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Black Bears Return to Missouri Indicates Healthy Forests, say MU Biologists

By Guest PostJuly 22, 2013Naturearkansas, bear population, black bears, genetic diversity, genetic fingerprints, genetic signatures, healthy forests, interior highlands, kaitlyn faires, lori eggert, minnesota, mississippi state university, missouri, missouri bears, North America, oklahoma, ozark forest, university of missouri

Outdoor recreationists should take precautions to avoid problems with bears in southern Missouri

COLUMBIA, Mo. — For nearly a century, the only bears known to reside in Missouri were on the state flag or in captivity. Unregulated hunting and habitat loss had wiped out most black bears in Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma by the 1920s. Now, thanks to a reintroduction program in Arkansas during the 50s and 60s, hundreds of bears amble through the forests of southern Missouri, according to a joint study by University of Missouri, Mississippi State University, and Missouri Department of Conservation biologists, who warn that although the bear population is still small, outdoor recreationists and homeowners should take precautions in the Ozark forest to avoid attracting bears.

“Black bears normally do not attack humans, but they will ransack picnic baskets, tear through garbage bags or even enter buildings looking for food,” said Lori Eggert, associate professor of biological sciences in MU’s College of Arts and Science. “Although some Missourians may be concerned, the return of black bears to Missouri is actually a good sign. It means parts of the state’s forests are returning to a healthy biological balance after nearly two centuries of intensive logging and exploitation.” (more…)

China’s chance to reinvent itself environmentally

By Guest PostJuly 22, 2013Environmentair pollution, cancer, China, chinese cities, environmental problem, environmental protection law, environmental well being, epl, gross domestic product, guizhen he, heart disease, jianguo jack liu, lei zhang, life expectancy, michigan state university, natural system, Netherlands, population, problem, rates of stroke, renmin university, wageningen university, yonglong lu

China’s 34-year-old Environmental Protection Law was created when it made sense for legislators in a developing country to trade environmental well-being for a boost to the gross domestic product.

Today, China wrestles with pollution that is leaving its citizens gasping for clean air, worried about water quality and concerned for the safety of the food grown there. In the current issue of Science, a team of researchers, including a Michigan State University sustainability expert, offers guidelines for revising the EPL to protect both humans and nature. (more…)

Powerful Animal Tracking System Helps Research Take Flight

By Guest PostJuly 21, 2013Natureanimal movement, animal tracking system, flight paths, galapagos albatross, gps tracking, migration patterns

Call it a bird’s eye view of migration. Scientists are taking a fresh look at animal movement with a big data approach that combines GPS tracking data with satellite weather and terrain information. (more…)

Scientists Discover Thriving Colonies of Microbes in Ocean ‘Plastisphere’

By Guest PostJuly 21, 2013Environmentartificial microbial reefs, autotrophs, cholera, colonies of microbes, degrading hydrocarbons, ecological habitat, environmental condition, erik zettler, flecks of plastic, gastrointestinal maladies, genus vibrio, heterotrophs, human made flotilla, linda amaral zettler, marine microbe, mbl, north atlantic ocean, ocean ecosystem, ocean plastisphere, plastic debris, plastic surfaces, scanning electron microscopy, sea, sea education association, suctorian ciliate, symbionts, symbiotic bacteria, synergistic relationships, tracy mincer, whoi, woods hole

Scientists have discovered a diverse multitude of microbes colonizing and thriving on flecks of plastic that have polluted the oceans—a vast new human-made flotilla of microbial communities that they have dubbed the “plastisphere.”

In a study recently published online in Environmental Science & Technology, the scientists say the plastisphere represents a novel ecological habitat in the ocean and raises a host of questions: How will it change environmental conditions for marine microbes, favoring some that compete with others? How will it change the overall ocean ecosystem and affect larger organisms? How will it change where microbes, including pathogens, will be transported in the ocean? (more…)

How the brain creates the ‘buzz’ that helps ideas spread

By Guest PostJuly 21, 2013Sciencebrain, buzz, capitol hill, emily falk, Facebook, fictitious pilots, fmri brain scans, go viral, karl dambacher, locke welbourn, matthew lieberman, radio djs, salesperson effect, spread of ideas, sylvia morelli, teenage vampires, temporoparietal junction, tpj, Twitter, ucla psychologists, werewolves, wired to connect

How do ideas spread? What messages will go viral on social media, and can this be predicted?

UCLA psychologists have taken a significant step toward answering these questions, identifying for the first time the brain regions associated with the successful spread of ideas, often called “buzz.”

The research has a broad range of implications, the study authors say, and could lead to more effective public health campaigns, more persuasive advertisements and better ways for teachers to communicate with students. (more…)

India case study: Corporate social responsibility doesn’t always work

By Guest PostJuly 21, 2013Economycorporate social responsibility, groundwater aquifers, groundwater regime, india case study, kaladera plant, rainwater harvesting, water extraction

ANN ARBOR — The idea of corporate social responsibility to manage common-pool resources such as water, forests and pastures is flawed, says a University of Michigan researcher. (more…)

Berkeley Lab Confirms Thirdhand Smoke Causes DNA Damage

By Guest PostJuly 20, 2013Healthgenetic damage, human cells, mutagenic, oxidative dna damage, residual nicotine, secondhand smoke, thirdhand smoke

A study led by researchers from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has found for the first time that thirdhand smoke—the noxious residue that clings to virtually all surfaces long after the secondhand smoke from a cigarette has cleared out—causes significant genetic damage in human cells. (more…)

Solar tsunami used to measure Sun’s magnetic field

By Guest PostJuly 20, 2013Scienceatmosphere, cmes, coronal mass ejections, david long, earth, eis, explosion, extreme, japanese hinode spacecraft, magnetic field, measure, NASA, satellite, sdo, solar activity, solar dynamics observatory, solar storms, solar tsunami, sun, technological infrastructure, ultraviolet, ultraviolet imaging spectrometer, xray

A solar tsunami observed by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) and the Japanese Hinode spacecraft has been used to provide the first accurate estimates of the Sun’s magnetic field.

Solar tsunamis are produced by enormous explosions in the Sun’s atmosphere called coronal mass ejections (CMEs). As the CME travels out into space, the tsunami travels across the Sun at speeds of up to 1000 kilometres per second.

Similar to tsunamis on Earth, the shape of solar tsunamis is changed by the environment through which they move. Just as sound travels faster in water than in air, solar tsunamis have a higher speed in regions of stronger magnetic field. This unique feature allowed the team, led by researchers from UCL’s Mullard Space Science Laboratory, to measure the Sun’s magnetic field. The results are outlined in a paper soon to be published in the journal Solar Physics. (more…)

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