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| January 21, 2014 |
 Keeping whales safe in sound Gland, Switzerland (SPX) Jan 21, 2014 - A step-by-step guide to reducing impacts on whales and other marine species during seismic sea floor surveys has been developed by experts with IUCN's Western Gray Whale Advisory Panel (WGWAP) and Sakhalin Energy Investment Company Ltd. In a study published in the journal Aquatic Mammals the authors present the most thorough, robust and practical approach to minimizing and monitoring the r ... more |  |
 Soil Microbes Alter DNA in Response to Warming Atlanta GA (SPX) Jan 21, 2014 - As scientists forecast the impacts of climate change, one missing piece of the puzzle is what will happen to the carbon in the soil and the microbes that control the fate of this carbon as the planet warms. Scientists studying grasslands in Oklahoma have discovered that an increase of 2 degrees Celsius in the air temperature above the soil creates significant changes to the microbial ecosy ... more |  |
 Large, older trees keep growing at a faster rate Lincoln NB (SPX) Jan 21, 2014 - Contrary to long-held misconceptions, trees never stop growing during their lifespans, a new study has found. In fact, as they age, their growth accelerates, even after they've reached massive sizes. This means that older trees play a substantial and disproportionate role in the Earth's carbon cycle - one of the cycles that makes Earth capable of sustaining life. The groundbreaking findin ... more |  |
 World's largest animal genome belongs to locust Shenzhen, China (SPX) Jan 21, 2014 - Researchers from Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, BGI and other institutes have successfully decoded the whole genome sequence of Locust (Locusta migratoria), the most widespread locust species. The yielded genome is remarkably big- at 6.5 gigabytes, which is the largest animal genome sequenced so far. The latest study has been published online in the journal Nature Communicati ... more |  |
Meltwater from Tibetan glaciers floods pastures Zurich, Switzerland (SPX) Jan 21, 2014 - The earth is warming up, the glaciers are shrinking. However, not all meltwater is causing sea-level rise as feared. In Tibet, as measurements taken by an international team of researchers including the University of Zurich reveal, a significant proportion of the meltwater remains on land. The consequences are, however, equally negative: it can cause lakes without an outlet to overflow and ... more |  |
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 The water cycle amplifies abrupt climate change Potsdam, Germany (SPX) Jan 21, 2014 - The role of the hydrological cycle during abrupt temperature changes is of prime importance for the actual impact of climate change on the continents. In a new study published in Nature Geoscience online scientists from the University of Potsdam, Germany and the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences show that during the abrupt cooling at the onset of the so-called Younger Dryas period 12680 ... more |  |
 Heart attack damage slashed with microparticle therapy Chicago IL (SPX) Jan 16, 2014 - After a heart attack, much of the damage to the heart muscle is caused by inflammatory cells that rush to the scene of the oxygen-starved tissue. But that inflammatory damage is slashed in half when microparticles are injected into the blood stream within 24 hours of the attack, according to new preclinical research from Northwestern Medicine and the University of Sydney in Australia. When ... more |  |
The way to a chimpanzee's heart is through its stomach Leipzig, Germany (SPX) Jan 21, 2014 - The ability to form long-term cooperative relationships between unrelated individuals is one of the main reasons for human's extraordinary biological success, yet little is known about its evolution and mechanisms. The hormone oxytocin, however, plays a role in it. Researchers of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, measured the urinary oxytocin level ... more |  |
Exposure to pesticides results in smaller worker bees London, UK (SPX) Jan 21, 2014 - Exposure to a widely used pesticide causes worker bumblebees to grow less and then hatch out at a smaller size, according to a new study by Royal Holloway University of London. The research, published today in the Journal of Applied Ecology, reveals that prolonged exposure to a pyrethroid pesticide, which is used on flowering crops to prevent insect damage, reduces the size of individual b ... more |  |
New Biomolecular Archaeological Evidence for Nordic "Grog," Trade Philadelphia PA (SPX) Jan 21, 2014 - Winters in Scandinavia were long and cold in the Bronze and Iron Ages, then as now-but a blazing fire was not the only thing to keep people warm. From northwest Denmark, circa 1500-1300 BC, to the Swedish island of Gotland as late as the first century AD, Nordic peoples were imbibing an alcoholic "grog" or extreme hybrid beverage rich in local ingredients, including honey, bog cranberry, l ... more |  |
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 New storm wrecks Philippines typhoon victims' shelters Manila (AFP) Jan 20, 2014 - The United Nations warned Monday more needed to be done to help millions displaced by the Philippines' deadliest typhoon, after a new cyclone tore down flimsy shelters. More than 1,000 survivors of Super Typhoon Haiyan fled to the safety of government buildings in the town of Guiuan on the weekend as a fresh tropical storm flattened tents and ripped the roofing off other temporary shelters, ... more |  |
Strong 6.3-earthquake jolts New Zealand: USGS Wellington (AFP) Jan 20, 2014 - A powerful 6.3-magnitude earthquake rattled New Zealand Monday, jolting buildings and halting train services, but there were no immediate reports of major damage or injuries. The quake, which struck at 3:52 pm (0252 GMT), was centred in the North Island about 115 kilometres (71 miles) northeast of the capital city Wellington, the US Geological Survey said. The tremor hit at a depth of 27 ... more |  |
 French navy arrests pirates suspected of oil tanker attack Paris (AFP) Jan 20, 2014 - A French navy ship intercepted a hijacked dhow off the coast of Oman, arresting five suspected pirates who had taken hostage an all-Indian crew, French defence officials said Monday. The operation took place after an aborted pirate attack on an oil tanker in the area, the joint defence staff said in a statement. The dhow's 11-member Indian crew were freed. The dhow was suspected to ... more |  |
Walker's World: The real healthcare crisis Paris (UPI) Jan 20, 2013 - At Davos in the Swiss Alps this week, the bankers and thinkers and business leaders who constitute the Amen Corner of globalization will be addressing the implications of longevity and demographics. One leading issue, already alarming politicians and officials in countries, is what this means for health costs. There are 32 countries in the world where life expectancy has risen to more t ... more |  |
Two dead, hundreds evacuated in flood-hit French Riviera Hyeres, France (AFP) Jan 20, 2014 - River levels were receding early on Monday in southeastern France after "historic" floods left two people dead and more than 150 were airlifted to safety. A third man disappeared while out on his boat and 4,000 homes have been left without power after the deluge in the department of Var, they said. Local official Laurent Cayrel said one of the victims, a 73-year-old man, died in his base ... more |  |
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 US consumers to blame for some air pollution from China Washington (AFP) Jan 20, 2014 - Air pollution from China blows across the Pacific Ocean and ends up over the US west coast - and American consumerism is to blame for a portion of it, said a study Monday. On some days, nearly a quarter of the pollutants in the air over California, Oregon, Washington and Portland were initially spewed into the air in China, during the making of televisions, toys, cellphones and other produc ... more |  |
Rare Amur leopard killed in China: Xinhua Beijing (AFP) Jan 20, 2014 - An extremely rare Amur leopard has been killed in China, state media reported Monday, as police searched for the suspected trapper. The animal is listed as "critically endangered" on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Red List, one category below "extinct in the wild". Global conservation organisation WWF on its website estimates the population in China at between j ... more |  |
 Shanghai reports two deaths in China bird flu outbreak Shanghai (AFP) Jan 20, 2014 - Two people have died from the H7N9 strain of bird flu in China's commercial hub Shanghai, including a medical doctor, the local government said Monday, the city's first fatalities from the virus this year. The victims included a 31-year-old surgeon who worked at the Shanghai Pudong New Area People's Hospital, the city health commission and hospital said, but gave no details on how he was inf ... more |  |
How a scorpion gets its sting Oxford UK (SPX) Jan 20, 2014 - Defensins, as their name implies, are small proteins found in plants and animals that help ward off viral, bacterial or fungal pests. One fascinating question of invertebrate evolution is how these proteins evolved into venoms to attack their prey. Based on structural similarity, it was proposed that scorpion toxins and antimicrobial invertebrate defensins could have a common ancestor. To ... more |  |
 Streamflow Alteration Impacts Fish Diversity in Local Rivers Washington DC (SPX) Jan 20, 2014 - A new USGS study quantifies change in fish diversity in response to streamflow alteration in the Tennessee River basin. The USGS study highlights the importance of the timing, magnitude, and variability of low streamflows and the frequency and magnitude of high streamflows as key characteristics critical to assessing how fish communities change in response to streamflow alteration. This st ... more |  |
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