Negev Desert

A lightning strike in Africa helps take the pulse of the sun

Sunspots, which rotate around the sun's surface, tell us a great deal about our own planet.

Desert rhubarb -- a self-irrigating plant

Researchers from the Department of Science Education-Biology at the University of Haifa-Oranim have managed to make out the "self-irrigating" mechanism of the desert rhubarb, which enables it to harvest 16 times the amount of water than otherwise expected for a plant in this region based on the quantities of rain in the desert. This is the first example of a self-irrigating plant worldwide.

Greenhouse gas might green up the desert

Missing: around 7 billion tons of carbon dioxide (CO2), the main greenhouse gas charged with global warming. Every year, industry releases about 22 billion tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. And every year, when scientists measure the rise of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, it doesn?t add up ? about half goes missing. Figuring in the amount that could be soaked up by oceans, some 7 billion tons still remain unaccounted for. Now, a study conducted at the edge of Israel?s Negev Desert has come up with what might be a piece of the puzzle.

Negev Desert

A lightning strike in Africa helps take the pulse of the sun

Desert rhubarb -- a self-irrigating plant

Greenhouse gas might green up the desert

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