Follow Slashdot blog updates by subscribing to our blog RSS feed

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror
×

Submission + - Over 100 Dolphins Wash Up on East Coast Beaches, Reason Unknown (inhabitat.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: A recent spike in the number of bottlenose dolphins washing up on East Coast beaches has left scientists baffled. “There’s a number of things that cause animals to strand,” Maggie Mooney-Seus, a researcher with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told CBS News. “It could be biotoxins. It could be disease. It could be human interactions with fishing gear.” The only clue they have moving forward is an eerily similar case that occurred back in the summers of 1987 and 1988. At that time, the cause was determined to be morbillivirus, a measles-like, airborne virus that’s often fatal in dolphins.

Submission + - Man Dresses Pet Turtle as a Hamburger in Attempt to Bypass Airport Security

Submitted by oritonic1
oritonic1 writes: Smugglers delve into all kinds of strange techniques to transport animals illegally, but few are as downright bizarre as the efforts of a Chinese man identified as Li who wanted to travel with his beloved turtle. Replacing a KFC patty with his pet, Li was stopped by airport security screeners when they noticed "odd protrusions" emerging from a burger in the man's luggage .

Submission + - Israeli Company Developing World's First Everlasting Solar Battery (inhabitat.com) 1

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Researchers at Sol Chip are working on an ambitious project to create the world’s first everlasting solar battery. It is hoped that the battery will be able to recharge even in low-light environments to power just about any mobile electronic device.

Submission + - Plants Talk to Each Other Through Messengers in the Soil (inhabitat.com)

Submitted by Taffykay
Taffykay writes: Chinese researchers discovered in 2010 that a tomato plant infected with leaf blight alerts other plants, which then activate genes to ward off the disease. Researchers at the University of Aberdeen expanded that original study with broad bean plants, and discovered that the plants communicate with one other through a fungus messenger in the soil.

Submission + - Concrete-Recycling Robot Can Erase Entire Buildings (inhabitat.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Building demolition is a messy business, which is why Omer Haciomeroglu designed ERO — a concrete-recycling robot that can erase entire buildings. The robot can efficiently disassemble concrete structures without any waste, dust or additional separation. After deconstructing a structure with high-pressure water and sucking and separating the aggregate, cement and water, the ERO robot recycles these materials. Clean aggregate is packed and labeled to be sent to concrete precast stations for reuse, while rebar is cleaned and cut, ready to be reused.

Submission + - Aerovelo's Human-Powered Helicopter Wins Elusive $250,000 Sikorsky Prize

Submitted by oritonic1
oritonic1 writes: Since 1980, several teams have tried (and failed) to build a human-powered helicopter that could win the elusive $250,000 Sikorsky prize. But a Canadian start-up, Aerovelo, has finally taken the crown with Atlas, a human-powered craft that managed to stay at least 10 feet in the air, for 60 seconds, within a 30'x30' area.

Submission + - China Says Serious Polluters Will Get the Death Penalty (inhabitat.com) 1

Submitted by formaggio
formaggio writes: According to the Xinhua News Agency, the Chinese government is now allowing courts to punish those who commit environment crimes with the death penalty. The new judicial interpretation comes in the wake of several serious environmental problems that have hit the country over the last few months, including dangerous levels of air pollution, a river full of dead pigs, and other development projects that have imperiled public health.

Submission + - SkinVision Smartphone App Can Detect Skin Cancer (inhabitat.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: SkinVision is a new smartphone app that enables users to take pictures of moles appearing on their skin to check if they are at risk of developing skin cancer.

Submission + - The Wheel of the Future Has Arrived - And It's Shapes Like a Cube (inhabitat.com)

Submitted by formaggio
formaggio writes: You’d think that a cube-shaped wheel would be completely counterproductive, but Patrick’s angular SharkWheel (discovered by accident) has proved to be smoother and faster than a conventional skateboard wheel. The magic appears to be in the materials and the helix-shape which makes it possible for the wheel to take on virtually any terrain at speeds that would not be seen with a traditional wheel.

Submission + - The Lepsis is a Terrarium for Growing Edible Insects at Home (inhabitat.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: A recent UN report suggested that people should be eating more insects, because they're much less harmful to the environment that traditional meat. In response, designer Mansour Ourasanah has created the Lepsis, a small insect breeder that could be used to grow and harvest grasshoppers in urban homes.

Submission + - 400-Year-Old Arctic Plants Frozen by Glaciers Come Back from the Dead (inhabitat.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: A crop of 400-year-old plants that were wiped out by glaciers have come back to life. While on a recent expedition, University of Alberta researchers discovered something that had a “greenish tint.” It turned out to be ancient bryophytes sprouting new growth after 400 years of dormancy.

Slashdot Top Deals

In any formula, constants (especially those obtained from handbooks) are to be treated as variables.

Close