Oil and water are difficult to separate without leaving some impurities Abaca Press/Alamy Mixtures of oil and water can be efficiently separated by pumping them into thin channels between semipermeable membranes, paving the way to cheaper and cleaner ways to deal with industrial waste. Experimental prototypes managed to recover both oil and water with a…
Farm workers exposed to infected dairy cattle have been found to carry bird flu antibodies Helen King/Getty Images There may be more bird flu cases in humans in the US than we previously thought. Health departments in two states took blood tests of workers on dairy farms known to have hosted infected cattle and found…
Yellow-bellied marmots live in colonies with a single dominant male Maria Janicki/Alamy Friendly groups of marmots could help settle an enduring debate in evolution – whether the characteristics of a group can be more important to an individual’s chances of survival than the characteristics of that individual. An analysis of their behaviour is the first…
Liverpool fans jostle for a look at the on-field VAR screen at Anfield stadium Alex Dodd – CameraSport via Getty Images If you have watched any football – or soccer – over the past few years, you will know that the game has been consumed by controversies over its new refereeing technology. The video assistant…
Elon Musk boards his private jet in Beijing in 2023 JADE GAO/AFP via Getty Images Flights taken on private jets should be subject to a carbon tax to curb the runaway growth in carbon emissions from the sector, researchers have said. Emissions from private aviation jumped 46 per cent between 2019 and 2023, according to…
Topographical map of Mars showing Utopia Planitia, which may once have been an ocean U.S. Geological Survey A possible ancient shoreline has been found in the region of Mars explored by the Chinese rover Zhurong, providing further evidence that an ocean may once have covered a vast area of the lowlands in the planet’s northern…
A spiny toad amplexus, with a female in the middle of several males. Aloys Pichard Each year, hordes of spiny toads (Bufo spinosus) gather to breed and lay their eggs in freshwater lakes and ponds, mainly across Spain, Portugal and France. Mating is a rough and tumble affair, though, with males often outnumbering females by…
Coal plants and wind turbines coexist rather than replace each other in Westphalia, Germany mauritius images GmbH / Alamy More and More and MoreJean-Baptiste Fressoz (Allen Lane) The drive towards decarbonisation and the search for alternative, less-polluting sources of energy vex our planet and its politicians and decision-makers. Many wealthy countries are working to strip…
olga Yastremska/Alamy Whether you are roasting a chicken in the oven, browning onions in a frying pan or choosing a spread for your toast, oils are at the heart of our culinary activity. We have a dizzying array of choice. From sunflower to flaxseed, avocado to coconut, around 30 varieties of oil are now used…
A tiny soft lithium-ion battery made from droplets University of Oxford The smallest soft lithium-ion battery ever made consists of just three tiny droplets formed from a silk-based hydrogel. The droplet battery can deliver defibrillator electric shocks to beating mouse hearts, along with providing pacemaker-style control – but it may eventually power biomedical implants and…