Algal blooms in inland and marine waters could be detected and monitored more accurately in future, thanks to a new assessment method. Scientists have developed a new algorithm for sensors which identify emerging blooms of cyanobacteria based on the behaviour of light reflected by the algae’s pigment. Importantly, the algorithm may reduce uncertainty in estimations of algal concentrations by distinguishing between two different types of pigment.

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

The proposed alliance — to be named the Information Trust Alliance (ITA) — will be a grouping of digital platforms and publishers, fact checkers, civil society and academia that will aim to control the spread of harmful content, including fake news and hate speech. So far, discussions have taken place among Facebook, Google, Twitter, Byte-Dance, ShareChat and YY Inc.

​​Companies are seeking to balance freedom of expression with the potential for damage to their business, not for the first time, but more gingerly perhaps, given the level of polarisation. ​​

To believe that China will have a significant advantage due to its population size requires us to believe that each additional user adds as much to an informational ecosystem as the first one.

Changing user consumption patterns and rapid adoption of omni-channel models drive demand.

IIF urged that the hearing should specially involve medical health professionals, academics from IITs and digital rights and public policy experts to provide inputs.

IIF urged that the hearing should specially involve medical health professionals, academics from IITs and digital rights and public policy experts to provide inputs.

DBS Bank is leveraging technology to reduce man hours, enhance the customer journey, automate processes and open new revenue streams.

Ravinder Pal Singh, Chief Information and Innovation Officer at Vistara is leveraging the power of multiple technologies ranging from AI, Robotics, SATCOM, Bigdata (Science) and Blockchain to enhance the airline's critical business functions.

In conversation with ETCIO, Subodh Kumar, CTO, Magicbricks, shares how data comprising 75 attributes has helped the company generate 60% more quality leads

A simple fix has helped the airline’s cabin crew save 20 minutes of their work, helping the airline improve turnaround times for better on-time performance.

New research in Estonia indicates that plant biodiversity in field boundaries varies with features, such as ditches, trees and nearby roads. It suggests that, in addition to common non-weedy plants, more consideration should be given to rare weeds by broadening of field boundaries and reducing the use of agrochemicals and fertilisers near these boundaries.

A new European Environment Agency (EEA) report analyses approaches to estimating the value of ecosystem services on a large scale. The report provides suggestions for combining and scaling up data from individual, local studies to generate European or global valuations of ecosystems.

Social and economic aspects should be considered alongside environmental issues when valuing benefits provided by ecosystems and biodiversity. A recently published study outlines the use of multi-criteria assessment methods for valuation that simultaneously take into account a wide variety of economic, social and environmental decision criteria.

A review of a decade of environmental citizen science ??? where the general public are involved in science as researchers ??? concludes that its benefits to science and society far outweigh concerns over data quality. Challenges can be overcome through volunteer training and should not be used to devalue citizen science programmes, say the researchers.

A recent study has found one means of complementing agricultural production with biodiversity protection by growing seeded ryegrass for silage. The seeds effectively feed many birds, such as the yellowhammer and reed bunting, throughout the winter, and the grass can still be cost-effectively used for silage if it is harvested at the right time.

High Nature Value (HNV) farmland is agricultural land that supports biodiversity and can be identified by its environmentally sound farming practices. New research on bird biodiversity on French HNV farmland has concluded that conservation of HNV farmland is important as well as conserving areas that were previously HNV and have undergone recent agricultural intensification.

Insect communities are permanently changed by the presence of street lighting, according to new research. The authors of the study found that predatory and scavenging insects such as ants and ground beetles were more common under streetlights at all times of day, suggesting that light pollution does not simply attract different types of animals at night.

Falling levels of insect pollination are causing declining yields of important agricultural crops. However, new research from South Africa now indicates that planting small patches of native flowers in agricultural fields can be a profitable and sustainable method of increasing pollination and yield.

The concept of the Ecological Footprint can be used to illustrate the balance between the use of a natural resource or an ecological service and its availability. According to a new study, the Ecological Footprint could be valuable as an indicator to help track progress towards the goals of the Convention on Biological Diversity.

Gold mining areas in the Peruvian Amazon rainforest expanded from under 10 000 hectares in 1999 to over 50 000 hectares by 2012, and now destroys more forest than agriculture and logging combined, new research has shown. Using high-resolution satellite imaging, researchers estimated gold mining areas to be twice as large as estimated by previous studies, which did not include the combined effects of thousands of small, mainly illicit, mining operations.

New research from central Italy shows that high nature value farmland in the region can be accurately identified by the presence of just four bird species. Once such groups of species have been identified for different regions, they can provide a quick and inexpensive tool for assessing the ecological value of farmland, the researchers say.

Increased plant biodiversity improves grassland soil quality by boosting its nitrogen levels, even in the absence of nitrogen-fixing plants, recent research has found. Previous research has shown that grasslands with higher biodiversity had higher levels of carbon and nitrogen. However, in the case of nitrogen it has been suggested that this was purely a result of increased numbers of nitrogen-fixing legumes, such as clover. This study was the first to show that, even without legumes, increased numbers of grassland species increased both carbon and nitrogen soil stocks.

Two metrics for informing farmers about the biodiversity on their land are presented in a recent Swiss study: average species richness and farm ‘uniqueness’. These are both easy to understand and comparable between farms, the researchers say.

With over half of Europe’s species dependent on agricultural habitats, protecting ‘high nature value’ farmland is vital to biodiversity conservation. However, the identification and assessment of such farmland requires careful co-ordination, concludes a recent study. The researchers present a framework to help with this process and make a set of key recommendations.

Hunting has obvious impacts on wild populations. However, new research concludes that for Scandinavian brown bears (Ursus arctos), it also contributes to the killing of cubs by adult males to increase the male's chances of mating with the cubs' mother. The researchers say that this indirect effect of hunting should be considered when developing sustainable hunting quotas and management plans.

Biodiversity is declining in freshwater ecosystems across the globe, a new study has shown. The researchers created a mathematical model, called GLOBIO- aquatic, which builds a picture of the threats to the biodiversity of rivers, lakes and wetlands that are posed by a variety of human activities. The most crucial of these are land-use changes, nutrient and chemical pollution, and disturbances to the water cycle — which could be from infrastructure such as dams, or from climate change. The authors hope that the model will help policymakers identify regions which are most at risk from these pressures.

Planting a variety of crop species in rotation in agricultural fields increases the diversity of soil microbes below ground, recent research has found. This in turn positively affects soil organic matter, soil structure and aids the healthy functioning of the soil. The researchers say that rotational diversity can help farmers to grow crops in a more sustainable way that promotes soil stability.

Scientists recommend policies that alternate between mowing and grazing to manage Europe’s high-nature-value grasslands. This comes after a new seven-year study found that a high plant-species diversity helps grasslands to maintain productivity and to resist depletion of phosphorus caused by livestock grazing and depletion of potassium caused by mowing.

Adapted habitat equivalency analysis (HEA) may help decision makers select projects to restore damaged ecosystems under a limited budget. HEA, used to assess damages to natural resources, can help to clarify objectives and compare trade-offs between projects to choose the most cost-effective among them, according to this study’s authors.

Fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) are likely being exposed to microplastics and associated toxic additives in the Mediterranean Sea, finds new research. The research analysed levels of microplastics and biological and chemical markers of exposure in whales from the Mediterranean Sea and the comparatively pristine Sea of Cortez, off the coast of Mexico. The results suggest that the vulnerable Mediterranean fin whale may be suffering as a consequence of microplastic pollution.

Artificial light — such as street lighting and passing car headlights — has an impact on plants. A new study suggests there could also be broader implications for the interactions of herbivores and pollinators. The study highlights that disrupting seasonal light cues with artificial light has far-reaching effects, including: mismatches in timing with herbivores; altering the development of agricultural crops; inhibiting flowering in wild species; decreasing periods of darkness necessary for plant repair from environmental pollutants; and causing barriers to nocturnal pollinator species.

Street lighting reduces the number of moths at ground level and increases flight activity at the level of the lights, shows new research. Less pollen was transported by moths at lit sites in the UK study as a result of the disruptive effects on moth behaviour. The study highlights the need to consider both the direct and indirect ecological impacts of artificial light.

The risk of alien species introduction via trade in plants is higher if the plants are from poorly regulated countries with high forest cover, calculates a recent study. For introductions via the vehicle and timber trades, the risk is higher if the exporting country is politically unstable. These findings could help border controls focus their surveillance efforts on imports from countries with risky socioeconomic profiles.

The effect on bats of the replacement of mercury lamps with light-emitting diodes (LEDs) in street lighting has been investigated in a recent study. Artificial light affects bat species differently and the activity of species normally more sensitive to light were affected less by the new LED street lamps than by traditional mercury lamps. Use of LEDs may, therefore, help to reduce the impacts of outdoor lighting on light-sensitive bats, if used at an appropriate level.

Biodiversity’s contribution to ecosystem services in grasslands — at different levels of the food chain (known as trophic levels1) — has been assessed in a new study. Higher species diversity across trophic levels — particularly for plants, insects and soil microbial decomposers — is important for the provision of multiple ecosystem services related to food production, recreational benefits, or climate regulation. Species diversity across different trophic groups was also found to be just as important in controlling ecosystem functioning as the management intensity of grasslands and environmental factors, such as climate or soil type.

Natura 2000 sites have, on average, 10% more carbon in their topsoil than non-protected areas, according to new research. They also generally have lower economic value for agriculture. The results suggest that there is significant potential to develop win-win biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation efforts within the EU.

Traditional, high-nature-value (HNV) grasslands are at risk of being abandoned by farmers in the future — in turn, risking the wildlife they support, warns a new UK study. Farmers interviewed by the researchers had weak motivations to protect grasslands, as they felt that financial incentives for conservation are low and that traditional management practices are inconvenient. More dialogue between farmers and conservationists could be part of the solution, the study suggests.

The influence of light-emitting diodes (LED) on grassland invertebrate communities has been assessed in a recent study. White LEDs increased the total abundance and changed the species of spiders and beetles recorded. Dimming lights and switching lights off during the middle of the night were the best ways of reducing the effects on beetle and spider numbers.

Constructed wetlands serve as a cost-effective and multi-purpose option for storm-water treatment in urban landscapes, offering flood protection as well as wildlife habitat. However, a new study shows that when nearby land use includes industry, wetlands can accumulate high levels of pollution and potentially become toxic to wildlife. This new piece of research offers important insights for the planning and management of wetlands.

Satellite images taken over a 30-year period have shown that a French national park in the Alps has become greener with more vegetation, as snow cover disappears under a changing climate. These landscape changes have important implications for alpine biodiversity and ecosystem services, warn the scientists behind the study.

As many universities are moving quickly to distance learning, it is vital for educators to think carefully about how to adapt their approach to still deliver key learning outcomes for students in an online setting. Today’s guest blogger, Ramnarayan Krishnamurthy, is at the forefront supporting universities as they transition to distance learning. In his role as a Customer Success Engineer, he partners with educators to support them in achieving their goals for teaching and learning.... read more >>

The United Nation's Globally Harmonised System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS) is an international initiative to standardise how chemicals are managed across the world. A recent study has proposed a suite of indicators which measure progress in implementing the GHS.

A recent Bulgarian study has proposed a more environmentally friendly approach to manufacturing chemicals and biochemicals in multipurpose batch plants, which carefully considers how the production process is scheduled.

To test the possible health impacts of human exposure to methylmercury through fish consumption, researchers fed mice a diet containing fish at levels that corresponded to a typical Western diet for humans. The mice suffered adverse health impacts after two months of being fed this diet, including reduced body growth rates and modified gene expression patterns.

Improving air quality in offices, public buildings and in cars is likely to have a significant impact on human health, even more so than reducing exposure to outdoor air pollutants or pesticides, according to a new study. Researchers also revealed that the estimation of risk of exposure to a mixture of chemicals increased when they accounted for interactions between the chemicals, although more data are needed to improve the scientific certainty of these predictions.

Studies investigating the effects of pregnant women’s low level exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) on the weight of their newborn babies have produced conflicting results. However, new research, which involved 8000 pregnant women across Europe, adds to the mounting body of evidence that PCB exposure does in fact reduce birth weight.

Titanium dioxide nanoparticles are entering the environment in ever greater quantities as a result of their widespread use in consumer products and as a disinfectant of sewage. Researchers have recently discovered that titanium dioxide nanoparticles have a toxic effect on marine phytoplankton when exposed to normal levels of ultraviolet light found in natural sunlight.

Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) can interfere with the hormonal systems of both humans and wildlife. New research quantifying EDCs in marine environments in Greece found concentrations which present significant risks to sediment-dwelling organisms.