A three-step chemical process could successfully recover high-purity silicon from recycled photovoltaic (PV) solar panels, new tests show. The scientists behind the research say that recycling not only helps the PV industry meet regulatory requirements, but also reduces pressure on demand for raw materials.

Adding nanoparticles to water in solar collectors, which are used to capture the sun’s energy, can considerably improve their performance, a recent study on nanofluids has found. The energy efficiency of the collector can be increased by up to 76.6% when using water containing 0.1% by volume of titanium dioxide nanoparticles, compared with water alone.

Shortages of indium, a key metal found in thin-film solar cells, could limit their large-scale deployment in the future. A new study has outlined four ways that indium supplies could be increased to meet future demand. For example, indium could be extracted more efficiently from zinc ores, or historic wastes containing indium could be processed to extract the element.

A 50% renewable-energy supply, which is both profitable and secure, is possible for the UK’s electricity grid by just 2030 according to a new study. The researchers developed a plan for adapting and operating the UK’s electricity grid, designed to be flexibly controlled through smart-grid technology and to overcome uncertainties in renewable-energy supply and demand.

A new review of the potential uses of visual soil evaluation (VSE) shows how this tool can be used to indicate risks of erosion, compaction, greenhouse gas emission or storage and surface-water run-off. Assessing soils in this way is not only useful for agriculture, but has implications for the wider environment, due to the vital role that soil plays in the provision of ecosystem services, for example as a habitat for biodiversity and as a carbon sink.

In-depth soil information is increasingly required to achieve an array of environmental and economic goals. In particular, accurate estimates of soil carbon stocks are necessary to guide land-management practices and climate- related policymaking. To help meet this need, Australian scientists have developed a new sensing method to analyse cylindrical soil samples (soil cores), known as the Soil Condition ANalysis System (SCANS). By integrating a novel automated soil- core sensing system (CSS) with advanced statistical analytics and modelling, the SCANS provides a level of detail that is difficult to achieve with existing alternatives. SCANS is not only rapid, accurate and inexpensive1, but is likely to be a useful tool for farmers, land managers and policymakers, as the improved assessment of soil functions, structures and carbon stocks will facilitate more informed, sustainable decision-making.

The stratospheric rise in phishing and identity attacks since the beginning of the Coronavirus pandemic is give sleepless nights to CISOs across the world making them the Digital Security Warriors

Covid-19 crisis has seen a surge in demand for the roles of CISOs and CDOs, while the CIO role seems to be headed for an on-demand model among the small and medium enterprises.

Astrophysicists from the Johns Hopkins University have proposed a clever new way of shedding light on the mystery of dark matter, believed to make up most of the universe.

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The solar system could be thrown into disaster when the sun dies if the mysterious 'Planet Nine' exists, according to research from the University of Warwick.

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Ever since the 1950s discovery of the solar wind - the constant flow of charged particles from the sun - there's been a stark disconnect between this outpouring and the sun itself. As it approaches Earth, the solar wind is gusty and turbulent. But near the sun where it originates, this wind is structured in distinct rays, much like a child's simple drawing of the sun. The details of the transition from defined rays in the corona, the sun's upper atmosphere, to the solar wind have been, until now, a mystery.

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The design and implementation of Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) schemes could benefit from lessons learned from the management of common pool resources (CPR). By examining previous research into CPR, an international team of researchers has demonstrated that six sustainable management characteristics of CPRs also hold lessons for PES practitioners.

Soils play a vital role in the Earth's life-support system, yet their importance and value to society is not always recognised. A recent study suggests that incorporating soils into a National Capital and Ecosystem Services framework will raise the profile of soils and enable soils to be more easily integrated into policy decisions.

In the Mediterranean region the demand for natural resources and ecological services is two and half times greater than ecosystems’ capacity to provide them, recent research has found. To meet this demand, countries rely on imports, exposing themselves to price volatility and potential resource shortages. According to the authors, a 10% increase in global prices would particularly impact vulnerable countries such as Jordan, which would see its trade balance worsening by 2.4% of its gross domestic product.

Death and mourning were largely considered private matters in the 20th century, with the public remembrances common in previous eras replaced by intimate gatherings behind closed doors in funeral parlors and family homes.

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To everything there is a season -- even divorce, new research from University of Washington sociologists concludes.

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The U.S. prison population continued to rise even after the crime rate began declining in the mid-1990s because judges were faced with more repeat offenders, a new study suggests.

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For children with autism and a class of genetic disorders, exposure to diagnostic ultrasound in the first trimester of pregnancy is linked to increased autism severity, according to a study by researchers at UW Medicine, UW Bothell and Seattle Children's Research Institute.

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Automation failures have been the cause of such widely reported disasters as the crash of Air France Flight 447 in 2009, with most of the focus placed on deficiencies in the automated system. Although automation does help in avoiding human error in completing tasks, people are still needed to monitor how well the automated system is operating.

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A new study -- the first to look at social media's effect on memory -- suggests posting personal experiences on social media makes those events much easier to recall.

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53 percent of Indian enterprises were least mature in the adoption of mobility solutions whereas 17 percent of enterprises are adequately mature in their strive to adopt mobility solutions

Canon India’s sales-force application (iCAN) now has mobility features that enable the sales team to attend to sales leads and generate price approval requests on the mobile which are passed onto the managers through a push notification feature.

Both VMware and Citrix have partnered with Samsung around new Galaxy S8 smartphone through the integration of their enterprise mobility solutions with Samsung DeX platform

The mobility solution brings till to the consumer in the store and enables closure of the entire billing and payment process where consumers are.

Speed control, road traction, wipers when it rains, maintaining safe distances, collision avoidance, and lane change are some of the prominent features.

A joint delegation of Microsoft and Veriown Global Holdings met Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh here today to discuss a proposal to launch a pilot project in the state for the promotion of the gadget, to be linked through a tablet, to be provided by the companies for offering services across various sectors, including education and agriculture.

The mobility solution has enabled the enrolment and agreement process online, followed with the customer’s digital signature and the receipt along with a confirmation SMS.

5G will cover more than 20 percent of the global population six years from now, according to the latest Ericsson Mobility Report

Udupi-based Robosoft was started in 1996 with Apple as its first customer. It is now evolving beyond mobile app development to add advisory capabilities.

Sonata Software announced that its Unified Enterprise Mobility Platform, Halosys, has been enhanced with additional features that boost optimization and usability

And what it looks like in the open-source world.

Work from home is a cultural change that requires focus on technology, security, human resources and facilities.

GSK Nutritional Healthcare chooses a BT Cloud Contact solution to improve service on vital customer help lines powered by Enghouse Interactive

Researchers have found that ocean acidification leads to changes in the ways that clownfish normally respond to sound. As many species rely on hearing for orientation, habitat selection, avoiding predators and communication, ocean acidification could compromise auditory behaviour crucial for survival.

TEvery kilometre travelled by car incurs costs to the individual and society that are more than six times those of travelling by bicycle, a new study suggests. The researchers presented a cost-benefit analysis developed for Copenhagen, finding that cars resulted in costs of 0.50 €/km in comparison to 0.08 €/km for bikes.

Long-distance travelling accounts for a significant number of miles travelled per person, but estimates of its greenhouse gas emissions are lacking. Using data from Belgium and the Netherlands, this study estimates that long-distance journeys account for 40–50% of total mileage and 50% of greenhouse gas emissions of all people transport in Western Europe.

Kraus, Edward Henry, 1875-1973

A new analysis of temperate forests has estimated that, on average, tree-felling and the removal of tree biomass reduces carbon levels in the soil by 8 per cent. The reduction is greatest in the forest floor layer where about 30 per cent of carbon is lost.

New research highlights that potential to use forest materials as bioenergy to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from fossil fuel use must be balanced against the role played by forest stocks as carbon storage facilities.

Fire frequency is changing globally, yet it is unclear how such changes affect soil carbon and nitrogen storage, and, in turn, impact on ecosystem productivity. A study was conducted to evaluate how increased fire frequency drives changes in soil carbon and nitrogen over multiple decades. Data from 48 sites that have experienced altered fire frequency were analysed, spanning up to 65 years. The meta-analysis found that frequently burned sites experienced a significant decline in surface soil carbon and nitrogen over time — on average having 36% less carbon and 38% less nitrogen, after 64 years, than sites that were protected from fire. The researchers also observed comparable changes in an independent field dataset and in dynamic model simulations of global vegetation. The results indicate that future changes in fire frequency may lead to long-term changes in the amount of carbon and nitrogen stored in soils, especially in savanna grasslands and broadleaf forests. This has implications for the global carbon cycle and for ecosystem productivity and should, therefore, be considered in the design and implementation of relevant policy instruments.

Forest root systems increase soil strength and stability, thus protecting mountainous regions against gravitational natural hazards, such as landslides. However, tree roots are affected by factors such as soil properties, climate and disturbances, such as timber-harvesting or wildfire — and, as a result, a forest’s stabilising effect can vary greatly. This study of fire-disturbed beech forests explores how this effect changes over time. The results reveal that forests which have suffered moderate and severe wildfires completely lose their protective function within 15 years, placing those regions at high risk of landslide for up to 50 years after the fires.

I did not bad mouth my predecessor. However, I never attempted to defend him or any of his actions. I fixed them!

For a CIO-CMO association to deliver true business value there must be a true level of trust and respect built between these two leaders and their teams.

The Spanish coast is a popular destination for tourists. A recent study has assessed the sustainability of tourism in these areas and the results can be used to guide future planning decisions.

Ambiguity arises in a decision-making process when there is more than one way of interpreting a problematic situation. A new study has explored five possible strategies to overcome ambiguity in natural resources management – rational problem solving, persuasive communication, learning through dialogue, negotiation and opposition. A case study of water management in Spain is given to illustrate how these strategies have been used.

New research suggests that reducing the value of clean development mechanism (CDM) emission credits according to a country’s wealth and their emissions could encourage advanced developing nations, such as China and India, to leave the CDM, but would not necessarily accelerate CDM projects in the least developed nations.