Life on Earth has evolved alongside predictable cycles of day and night. But this pattern has become increasingly blurred. Between 2012 and 2016, satellite measurements revealed that the global area polluted by artificial light grew by 2 per cent each year, intruding ever deeper into biodiversity hotspots like tropical forests. In this context, there is…
Rail transportation is core to Europe’s plans to become carbon neutral by 2050, but noisy trains are an obstacle that will need to be first overcome. ‘We have a lot of resistance from people (living) beside the tracks who are against all construction and upgrades of the lines,’ said Rudiger Garburg, senior consultant for noise…
Rage on social media platforms gets the most likes. Anger seems to be all the rage on social media these days. Angry thoughts have the tendency to spread the fastest on the social web. Is it any wonder then that Twitter has often been called the angriest place on the internet? A new Yale University…
The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has announced a major breakthrough in nuclear fusion, using powerful lasers to produce 1.3 megajoules of energy—about 3 per cent of the energy contained in 1kg of crude oil. Nuclear fusion has long been thought of as the energy of the future—an “infinite” source of power that does not rely…
The material, known as biphenylene network, is highly conductive and may prove able to store more electrical energy than even graphene, the astonishing atomic-thickness carbon honeycomb material identified nearly 20 years ago. In May, scientists announced that they have been able to tailor the arrangement of carbon atoms into a mesh that, for the first…
A one-of-a-kind terawatt laser installed on Mount Säntis in the Swiss Alps will demonstrate how lasers can control and safely divert lightning. Almost 270 years since Benjamin Franklin invented the lightning rod, lightning protection is still based on this same concept. Although we can’t deny the benefits of lightning rods, major drawbacks do remain. Installing…
The first-ever European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF) call for proposals has been published by CINEA. The single-stage call focuses on establishing a pre-operational ‘incident alerting service’ in the CISE (Common Information Sharing Environment) for the EU maritime domain network, where information regarding incidents on board vessels or any type of maritime asset can be exchanged.…
From streaming movies or games and sharing photos on Instagram to the growing use of ‘smart’ devices and growth in artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, the amount of data being processed is escalating. As a result, energy consumption of data centres in the European Union (EU) is expected to rise from 2.7 per cent of electricity…
Landmark UN study warns that our planet’s condition is worsening faster than previously thought. From catastrophic wildfires and deadly floods to intense heatwaves, Europe has seen it all this summer. On 9 August, a major UN scientific report sounds the alarm for all of humanity. Then, just 24 hours later, Italy sets the record for…
In the infamous words of Jurassic Park consultant Dr Ian Malcolm, “life finds a way”. In the depths of the ocean, in volcanic springs, under four metres of ice: almost anywhere scientists can think of to look for life on Earth, we have found it. The methods these organisms employ to survive the extreme have…