"A Plastic Ocean", a must-see documentary about ocean pollution

In 2013 alone, around 56 million tons of polyethylene terephthalate were produced in the world, also known as PET, the accumulation of which is a growing problem in ecosystems throughout the marine world . The bottles are even the least of it. According to a Greenpeace report, gigantic marine creatures weighing more than 3.5 million … Read more

June has also been a month of record temperatures

According to NOAA , the global average temperature for June 2016 was 0.9 degrees Celsius above the average of the 20th century, breaking last year’s record for the hottest June at 0.02 degrees Celsius. June thus becomes the fourteenth consecutive month with a heat record in the world . NOAA’s global temperature records date back … Read more

An example of immeasurable biological complexity

The complexity of ecosystems is so great that we cannot study them without stumbling into reductionism. Nor do we know what exactly happens in the set when we touch a piece, for example eliminating an animal species . Everything is connected to everything in a causal tangle so inextricable that a good example to begin … Read more

Earth reaches its maximum temperature in 115,000 years

In 2016, the temperature of the Earth will exceed the average of the pre-industrial era (15ºC) by 1.25ºC, which means that the global temperature on the planet’s surface has reached the highest point in the last 115,000 years, according to a recent study James Hansen, NASA, and other eleven experts for Earth-Systems Dynamics Journal . … Read more

Why did humans extinguish mammoths and not rabbits?

In ancient times, humans hunted mammoths and rabbits, but the former became extinct and the latter did not. Which is the reason? Basically it all comes down to a single factor: the speed of reproduction of both species . Mammoths had to reproduce at a rate of perhaps only two young a year, and mammoth … Read more

Brexit is more dangerous than you think … for bees

Brexit is an abbreviation of two words in English, Britain (Great Britain) and exit (exit), which means the exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union. Politically it is a legitimate option, and this is not the appropriate space to discuss it. However, Brexit can have health consequences. Specifically, Brexit can affect bees in … Read more

Now there are more trees in Spain than a century ago

Both Spain, like the rest of Europe, is now greener than it was a century ago: specifically, the area covered by forests has increased by more than a third from 1900 to 2010 , according to the conclusions of a study carried out by researchers at the University from Waningen, in the Netherlands. Not everything … Read more

Warming water endangers kelp forests

The higher the temperature of the waters, the greater the voracity of the fish that come to feed in the kelp forests, so their survival is in danger . This is what a new study carried out by researchers at the University of New South Wales (Australia) suggests after collecting the data in the Solitary … Read more

Thus restoring coral reefs this Mexican biologist

Giovanna Zorán Yunes Jiménez is a Mexican biologist who is resuscitating corals damaged in Baja California by Hurricane Odile in 2014. This biologist from the Autonomous University of Baja California Sur (UABCS) grows and heals coral reefs of the genus Pocillopora in the Archipelago de Espíritu Santo National Park: selected corals have been adhered to … Read more

The most powerful laser in the world

The confinement beam from the National Ignition Facility (NIF), a fusion research laboratory, is considered the most powerful laser in the world. It is an ultraviolet laser with an output power of 500 terawatts . The machinery and electronic components that activate the NIF laser require more space than a football stadium. But the one-billionth … Read more

The catabatic winds: winds as fast as the AVE

The Spanish high-speed train, the AVE, is the only one in the country capable of reaching a commercial operating speed of 300 km / h . In just over two hours, we can get from Barcelona to Madrid. But the winds on our planet can be even faster. The catabic winds , for example, can … Read more

These "vegetable plastic" bags dissolve in hot water

Pollutant plastic bags could come to an end thanks to Avani Eco Bags , bags that look like plastic but are actually made with vegetable fibers from cassava and natural resin . They are biodegradable, non-toxic, and compost. All this process occurs in a few months: without leaving any residue. However, if they are put … Read more

Confirmed that 2016 was the warmest year since 1880

The global average temperature in 2016 was the highest since records began in 1880, according to scientists from the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), thus registering a record eight consecutive months from January to August . Specifically, the average temperature across global land and ocean surfaces was 0.94 ° C above the 20th century … Read more

Solar cell production from new materials gets a boost

Two million euros to produce solar cells with materials such as colloidal quantum dots and halide perovskites have been invested by the Jaume I University of Castellón (UJI) has obtained the first Consolidator Grant from the European Research Council (ERC). The professor of Applied Physics Iván Mora Seró , also a researcher at the University … Read more