Ireland's science wildlife and discovery magazine
Upfront
Upfront
Red Kites once common in Ireland
January 02, 2009
Birds of prey called Red Kites, which were never regarded as part of Ireland's historic fauna, may once have been quite common here. That's according to records of payments made in the 18th century to the hunters of rats, rooks, weasels, otters, cormorants and other 'vermin'. In the current issue ...
Fungi turns cellulose into diesel fuel
January 02, 2009
A South American fungus has been found to have the ability to turn cellulose into the equivalent of diesel fuel. Professor Gary Strobel from Montana State University believes that the fungus, Gliocladium roseum, which grows inside Ulmo trees of the Patogonian rainforest, has the potential to become a major source ...
Oldest diatoms found in France
January 02, 2009
The earliest dates for fossil diatoms - simple marine algae - has been pushed back by 10 to 30 million years thanks to fossils that have been found encased in amber resin at Charente, France. A team of researchers working in collaboration with the Géosciences Rennes laboratory were surprised to ...
Funding boost for nanotech in Ireland
January 02, 2009
In order to improve further the overall level of nanotechnology research in Ireland, ten Irish insitutions have been brought together as partners in a nanoscience consortium called INSPIRE, or the Integrated Nanoscience Platform for Ireland. The consortium has been allocated €31 million by the Higher Education Authority, the highest amount ...
Marine organism develops viral defence
January 02, 2009
A single-celled marine organism has evolved an effective defence against viral attack. The organism, Emiliania huxleyi, pictured here, produces elaborate mineral scales, and the reflected light from enormous populations is clearly visible from space.Emiliania huxleyi was already of interest to scientists as an indicator of environmental conditions, when researchers at ...
Ireland wins bid to host major science event
December 31, 2008
Ireland has succeeded in the bid to host the Euroscience City of Science event in 2012. News of Ireland's success came a lot earlier than expected, and according to Professor Paddy Cunningham, Scientific Adviser to the Government, the decision by the board of Euroscience was unanimous. Winning the bid is ...
Obstacle to hydrogen fuel overcome
December 31, 2008
One of the biggest drawbacks in trying to use hydrogen as a transport fuel is that the holding tanks have to be big and heavy. Dr Robin Gremaud at the University of Amsterdam has found that instead of compressing the gas into a conventional tank, hydrogen could probably be absorbed ...
Biological basis for hate identified
December 31, 2008
Having found that romantic and maternal feelings of love can be associated with specific parts of the brain, researchers at University College London wondered if similar associations could be found for hate. Professor Semir Zeki and John Romaya from the Wellcome Laboratory of Neurobiology at UCL found that there is ...
