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Outlook is Grim for Mammals and Birds as Human Population Grows

By Guest PostJuly 16, 2013Environment, Naturebirds, birth rate, climate change, congo, data, death rate, democratic republic, ecosystem, erica chambers, extinction, grim, human population, human population footprint, jeffrey mckee, julia guseman, mammals, outlook, population density, prediction, projection, united states

Average Growing Nation Can Expect 10.8 Percent More Threatened Species by 2050

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The ongoing global growth in the human population will inevitably crowd out mammals and birds and has the potential to threaten hundreds of species with extinction within 40 years, new research shows.

Scientists at The Ohio State University have determined that the average growing nation should expect at least 3.3 percent more threatened species in the next decade and an increase of 10.8 percent species threatened with extinction by 2050.

The United States ranks sixth in the world in the number of new species expected to be threatened by 2050, the research showed. (more…)

Rain Gods in a Desert Sea: New Book Celebrates Southern Arizona’s Mountains

By Guest PostJuly 15, 2013Sciencebiodiversity of arthropods, biomes, catalina highway, desert sea, linda brewer, mount lemmon, northern sonora, our rain gods, richard brusca, sky islands, wendy moore

A book by two UA scientists explains the story behind the scenery of the “sky islands,” the unique mountain ranges dotting southern Arizona and northern Sonora, Mexico.

University of Arizona scientists Wendy Moore and Richard Brusca have published an illustrated book to celebrate and share the rich and unique natural history of southern Arizona’s mountains – the “sky islands” – with a general, non-scientific audience.

Moore, assistant professor in the department of entomology in the UA College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and curator of the UA Insect Collection, said the book came about through field research she began two years ago when she founded the Arizona Sky Island Arthropod Project (ASAP). For her field research, Moore enlisted the help of Brusca, who is her husband as well as executive director emeritus of the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum and an adjunct research scientist in the UA’s department of ecology and evolutionary biology. (more…)

Expressly Unfit for the Laboratory

By Guest PostJuly 15, 2013Scienceanaerobic conditions, bacterial genes, gene regulation, microbial gene expression

Berkeley Lab Researchers Find Little Correlation Between Microbial Gene Expression and Environmental Conditions in the Laboratory

A new study challenges the orthodoxy of microbiology, which holds that in response to environmental changes, bacterial genes will boost production of needed proteins and decrease production of those that aren’t. Researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) found that for bacteria in the laboratory there was little evidence of adaptive genetic response. In fact, most bacterial genes appear to be regulated by signals unrelated to their function. (more…)

Scientists Image Vast Subglacial Water System Underpinning West Antarctica’s Thwaites Glacier

By Guest PostJuly 15, 2013Environmentamundsen sea embayment, antarctic continent, antarctic ice sheet, austin, don blankenship, florida’s everglades, geometry of reflections, glacial ice, movement, radar energy, sea level, subglacial water system, thwaites glacier, university of texas, west antarctica

AUSTIN, Texas — In a development that will help predict potential sea level rise from the Antarctic ice sheet, scientists from The University of Texas at Austin’s Institute for Geophysics have used an innovation in radar analysis to accurately image the vast subglacial water system under West Antarctica’s Thwaites Glacier. They have detected a swamp-like canal system beneath the ice that is several times as large as Florida’s Everglades.

The findings, as described last week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, use new observational techniques to address long-standing questions about subglacial water under Thwaites, a Florida-sized outlet glacier in the Amundsen Sea Embayment considered a key factor in projections of global sea level rise. On its own, Thwaites contains enough fresh water to raise oceans by about a meter, and it is a critical gateway to the majority of West Antarctica’s potential sea level contribution of about 5 meters. (more…)

Noble gases hitch a ride on hydrous minerals

By Guest PostJuly 14, 2013Sciencegeological conveyor belt, lattice structure, noble gas recycling, noble gases, oceanic crust, silicate minerals, subducting crust, subducting slabs

The six noble gases do not normally dissolve into minerals, leaving earth scientists to wonder how they are subducted back into the Earth. Researchers at Brown have discovered that the lattice structure of minerals such as amphibole provides a way. Better yet, the multiple isotopes of noble gases could help scientists track volatiles like water and carbon. (more…)

Mapping Out How to Save Species

By Guest PostJuly 14, 2013Natureamphibians, analytical methods, biodiversity, birds, blue moon foundation, cambridge, clinton jenkins, conservation, duke university, England, global concentration, global network, lucas joppa, mammals, map, microsoft research, north Carolina, priority areas, protected areas, saving species blog, species, state university, stuart pimm

In stunning color, new biodiversity research from North Carolina State University maps out priority areas worldwide that hold the key to protecting vulnerable species and focusing conservation efforts.

The research, published online in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, pinpoints the highest global concentrations of mammals, amphibians and birds on a scale that’s 100 times finer than previous assessments. The findings can be used to make the most of available conservation resources, said Dr. Clinton Jenkins, lead author and research scholar at NC State University. (more…)

Sugar makes cancer light-up in MRI scanners

By Guest PostJuly 14, 2013Healthcabi, cancer, dose of radiation, glucocest, human cancer, image tumour, magnetic resonance imaging, mark lythgoe, mri, mri scanners, new technique, radioactive material, radiologist, scans of mice, simon walker samuel, standard radioactive techniques, sugar, ucl scientists, university college london, xavier golay

A new technique for detecting cancer by imaging the consumption of sugar with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been unveiled by UCL scientists. The breakthrough could provide a safer and simpler alternative to standard radioactive techniques and enable radiologists to image tumours in greater detail.

The new technique, called ‘glucose chemical exchange saturation transfer’ (glucoCEST), is based on the fact that tumours consume much more glucose (a type of sugar) than normal, healthy tissues in order to sustain their growth. (more…)

New Approach to Measuring Coral Growth Offers Valuable Tool for Reef Managers

By Guest PostJuly 13, 2013Environmentbiscayne national park, calcification, calcium carbonate, climate change, coral growth, coral health, dry tortugas, ecosystem, environmental information, florida keys, fowey rocks, growth pattern, ilsa kuffner, level of precision, marathon, marine organisms, massive starlet coral, miami, national park, ocean water, ph, reef managers, scuba diver working, shell, siderastrea siderea, skeleton, suzette kimball, U.S. Geological Survey, us virgin islands, usgs scientist, water quality

Finds surprising growth patterns in the Florida Keys

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A new more sensitive weight-based approach for monitoring coral growth in the wild has been developed by U.S. Geological Survey researchers leading to more definitive answers about the status of coral reefs.

Corals and other marine organisms build their skeletons and shells through calcification, the biological process of secreting calcium carbonate obtained from ocean water. This new approach to measuring corals can provide finer-scale resolution than traditional linear measurements of coral growth. (more…)

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