Page 16 - Robert Lea News Today

The World’s Lakes are Rapidly Losing Oxygen Image Credit: Shutterstock.com / Yevhenii Chulovskyi A new study examines surveys of lakes conducted over the past eighty years finding freshwater bodies are losing dissolved oxygen more quickly than the oceans. Earth’s temperate freshwater lakes are losing oxygen much more quickly than its oceans, new research has revealed. The trend is being driven predominantly by climate change and threatens not only our supply of clean drinking water but als...

US Patent Granted to Graphene-Based Environmental Remediation Technology Image Credit: Shutterstock.com / Rost9 A graphene-based material that could filter heavy metals and other contaminants from water and air has been patented in the US.  Environmental remediation involves the removal of pollutants or contaminants from areas of the environment such as solid, groundwater, sediment and surface water. There is a wide range of approaches, techniques and methods that can be used to clean up harm...

Co-authors Vinayak Dravid and Stephanie Ribet examine their phosphate elimination and recovery substrate. Credit: Northwestern University New research suggests that a membrane-embedded with specific nanostructures could provide a ‘plug & play’ solution to removing pollutants from aquatic ecosystems.  While concentrations of phosphates in rivers, lakes and other bodies of water continue to soar, reaching dangerous levels, the global farming industry is having the opposite problem. Reserves ...

The UK is moving forward with trials of mechanisms to draw carbon dioxide from the air as part of a drive to meet 2050’s net-zero emission target. Image Credit: shutterstock.com/Dave Head As part of a global scheme to mitigate the effects of climate change, a number of governments have pledged to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Whilst the goal is admirable, and the investment in clean energy that it requires is a positive step in the energy sector, scientists are still predicting th...

Image Credit: https://fashionandtextiles.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40691-021-00248-7 A newly developed 3D printed antenna for use in breast cancer treatment could make some procedures more efficient and comfortable.  According to the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2020 alone 2.3 million women were diagnosed with breast cancer and almost 700 thousand deaths resulted from this condition¹ which arises in the lining cells of the ducts or lobules in the glandular tissue of the breast....

New Google AI Tool Could Potentially Identify Skin Conditions Image Credit: Shutterstock.com / Andrey_Popov Google’s new Dermatology Assist app identifies skin and nail conditions prompting users to seek a professional medical diagnosis.  Skin conditions affect around 1.9 billion people, and a shortfall of dermatologists means that often conditions have to be diagnosed and treated by general practitioners who may not always be best equipped to identify such conditions. Help could be at hand,...

The World’s Largest Iceberg Breaks Free of Antarctica Image Credit: Shutterstock / 2j architecture A 4000 square-kilometer iceberg has been cleaved from the Ronne Ice Shelf, making it the largest current iceberg. The Weddell Sea, part of the Southern Ocean, is already home to some pretty impressively sized icebergs, and a new berg that has separated from the Ronne Ice Shelf has just snatched the record for the largest extant iceberg. The gigantic iceberg, dubbed A-76, is 4,320 square kilomet...

Image Credit: Shutterstock / Gerhard Pettersson New research indicates that as much as one third of the Worlds food production could be threatened by global warming with the globes poorest hit the hardest. Whilst it is well-understood that climate change represents a major threat to our way of life in a multitude of ways, what is less certain is the areas of human activity that will be most impacted and to what extent.  Researchers have been aware that climate change could have a negative imp...

A New Temperature Sensor Could Reduce Food Waste Image Credit: Therma Food wastage is a major problem across multiple fronts. A new wireless temperature sensor could save money and help the environment. The world has a massive food wastage problem. Current estimates suggest that the United States wastes around 40% of its produced food, with between 125 to 160 billion pounds of food going to waste each year¹.  The reasons behind this wastage vary from issues on the production side such as bad ...

Time Could Be Running Out for Earth’s Coral Reefs Image Credit: Shutterstock.com / Darkydoors New research shows that the window of opportunity available to rescue corals is rapidly closing.  The double-punch of global warming and the increased acidification of the oceans has placed the world’s coral reefs in severe jeopardy. These stressors cause ‘bleaching events’ in which coral expels algae from its tissues needed to sustain it. Corals can recover from these events, which turn thei...