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Bisphenol A Affects Sex-Specific Reproductive Behaviors in a Monogamous Animal Species, Says MU Researcher

By Guest PostFebruary 13, 2013Environment, Health, Scienceaggression, american public, anxiety, assess, beer, behavioral effects, behaviors of males, bisphenol a, boys versus girls, bpa, california mouse, canned goods, chemical exposure, cheryl rosenfeld, david geary, denise warzak, eldin jasarevic, female hormones, females, gregory vandas, human body, human societies, mark ellersieck, monogamous rodent, nutritional support, offspring, paper receipts, peromyscus californicus, plastic containers, post natal exposure, pre, r michael roberts, reproductive associated behaviors, researchers, risk to children, rodents, rosenfelds lab, scott williams, sex specific, soda cans, species, university of missouri

Animal Findings Suggest That Gender May Also Influence Chemical Exposure Risks for Humans

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Parents, teachers and psychologists know boys and girls behave differently. However, that difference isn’t taken into account by most methods used to assess the risk to children from chemical exposure, according to Cheryl Rosenfeld, associate professor of biomedical sciences in the University of Missouri’s Bond Life Sciences Center. A series of experiments by Rosenfeld studied the effects of prenatal exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) on later reproductive-associated behaviors using a socially and genetically monogamous rodent, the California mouse, which may better mirror most human societies than other rodents. (more…)

Lionfish Invasion

By Guest PostFebruary 9, 2013Environment, Natureadam marsh, biological dynamics, caribbean, cayman islands, coral reef habitats, coral reef systems, coral reefs, diversity, economic threat, ecosystem, environmental, exotic lionfish, florida waters, gainesville, government permission, indo-pacific, invasive species, lionfish invasion, little cayman, mark moline, mark warner, native habitats, neil van niekerk, new york, overfishing and pollution, reducing biodiversity, reef dwellers, reef environment, shrimp, smsp, tom frazer, university of florida, venomous barbs, young lionfish

Invasive species among marine science subjects in Cayman Islands study abroad program

With a spiky fringe of venomous barbs and bold brown-and-white stripes, the exotic lionfish invaded Florida waters several decades ago and expanded its range widely from the Caribbean to New York. Native to the Indo-Pacific, the invasive species has no natural predators in this part of the world and readily feasts on small fish and shrimp.

UD students have the opportunity to observe these intruders — up-close and underwater — in a new study abroad program offered in the Cayman Islands through the School of Marine Science and Policy (SMSP). (more…)

Pacific Locked in ‘La Nada’ Limbo

By Guest PostFebruary 8, 2013Environmentequatorial pacific, interannual ocean signal, la nada state, normal sea level, ocean circulation

Sea-surface height data from NASA’s Jason-2 satellite show that the equatorial Pacific Ocean is still locked in what some call a neutral, or ‘La Nada’ state. This condition follows two years of strong, cool-water La Nina events. (more…)

New Coal Technology Harnesses Energy without Burning, Nears Pilot-Scale Development

By Guest PostFebruary 8, 2013Environmentamerica, atmosphere, carbon dioxide, cdcl, chemical reaction, clean coal technology, coal ash, coal derived syngas, coal feedstock, coal to electricity, combustion, consumes oxygen, convert, dawei wang, diameter, economy with jobs, elena chung, hot iron, human hair, iron oxide beads, liang shih fan, micrometers, millimeters, natural resources, new coal technology, ohio coal, ohio state university, pilot scale development, pulverized coal, reaction, reactor, research scale plants, samuel ayham, scl, syngas chemical looping, Technology, thermal kilowatts

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A new form of clean coal technology reached an important milestone recently, with the successful operation of a research-scale combustion system at Ohio State University. The technology is now ready for testing at a larger scale.

For 203 continuous hours, the Ohio State combustion unit produced heat from coal while capturing 99 percent of the carbon dioxide produced in the reaction. (more…)

Even Adaptable Viruses Have Trouble Surviving Erratic Temperatures

By Guest PostFebruary 6, 2013Environmentadaptable viruses, climate change, erratic temperatures, models, temperature changes, temperature fluctuations

Viruses such as those that cause the common cold are some of the most hardy and adaptable things on earth, but even they have trouble surviving the unpredictable and sudden temperature changes predicted by climate change models. (more…)

Solar Fuel Success

By Guest PostFebruary 4, 2013Environment, Science45 degree angle, ajay prasad, aldo steinfeld, ceramic surface, chemically reacting environment, concentrated light cone, critical reaction temperatures, electrical, energy security, environmental responsibility, erik koepf, eriks project, exposure, gravity, high temperature environment, hydrogen from sunlight, long term energy, mechanical, michael giuliano, paul scherrer institute, reactant, reaction cavity, reactor with mirror, solar fuel success, solar hydrogen, solar process laboratory, solar reactor, suresh advani, sustainability, swiss federal institute, switzerland, Technology, thermal systems, thermochemical reaction, two vials, university of delaware, water, zinc oxide powder, zurich

UD-developed solar reactor can produce solar hydrogen, but how much?

Last spring University of Delaware doctoral candidate Erik Koepf and research associate Michael Giuliano spent two months in Switzerland testing a novel solar reactor Koepf developed to produce hydrogen from sunlight.

Eight weeks of sophisticated testing at temperatures up to 1,200 degrees Celsius revealed that the reactor’s mechanical, electrical and thermal systems worked just as Koepf had predicted. (more…)

Study Provides New Insights on Drought Predictions in East Africa

By Guest PostFebruary 4, 2013Environment20th century, aridity, atmospheric convection, charcoal, climate, climate model simulations, climate variability, columbia university, drought conditions, drought predictions, earth observatory, east africa, east african climate, eastern africa, el niño, famine, future predictions, geologic past, geologist, geopolitical significance, global warming, gulf of aden, historical fluctuations, historical patterns, horn of africa, humanitarian crisis, indian ocean, jason smerdon, jessica tierney, lake sediment cores, lamont-doherty, little brother, little ice age, long term shifts, medieval times, moisture balance, oceanographic institution, pacific, pacific ocean, paleoclimate record, paleorecord, pollen, precipitation, projections, rainfall, region, run off events, study, surface temperatures, temperature, warm sea surface, water isotopes, western indian ocean, whoi, woods hole

Research May Also Help Determine Effects of Global Warming in the Region

With more than 40 million people living under exceptional drought conditions in East Africa, the ability to make accurate predictions of drought has never been more important. In the aftermath of widespread famine and a humanitarian crisis caused by the 2010-2011 drought in the Horn of Africa—possibly the worst drought in 60 years— researchers are striving to determine whether drying trends will continue.

While it is clear that El Niño can affect precipitation in this region of East Africa, very little is known about the drivers of long-term shifts in rainfall. However, new research described in the journal Nature helps explain the mechanisms at work behind historical patterns of aridity in Eastern Africa over many decades, and the findings may help improve future predictions of drought and food security in the region. (more…)

Biofuels Blend Right In

By Guest PostFebruary 3, 2013Environmentadvanced biofuels, biofuel feedstocks, lignocellulosic biorefineries, microbial fermentation, transportation fuel

Researchers Show Ionic Liquids Effective for Pre-Treating Mixed Blends of Biofuel Feedstocks

Winemakers have long known that blending different grape varietals can favorably balance the flavor characteristics of the wine they produce. In the future, makers of advanced biofuels might use a similar strategy, blending different feedstock varieties to balance the energy characteristics of the transportation fuel they produce. (more…)

Category Archives: Environment