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Biologists Report More Bad News for Polar Bears

By Guest PostNovember 24, 2010Environment3-d computer models, brown bears, climate change, ecology, Environment, extreme environment, genetic studies, global warming, graham slater, grizzly bears, ice ages, polar bears, van valkenburgh, vegetables

*Climate change will force them south, where they are unsuited for the diet*

A polar bear breaks through thin Arctic Ocean ice Aug. 23, 2009. Image credit: Canadian Coast Guard/USGS

Will polar bears survive in a warmer world? UCLA life scientists present new evidence that their numbers are likely to dwindle.

As polar bears lose habitat due to global warming, these biologists say, they will be forced southward in search of alternative sources of food, where they will increasingly come into competition with grizzly bears.

To test how this competition might unfold, the UCLA biologists constructed three-dimensional computer models of the skulls of polar bears and grizzly bears — a subspecies of brown bears — and simulated the process of biting. The models enabled them to compare the two species in terms of how hard they can bite and how strong their skulls are. (more…)

Plants Play Larger Role Than Thought in Cleaning up Air Pollution

By Guest PostOctober 24, 2010Environment, Natureair-polluting chemicals, anne-marie schmoltner, aspens, atmospheric chemistry, chemicals, ecosystem services, Environment, human health, infection, metabolic cycle, ovocs, oxygenated volatile organic compounds, poplars, thomas karl, toxic substances, trees, white blood cells

*Chemicals known as oxygenated volatile organic compounds (oVOCs) affect environment, human health*

About the image: Poplars, aspens, other trees provide extensive “ecosystem services.” Image credit: USDA

Vegetation plays an unexpectedly large role in cleansing the atmosphere, a new study finds. (more…)

Complexity Not So Costly After All, Analysis Shows

By Guest PostSeptember 27, 2010Sciencecomplex, complex organisms, Environment, geneticist, h allen orr of rochester, jianzhi george zhang, pleiotropy, ronald fishe, taiwan

ANN ARBOR, Mich.—The more complex a plant or animal, the more difficulty it should have adapting to changes in the environment. That’s been a maxim of evolutionary theory since biologist Ronald Fisher put forth the idea in 1930.

(more…)

Why “Scientific Consensus” Fails to Persuade

By Guest PostSeptember 18, 2010Culture, Scienceamerican public, climate change, dan kahan, donald bramand, egalitarian values, Environment, environmental risks, fictional author, hank, jenkins-smith, nuclear waste disposal, scientific consensus, university of oklahoma, yale university

Suppose a close friend who is trying to figure out the facts about climate change asks whether you think a scientist who has written a book on the topic is a knowledgeable and trustworthy expert. You see from the dust jacket that the author received a Ph.D. in a pertinent field from a major university, is on the faculty at another one, and is a member of the National Academy of Sciences. Would you advise your friend that the scientist seems like an “expert”? (more…)

Microsoft and NASA Bring Mars Down to Earth Through the WorldWide Telescope

By Guest PostJuly 13, 20102 commentsScience, Technologyames research center, Baltimore, california, california institute of technology, earth, energy, Environment, fay, high resolution imaging science experiment, hirise, hubble, intelligent robotics group, irg, mars, mars orbiter laser altimeter, martian surface, michael broxton, Microsoft, mola, NASA, nebula, pasadena, red planet, san josé, WorldWide Telescope

*Dramatic imagery from NASA Mars missions creates new user experiences in the Microsoft Research WorldWide Telescope.*

REDMOND, Wash. — Microsoft Research and NASA are providing an entirely new experience to users of the WorldWide Telescope, which will allow visitors to interact with and explore our solar system like never before.