THE cars of the future could be powered by electrified roadways. Such technology would allow electric cars to forgo their heavy batteries, which not only add to a vehicle’s weight, increasing the energy needed to move it, but also force it to sit idle while recharging. New Scientist reports that the idea has been around [...]
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Sep
14
Coconuts and sunshine will power Pacific Islands
Coconuts and sunshine will soon provide all the electricity demands of the South Pacific islands of Tokelau. Foua Toloa, Tokelau’s leader, announced this week that by the middle of next year solar energy will supply 93 per cent of Tokelau’s electricity – the rest will come from coconut oil. Motor vehicles and some cooking devices [...]
Aug
30
Could eating probiotics reduce stress?
Eating a strain of gut-loving bacteria reduces anxiety-like behaviour in mice – a finding that suggests a spoonful of microbes could help stress levels go down in people too. The human gut is home to about 1000 trillion bacteria, which prevent pathogenic bacteria infiltrating our bowels. Once thought to simply prevent diarrhoea, gut bacteria have [...]
Aug
17
Brain still maturing in our 20s
Talk about an excuse to delay “growing up” – the adolescent brain is still being sculpted into its adult form continues throughout our 20s. New Scientist reports that as children, we overproduce the connections – synapses – between brain cells. During puberty the body snips away some synapses while allowing others to strengthen. Over a [...]
Aug
4
Treating sewage like a rock star
New Scientist Reports While revellers danced to Pulp, Coldplay and Kanye West this past weekend at the annual Splendour in the Grass festival in north Queensland, Australia, it’s unlikely that many had sewage systems top of mind. Yet whether or not they realised it, the infrastructure sorting their slurry is one of the greenest music [...]
Jul
27
Can we safely store Carbon dioxide underground?
New Scientist reports THERE are more cows than people here in Nirranda South, three hours south-west of Melbourne, making it the perfect spot to test a technology that remains hugely controversial. I am at a facility run by Australia’s Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse Gas Technologies (CO2CRC). If anyone can convince the public that carbon [...]
Jul
23
How to win Rock Paper Scissors
To win rock-paper-scissors (RPS) you’ll have to fight an urge to imitate your opponent. Humans tend to imitate those around them, often without realising it. For example, parents seem tohttp://wendyzukerman.com/wp-admin/post-new.php naturally imitate the facial expressions and gestures of their newborns. But, until now, no one realised how difficult it was to stop being a copy [...]
Jun
22
Abuse, threats, hysteria: What’s up with Australia’s climate debate?
New Scientist reports Australia’s scientists say their country’s climate debate – never exactly rarefied – has descended into hysterics and extremism, partly driven by the nation’s polarised media. So, on Monday, in an attempt to restore public confidence in climate science, 200 scientists converged at Parliament House in Canberra, reports the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. After [...]