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Recent research led by Penn State indicates that trees in warmer, drier environments struggle to absorb carbon dioxide, compromising their ability to counteract climate change. The study highlights an increase in photorespiration—a process where stressed trees release CO2—under these conditions, challenging the efficacy of trees as natural carbon sinks in a warming world. Credit: SciTechDaily.comTrees are struggling to sequester heat-trapping carbon dioxide (CO2) in warmer, drier climates, meaning that they may no longer…

The business of tires has historically been marked by tight competition, low growth and slow margins.The total market value has remained around $50 billion in the past few years, and the overall market grows at a rate of about 2% per year, according to consultancy AlixPartners.But electric vehicles are presenting a whole new set of opportunities.With their heavy weight and quick acceleration, EVs tend to burn through tires about 20% faster than internal combustion vehicles do, according to AlixPartners. And the tires cost…

A big part of using a digital keyboard is actually being able to see the text and numbers that you’re typing. Well, this isn’t much of a possibility for some users thanks to a new Gboard bug. This Gboard bug is resulting in tiny text and a tiny floating window. At this point, we’re not certain what the cause of this bug is. However, it seems to only affect people using Pixel devices. Also, reports state that this issue happens after using Android Auto. So far, it doesn’t seem that Google is aware of the issue. Once this…

Scientists from EPFL and Charles University find that microbial life thrives in mountain streams as glaciers shrink, based on global samples from the Vanishing Glaciers project. This “green transition” leads to increased primary production, altering local carbon and nutrient cycles. Credit: EPFL/Vincent de StarkA team of scientists from EPFL and Charles University in Prague have discovered that microbial life is set to thrive in mountain streams, as a result of ongoing glacier shrinkage. Their findings, published in…

All that glitters is not gold. Actual glitter, for instance, can be a surprisingly harmful environmental pollutant, as a new study demonstrates.Despite its association with fun and frivolity, glitter has a dark side. Flecks of glitter reduce the amount of sunlight that penetrates into bodies of water, the new study shows, potentially impairing the ability of some aquatic plants to photosynthesize.Glitter is essentially a microplastic in disguise, whose whimsical nature distracts from its insidious contributions to…

Credit: CC0 Public Domain In early 2024 most parts of Kenya, including Nairobi, experienced unusually high temperatures. The World Meteorological Organization described the hot weather as a global phenomenon: record high temperatures were recorded in 2023. January 2024 has been recorded as the hottest month on record so far worldwide. Gilbert Ouma, the coordinator of the University of Nairobi's Institute for Climate Change and…

Geography and physico-chemical characteristics of the glacier-fed streams sampled by the Vanishing Glaciers project. Nature Geoscience, (2024). DOI:10.1038/s41561-024-01393-6 Glacier-fed streams are undergoing a process of profound change, according to EPFL and Charles University scientists in a paper appearing in Nature Geoscience today. This conclusion is based on the expeditions to the world's major mountain ranges by…

A delicate balance The helium we use today formed from the breakdown of radioactive materials millions of years ago and has been trapped in rocks below Earth’s surface ever since.  Helium is usually extracted from these underground reservoirs along with natural gas, as John Mattill explained in an article from our January 1986 issue: “Helium can be readily separated from the gas before combustion, but the lower the helium concentration, the higher the cost of doing so.”  Generally speaking, helium concentrations must…

Players have reported problems across Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Warzone with server issues affecting multiplayer, Zombies, and battle royale. Activision has commented on the issues--including that they may also impact Modern Warfare 2--but here's what you need to know before logging in to play.You can still try to hop into matches of Modern Warfare 3 and Warzone, but you'll want to beware that in addition to difficulty finding matches, many players have suffered reset stats, bugged weapon…

Just when you think that Saltburn can no longer make us squirm, along comes the night of the 77th British Academy Film Awards. Well, it wasn’t exactly the movie that caused visceral reactions this time, though, but the questions directed at Andrew Scott about Barry Keoghan‘s part in it. When Scott walked the red carpet, he had no idea what was in store for him, and neither did anyone who settled in to watch his live interview with BBC. Overall, the night was going well for the actor, until interviewer Colin Paterson…