What caused Monday’s glitch in the UK’s air traffic control system that left thousands of passengers stranded? Wednesday the Independent reported that it may have been triggered by “an incorrectly filed flight plan by a French airline.” Several sources say the issue may have been caused when a French airline Read more…
The centenary of the Great Kanto earthquake brings angst, and lessons for the world. Every year on September 1st, Japan’s ministers trek by foot to the prime minister’s office to take part in a crisis simulation. Across the country, local officials and schoolchildren drill for disasters. The date marks the Read more…
Researchers in China have found evidence suggesting that 930,000 years ago, the ancestors of modern humans suffered a massive population crash. They point to a drastic change to the climate that occurred around that time as the cause. Our ancestors remained at low numbers — fewer than 1,280 breeding individuals Read more…
Tests of seawater near Japan’s Fukushima nuclear power plant have not detected any radioactivity, the environment ministry said on Sunday, days after authorities began discharging into the sea treated water used to cool damaged reactors. Japan started releasing water from the wrecked Fukushima plant into the Pacific Ocean on Thursday, Read more…
Germany plans to almost double its public funding for artificial intelligence research to nearly a billion euros over the next two years, as it attempts to close a skills gap with sector leaders China and the United States. The target, announced by research minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger on Wednesday, is modest Read more…
Using data collected from the International Space Station (ISS), scientists found that a small yet growing percentage of tree leaves in tropical forests are approaching the maximum temperature threshold for leaves to photosynthesize. If this trend continues, it could spell disaster for Earth’s climate systems and biodiversity. The findings have Read more…
Switzerland’s MeteoSuisse reported another measure of record summer heat Monday when its weather balloon climbed to a record-high 17,400 feet before reaching what it calls the zero-degree line. The zero-degree line, which is the altitude at which the temperature falls below freezing, is considered a key meteorological marker, particularly in Read more…