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Scientific models are failing to accurately predict the impact of global warming on plants, says a new report. Researchers found in long-term studies that some are flowering up to eight times faster than models anticipate. The authors say that poor study design and a lack of investment in experiments partly account for the difference. They [...]
Scientists say the notoriously dry continent of Africa is sitting on a vast reservoir of groundwater. They argue that the total volume of water in aquifers underground is 100 times the amount found on the surface. The team have produced the most detailed map yet of the scale and potential of this hidden resource. Writing [...]
Rapid climate change and its potential to intensify droughts and floods could threaten Asia’s rice production and pose a significant threat to millions of people across the region, leading climate specialists and agricultural scientists have warned. South and Southeast Asia are home to more than one-third of the world’s population and half of the world’s [...]
A group of activists, zoo officials, lawmakers and scientists has proposed increasing the number of polar bears in U.S. zoos, to help maintain the species’ genetic diversity if the wild population plummets. Polar bears are ideally suited to life in the Arctic: Their hair is without pigment, blending in with the snow; their heavy, strongly [...]
Man-made noise doesn’t just affects birds and other animals, it has ripple effects on plants too, researchers say. A growing body of research found that birds and other animals change their behaviour in response to manmade noise, such as the din of traffic or the hum of machinery. But because many animals also pollinate plants [...]
Honeybees face a double whammy from insecticides and disease, according to a new study that could explain the global decline in the insects. The sudden drop in honeybees in recent years has led to widespread debate over the cause, with many blaming intensive farming methods that use more pesticides. However this was dismissed by other [...]
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