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Bats Worth Billions to Agriculture: Pest-control Services at Risk

By Guest PostMarch 31, 2011Environmentagriculture, bat populations, bats, costs of pesticide applications, ecological systems, economic consequences, gary mccracken, insect eating bats, justin boyles, lung damage, migratory bats, new york, paul cryan, pest control, pressure changes, the great plains, tom kunz, united states, university of pretoria, university of tennessee, white nose syndrome, wind turbines

Pest-control services provided by insect-eating bats in the United States likely save the U.S. agricultural industry at least $3 billion a year, and yet insectivorous bats are among the most overlooked economically important, non-domesticated animals in North America, according to an analysis published in this week’s Science magazine Policy Forum.

“People often ask why we should care about bats,” said Paul Cryan, a U.S. Geological Survey research scientist and one of the study’s authors. “This analysis suggests that bats are saving us big bucks by gobbling up insects that eat or damage our crops. It is obviously beneficial that insectivorous bats are patrolling the skies at night above our fields and forests — these bats deserve help.” (more…)

Think Globally, but Act Locally When Studying Plants, Animals, Global Warming, Researchers Advise

By Guest PostMarch 22, 2011Environment, Natureagriculture, air pollution, butterfly, camille parmesan, climate, climate change, climate change impacts, effects of climate change, extinctions, global scale, global warming, greenhouse gas, habitat fragmentation, human activities, invasive species, los angeles, mediterranean geraniums, michael singer, multiple factors, natural changes, nobel prize, plants and animals, policy makers, quino checkerspot butterfly, san diego, southern california, species, united states, urban sprawl

AUSTIN, Texas — Global warming is clearly affecting plants and animals, but we should not try to tease apart the specific contribution of greenhouse gas driven climate change to extinctions or declines of species at local scales, biologists from The University of Texas at Austin advise.

Camille Parmesan, Michael C. Singer and their coauthors published their commentary online this week in Nature Climate Change.

“Yes, global warming is happening. Yes, it is caused by human activities. And yes, we’ve clearly shown that species are impacted by global warming on a global scale,” says Parmesan, associate professor of integrative biology. (more…)

Researchers Find That Pollution Forms an Invisible Barrier for Marine Life

By Guest PostMarch 18, 2011Environmentanthropogenic factors, bacteria, chemicals, chlorinated hydrocarbons, coastal areas, coastal water ecosystems, contaminants, discharge, ecosystem based management, evolutionary trajectory, heavy metals, human impacts, human stressors, jon puritz, larvae, los angeles, marine life, municipal treatment plants, nutrients, ocean, pacific coast, petroleum hydrocarbons, plankton, pollutants, population, rob toonen, sea stars, sewage, southern california bight, species, starfish, toxic, united states, urban runoff, urban runoff plumes

Over 50 percent of the population in the United States and over 60 percent in the world live in coastal areas. Rapidly growing human populations near the ocean have massively altered coastal water ecosystems.

One of the most extensive human stressors is the discharge of chemicals and pollutants into the ocean. In the Southern California Bight, more than 60 sewage and urban runoff sources discharge over 1 billion gallons of liquid on a dry day with the two largest sources of contaminants being sewage from municipal treatment plants and urban runoff from highly modified river basins. (more…)

Japan Worst-case Scenario Unlikely to Cause Catastrophic Radiation Release

By Guest PostMarch 17, 2011Environmentboiling water reactor, Chernobyl, chest x-rays, explosion, fuel rods, fukushima plant, Japan, john lee, meltdown, nuclear reactor, nuclear reactors, power blackouts, radioactivity, release of harmful radiation, thomas downer, three mile island accident, united states, worst case scenario

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— While exposed spent fuel rods at the failing nuclear reactors in Japan pose new threats, the worst-case scenario would still be unlikely to expose the public to catastrophic amounts of radiation, says a University of Michigan nuclear engineering professor who is an expert on this particular kind of reactor.

“For the public, I don’t believe it would be much higher than two additional chest x-rays,” said John Lee, a professor in the Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences, citing the results of the Three Mile Island accident. (more…)

Reframing Climate Change: It’s as Much Cultural as Scientific

By Guest PostMarch 16, 2011Culture, EnvironmentAl Gore, andy hoffman, climate change, climate change exists, debate, democrats, diagnostic, Environment, evidence of global warming, logic schism, man made phenomena, newspaper editorials, political ideology, prognostic, republicans, united states, university of michigan

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— While debate on climate change often strikes a caustic tone, the real impediment to meaningful dialogue is that the two sides often talk past each other in what amounts to a “logic schism,” says a University of Michigan researcher.

“In a logic schism, a contest emerges in which opposing sides are debating different issues, seeking only information that supports their position and disconfirms their opponents’ arguments,” said Andy Hoffman, the Holcim (U.S.) Professor of Sustainable Enterprise at U-M’s Ross School of Business and School of Natural Resources and Environment. “Each side views the other with suspicion, even demonizing the other, leading to a strong resistance to any form of engagement, much less negotiation and concession.” (more…)

Berkeley Lab Researchers Illuminate Laminin’s Role in Cancer Formation

By Guest PostMarch 8, 2011Sciencebreast, breast cancer, cancer death, cell, cytoplasmic protein, dna synthesis, dynamic reciprocity theory, epithelial cell quiescence, epithelial tissue, genetic information, laminin, laminin 111, matrix metalloproteinase 9, microenvironment of breast, mina bissell, mmp9, nucleus, protein, quiescence, stages of tumor development, transcription, united states, zinc dependent enzyme

Laminin, long thought to be only a structural support protein in the microenvironment of breast and other epithelial tissue, is “famous” for its cross-like shape. However, laminin is far more than just a support player with a “pretty face.” Two studies led by one of the world’s foremost breast cancer scientists have shown how laminin plays a central role in the development of breast cancer, the second most leading cause of cancer death among women in the United States. In one study it was shown how laminin influences the genetic information inside a cell’s nucleus. In the other study it was shown how destruction of laminin can play a detrimental role in the early stages of tumor development. (more…)

Brazil Continues to Celebrate After Carnival

By Guest PostMarch 8, 20112 commentsPoliticsArgentina, brazil, brazil and the united states, brazilian steel industry, bridge, carnivals, coffee trade, cold war, cultural difference, diamonds, Economy, Europe, footballers, Germany, joseph smith, language barriers, major global power, popular world view, portuguese, president roosevelt, rio branco, russia, south america, spanish speaking countries, sugar industry, superpower, united states, usa, world war two

The popular world view of Brazil may be triggered by thoughts of spectacular Carnivals and skilled footballers, yet the country is also determined to be regarded as a major global power.

The most comprehensive historical review of Brazilian relations with superpower USA has been written by a University of Exeter historian and identifies how the relationship has developed over the last 200 years. (more…)

IBM Invests US$38M in Cloud Computing Data Centre to Address Asia Pacific Growth

By Guest PostMarch 7, 2011Technologyasia pacific cloud computing data centre, canada, China, chris morris, environments, flexibility and agility, Germany, global cloud labs, global delivery centres, globally integrated cloud, high value economic clusters, iaas, ibm, independent software vendors, infrastructure as a service, isvs, it transformation, paul moung, public cloud, singapore, teresa lim, united states, vibrant cloud computing ecosystem

*New facility based in Singapore extends IBM’s global cloud delivery capabilities to meet growth market cloud needs of businesses in Asia Pacific*

SINGAPORE, – 07 Mar 2011: IBM today announced a US$38M investment in a new IBM Asia Pacific Cloud Computing Data Centre in Singapore, which will provide businesses with solutions and services to harness the potential of cloud computing. The new facility will extend IBM’s globally-integrated cloud delivery network with centres in Germany, Canada and the United States; and 13 global cloud labs, of which seven are based in Asia Pacific – China, India, Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Vietnam and Singapore.

Scheduled to launch in April, the Centre will make available IBM’s comprehensive cloud services and technology portfolio via the company’s cloud delivery infrastructure. These services are designed to enable clients to reap the benefits of business and IT transformation; increase flexibility and agility; accelerate time to market; reduce costs; and increase security and compliance of public cloud environments. (more…)

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