environment news
Extreme E adds scientists to paddock of drivers and teams
Extreme E will have a ‘floating paddock’ – the St Helena Extreme E, the new off-road, motor racing series set to launch next year are inviting applications from scientists to conduct ocean based research aboard their ship, the St Helena as it sails the cars and teams around the globe. Motorsport has long been a …
Could cold water hold a clue to a dementia cure?
By Justin RowlattChief environment correspondent Cold water swimming may protect the brain from degenerative diseases like dementia, researchers from Cambridge University have discovered. In a world first, a “cold-shock” protein has been found in the blood of regular winter swimmers at London’s Parliament Hill Lido. The protein has been shown to slow the onset of …
Why the US election could decide battle against climate change
By Matt McGrathEnvironment correspondent Related Topics UK climate change protests image copyrightGetty Images Who occupies the White House for the next four years could play a critical role in the fight against dangerous climate change, experts say. Matt McGrath weighs the likely environmental consequences of the US election. Scientists studying climate change say that the …
Gardens help towns and cities beat countryside for tree cover
By Wesley Stephenson BBC Data Journalist image copyrightGetty Images image captionA tree-lined street in Camden, north London Urban areas are not all high-rise flats and offices, they are also where you’ll find many of the country’s trees. Two London boroughs – Camden and Croydon – were among the top 20 places in England and Wales …
Hidden camera’s hugging tiger wins wildlife photo award
By Jonathan AmosBBC Science Correspondent image copyrightSergey Gorshkov/WPY2020 image captionSergey Gorshkov’s winning WPY image is called The Embrace To photograph one of rarest creatures on Earth you have to be incredibly skilled and remarkably lucky. But Sergey Gorshkov is clearly both – as demonstrated by his stunning picture of a Siberian, or Amur, tiger deep …
Climate change: Better warning systems needed for extreme weather – UN
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption A child seeks shelter from a cyclone in Mozambique A new UN report says the world needs to rapidly raise investment in early warning systems for extreme weather events. Over the past 50 years, recorded disasters have increased five-fold, thanks in part to climate change. The study warns that …
German ship completes historic Arctic expedition
Image copyright Annika Meyer Image caption RV Polarstern returns to the port city Bremerhaven early on Monday The German Research Vessel Polarstern has sailed back into its home port after completing a remarkable expedition to the Arctic Ocean. The ship spent a year in the polar north, much of it with its engines turned off …
Great Barrier Reef: Can tech help the coral survive?
Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is the largest living structure on Earth measuring over 1,400 miles (2,300km) long. But rising water temperatures and a changing environment is causing the coral to bleach (turn white) and become more stressed. In March 2020 the reef suffered a third mass bleaching event in five years. BBC Click’s Nick Kwek …
Two women share chemistry Nobel in historic win for ‘genetic scissors’
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Emmanuelle Charpentier (L) and Jennifer Doudna began a formidable partnership in 2011 Two scientists have been awarded the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for developing the tools to edit DNA. Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna are the first two women to share the prize, which honours their work on …
T. rex dinosaur ‘Stan’ sold for world record price
Image copyright Christie’s A near-complete specimen of Tyrannosaurus rex, nicknamed “Stan”, has been sold for a world record price of $31.8m (£24.6m). The 67-million-year-old fossil went to an anonymous bidder in the sale organised by Christie’s in New York. The guide price had been $6-8m, but this was rapidly surpassed as the online auction progressed. …
