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| April 24, 2014 |
 A plague in your family Cambridge, UK (SPX) Apr 25, 2014 - For the first time, researchers have studied the Black Death bacterium's entire family tree to fully understand how some of the family members evolve to become harmful. Contrary to popular belief, the team found pathogenic members of this bacterial family do not share a recent common disease-causing ancestor, but instead, have followed parallel evolutionary paths to become harmful. T ... more |  |
 Russia postpones planting of GMOs by 3 years Moscow (Voice of Russia) Apr 25, 2014 - Russia will not start certifying GM seeds for at least three more years due to delays in creating the necessary infrastructure, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev told MPs. Earlier Russia had expected to allow planting such seeds from June. The delay comes amid the general GMO-skeptic mood that the Russian government adopted recently. The country may even ban the cultivation and import of gene ... more |  |
 Minnesota projects offer hope and practical help to communities facing more extreme storms Washington DC (SPX) Apr 25, 2014 - Recent projects in two Minnesota cities demonstrate how communities can protect themselves from worsening storms. These projects continue a ten year program in New England and the Midwest providing practical and affordable plans tailored to local conditions. "Our goal is to help communities begin the steps to protect themselves," said program co-leader Latham Stack, of Syntectic Internatio ... more |  |
 China Considers Russian Satellite-Based Emergency Response System Moscow (RIA Novosti) Apr 25, 2014 - Chinese officials have expressed interest in participating in a Russian emergency response system, the CEO of Russia's Navigation Information Systems told RIA Novosti. The system, called ERA-GLONASS, provides data from Russia's Global Navigation Satellite System to emergency responders. Based on the European eCall/E112 standard, ERA-GLONASS allows emergency services to immediately pinpoint ... more |  |
 Scientists Identify Source of Mysterious Low-Frequency Sound Heard for Decades in the Southern Ocean Washington DC (SPX) Apr 25, 2014 - Scientists have conclusive evidence that the source of a unique rhythmic sound, recorded for decades in the Southern Ocean and called the "bio-duck," is the Antarctic minke whale (Balaenoptera bonaerensis). First described and named by submarine personnel in the 1960s who thought it sounded like a duck, the bio-duck sound has been recorded at various locations in the Southern Ocean, but its sour ... more |  |
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Cow manure harbors diverse new antibiotic resistance genes Washington DC (SPX) Apr 25, 2014 - Manure from dairy cows, which is commonly used as a farm soil fertilizer, contains a surprising number of newly identified antibiotic resistance genes from the cows' gut bacteria. The findings, reported in mBio the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology, hints that cow manure is a potential source of new types of antibiotic resistance genes that transfer to bacteria ... more |  |
 Study finds long-term survival of human neural stem cells transplanted into primate brain Putnam Valley, NY (SPX) Apr 25, 2014 - A team of researchers in Korea who transplanted human neural stem cells (hNSCs) into the brains of nonhuman primates and assessed cell survival and differentiation after 22 and 24 months found that the hNSCs had differentiated into neurons at 24 months and did not cause tumors. The hNSCs were labeled with magnetic nanoparticles to enable them to be followed by magnetic resonance imaging (M ... more |  |
 Cougars' diverse diet helped them survive the Pleistocene mass extinction Nashville TN (SPX) Apr 25, 2014 - Cougars may have survived the mass extinction that took place about 12,000 years ago because they were not particular about what they ate, unlike their more finicky cousins--the saber-tooth cat and American lion. Both perished along with the woolly mammoth and many of the other supersized mammals that walked the Earth during the late Pleistocene. That is the conclusion of a new analysis of ... more |  |
 Study: Centuries of sand to grow Mississippi Delta Houston TX (SPX) Apr 25, 2014 - The wetlands of the Mississippi River Delta are slowly sinking and rapidly eroding, but new research from Rice University and the University of South Carolina has found the river's supply of sand - the material engineers most need to rebuild the delta - will stay constant for centuries. The new study, which appears online this week in Nature Geoscience, is encouraging news for scientists and gov ... more |  |
 Fires in the Primorsky Province of Russia Greenbelt MD (SPX) Apr 25, 2014 - One of the most influential ecological disturbances is fire. Fire can spread so rapidly and for such far distances that its impact on land is for the most part far greater than any other factor. Less than optimal logging practices in the Primorksy region worsen the problems of human-caused fires in this area. Abandoned fields with dry grasses provide the detritus that can fuel an out of co ... more |  |
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Ancient sea-levels give new clues on ice ages Canberra, Australia (SPX) Apr 25, 2014 - International researchers, led by the Australian National University (ANU), have developed a new way to determine sea-level changes and deep-sea temperature variability over the past 5.3 million years. The findings will help scientists better understand the climate surrounding ice ages over the past two million years, and could help determine the relationship between carbon dioxide levels, ... more |  |
 Rising demand for herbal medicine can increase cultivation of medicinal trees Nairobi, Kenya (SPX) Apr 25, 2014 - Formalizing trade in herbal medicinal products has the potential to increase the demand for on-farm grown raw material and raise the level of cultivation of medicinal tree species in smallholder farms. A study carried out by the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) in Kenya shows that trade in herbal medicinal products is rising in the urban areas and formalization in terms of better hygienic ... more |  |
NASA Satellites Show Drought May Take Toll on Congo Rainforest Greenbelt MD (SPX) Apr 25, 2014 - A new analysis of NASA satellite data shows Africa's Congo rainforest, the second-largest tropical rainforest in the world, has undergone a large-scale decline in greenness over the past decade. The study, led by Liming Zhou of University at Albany, State University of New York, shows between 2000 and 2012 the decline affected an increasing amount of forest area and intensified. The resear ... more |  |
Network evaluation tools to assess relief operations in disaster-struck regions Singapore (SPX) Apr 25, 2014 - The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction reported that disasters have affected around 2.9 billion people worldwide from 2000-2012- killing more than a million, and damaging around 1.7 trillion US dollars in estimates. Moreover, natural disasters and their damages have been documented to occur with increasing intensity. Given the staggering numbers, effective disaster preparedn ... more |  |
 China toughens environment law to target polluters Beijing (AFP) April 24, 2014 - China on Thursday passed the first amendment to its environment protection law in 25 years, imposing tougher penalties on polluters after the government called for a "war" on pollution. The changes approved by the standing committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's rubberstamp parliament, take effect on January 1, 2015 and come amid growing public discontent over pollution. ... more |  |
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 China approves jail for rare wild animal eaters: Xinhua Beijing (AFP) April 24, 2014 - China's legislature voted on Thursday to approve a legal measure that will jail people caught eating rare wild animals, state media reported. The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) approved a new interpretation of China's Criminal Law at a bimonthly session, the official Xinhua news agency reported. The NPC, China's top legislature, met in full session in March. H ... more |  |
Philippine Airlines quits flying shark fins amid outcry Manila (AFP) April 24, 2014 - Philippine Airlines (PAL) said Thursday it has stopped flying shark fin cargoes, joining a number of other Asia-Pacific carriers in taking a stand for marine conservation. The fins are used in shark fin soup, a much-valued delicacy in Hong Kong and China. Conservationists say booming demand for such fins has put pressure on the world's shark populations, prompting calls for measures to ... more |  |
 Six killed as India heads back to the polls Patna, India (AFP) April 24, 2014 - The latest stage of India's massive five-week election was marred by bloody violence Thursday, with a landmine triggered by Maoist insurgents killing at least five policemen in an insurgency-hit eastern state. A polling official was also killed in the Muslim-majority Kashmir valley after militants ambushed his vehicle, as clashes and militant threats drove scores of local residents away from ... more |  |
Guides, climbers prepare to leave Everest Kathmandu (AFP) April 24, 2014 - Scores of Nepalese guides and foreign climbers on Mount Everest packed up Thursday, loading supplies onto yaks and booking helicopters, with the climbing season increasingly in doubt after an avalanche killed 16 people last week. Expeditions prepared to leave shortly after crisis talks ended with the Nepal government at Everest base camp in the wake of last Friday's worst ever accident on th ... more |  |
 China petitioners face ban on direct appeals to Beijing Beijing (AFP) April 24, 2014 - Chinese will soon be barred from bringing grievances directly to the central government, state-run media said Thursday, amending a longtime practice of "petitioners" seeking official redress. The State Bureau for Letters and Calls in Beijing will no longer accept most complaints against local or provincial officials as of May 1, the China Daily reported. It is unclear, however, if the mo ... more |  |
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