the teens' abilities to perform a range of daily personal and household activities.
The modified system combined the gaming console with a Fifth Dimension Technologies 5 Ultra sensing glove, a flat-panel television, mouse, keyboard and digital subscriber line modem for Internet communication. Researchers reprogrammed the Playstation console using the open-source Linux operating system and developed games written in Java3D.
