The rate at which ozone is being destroyed in the upper stratosphere is slowing, and the levels of ozone-destroying chlorine in that layer of the atmosphere have peaked and are going down — the first clear evidence that a worldwide reduction in chlorofluorocarbon pollution is having the desired effect, according to a new study.

“This is the beginning of a recovery of the ozone layer,” said Professor Michael Newchurch of the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), the scientist wh

The world’s largest astronomical camera has been installed on Palomar Observatory’s 48-inch Oschin Telescope in California. This telescope has been working to improve our understanding of the universe for nearly 55 years. The new upgrade will help it to push the limits of the unknown for years to come.

The new camera is known as QUEST (Quasar Equatorial Survey Team). Designed and built by astrophysicists at Indiana and Yale universities, QUEST recently “saw” its first starlight and i

At over three thousand metres down in the north-west Indian Ocean, the Carlsberg Ridge is “probably the best ridge in the world”. So say excited scientists from Southampton Oceanography Centre who have just found the first evidence of hydrothermal activity in this previously unexplored area of a volcanic mid-ocean ridge.

The team aboard the research ship RRS Charles Darwin made the discovery on Wednesday 23 July 2003 when they detected a huge plume of smoky water. The plume is at lea

ESF wishes to introduce this Syllabus to help create a culture of scientifically knowledgeable physicians: physicians who, in view of the EU Clinical Trial Directive, would be able to critically evaluate study proposals, to conduct studies according to Good Clinical Practice (GCP), and to conclude and report valid data as rapid and safe as possible. The way to achieve this is through education and training, and ESF is now setting the scientific aim for this.

With the new countries entering t

A new PC-based radar system exploits the computer’s built-in networking capabilities to share radar images with other users over the Internet. This allows ships and coastguards to see each other’s radar images and should bring increased safety for vessels as their radar is tracked onshore.

In extreme circumstances, were a ship’s own antennae to break, it would still be able to look at another ship’s picture of the local situation on its own display. PC RADAR should also improve coord

A study by Princeton University scientists has shown that bacteria actively move around their environments to form social organizations. The researchers placed bacteria in minute mazes and found that they sought each other out using chemical signals.

Biologists have become increasingly aware of social interactions among bacteria, but previously believed that clusters formed only when bacteria randomly landed somewhere, then multiplied into dense populations. The discovery that they a