Herbicide atrazine spurs reproductive dysfunction in many animals

Herbicide atrazine spurs reproductive dysfunction in many animals

Atrazine is the second-most widely used herbicide in the U.S. More than 75 million pounds of it are applied to corn and other crops, and it is the most commonly detected pesticide contaminant of groundwater, surface water and rain in the U.S. The new review is compiled

Permafrost loss worse climate peril than thought

Permafrost loss worse climate peril than thought

A group of scientists discovered threat to climate change posed by thawing permafrost, which could release stocks of stored carbon, is greater than estimated. The study, published in the British journal Nature, coincides with a 12-day UN conference on climate change,

Still no contact with Phobos-Grunt probe – Are we facing another reentry?!

Still no contact with Phobos-Grunt probe – Are we facing another reentry?!

Last week, ESA’s ground station in Perth, Australia added a feedhorn antenna to existing one and succeeded in communicating with Phobos-Grunt on two successive days. But all attempts to renew the contact failed since then. Yesterday station in Perth gave another try

Tungurahua volcano begins to erupt

Tungurahua volcano begins to erupt

The Geophysical Institute of Ecuador (IGEPN) reported that  eruption of Tungurahua volcano created large clouds of gas and ash above the summit and it’s directed towards the southeast and the west, near city of Banos. Ash cloud up to 4 kilometers in the sky and

2011: Fourteen billion-dollar weather disasters, most in U.S. history

2011: Fourteen billion-dollar weather disasters, most in U.S. history

Through August, the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) estimated that ten weather disasters costing at least $1 billion had hit the U.S., at total cost of up to $45 billion. However, the October 29 snow storm brings us up to eleven billion-dollar disasters. Flood

Sea ice loss and coastal erosion

Sea ice loss and coastal erosion

Declining sea ice in the Arctic has led to increasing erosion rates along the coast of the Beaufort Sea over the past fifty years, according to a new study led by Irina Overeem of the University of Colorado Institute for Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR). Their

Unjustice: Depopulation of Chagos Archipelago must not be forgotten

Unjustice: Depopulation of Chagos Archipelago must not be forgotten

Officially part of the British Indian Ocean Territory, the Chagos Archipelago were home to the Chagossians for more than a century and a half until the United Kingdom evicted them in the early 1970s in order to allow the United States to build a military base on Diego

Sunspots connected by sinuos filaments of magnetism

Sunspots connected by sinuos filaments of magnetism

A line of sunspots stretching across the sun’s northern hemisphere appears to be an independent sequence of dark cores. A telescope tuned to the red glow of solar hydrogen, however, reveals something different. The sunspots are connected by sinuous filaments of

Eruption warning for Galeras volcano in Colombia

Eruption warning for Galeras volcano in Colombia

The Colombian volcano monitoring institute INGEOMINAS has raised the alarm level for Galeras volcano, after a number of  a characteristic seismic signal often preceding eruptions at Galeras. One phenomenon, which seems to be a reliable precursor to eruptive activity,

Deforestation and food crisis threatens Myanmar

Deforestation and food crisis threatens Myanmar

Part of Myanmar’s breadbasket in the country’s centre is fast deteriorating and the area may face greater food insecurity without immediate action, local NGOs warn. Myanmar ranks #4 in the world for annual forest area lost per year. Between 2000 and 2005, the country