science wire

New book equips next generation with tools to make cities more energy efficient
A guide for understanding how cities can be more energy efficient is being launched this week. Understanding the impact that biomass burning stoves in rural Kenya are having on the environment and models that enable planners to plot a path for reducing carbon dioxide emissions in cities are some of the topics covered in a new textbook, developed by academics from Imperial College London.

The honey and the ivy - why gardeners’ foe is the bees’ friend
The honey and the ivy - why gardeners' foe is the bees' friend Ivy, often maligned as a garden pest, is vital to honey bees and other pollinators seeking food in autumn, new research from the University of Sussex reveals. The research, carried out by scientists at the University's Laboratory of Apiculture and Social Insects ( LASI ) is published online today (26 April 2013) in the journal Insect Conservation and Diversity 1 .

Early Easter egg for Yorkshire’s first urban breeding pair of Peregrine Falcons
The pair of Peregrine Falcons who have set up home on a special nesting platform at St George's Church in Sheffield have laid their first egg of the breeding season.

University Peregrine Falcons now on live webcam
Yorkshire's first urban breeding pair of Peregrine Falcons is now available to view on a live webcam via the University of Sheffield's website.

Citizen science project inspires thousands to rediscover the outdoors
Over the past five years, more than half a million people from towns and cities up and down the country have been exploring their local green spaces as part of the Open Air Laboratories (OPAL) project, led by Imperial College London and supported by a £14 million Big Lottery Fund grant. Many participants were carrying out a nature survey for the very first time and have provided important data about biodiversity, including information about some places - particularly urban areas of deprivation - never sampled before by scientists.