Posted: 01 Oct 2012 04:15 PM PDT
Greenhouse gas emissions up to now have triggered an irreversible warming of Earth that will cause sea levels to rise for thousands of years to come, new research has shown.
Snakes in the wild harbor deadly mosquito-borne EEEV virus through hibernation, study finds
Posted: 01 Oct 2012 02:12 PM PDT
Snakes in the wild serve as hosts for the deadly mosquito-borne Eastern equine encephalomyelitis virus, possibly acting as a “bridge” to the next season, according to researchers studying endemic areas in the Tuskegee National Forest in Alabama.
Clam shells yield clues to Atlantic’s climate history
Posted: 01 Oct 2012 01:12 PM PDT
Researchers are studying the growth increments in clam shells to learn about past ocean conditions. A better understanding of the ocean’s past can help researchers understand today’s climate trends and changes.
Baboon personalities connected to social success and health benefits
Posted: 01 Oct 2012 12:19 PM PDT
Whether human or baboon, it helps to have friends. For both species, studies have shown that robust social networks lead to better health and longer lives. Now, researchers have shown that baboon personality plays a role in these outcomes, and, like people, some baboons’ personalities are better suited to making and keeping friends than others.
Homolog of mammalian neocortex found in bird brain
Posted: 01 Oct 2012 12:19 PM PDT
Most higher-order processing by the human and mammalian brain is thought to occur in the neocortex, a structure on the surface of the brain. Now researchers have found cells similar to those of the mammalian neocortex in a vastly different anatomical structure in bird brains. This confirms a 50-year-old hypothesis that provoked decades of debate, sheds light on the evolution of the brain, and suggests new animal models for the neocortex.
Tree rings go with the flow of the Amazon
Posted: 01 Oct 2012 12:19 PM PDT
New research has used tree rings from eight cedar trees in Bolivia to unlock a 100-year history of rainfall across the Amazon basin, which contains the world’s largest river system.
Restricting nuclear power has little effect on the cost of climate policies
Posted: 01 Oct 2012 12:19 PM PDT
By applying a global energy-economy computer simulation that fully captures the competition between alternative power supply technologies, a team of scientists analyzed trade-offs between nuclear and climate policies. Strong greenhouse-gas emissions reduction to mitigate global warming shows to have much larger impact on economics than nuclear policy, according to the study.
Atmospheric aerosol climate caution
Posted: 01 Oct 2012 11:11 AM PDT
Carbon dioxide is not the only problem we must address if we are to understand and solve the problem of climate change. We as yet do not understand adequately the role played by aerosols, clouds and their interaction, experts say, and we must take related processes into account before considering any large-scale geo-engineering.
Posted: 01 Oct 2012 10:21 AM PDT
Sea cucumbers and sea urchins are able to change the elasticity of collagen within their bodies, and could hold the key to maintaining a youthful appearance, according to scientists. The researchers investigated the genes of marine creatures such as sea urchins and sea cucumbers, known as echinoderms. They found the genes for “messenger molecules” known as peptides, which are released by cells and tell other cells in their bodies what to do.
Posted: 01 Oct 2012 07:24 AM PDT
Water does not forget, according to a chemist. Irrespective of what happens in the sea: whether the sun shines, algae bloom or a school of dolphins swims through a marine area — everything and everyone leaves biomolecular tracks. With the help of a combination of new techniques, scientists can now identify and retrace some of these.
Posted: 01 Oct 2012 06:59 AM PDT
Summers on the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard are now warmer than at any other time in the last 1,800 years, including during medieval times when parts of the northern hemisphere were as hot as, or hotter, than today, according to a new study.
Posted: 01 Oct 2012 06:54 AM PDT
With a combination of microscopic laser scissors and modern sequencing methods, biologists have analyzed the activity of genes in the entire genome of certain fungi in one fell swoop. Especially with organisms in the millimeter size range, it is a particular challenge because little cell material is available.
Nothing to sneeze at: Scientists find cheating ragweed behaves better with its kin
Posted: 01 Oct 2012 06:50 AM PDT
Cheating. Conflict. Competition. It may sound like a soap opera but this is the complex life of the despised ragweed plant. And in the highly competitive fight for nutrients, researchers have found ragweed will behave altruistically with its siblings, investing precious resources for the benefit of the group.
Only healthy groundwater ecosystems provide clean groundwater
Posted: 01 Oct 2012 05:35 AM PDT
Two thirds of drinking water in Germany is obtained from groundwater. At the same time groundwater is in no way a lifeless resource with at least 2,000 known species and numerous microorganisms mainly helping to clean the groundwater and improve the quality of drinking water. However, the protection of this habitat has not yet been established in law. Researchers have now presented a draft for the geographical classification of groundwater fauna, which could be used as an important step for the evaluation of the environmental status of groundwater. Its aim is the long-overdue establishment of suitable measures for the sustainable, ecologically-oriented management of groundwater.
Changes in Atlantic Ocean temperature affects western Amazonia climate
Posted: 01 Oct 2012 05:35 AM PDT
A new paper reveals that changes in the temperature of the Atlantic Ocean quickly translate into climate change in western Amazonia.
Evolutionary analysis improves ability to predict the spread of flu
Posted: 01 Oct 2012 05:32 AM PDT
New research may lead to more protective flu vaccines by helping developers more accurately predict strains most likely to strike the population in the coming season.