244 Articles with the topic: Ecology
New research spikes up bonobos' gentle image
Darkfrog submitted, created time 2 months 3 weeks (sciencenow.sciencemag.org)
While it has been known for some time that common chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) can be very violent, beating each other up and even killing other (male) chimps that stray into their territories, bonobos, also called pygmy chimpanzees (Pan paniscus) have been thought to be very gentle. They spend a lot less time fighting and a lot more time having sex. They even groom some of the monkeys that they find, like pets.
As it turns out, this idea came about less because bonobos really are the hippies of the non-human world and more because we don't know all that much about them 
Don't Judge a Worm by its Color
jerry submitted, created time 2 months 3 weeks (sciencenow.sciencemag.org)
The differences between a tiger and a lion are easy to spot. But even to the trained eye, two species of earthworms can be tough to tell apart. Indeed, what was previously thought to be one species of common garden worm may in fact be four, according to research published online 8 October in Molecular Ecology. The surprising findings, say the ecologists who authored the report, may have implications for the use of pesticides in agriculture...
The relationship between plant species diversity and its productivity
sea-maid submitted, created time 8 months 2 weeks (www.pnas.org)
Plant species diversity has a high effect on productivity in natural settings. In this article, they found that aboveground net primary production increased with the number of plant species. They point out that the effect of biodiversity in natural ecosystems may be much larger than currently thought
Arctic warming poses risks to narwhals
kavin submitted, created time 8 months 2 weeks (www.msnbc.msn.com)
The polar bear has become an icon of global warming vulnerability, but a new study found an Arctic mammal that may be even more at risk to climate change: the narwhal, which is a whale with a long spiral tusk that inspired the myth of the unicorn, edged out the polar bear for the ranking of most potentially vulnerable in a climate change risk analysis of Arctic marine mammals.
Climate change threatens polar bears, hawks, and snakes
kavin submitted, created time 8 months 1 week (www.msnbc.msn.com)
There are several different views on the species which would face extinction. Some have preferred to call the polar bear a "special concern species," saying that the evidence isn't strong enough to recommend threatened or endangered status. Others think climate change is a threat to the survival of the polar bear. In the end, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada examined 31 various species and concluded the ferruginous hawk should be upgraded to threatened from special concern, while two populations of the eastern foxsnake in Ontario are now considered endangered.
How Climate Change Will Impact Animals
sea-maid submitted, created time 2 months 3 weeks (www.time.com)
The threats to wildlife on the African island of Madagascar are manifold: rampant deforestation that has stripped most of the island of its original forest cover, leaving a wasteland; a human population that is growing at 3% a year, straining natural resources and hunting animals for food, especially Madagascar's emblematic lemurs; extractive industry, including a nickel mine not far from a national park that could become the world's biggest
Sue Wu submitted, created time 9 months 4 weeks (www.news.com)
Polysilicon, which is widely used to make solar panels, is in short supply. In the rush to make it cheaply, a Chinese company reportedly is dumping toxic waste into the ground, killing wildlife and endangering human health.
sumsung submitted, created time 8 months 2 weeks (sciencenow.sciencemag.org)
The ozone layer protects all life on Earth, but it's frustrating scientists' attempts to curb global warming. Take geoengineering: Researchers have proposed that injecting sulfur particles into the stratosphere might counter the effects of greenhouse gas buildup, but a new study suggests that the approach could thin the planet's already fragile ozone layer. Leaving the ozone layer alone comes with its own risks, however. A second study warns that the gradual recovery of the Antarctic ozone hole could speed the continent's warming.
Ozone layer would be damaged by limited nuclear war
sea-maid submitted, created time 7 months 3 weeks (environment.newscientist.com)
This study points out that even a small-scale nuclear war between, say, India and Pakistan would destroy much of the ozone layer, leaving the DNA of humans and other organisms at risk of damage from the sun's rays and increasing the risk of skin cancer worldwide.
Darkfrog submitted, created time 7 months 1 week (sciencenow.sciencemag.org)
This article actually ties microbiology together with space travel rather neatly.
The Mars Phoenix lander was shipped off to the icy polar regions for one primary purpose (though I'm sure the NASA guys can come up with more now that it's there): search for liquid water and, importantly, microbial ilfe on Mars. That last possibility is looking less and less likely. Mars is showing high levels of salt, too high for known microbial life. Estimates put Mars' water at ten to a hundred times saltier than Earth's oceans. NASA has not given up hope yet
Frozen mice cloned - are woolly mammoths next?
piggy submitted, created time 2 months 3 days (www.reuters.com)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Japanese scientists have cloned mice whose bodies were frozen for as long sixteen years and said on Monday it may be possible to use the technique to resurrect mammoths and other extinct species.
Mouse cloning expert Teruhiko Wakayama and colleagues at the Center for Developmental Biology, at Japan's RIKEN research institute in Yokohama, managed to clone the mice even though their cells had burst.
Honey bees on cocaine dance more, changing ideas about the insect brain
piggy submitted, created time 2 weeks 2 days (www.eurekalert.org)
In a study that challenges current ideas about the insect brain, researchers have found that honey bees on cocaine tend to exaggerate.
Normally, foraging honey bees alert their comrades to potential food sources only when they've found high quality nectar or pollen, and only when the hive is in need. They do this by performing a dance, called a "round" or "waggle" dance, on a specialized "dance floor" in the hive. The dance gives specific instructions that help the other bees find the food
a revolution in solar power--thin-film
sea-maid submitted, created time 8 months 1 week (www.sciam.com)
Thin-film photovoltaic cells, like those in the array seen here in Mainbernheim, Germany, can harvest as much energy from the sun with far less semiconductor material,the lowest cost and most reliable thin-film technology directly into building construction materials will be the beginning of a revolution in solar power, we will see the day when solar became an economically substantive part of our energy mix
Food crisis calls for renewed vigor in agricultural research
Darkfrog submitted, created time 8 months 1 week (www.nature.com)
Agricultural research may not sound flashy--it includes everything from high-yield crop varieties to pest and weed control--but experts claim that a lack of it is the underlying cause of our current food shortages in the developing world, and that it is likely to be the cause of future shortages if the problem is not corrected.
While there is a focus on agricultural research in the developing world, this is limited to four countries: China, Brazil, South Africa and India. At the same time, there is less and less transfer of technology and information from first-world countries like the U
Fungi can stabilize uranium pollutants!
Darkfrog submitted, created time 8 months 2 days (sciencenow.sciencemag.org)
U.S. military equipment uses depleted uranium. Its density makes it very useful for armor and munitions. However, even though it is less radioactive than regular uranium, the tiny particles that are released on contact can still leave soil and water supplies dangeously polluted. Researchers have foudn a naturally occuring mycorrhizal fungus that can convert uranium particles into a stable form that will not enter the food chain.
abuse@discover8.com
angelfish
jane2007
DanyC
addict
R-G-D-V is a phytoreovirus. It has been determined that R-G- ...
www.genscript.com
Melanin Concentrating Hormone, rat
Melanin Concentrating Hormone (MCH), a 19 amino acid cyclic ...
www.genscript.com
Rat Anti Mouse IL-4 (monoclonal)
IL4 is a pleiotropic cytokine produced by activated T cells, ...
www.genscript.com
Stripping Solution
GenScript's Stripping Solution provides a robust but gentle ...
www.genscript.com