IPCC climate change report: averting catastrophe is eminently affordable

IPCC climate change report: averting catastrophe is eminently affordable

Landmark UN analysis concludes global roll-out of clean energy would shave only a tiny fraction off economic growth

IPCC - Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

IPCC - Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

The Summary for Policymakers of the Working Group II contribution to the Fifth Assessment Report was approved, and the full report accepted, by the IPCC on 30 March 2014.

The focus now seems to have shifted from reducing Greenhouse Gas emmissions to how we will adapt to the reality of Climate Change by attempting to minimise the risks asasociated with increasing temperatures.

Farm salmon pose clear reproductive threat to wild gene pools

Farm salmon pose clear reproductive threat to wild gene pools - University of East Anglia (UEA)

 Farmed salmon show full reproductive potential to invade wild gene pools and should be sterilised - according to new research from the University of East Anglia (UEA).

This is particularly interesting the light of the recent escape of some 230,000 farmed Salmon in Bantry Bay.

Better management reduces data loss risk

The impact of data loss can be staggering for research. Nathan Westgarth argues the case for better data management The loss of scientific data can have a devastating impact on careers. After moving all of his data home to write up, biologist Billy Hinchen returned one afternoon to find that his laptop and all his backup hard drives had been stolen. All that remained was a disparate collection of data, spread around numerous small flash drives, email attachments and scribbled drawings that were difficult to piece together once the main bulk of information had been lost. For the full story check out "Research Information" http://www.researchinformation.info/news/news_story.php?news_id=1522

Stem cell researcher accused of misconduct

Stem cell researcher accused of misconduct

Japan's top research body has accused the lead writer of stem cell papers hailed as a game-changer in the field of medical biology of misconduct involving fabrication.

NUI Maynooth scientist is on the right wavelength for the early universe

NUI Maynooth scientist is on the right wavelength for the early universe

Dr Créidhe O’Sullivan is analysing patterns in radiation from the early universe for clues about how it formed.

Research datasets need to be easy to find if they are to achieve their potential impact.

Research datasets need to be easy to find if they are to achieve their potential impact.

The impact of research data is now of definitive importance for universities, funders and disciplines themselves. Similar to the wave of preprint repositories established for journal articles that helped preserve access to papers in disciplines not otherwise catered for, we are now seeing a steady stream of institutional data repositories emerging. Alex Ball provides the background for a Jisc project looking to establish a national data registry to make finding relevant data across disciplines and repositories quicker and easier.

Deep Sea Mining in the Pacific

Mining the Abyss

Pacific islanders have always been sustained by the ocean. Might it now make them rich – and at what cost?

How to Start a Conspiracy Theory on Facebook

How to Start a Conspiracy Theory on Facebook

 In a 2013 report summarizing global challenges, the World Economic Forum singled out "massive digital misinformation" as "one of the main risks for the modern society." Social networks may be structurally optimized for sharing; their structures, however, don't tend to distinguish between good information and bad. Which means that sites like Facebook aren't just a great repositories for updates from your friends and pictures of your dog; they can also be breeding grounds for rumors, lies, and conspiracy theories. "False information," write Walter Quattrociocchi and a group of colleagues at Northeastern University, "is particularly pervasive on social media, fostering sometimes a sort of collective credulity."

FutureLearn — Learning for Life

FutureLearn — Learning for Life

Enjoy free online courses from leading UK and international universities. Good high quality content and an interesting variety of courses, definitly worth a look.

Still-fresh remnants of Exxon Valdez oil 25 years after oil spill

Still-fresh remnants of Exxon Valdez oil 25 years after oil spill, found protected by boulders

 Twenty-five years after the infamous Exxon Valdez oil spill in Prince William Sound, beaches on the Alaska Peninsula hundreds of kilometers from the incident still harbor small hidden pockets of surprisingly unchanged oil, according to new research.