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Ecologists Shed New Light on Effects of Light Pollution on Wildlife

By Guest PostDecember 3, 2012Environment, Naturealarm calls, animal behaviour, Antarctica, artificial light, asia, common redshank, data, earth, ecologist, electrical lighting, Europe, exeter, feeding habit, forth estuary, full moon, gas flare, grangemouth, light pollution, longannet, marshes, negative effect, nervous birds, oil refinery, power station, ross dwyer, satellite, scotland, sentinel, shorebirds, spring migration, teu hoo, uk coasts, university, us military, wildlife

Light pollution is often associated with negative effects on wildlife. Now, ecologists have found that by mimicking a perpetual full moon, the gas flares and electrical lighting along Scotland’s Forth estuary are helping shorebirds stock up on more food during the winter to fuel their spring migration.

The research is the first to use night-time light data from US military satellites to study animal behaviour.

Coasts and estuaries are among the most rapidly developing areas on Earth. Night-time satellite images of the planet show that except Antarctica, continents are ringed with halos of brightly-lit human development. But coasts are also key wildlife sites. Every year, millions of waterbirds arrive from the Arctic to overwinter on UK coasts, yet scientists remain largely in the dark about how these birds respond to the bright lights of coastal cities and industry. (more…)

5 Myths About the Bird Flu

By Guest PostSeptember 29, 2012Healthabout, antibiotics, asia, bacteria, bird feces, bird flu, blog, chicken, cooked poultry, detective, false myths, jack meyer, myths, origin, poultry, vaccination, virus

With all of the information floating around regarding the bird flu epidemic it can be hard to discern what you should really be concerned about and what is nothing more than a rumor. Here are five myths regarding the bird flu that aren’t as factual as they first may seem:

Any ingestion of infected poultry can be deadly: If the poultry is cooked thoroughly enough, even if it was infected prior to cooking, then it can be safe to eat. The virus cannot live through the extreme heat required for cooking, and will die off. Just make sure to cook your poultry thoroughly before consuming it to err on the side of safety. (more…)

Researchers Find Potential ‘Dark Side’ To Diets High In Beta-Carotene

By Guest PostMay 7, 2012Healthabdulkerim eroglu, africa, antioxidant, asia, beta-carotene, carlo dela sena, carotenoids, carrots, dark side, diet, earl harrison, gene, golden maize, health hazard, immune function, metabolism, molecule, ohio state university, robert curley, shockwave, south america, steven schwartz, sureshbabu narayanasamy, sweet potatoes, synthetic molecule, vitamin A

COLUMBUS, Ohio – New research suggests that there could be health hazards associated with consuming excessive amounts of beta-carotene.

This antioxidant is a naturally occurring pigment that gives color to foods such as carrots, sweet potatoes and certain greens. It also converts to vitamin A, and foods and supplements are the only sources for this essential nutrient.

But scientists at Ohio State University have found that certain molecules that derive from beta-carotene have an opposite effect in the body: They actually block some actions of vitamin A, which is critical to human vision, bone and skin health, metabolism and immune function. (more…)

Q&A: Economic ‘Prophet’ Now Showing Classes How Theory Translates into Practice

By Guest PostMay 3, 2012Economyaleh tsyvinski, american goods, asia, China, economic, economic system, economist, Europe, france, Germany, global economy, globalization, Greece, ireland, italy, jackson institute, japanese economy, jeff garten, lessons of japan, macro debate, macroeconomics, michael marsland, minister of finance, morgan stanley asia, portugal, practice, prognosis, prophet, rick levin, school of management, som, spain, stephen roach, the next china, theory, united states, Wall Street, world economy, xiang huaicheng, yale

Stephen Roach is a respected authority on Asia — China in particular — and an often-cited and widely recognized prophet on the global economy.

Until recently chair of Morgan Stanley Asia and long the firm’s chief economist, Roach came to Yale in 2010 as a senior fellow in the newly inaugurated Jackson Institute for Global Affairs, with a joint appointment at the School of Management (SOM). This spring Roach announced he would be retiring from Morgan Stanley after 30 years with the firm to teach full time at Yale.

YaleNews recently met with the economist in his office to discuss his new career as a teacher and to get his prognosis on the future of the world economy. (more…)

Internet Use Promotes Democracy Best in Countries That Are Already Partially Free

By Guest PostApril 9, 2012Politics, Technologyafrobarometer, arab world, asia, asian barometer, autocratic regime, democracy, democratic revolution, elizabeth stoycheff, erik nisbet, frequency, internet, internet use, katy pearce, Kenya, mobilize citizen, mozambique, ohio state university, political change, political regime, pro democratic attitude, senegal, singapore, sociodemographic factor, sub-saharan africa, Tanzania, uganda, zambia

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Although use of the internet has been credited with helping spur democratic revolutions in the Arab world and elsewhere, a new multinational study suggests the internet is most likely to play a role only in specific situations.

Researchers at Ohio State University found that the internet spurs pro-democratic attitudes most in countries that already have introduced some reforms in that direction. (more…)

Human Intelligence

By Guest PostMarch 25, 2012Politicsamerica, american citizens, asia, cia, cia officer, clandestine service, counterterrorism center, detroit, digital age, duane perry, electronic intelligence, eric c anderson, Europe, global agenda, human espionage, intelligence information, islamabad, lauren pitruzzello, middle east, mitchell hall, modern espionage, north africa, open source, ralph begleiter, red cell, robert grenier, sneaky guys, social network, spy, Technology, underwear bomber, website, White House

Former CIA officer talks about espionage in the digital age

America’s favorite spy movies often employ futuristic gadgets and high-tech devices to wow viewers, but according to a former officer in the CIA, technology may have some burdening effects on espionage.

Robert Grenier served 27 years in the CIA, formerly working as a station chief in Islamabad, a CIA representative to the White House, and most recently the head of the Counterterrorism Center. He spoke Wednesday night in Mitchell Hall as part of the Global Agenda speaker series “Spies, Lies and Sneaky Guys: Espionage and Intelligence in the Digital Age.” (more…)

Study Links Past Changes in Monsoon to Major Shifts in Indian Civilizations

By Guest PostMarch 15, 2012Environmentasia, band of heavy rain, bay of bengal, camilo ponton, civilizations, climate change, cmz, core monsoon zone, dorian fuller, drilling vessel, drought, equator, eth, global warming, godavari river, harappan civilization, humid monsoon, India, indian monsoon, indian peninsula, insolation, inter tropical convergence zone, itcz, joides resolution, liviu giosan, modern agriculture, monsoon, northern hemisphere, ocean, paleo climatic information, plankton fossil, sahara desert, sediment core, solar radiation, tim eglinton, tropical forest, vegetation, whoi, zurich

A fundamental shift in the Indian monsoon has occurred over the last few millennia, from a steady humid monsoon that favored lush vegetation to extended periods of drought, reports a new study led by researchers at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). The study has implications for our understanding of the monsoon’s response to climate change.

The Indian peninsula sustains over a billion people, yet it lies at the same latitude as the Sahara Desert. Without a monsoon, most of India would be dry and uninhabitable. The ability to predict the timing and amount of the next year’s monsoon is vital, yet even our knowledge of the monsoon’s past variability remains incomplete. (more…)

Ice Age Mariners From Europe Were Among America’s First People

By Guest PostFebruary 29, 2012Scienceacross atlantic ice, alaska, america, asia, bering sea, Berkeley, boat, bruce bradley, cities of gold, clovis, clovis culture, dennis stanford, douglas preston, earliest humans, Europe, last ice age, native americans, new mexico, new world, North America, northern spain, orthodoxy, paradigm, sea ice shelf, smithsonian institution, solutrean people, thunderhead, united states, university california press, university of exeter

Some of the earliest humans to inhabit America came from Europe according to a new book.

Across Atlantic Ice puts forward a compelling case for people from northern Spain travelling to America by boat, following the edge of a sea ice shelf that connected Europe and America during the last Ice Age, 14,000 to 25,000 years ago.

Across Atlantic Ice is the result of more than a decade’s research by leading archaeologists Professor Bruce Bradley of the University of Exeter and Dr Dennis Stanford of the Smithsonian Institution. Through archaeological evidence, they turn the long-held theory of the origins of New World populations on its head.

For more than 400 years, it has been claimed that people first entered America from Asia, via a land bridge that spanned the Bering Sea. We now know that some people did arrive via this route nearly 15,000 years ago, probably by both land and sea. (more…)

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