Thursday, 9 February, 2012

Volcanic eruptions are unpredictable, but here’s a new view of the historic eruption of a Mediterranean monster. About 3,500 years ago, Santorini’s eruption left a giant caldera and 60-meter layers of pumice. A new study of tiny crystals tracks the movement of molten magma before the cataclysm.

When hospitals run out of anesthetics, antibiotics and cancer drugs, should we blame or thank the “gray-market”?

After earthquakes caused horrific tsunamis in Sumatra and Japan, we wonder where tsunamis get their power, how warning systems work, and what’s left after the cataclysm.

Many of the tastiest crops can’t pollinate themselves: melons, cucumbers, strawberries, almonds, cacao. But pollinators — both native and managed — are under threat from diseases and pesticides. They aren’t finding enough to eat. Their colonies are dying. What can we do?

Flax, the basis for linen, was spun and dyed, and lost in the mud. More than 30,000 years later, microscopic flax fibers provide the first cord in archeological history.

A planet newly found in the southern sky is perilously close to its star, orbiting in less than 1 Earth day. Within 10 years, this planet may force a new understanding of star-guts.

We need elements. Without phosphorus fertilizer, millions would starve. A shortage of copper means a shortage of electricity. And we’re importing more than 95% of the “rare-earth” elements needed for LCDs, cell phones and green energy. Is this smart?

The candidates are skirting issues related to environment, energy and science policy. Heard promising plans for greener energy, solid science advice, or coping with the decline of oil? We neither…

Hawaii is the world’s capital of biological invasions. A new airborne gadget measures how bad the situation has become; offers aid in fighting weedy trees.

With the Nevada waste dump 20 years late, deadly radwaste still piles up. Would removing the plutonium for new fuel aid proliferators or help with waste storage? The debate continues.