The La Niña weather pattern is altering the migratory patterns of birds and possibly triggering the development of dangerous new strains of influenza, say Columbia University researchers in the journal PNAS. The authors of the new study say their work-in-progress examines the combined effects of influenza genetics, avian migration patterns and climate data. The study […]
University of Miami scientist Shimon Wdowinski (pictured) says that earthquakes – including the recent seismic events in Haiti and Taiwan – may be triggered by severe tropical storms (cyclones, hurricanes and typhoons). Wdowinski is presenting his, er, groundbreaking study at the 2011 American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, in San Francisco. “Very wet rain events are […]
A simple, portable magnetic field generator inside a spaceship should be sufficient to deflect the dangerous highly charged particles of the solar wind away from a spacecraft and the astronauts inside, according to research in Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion. Space weather – the term used to describe the slew of various particles and cosmic […]
Astronomer Joseph Harrington, of the University of Central Florida, has reported the first direct observation of distinct day and night temperatures on a planet orbiting another star. Unfortunately, the extrasolar (outside our solar system) planet doesn’t look to be very hospitable, as the temperatures range over 2,500 Fahrenheit between the night and day sides. Harrington […]
