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World Oceans Are in Worse Condition than Previously Thought, Analysis Finds
Yale Environment 360 - Mon, 10/14/2013 - 11:11
The world's oceans are deteriorating more rapidly than scientists had thought due to rising carbon dioxide levels and associated warming, according to a new analysis by European scientists. By many indicators, ocean conditions are even worse than outlined last USGS/Wikimedia Sea butterfly without shell month by the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's assessment report on the physical effects of global warming, the researchers say. Sinking oxygen levels, which could decline by 1 to 7 percent by 2100, increasing ocean acidification, and overfishing of more than 70 percent of marine fish populations are among the biggest threats to ocean ecosystems, the scientists report in Marine Pollution Bulletin. Mollusks and other sensitive marine organisms are increasingly being found with corroded shells, a result of rising dissolved CO2 concentrations; within 20 to 40 years ocean acidity levels may reach the point where coral reefs are eroded faster than they can regenerate, the review said. Also alarming is the potential release of the powerful greenhouse gas methane from seabed sediments — something the latest U.N. report did not account for, the scientists note.
Categories: Environmental News
The Ambitious Restoration of An Undammed Western River
Yale Environment 360 - Mon, 10/14/2013 - 07:29
With the dismantling of two dams on Washington state’s Elwha River, the world’s largest dam removal project is almost complete. Now, in one of the most extensive U.S. ecological restorations ever attempted, efforts are underway to revive one of the Pacific Northwest’s great salmon rivers. BY CAROLINE FRASER
Categories: Environmental News
Nitrogen from Agricultural Fertilizers Threatening U.S. National Parks, Study Finds
Yale Environment 360 - Fri, 10/11/2013 - 11:19
Ammonia emissions from agricultural fertilizers are threatening sensitive ecosystems in U.S. national parks, a study led by Harvard researchers has found. Thirty-eight national parks are seeing nitrogen deposition levels at or above the threshold for ecological damage, rskoon/Flickr Great Smoky Mountains N.P. the study says. In natural ecosystems, excess nitrogen can disrupt nutrient cycling in soil, cause algal overgrowth, and make aquatic environments acidic. While some of that nitrogen comes in the form of nitrogen oxides (NOx) from power plants and vehicle exhaust, existing air quality regulations and new clean energy technologies are helping reduce NOx emissions. Ammonia emissions from agricultural operations, however, are expected to climb as demand for food and biofuels surges. Daniel Jacob, who led the study, said that because ammonia is volatile, only 10 percent of the nitrogen makes it into the food, with much of it escaping through the atmosphere and being deposited across the landscape. According to the report, published in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, hardwood trees, such as those shown above, are most sensitive to excess nitrogen in eastern temperate forests, while in western national parks lichens appear to suffer first.
Categories: Environmental News
Carbon Capture and Storage Projects Are Lagging Worldwide, Study Finds
Yale Environment 360 - Thu, 10/10/2013 - 11:17
Major projects aiming at capturing and burying carbon dioxide underground have slowed worldwide, according to a study by the Global CCS Institute in Australia. Despite the common view among experts that carbon CO2CRC Otway CCS project, Victoria, Australia capture and storage (CCS) technologies could play a crucial role in slowing the atmospheric buildup of greenhouse gases, the number of major CCS projects fell from 75 to 65 over the past year. Although the U.S. currently leads the world in CCS projects, most of them involve pumping carbon into old oil wells to stimulate additional oil production. China, the world's largest producer of carbon dioxide, seems poised to become the new leader in CCS, with 12 projects in the works, the study noted. A major hurdle for the growth of CCS has been the lack of investments in projects based on new technologies, the analysts said. CCS technology has so far not proven to be commercially viable, The New York Times reported.
Categories: Environmental News
Seven days: 4–10 October 2013
Nature - Thu, 10/10/2013 - 09:00
Seven days: 4–10 October 2013
Nature 502, 7470 (2013). http://www.nature.com/doifinder/10.1038/502146a
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Categories: Literature
Neuroscience: Through the eyes of a mouse
Nature - Thu, 10/10/2013 - 09:00
Neuroscience: Through the eyes of a mouse
Nature 502, 7470 (2013). http://www.nature.com/doifinder/10.1038/502156a
Author: Monya Baker
Some brain researchers are increasingly using mice to study visual processing, but others fear the move is short-sighted.
Categories: Literature
Amazon ecology: Footprints in the forest
Nature - Thu, 10/10/2013 - 09:00
Amazon ecology: Footprints in the forest
Nature 502, 7470 (2013). http://www.nature.com/doifinder/10.1038/502160a
Author: Jeff Tollefson
Researchers are tracking just how much impact ancient peoples had on the Amazon.
Categories: Literature
In Japan, Captive Breeding May Help Save the Wild Eel
Yale Environment 360 - Thu, 10/10/2013 - 07:30
As eel populations plummet worldwide, Japanese scientists are racing to solve a major challenge for aquaculture — how to replicate the life cycle of eels in captivity and commercially produce a fish that is a prized delicacy on Asian dinner tables. BY WINIFRED BIRD
Categories: Environmental News
Antarctic Research Operations to be Halted Amid U.S. Government Shutdown
Yale Environment 360 - Wed, 10/09/2013 - 11:06
The National Science Foundation (NSF) says it is curtailing the 2013-2014 Antarctic research season because the U.S. government shutdown has delayed funding for operations there. The U.S. Antarctic John Bortniak/NOAA McMurdo Station Program, which is managed by the NSF, announced yesterday that the three U.S. research stations, ships, and other facilities there will switch to "caretaker status" when funds are exhausted around October 14. All research activities not essential to human safety and preservation of property will be suspended, according to the statement. Because of the remote location and long lead time necessary for planning and travel, the NSF has already started the process of shuttering research facilities. Once funding is restored, some research operations could be restored, the U.S. Antarctic Program said. Around 700 scientists typically travel to the continent between October and February each year, according to Nature.
Categories: Environmental News
Closed question
Nature - Wed, 10/09/2013 - 00:00
Closed question
Nature 502, 7470 (2013). doi:10.1038/502141b
The US shutdown is damaging science, and Congress must be called to account.
Categories: Literature
Announcement: Launch of an online data journal
Nature - Wed, 10/09/2013 - 00:00
Announcement: Launch of an online data journal
Nature 502, 7470 (2013). doi:10.1038/502142a
Everyone wants better ways to make research data available and to give more credit to the researchers who create and share data. But for a data set to be widely reusable, scientists need to know how the data were produced and what quality-control experiments were
Categories: Literature
Genomics is mired in misunderstanding
Nature - Wed, 10/09/2013 - 00:00
Genomics is mired in misunderstanding
Nature 502, 7470 (2013). http://www.nature.com/doifinder/10.1038/502143a
Author: George Church
The cost of genome sequencing has fallen drastically, says George Church, so why are so few people opting to have their genetic secrets revealed?
Categories: Literature
Zoology: Seabird stress response is oceans apart
Nature - Wed, 10/09/2013 - 00:00
Zoology: Seabird stress response is oceans apart
Nature 502, 7470 (2013). doi:10.1038/502144a
Seabirds that lay more eggs and die young are more likely to look after their chicks in times of stress than are longer-lived, less-fertile birds.Jannik Schultner of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim and his colleagues implanted Atlantic and Pacific populations
Categories: Literature
Astronomy: Cosmic jets trigger star birth
Nature - Wed, 10/09/2013 - 00:00
Astronomy: Cosmic jets trigger star birth
Nature 502, 7470 (2013). doi:10.1038/502144b
Stars could be forming in an unusual way in a distant galaxy — in the backwash of a massive jet of gases spraying from the galaxy's core.A team led by Yasir Rashed of the University of Cologne, Germany, used the MERLIN radio telescope array
Categories: Literature
Evolution: Big weapons have little downside
Nature - Wed, 10/09/2013 - 00:00
Evolution: Big weapons have little downside
Nature 502, 7470 (2013). doi:10.1038/502144c
The huge horns on male rhinoceros beetles come surprisingly cheap.Biologists have long thought that the extreme body parts that males use to gain mates — such as showy plumage or aggressive antlers — are costly because they make the animals vulnerable in other ways.
Categories: Literature
Personal genomics: A tool to interpret tricky mutations
Nature - Wed, 10/09/2013 - 00:00
Personal genomics: A tool to interpret tricky mutations
Nature 502, 7470 (2013). doi:10.1038/502144d
Researchers have developed software to predict whether certain genetic variants are harmful.The effects of most mutations are unclear, especially for those in the 99% of the genome that does not code for proteins. Chris Tyler-Smith at the Sanger Institute in Hinxton, UK, and Mark
Categories: Literature
Materials science: Folded batteries pack power
Nature - Wed, 10/09/2013 - 00:00
Materials science: Folded batteries pack power
Nature 502, 7470 (2013). doi:10.1038/502145a
Flexible lithium-ion batteries folded using origami techniques can store energy in a smaller area. Candace Chan and her colleagues at Arizona State University in Tempe built batteries on paper by attaching lithium metal oxide electrodes to paper coated with conductive carbon nanotubes.They folded the
Categories: Literature
Neuroscience: Centipede toxin kills pain
Nature - Wed, 10/09/2013 - 00:00
Neuroscience: Centipede toxin kills pain
Nature 502, 7470 (2013). doi:10.1038/502145b
A peptide isolated from centipede venom is as potent as morphine at treating pain in mice.Glenn King of the University of Queensland in St Lucia, Australia, and his colleagues purified a molecule made of 46 amino acids from the venom of the Chinese red-headed
Categories: Literature
Regenerative medicine: Mouth-watering artificial glands
Nature - Wed, 10/09/2013 - 00:00
Regenerative medicine: Mouth-watering artificial glands
Nature 502, 7470 (2013). doi:10.1038/502145c
Bioengineered glands that make tears or saliva can take on the function of their natural counterparts when transplanted into mice.Takashi Tsuji and his colleagues at the Tokyo University of Science harvested cells destined to form tear and salivary glands from mouse embryos and cultured
Categories: Literature
Physiology: Hormones tick on epigenetic clock
Nature - Wed, 10/09/2013 - 00:00
Physiology: Hormones tick on epigenetic clock
Nature 502, 7470 (2013). doi:10.1038/502145d
A mammal's annual reproductive cycle is controlled by reversible changes to DNA.Siberian hamsters (Phodopus sungorus) breed during the longest days of the year; shorter days trigger a series of hormonal changes that cause their gonads to shrink. The change is tied to
Categories: Literature