Life Sciences

Summers in the Arctic may be ice-free in as few as 30 years, not at the end of the century as previously expected. The updated forecast is the result of a new analysis of computer models coupled with the most recent summer ice measurements. "The Arctic is changing faster than anticipated," said James Overland, an oceanographer at NOAA's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory and co-author of the study, which will appear April 3 in Geophysical Research Letters. "It's a combination of natural variability, along with warmer air and sea conditions caused by increased greenhouse gases." Overland…

Recent research has predicted that climate change may expand the scope of human infectious diseases. A new review, however, argues that climate change may have a negligible effect on pathogens or even reduce their ranges. The paper has sparked debate in the ecological community. In a forum in the April issue of Ecology, Kevin Lafferty of the U.S. Geological Survey's Western Ecological Research Center suggests that instead of a net expansion in the global range of diseases, climate change may cause poleward range shifts in the areas suitable for diseases as higher latitudes become warmer and…

The following highlights summarize research papers that have been published in Geophysical Research Letters (GRL) and Journal of Geophysical Research-Atmospheres (JGR-D). In this release: Coral reefs may start dissolving when atmospheric carbon dioxide doubles Ocean proximity aggravates Houston's ozone pollution Underground subatomic-particle measurements yield meteorological clues Airborne acid may help soot turn into cloud seeds Understanding sea temperature-atmospheric pressure links in North Atlantic New tool differentiates man-made from natural nitrogen-oxide pollution Anyone may…

UVALDE – Intensifying drought conditions in Texas and other parts of the U.S. plus increasing worldwide water consumption makes ongoing water conservation research at the Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Center in Uvalde even more relevant, said the center's director. "Our research includes develop methods of augmenting aquifers, ways to determine their uniqueness, and ways to increase the efficiency of water taken from them," said Dr. Bill Holloway of Texas AgriLife Research, resident director of the center. "We have several ongoing research projects tied to water conservation."…

MADISON, WI, MARCH 16, 2009--Throughout the world, nitrogen compounds are released to the atmosphere from agricultural activities and combustion of fossil fuels. These pollutants are deposited to ecosystems as precipitation, gases, and particles, sometimes many hundreds of miles downwind of their release point. The Catskill Mountains of southeastern New York are a case in point—though they contain little in the way of industrial or agricultural pollution sources, they receive some of the highest nitrogen deposition rates in North America due to pollutants drifting in from midwestern power…

The stabilising influence that land and ocean carbon sinks have on rising carbon emissions is gradually weakening, scientists who attended the international Copenhagen Climate Change Conference."Forests, grasslands and oceans are absorbing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere faster than ever but they are not keeping pace with rapidly rising emissions," says CSIRO scientist and co-Chair of the Global Carbon Project, Dr Mike Raupach. "While these natural CO2 sinks are a huge buffer against climate change, which would occur about twice as fast without them, they cannot be taken for granted…

CO2GeoNet, Europe's Network of Excellence working on the geological storage of carbon dioxide (CO2), will meet in Venice on 18-20th March 2009 to present highlights from five years of research and development carried out by hundreds of scientists and to interact with stakeholders on future needs to be addressed by science. CO2GeoNet will host an open forum on the island of San Servolo, Venice with an audience of policy-makers, public authorities, industry executives, regulators, NGOs, EC representatives, engineers and scientists attending from across Europe, Australia, Canada, Iran, Japan…

Autosub, a robot submarine built and developed by the UK's National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, has successfully completed a high-risk campaign of six missions travelling under an Antarctic glacier. Autosub has been exploring Pine Island Glacier, a floating extension of the West Antarctic ice sheet, using sonar scanners to map the seabed and the underside of the ice as it juts into the sea. Scientists hope to learn why the glacier has been thinning and accelerating over recent decades. Pine Island Glacier is in the Amundsen Sea, part of the South Pacific bordering West Antarctica.…

Life has been discovered in the barren depths of Rome's ancient tombs but it's not zombies or Knights Templars protecting secret treasure; it's two new species of bacteria found growing on the walls, and though they're not protecting any treasure, they may be helping to protect our cultural heritage monuments, according to research published in the September issue of the International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology. The Catacombs of Saint Callistus are part of a massive graveyard that covers 15 hectares, equivalent to more than 20 football pitches. The underground tombs…

The popular phrase, "I have nipples, Greg, could you milk me?" from the 2000 movie "Meet the Parents", is similar to the widely held belief that tomatoes, because of their seeds, are really fruits instead of vegetables. Botanically, tomatoes are fruits but cucumbers, zucchini, pumpkins, nuts, corn, peppers, peas, and other vegetation that may not seem like it also fit into this fruity category. Botanists define fruit as any part of a plant that contains both its seed and the ovary that produce that seed. However, of all the botanically fruity plant pieces we commonly call 'vegetables',…