The major greenhouse gas contributing to global warming could become a prime resource for biofuels that can cut car, plane and ship emissions. 18 August 2023 By TOM CASSAUWERS Laura Martinelli has bittersweet recollections about a clean-fuels project that she managed. It was interrupted by the sudden death of a leading researcher but ended up breaking … Read more
By tracking Covid-19 patients, doctors in Europe are in search of treatments for a lingering sickness that is both debilitating and puzzling. By ANTHONY KING Evelina Tacconelli, an Italian infectious diseases specialist, is seeking cures for a coronavirus-induced illness that’s playing havoc with the lives of millions of people in Europe and elsewhere. Though Covid-19 itself … Read more
In the prehistoric times of Neanderthals and early modern humans, one of Europe’s largest-ever bear species roamed the land and inhabited its caves. But the cave bear, weighing up to one tonne, died out some 25 000 years ago. Its bones have been found in caves located from England to Russia. Competing views Possible reasons … Read more
Painstaking archaeological exploration is a familiar, often widely admired, method of unearthing history. Less celebrated, but also invaluable, is the piecing together of fragments of ancient languages and analysing how they changed over thousands of years. Historical linguists have reconstructed a common ancestral tongue for most of the languages spoken today in Europe and South … Read more
If the idea of adding fermented seaweed to meals at home isn’t yet appealing, Ólavur Gregersen believes it soon will be. For the past decade, Gregersen and his family in the Faroe Islands have been experimenting with all types of seaweed-inspired cuisine. The results range from seaweed butter to his new favourite: seaweed pesto. Daily … Read more
At the centre of Earth is a vast ball of metal, the planet’s core. While unreachable without the help of Jules Verne, it can be studied and plays a vital role for the world. The iron-nickel interior generates a magnetic field that protects the planet from harmful radiation and allows life to flourish. Exactly how … Read more