Have you ever wondered if there are more insects out at night than during the day?We set out to answer this question by combing through the scientific literature. We searched for meaningful comparisons of insect activity by day and by night. It turns out only about 100 studies have ever attempted the daunting and rigorous fieldwork required – so we...

 Food innovations instigate progress, from farming to product packagingIt's difficult to picture what grocery stores, restaurant menus and dinner plates would look like without innovations from Boilermakers. Industries have stemmed from the inventions and improvements established by these leaders taking giant leaps in food science."It's chemis...

Various cities are fortifying the resilience of their urban infrastructure networks to tackle potential unforeseen disruptions, particularly due to extreme weather resulting from climate change. Recently, researchers from City University of Hong Kong (CityU) used the Hong Kong public transport system as a case study to reveal the crucial role of in...

As reported in The Conversation and co-written by Jessie MacInnis, PhD Candidate, Clayton H. Riddell Faculty of Environment, Earth, and Resources and the Department of Environment and Geography, University of Manitoba:Problems in Canada's food system are being felt from field to fork — and they are increasingly hard to swallow.After a year of skyro...

 We know that microplastics can affect organisms in the oceans, for example various forms of plankton-eating animals. But the small waste particles also become overgrown by microorganisms in the freshwater environment before they reach the marine environment. Many freshwater species will thereby mix with the species of microorganisms in the ma...

 People are being encouraged to eat more wild fish, such as mackerel, anchovies and herring, which are often used within farmed salmon feeds.These oily fish contain essential nutrients including calcium, B12 and omega-3 but some are lost from our diets when we just eat the salmon fillet.Scientists found that farmed salmon production leads to a...

 Imperial physicists are leading a new experiment that could discover particles never seen before.The project could help answer many prevailing mysteries in modern physics and expand humanity's understanding of fundamental science beyond our current guiding theory of particle physics – the Standard Model.To do this, CERN, the European Organisa...

 There's a hidden threat looming among subtropical seagrass meadows — turtles in search of milder temperatures.It's not just turtles, though. Manatees and a host of other herbivores that feed on a steady diet of seagrass need lots of it to survive. In addition to a steady supply of food, these herbivores also generally like to reside in warm c...

 Traditionally, battery-electric flying was not considered a mainstream aviation solution given assumed limitations in aircraft capacity and range. However, this perception is being challenged by two scientific papers, 'A new perspective on battery-electric aviation, part I and II' authored by Rob Wolleswinkel, Reynard de Vries, Maurice Hoogre...

 PULLMAN, Wash. — More time stranded on land means greater risk of starvation for polar bears, a new study indicates.During three summer weeks, 20 polar bears closely observed by scientists tried different strategies to maintain energy reserves, including resting, scavenging and foraging. Yet nearly all of them lost weight rapidly: on average ...

 It is well known that climate-induced sea level rise is a major threat. What is less well know is the threat of sinking land. And in many of the most populated coastal areas, the land is sinking even faster than the sea is rising.Parts of Tokyo for instance sank by 4 metres during the 20th century, with 2 metres or more of sinking reported in...

 A world-first study has uncovered evidence of how German soldiers used the blast which kickstarted the Battle of the Somme to their advantage as a new defensive position.The mine explosion at Hawthorn Ridge was a pivotal moment of the First World War, that marked the opening of the Battle of Somme on July 1, 1916. It remains one of the best-k...

 Former University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa sailor Cole Brauer has become the first American woman to sail solo nonstop around the world.The native of East Hampton, New York, finished second out of 16 competitors in the Global Solo Challenge, a race that started and ended in A Coruña, Spain. The marathon 30,000 mile journey took 130 days, and she c...

We face the enormous challenge of safeguarding the well-being of our earth and the plants, animals and people that live there for the future. The VU conducts multidisciplinary research for this purpose. The aim is a sustainable balance between economic, ecological and social interests for our and future generations. This also means that we have to ...

 Scientists have solved the mysterious absence of star-shaped dunes from Earth's geological history for the first time, dating one back thousands of years.The study by Aberystwyth University, Birkbeck and UCL academics is the first to date how long it took a star dune to form and examine its internal structure.Star dunes are massive sand dunes...

 A link between folk research, good local knowledge and scientific methods is important for understanding and being able to quickly adapt to changing environmental conditions on Svalbard, shows a new study in which UiT researchers have contributed. Arctic communities, such as Svalbard, are particularly vulnerable to climate change. In the stud...

 Research backgroundAs coral reefs continue to degrade at an alarming rate, a research team at the University of Derby and colleagues at the Horniman Museum and Gardens are helping to turn the tide with a ground-breaking approach to rearing young corals which could be transplanted onto damaged reefs.Since 2014, the University's Aquatic Researc...

 While this might sound like the lifestyle anthem of the toughest rockers of the 1970s, a recent groundbreaking study by ornithologists shows that the life of the Short-eared Owl follows this path. The findings, published a few days ago in the scientific journal Ibis, reveal unexpected routes taken by the owl, and reveal the urgent need for co...

 A tiny parasitic honeybee mite has a distinctive walk, researchers have found – and by listening for the unique vibration caused by its stride pattern they hope it could help them spot if it is infesting a hive.Scientists at Nottingham Trent University have identified the 'signature' walk of the 1mm mite and using hi-tech monitoring equipment...

 A Leicester expert in space weather has helped launch a NASA mission from deep within the Arctic Circle which could uncover unique features of our atmosphere that enable life on Earth.Dr Suzie Imber, Associate Professor in Space Physics at the University of Leicester, is part of a British Antarctic Survey (BAS) team working from the world's n...