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Anthropocene: New dates proposed for the ‘Age of Man’
Posted by BBC: Rebecca Morelle on March 12th, 2015
BBC: The Anthropocene - a new geological time period that marks the "Age of man" - began in 1610, a study suggests.
Scientists believe that the arrival of Europeans in the Americas had an unprecedented impact on the planet, marking the dawn of this new epoch.
The findings are published in the journal Nature.
Others say that the industrial revolution or the first nuclear tests better signal the start of the Anthropocene.
While some believe the exact date for a new epoch can only be determined...
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China: China’s arsenic risk estimated
Posted by BBC: Rebecca Morelle on August 23rd, 2013
BBC: Nearly 20 million people in China could be exposed to water contaminated with arsenic, a study suggests.
Scientists used information about the geology of the country to predict the areas most likely to be affected by the poison.
The report is published in the journal Science.
Arsenic occurs naturally in the Earth's crust, but if it leaches into groundwater, long-term exposure can cause serious health risks.
These include skin problems and cancers of the skin, lungs, bladder and kidney....
GM salmon can breed with wild fish
Posted by BBC: Rebecca Morelle on May 29th, 2013
BBC: The potential risks of genetically modified fish escaping into the wild have been highlighted in a new study.
Scientists from Canada have found that transgenic Atlantic salmon can cross-breed with a closely related species - the brown trout.
The fish, which have been engineered with extra genes to make them grow more quickly, pass on this trait to the hybrid offspring.
The research is published the Proceedings of the Royal Society B..
However, the biotech company AquaBounty, which created...
China’s one child policy analysed
Posted by BBC: Rebecca Morelle on January 10th, 2013
BBC: People growing up under China's one-child policy are less trusting, more risk averse and more pessimistic, a study concludes.
An Australian team of researchers compared people who were born just before the policy was introduced with those born after.
They used economic games and surveys to assess the participants' behavioural and personality traits.
The findings are published in the journal Science.
The lead author of the study Professor Lisa Cameron, from Monash University in Victoria,...