How cool a profession is this? Bubble physicist. Helen Czerski is one, and she does exactly what you’d imagine by the description of her job: studies the physics of bubbles. Specifically, the bubbles of various gases that are constantly rising and falling through the oceans, bumping into one another,
networks
Which came first: the Japanese rail system or the slime mould? It’s not as ridiculous a question as you might think. In fact, a team of Japanese and British researchers have found that the lowly Physarum polycephalum — described as a “gelatinous fungus-like mould” (yum) — can create a complex and
Picture this: It’s early October 2012, and with just one month to go before the US presidential election, every third political commercial on TV is paid for an oil company and promotes Republican nominee Sarah Palin over the incumbent Democrat Barack Obama, whose position is sliding in the latest
biofuels
How much more have we yet to learn about the downsides of growing fuel? Could it ever reach the point where we decide it’s time to dump the idea and focus on the energy source that makes all biofuels possible in the first place: the sun? Cut out the
biofuels
Could algae-based biofuels suffer the same fate as the now much-discredited corn-based ethanol? They might, if we don’t find ways to reduce algal fuel’s environmental impact, according to a new study. After the race to turn corn into fuel helped spark a global spike in food prices, clean-energy
global warming
Greenbang’s weekly Climate Change Index tracks research findings and events directly attributable to global warming. Our aim is to provide a numerical, week-to-week indicator of climate change developments. Items that qualify for listing in each week’s index include new climate data published in peer-reviewed academic journals and extreme
economy
We still have a chance to resolve our critical economic and climate problems, but only if the people gathering for next week’s World Economic Forum in Davos show a level of leadership that’s been sorely lacking up until now, according to a London-based economist and author. “After the
networks
The networks of underwater communications cables that stretch across our oceans could have another valuable purpose … as an early-warning system for tsunamis. US researchers report that tsunamis generate electric fields as moving saltwater — a good conductor of electricity — interacts with the Earth’s geomagnetic field. That electricity can apparently be
shipping containers
A research programme that’s looking at how to recycle used shipping containers into emergency housing in disaster areas isn’t so outlandish. In fact, ISBU (for “Intermodal Steel Building Unit”) construction has taken off big-time in recent years, due in part to a global glut of used shipping containers
shipping containers
Surplus shipping containers could not only be turned into emergency housing for earthquake-stricken Haiti, but would also provide sturdy, aftershock-proof shelter, researchers in the US say. Clemson University researchers Pernille Christensen, Doug Hecker and Martha Skinner say the SEED Project was inspired by the housing crises that following devastating hurricanes
ICT
OK, here’s an eye-popping stat for you: the amount of wireless data handled by just AT&T alone exploded by more than 6,732 per cent (PDF) over just the past 13 quarters, from late 2006 to late 2009. All that growth in data also means a growth
Jurdy suggests ways to help …
