Climate change may supersize sweet potatoes

RISING levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere may have a silver lining: doubling the size of the sweet potato, the fifth most important food crop in the developing world.

Most studies of the effects of higher atmospheric CO₂ on crops have shown rising yields of rice,

Qbotix Sees Tiny Robots Reducing Solar Costs, Boosting Output

Qbotix Inc., a closely held robotics company, is developing systems that may cut the cost of energy from solar farms by as much as 20 percent.

Himalayan melt may be less than thought

Rising temperatures in the Himalayas may bring more moderate melting for the region’s glaciers than some previous studies have concluded. Combining six years of topographic measurements gathered by NASA’s Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite with radar data collected aboard the space shuttle Endeavour in 2000, an international team mapped out glacier activity throughout the range.