By Heidi Harley

science / science - 6 years ago

Modest warming risks 'irreversible' ice sheet loss, study warns

Even modest temperature rises agreed under an international plan to limit climate disaster could see the ice caps melt enough this century for their loss to be "irreversible", experts warned Monday. Scientists have known for decades that the ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica are shrinking, but...

science / science - 6 years ago

China postpones lifting rhino, tiger parts ban

China appeared to backtrack on a controversial decision to lift a ban on trading tiger bones and rhinoceros horns, saying it has been postponed, state media reported Monday. The State Council, China's cabinet, unexpectedly announced last month that it would allow the sale of rhino and tiger product...

science / science - 6 years ago

Scientists to swap dusty old kilogram for something more stable

The kilogram has been defined since 1889 by a shiny piece of platinum-iridium held in Paris. All modern mass measurements are traceable back to it - from micrograms of pharmaceutical medicines to kilos of apples and pears and tonnes of steel or cement. The problem is, the "international prototype...

science / science - 6 years ago

The winged drone that flies like an insect

Researchers in the Netherlands have developed a flying drone after studying the flight behaviour of insects.  The DelFly Nimble weighs just 29 grams and measures 33 centimetres in wingspan. Its four flapping wings beat 17 times per second. Designer Matej Karasek explains 'there are two tiny mot...