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Life & Environment

Crowds

U.N. finally draws link between population bomb and climate change

Thursday, 19 November 2009

Slowing population growth would help battle global warming, says an unprecedented report that links demographic pressure and climate change.


Grenadier fish

Climate change damaging the deep sea

Tuesday, 17 November 2009

Warming is affecting ecosystems 4,000 m down, a study has found, overturning the idea that deep sea abyssal plains are immune to surface changes.


Dark clouds

Denmark seeks climate breakthrough as clock ticks to showdown

Tuesday, 17 November 2009

Environment ministers from 42 key nations in the game of climate poker are meeting this week in a bid to avoid a finger-pointing fiasco at next month's U.N. conference on global warming.


<i>Crikey steveirwini</i>

'Crikey steveirwini' is new species of snail

Monday, 16 November 2009

An Australian scientist has paid an unusual tribute to late naturalist and TV personality Steve Irwin by naming a rare species of snail Crikey steveirwini.


Earth Journalism Awards

Please vote for COSMOS in the Earth Journalism Awards!

Thursday, 12 November 2009

COSMOS is one of 15 winners in the Earth Journalism Awards, which are linked to the U.N. climate negotiations in Copenhagen in December. Help us win another award by voting here.


Amazon estuary

Ocean acidification impacts coastal rivers

Thursday, 12 November 2009

Ocean acidification, is affecting not only coral reefs, but coastal ecosystems by impacting everything from the oyster industry to the extent of dead zones along the U.S. Pacific coast.


Speech

Tiny mutation led to human speech

Thursday, 12 November 2009

Two minute changes in a gene that is otherwise identical in humans and chimps could explain why we have the power of speech while other primates do not.


Rift

Volcanic activity could split Africa

Thursday, 5 November 2009

Volcanic activity may split Africa in two, creating a new ocean. This is due to a geological crack which has appeared in northeastern Ethiopia, say experts.


Remnants of ice on Kilimanjaro

Kilimanjaro snow may vanish in 20 years

Tuesday, 3 November 2009

The snows capping Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's tallest peak, are shrinking rapidly and will likely vanish altogether in 20 years, most likely due to global warming.


Artist's impression of SMOS

New probe to help predict extreme weather

Tuesday, 3 November 2009

A water tracking satellite launched by the European Space Agency is designed to help give faster predictions of floods and other extreme weather incidents caused by climate change.


Spruce forest

Cosmic rays speed up tree growth

Tuesday, 27 October 2009

Cosmic rays, which constantly strike the Earth and are regulated by the solar wind, may influence how fast trees grow, according to British research.


Waste paper

Wastepaper could be biofuel source

Tuesday, 27 October 2009

Converting waste paper into biofuel is a neglected option that could provide clean energy, cut municipal waste and reduce greenhouse emissions.


Hurricane Andrew

Earthquake tool can monitor hurricanes

Monday, 26 October 2009

Hurricanes can be detected on seismometers, says an expert, who claims that scientists may be able to extend the historic North Atlantic hurricane record using records of seismic noise.


Tapejara

Flying reptile was configured like sailing boat

Friday, 23 October 2009

An anatomical reanalysis of an extinct pterosaur, dating to the time of the dinosaurs, suggests the creature literally sailed the seas.


Ida

Controversial fossil not missing link

Friday, 23 October 2009

Earlier this year a fantastically preserved 47-million-year-old primate, was the subject of a heated debate. But a new study says it can’t possibly be an ancestor of humans.