The takeaway is clear: Increasing science literacy alone won’t change minds. In fact, well-meaning attempts by scientists to inform the public might even backfire. Presenting facts that conflict with an individual’s worldview, it turns out, can cause people to dig in further. Psychologists, aptly, dubbed this the “backfire effect.”
Source: Explaining science won’t fix information illiteracy.
New battery technology could help cars of the future use their own bodywork as a battery.
Researchers from Imperial College London and European partners that include Volvo are developing a prototype material that’s strong and light enough to be used as a car’s skin but can store and discharge electrical energy.
via With new battery tech, future cars could be powered by their bodywork – SmartPlanet.
Fascinating ancient Amazon technique could reduce global warming by 12% …
Scientists Promote Benefits of Black Magic Soil | LiveScience:
Scientists say terra preta can do much more than a box of Miracle-Gro. The process of making it pulls carbon out of the atmosphere, and can reduce global warming.
“The knowledge we can gain from studying the Amazonian dark earths, found throughout the Amazon River region, not only teaches us how to restore degraded soils, triple crop yields and support a wide array of crops in regions with agriculturally poor soils, but also can lead to technologies to sequester carbon in soil and prevent critical changes in world climate,” said Johannes Lehmann, a biogeochemist at Cornell University.