Category Archives: Environment

Previous Studies on Toxic Effects of BPA Couldn’t be Reproduced, says MU Research Team

By Guest PostJanuary 9, 2013Environmentagouti, agouti signaling protein, animal numbers, asip, bpa, cheryl rosenfeld, controversial chemical, dietary supplement, equal ratios, estrogenic compound, exposure, famine, fat tissue, frederick vomsaal, gene, genistein, humans, metabolic disorders, mice, obesity, obesity related disease, offspring, pancreas, plants, plastic bottles, replicate, reproduce, soy beans, thrifty genotype, type 2 diabetes, university of missouri, uterine environments, womb, yellow coat color

The MU study is not claiming that BPA is safe, but that the previous series of studies are not reproducible.

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Following a three-year study using more than 2,800 mice, a University of Missouri researcher was not able to replicate a series of previous studies by another research group investigating the controversial chemical BPA. The MU study is not claiming that BPA is safe, but that the previous series of studies are not reproducible. The MU study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, also investigated an estrogenic compound found in plants, genistein, in the same three-year study.

“Our findings don’t say anything about the positive or negative effects of BPA or genistein,” said Cheryl Rosenfeld, associate professor of biomedical sciences in MU’s Bond Life Science Center. “Rather, our series of experiments did not detect the same findings as reported by another group on the potential developmental effects of BPA and genistein when exposure of young occurs in the womb.” (more…)

A New Way to Study Permafrost Soil, Above and Below Ground

By Guest PostJanuary 6, 2013Environmentarctic landscape, arctic tundra, atmosphere, barrow region, berkeley lab, carbon dioxide, cessna aircraft, climate change, electrical resistance tomography, electromagnetic data, geophysical measurements, greenhouse gasses, ground penetrating radar, large spatial scales, lidar, lidar airborne measurements, methane, microtopography, ngee arctic project, permafrost layer, permafrost soils, polygons, remote sensing device, remote sensing tools, surface topography, susan hubbard, terrestrial ecosystem, trapped carbon

Berkeley Lab research could lead to a better understanding of the Arctic ecosystem’s impact on the planet’s climate

What does pulling a radar-equipped sled across the Arctic tundra have to do with improving our understanding of climate change? It’s part of a new way to explore the little-known world of permafrost soils, which store almost as much carbon as the rest of the world’s soils and about twice as much as is in the atmosphere.

The new approach combines several remote-sensing tools to study the Arctic landscape—above and below ground—in high resolution and over large spatial scales. It was developed by a group of researchers that includes scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). (more…)

Biodiversity: The most common issues

By Guest PostJanuary 5, 2013Environmentbiodiversity, biodiversity management, biological resources, coastal, common issues, ecological loss, ecosystem service, edward o wilson, evolutionary biologist, extinction, food, fuel, grassland, human interference, imperative factor, key issue, lincoln navigator suv, luxury cars, marine biodiversity, medicine, Nature, nutrient cycle, pacific northwest, poverty, rural area, shelter, soil formation, spotted owl, tropical forest

Biodiversity can be considered as an imperative factor that plays a crucial role in poverty reduction owing to its basic goods and the ecosystem services it provides. Over three billion people rely on coastal and marine biodiversity and about 1.7 billion people depend upon non-timber forest products and forests for biodiversity.

Common issues relating to biodiversity can be classified as:

Biodiversity as a source of income and food

World’s poor population, especially living in rural areas are dependent on biological resources for meeting most of their needs. At least, 90 percent of their needs relating to fuel, shelter, medicines and food come from biological resources. (more…)

Geothermal Energy Keeps Turkeys Comfortable and Saves Farmers’ Money; Prototype Designed by MU Engineer

By Guest PostJanuary 3, 2013Environmentair, air quality, americans, ammonia contamination, amphibians, carbon dioxide, commercial livestock operation, cook, deep drilling, doghouse, fossil fuel, geothermal energy system, geothermal unit, greenhouse gas, habitat, humidity, migratory birds, oxygen, performance data, prototype facility, thanksgiving, turkey farms, turkeys, turkeys toasty, university of missouri, wildlife, yun sheng xu

COLUMBIA, Mo. — While Americans prepare to cook millions of turkeys for Thanksgiving, a geothermal energy system developed by a University of Missouri engineer will be keeping live turkeys toasty during the chilly autumn weather. In a prototype facility, designed by a University of Missouri engineer, environmentally and economically friendly geothermal energy is keeping turkeys comfortable during both cold and hot weather. The system is designed to reduce utility costs while improving the air quality for the birds.

“This is our first prototype of a geothermal system in a commercial livestock operation,” said Yun-Sheng Xu, associate research professor in civil and environmental engineering. “Our first set of performance data suggests that farmers could cut their heating costs in half at current propane prices. Currently, two units are installed at the test farm. Other farmers could begin installing units on their turkey farms as soon as next year, for use by next winter.” (more…)

UMass Amherst Climate Model is First to Study Climate Effects of Arctic Hurricanes

By Guest PostDecember 31, 2012Environment21st century, alan condron, arctic hurricane, arctic region, arctic seas, barometric pressure, central eye, climate, climate model, climate prediction models, climate scientist, conveyer belt, cyclone, east anglia, England, Europe, forecast climate change, gas exploration, higher resolution modeling, ian renfrew, massachusetts amherst, missing storms, model, North America, north atlantic, norwegian sea, ocean water circulation, oil, oxymoron, polar lows, satellite, thermohaline circulation, thick ice, university, wave

AMHERST, Mass. – Though it seems like an oxymoron, Arctic hurricanes happen, complete with a central “eye,” extreme low barometric pressure and towering 30-foot waves that can sink small ships and coat metal platforms with thick ice, threatening oil and gas exploration. Now climate scientists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and in England report the first conclusive evidence that Arctic hurricanes, also known as polar lows, play a significant role in driving ocean water circulation and climate.

Results point to potentially cooler conditions in Europe and North America in the 21^st century than other models predict. (more…)

Bumblebees do Best Where There is Less Pavement and More Floral Diversity

By Guest PostDecember 28, 2012Environment, Natureaustin, Berkeley, bet hedging strategy, bombus vosnesenskii, bumblebees, california bumblebee, claire kremen, colony, crop yields, floral diversity, global pollinator, honey bees, landscape, native pollinators, natural habitat, pollinator crisis, rapidly urbanizing planet, shalene jha, suburban, texas, university, university of california, urban gardens, wild bees

AUSTIN, Texas — Landscapes with large amounts of paved roads and impervious construction have lower numbers of ground-nesting bumblebees, which are important native pollinators, a study from The University of Texas at Austin and the University of California, Berkeley shows.

The study suggests that management strategies that reduce the local use of pavement and increase natural habitat within the landscape could improve nesting opportunities for wild bees and help protect food supplies around the word. (more…)

Study Shows Rapid Warming on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet

By Guest PostDecember 25, 2012Environmentandrew monaghan, Antarctic, Antarctica, below sea level, byrd station, climate change, contribution, data, david bromwich, discovery, earth, greenland, ice sheet, ice shelf, ice shelves, julien nicolas, larsen b, meteorological observation, ocean, ohio state university, polar night, sea-level rise, solar panels, southern hemisphere, surface melting, temperature, wais, wais glaciers, warming, west antarctic

COLUMBUS, Ohio — In a discovery that raises further concerns about the future contribution of Antarctica to sea level rise, a new study finds that the western part of the ice sheet is experiencing nearly twice as much warming as previously thought.

The temperature record from Byrd Station, a scientific outpost in the center of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS), demonstrates a marked increase of 4.3 degrees Fahrenheit (2.4 degrees Celsius) in average annual temperature since 1958—that is, three times faster than the average temperature rise around the globe. (more…)

Boosting Galactan Sugars Could Boost Biofuel Production

By Guest PostDecember 23, 2012Environmentadvanced biofuel production, bioenergy fuel crops, biosynthesis of galactan, galactan synthase enzyme

Collaboration at JBEI Identifies the First Enzyme Linked to Galactan Synthesis

Galactan is a polymer of galactose, a six-carbon sugar that can be readily fermented by yeast into ethanol and is a target of interest for researchers in advanced biofuels produced from cellulosic biomass. Now an international collaboration led by scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) has identified the first enzyme capable of substantially boosting the amount of galactan in plant cell walls. (more…)