-
Bioengineered Potato Plant Detects Gamma Radiation
A researcher in the University of Tennessee Herbert College of Agriculture has developed a potato plant that can detect gamma radiation, providing reliable indications of harmful radiation levels without complex monitoring technologies. The natural radiation sensor is affordable, too.
-
-
We Rarely Hear About the Disasters Which Were Avoided – but There’s a Lot We Can Learn from Them
We frequently see headlines about disasters. But where are the headlines covering the good news of lives saved and damage averted when disasters do not happen? Our work, now published, offers examples we can learn from.
-
-
Learning from When the Earth Moves: Protecting Indonesia’s New Capital City
Indonesia plans to build a new capital city from scratch. Protecting the new city from the effects of earthquakes will be crucial. Here’s how researchers are helping.
-
-
Non-powered Dams Offer Opportunity for Clean Energy
The era of building big dams may be over in the United States, but hydroelectricity still has a significant and untapped role to play in the nation’s energy future. Trouble is, 97 percent of U.S. dams don’t make electricity. A new tool could help tap that resource.
-
-
Los Alamos National Lab Safely Shipping Radiological and Hazardous Waste Off-Site
A substantial amount of Los Alamos National Lab’s radiological and hazardous waste from years past was permanently disposed of at off-site facilities — a move in step with the Lab’s goal to mitigate hazards to workers, the community, and the environment while carrying out its national security mission.
-
-
Chlorine Is a Highly Useful Chemical That’s Also Extremely Dangerous − Here’s What to Know About Staying Safe Around It
Chlorine is extremely toxic, and because it’s ubiquitous in many industries across the U.S., it often is released in chemical accidents and spills. As with other household chemicals, it is very important to understand its risks, read labels before using it, store it in its original container in a secure place and dispose of it safely.
-
-
A First: For Six Days in a Row, Portugal Ran on 100% Renewables
For nearly a week, the country of 10 million met customer needs with wind, hydro and solar — a test run for operating the grid without fossil fuels.
-
-
Reducing Flooding Impacts in Coastal Towns
Researchers study the benefits and costs of flood-reduction strategies aimed at increasing coastal resilience to storms and sea-level rise. The researchers will apply advanced computer models to simulate how these strategies affect water levels both on the surface and underground and the flooding of homes, businesses and infrastructure.
-
-
How Mega-Floods Can Be Predicted
When floods are predicted only on the basis of local data, there may be unpleasant surprises. A new method makes it possible to significantly improve predictions - using international data from hydrologically similar areas.
-
-
New Battery Tech from Sweden Offers Alternative to Critical Materials from China
New sodium-ion battery is safer and more cost-effective and sustainable than conventional nickel, manganese, and cobalt (NMC) or iron phosphate (LFP) chemistries, and is produced with minerals such as iron and sodium that are abundant on global markets.
-
-
Move Over Lithium-Ion: Zinc-Air Batteries a Cheaper and Safer Alternative
New research shows batteries built from zinc and air could be the future of powering electric vehicles. The project tested zinc-air batteries using a combination of cheaper, safer and sustainably sourced materials, which allowed for improved lifespan and performance.
-
-
The Historic Claims That Put a Few California Farming Families First in Line for Colorado River Water
Twenty families in the Imperial Valley received a whopping 386.5 billion gallons of the river’s water last year — more than three Western states. Century-old water rights guarantee that supply.
-
-
Reforms Needed to Expand Prescribed Burns
Prescribed fire, which mimics natural fire regimes, can help improve forest health and reduce the likelihood of catastrophic wildfire. But this management tool is underused in the fire-prone U.S. West and Baja California, Mexico, due to several barriers. Study highlights four strategies to overcome barriers to prescribed fire in the West.
-
-
Making Flood-Prone Areas in New Jersey More Resilient to Climate Change
State and federal programs that enable the acquisition of flood-prone properties from willing homeowners at fair market value and then clear the land represent powerful first steps toward resilience.
-
-
Fast Reactor Technology Is an American Clean, Green and Secure Energy Option
Pivotal partnerships between industry and national laboratories steer advances that will help combat climate change. Companies in the nuclear industry work closely with national labs and the DOE Fast Reactor Program to develop next-generation nuclear reactors.
-
More headlines
The long view
From Iron Dome to Cyber Dome: Defending Israel’s Cyberspace
In response to growing attacks against its infrastructure by formidable adversaries like Iran and its proxies, Israel recently announced that they are building a ‘cyber-dome’ or a digital ‘Iron Dome’ system to protect Israel’s cyberspace to defend against online attacks.
The Case for Climate-Resilient Infrastructure
Climate change is making weather harder to predict, and creating new risks in places that never faced them before. And as hurricanes, floods, extreme heat and wildfires intensify, most infrastructure will need to be retrofitted or designed and built anew for future climate resilience.
Nationwide Flood Models Poorly Reflect Risks to Households and Properties, Study Finds
Government agencies, insurance companies and disaster planners rely on national flood risk models from the private sector that aren’t reliable at smaller levels such as neighborhoods and individual properties.
Emerging Threats to the U.S. Financial System
In early 2021, a freewheeling, freethinking group of investors on Reddit plowed their money into GameStop, a video game retailer that several big hedge funds had bet against. The stock price shot up, some people made millions—and, to the delight of those on Reddit, the hedge funds had some very bad days. Researchers saw the GameStop story as a cautionary tale. If investors on Reddit could work together to move the markets like that, what could an adversary like China do?