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Public Release: 30-Oct-2008
Evolution
'Living fossil' tree contains genetic imprints of rain forests under climate change
A "living fossil" tree species is helping a University of Michigan researcher understand how tropical forests responded to past climate change and how they may react to global warming in the future.
National Science Foundation, National Fund for Scientific Research of Belgium
Contact: Nancy Ross-Flanigan
rossflan@umich.edu
734-647-1853
University of Michigan
Public Release: 30-Oct-2008
Survey reveals extent of Hurricane Ike's underwater damage to galveston
A rapid response research mission after Hurricane Ike found the hurricane significantly reshaped the seafloor and likely carried an enormous amount of sand and sediment out into the Gulf, changes that could help coastal communities gauge the effectiveness of their sometimes controversial efforts to replenish eroding sand along shorelines.
Jackson School of Geosciences
Contact: J.B. Bird
jbird@jsg.utexas.edu
512-232-9623
University of Texas at Austin
Public Release: 30-Oct-2008
The Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC)
Eastern Pacific tuna hang in the balance
The Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission, the international body charged with the conservation and management of tuna and associated species in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean, will meet in San Diego from Nov. 2-7 to consider conservation measures for vulnerable tuna populations. Whether this 16-nation Commission will act to protect declining tuna stocks, or once again demonstrate their impotence to do so, remains to be seen. The fate of Pacific tuna stocks hangs in the balance.
Contact: Scott Henderson
shenderson@conservation.org
703-717-2750
Conservation International
Public Release: 30-Oct-2008
Conclusive vote on cause of Indonesian mud volcano
Two years' of global public debate over the cause of the Java mud volcano, Lusi, has concluded.
Contact: Claire Whitelaw
media.relations@durham.ac.uk
44-019-133-46075
Durham University
Public Release: 30-Oct-2008
Nature
Study: 2004 tsunami was not first of large scale, awareness may improve future tsunami estimates
The deadly Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004, which claimed more than 200,000 lives, was not the first of its size to hit the region, according to new
research by an international research team led by Dr. Karin Monecke, a former post-doctoral geologist at Kent State University.
The research work, which is published in this week's edition of the prestigious science journal Nature, was conducted during the two and half
years Monecke spent in the Kent State's Department of Geology.
Contact: Karin Monecke
monecke@pitt.edu
814-269-2942
Kent State University
Public Release: 30-Oct-2008
Psychological Science
Gender biases in leadership selection during competitions within and between groups
New research has revealed that a gender bias occurs when selecting leaders during various group competition scenarios. Overall, the findings indicate that during times of intergroup conflict a male leader prototype is sought while during intragroup conflict a female leader prototype is sought.
Contact: Barbara Isanski
bisanski@psychologicalscience.org
Association for Psychological Science
Public Release: 30-Oct-2008
Science
Virginia Tech engineers identify conditions that initiate erosion
A team of Virginia Tech College of Engineering faculty members and graduate students have demonstrated that sustained spikes in turbulence are responsible for dislodging particles, whether on land or in the water.
National Science Foundation
Contact: Susan Trulove
strulove@vt.edu
540-231-5646
Virginia Tech
Public Release: 30-Oct-2008
Current Biology
Tiny fungi may have sex while infecting humans
A fungus called microsporidia that causes chronic diarrhea in AIDS patients, organ transplant recipients and travelers has been identified as a member of the family of fungi that have been discovered to reproduce sexually. A team at Duke University Medical Center has proven that microsporidia are true fungi and that this species most likely undergoes a form of sexual reproduction during infection of humans and other host animals.
NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Canadian Institutes for Health Research
Contact: Mary Jane Gore
mary.gore@duke.edu
919-660-1309
Duke University Medical Center
Public Release: 30-Oct-2008
Nature Geoscience
Conclusive proof that polar warming is being caused by humans
New research by the University of East Anglia has demonstrated for the first time that human activity is responsible for significant warming in both polar regions.
Contact: Simon Dunford
s.dunford@uea.ac.uk
44-016-035-92203
University of East Anglia
Public Release: 30-Oct-2008
Following the Phoenicians: Genetic methodology complements historical record
A new study uses a sophisticated genetic strategy to reveal new roads past an apparent dead end in the historical record of a distinctive civilization that dominated the Mediterranean Sea during the first millennium BC. The research from National Geographic and IBM's Genographic Project, published by Cell Press in the Nov. 14 issue of the American Journal of Human Genetics, describes a methodology that may prove to be useful for discovering previously undetected signals left by migrations for any historically documented expansion.
Contact: Cathleen Genova
cgenova@cell.com
617-397-2802
Cell Press
Public Release: 30-Oct-2008
Science
Newly identified fungus implicated in white-nose syndrome in bats
This release describes a disease that is decimating bat populations in the northeast US. White-nose syndrome is the name of the malady because of the fungus that is often seen around the muzzles of afflicted bats.
US Geological Survey
Contact: David Blehert
dblehert@usgs.gov
608-270-2466
United States Geological Survey
Public Release: 30-Oct-2008
Complete mitochondrial genome of 5,000-year-old mummy yields surprise
Researchers have revealed the complete mitochondrial genome of one of the world's most celebrated mummies, known as the Tyrolean Iceman or Ötzi. The sequence represents the oldest complete DNA sequence of modern humans' mitochondria, according to the report published online on Oct. 30 in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication.
Contact: Cathleen Genova
cgenova@cell.com
617-397-2802
Cell Press
Public Release: 29-Oct-2008
Geophysical Research Letters
Global methane levels on the rise again
After eight years of near-zero growth in atmospheric methane concentrations, levels have again started to rise.
Center for Australian Weather and Climate Research, CSIRO
Contact: Craig Macaulay
Craig.Macaulay@csiro.au
61-362-325-219
CSIRO Australia
Public Release: 29-Oct-2008
Geological Society of America Bulletin
November-December 2008 GSA Bulletin media highlights
The latest issue of GSA Bulletin spans the globe, examining ancient soils in Big Bend National Park, Texas; loess soils in Nebraska, including the greatest known thickness of the Peoria Loess in the world; folding, faulting, and metamorphism as seen in detailed geologic mapping across Pakistan; tectonic fractures in Southeast Viti Levu, Fiji; subsidence in Mexico City; groundwater arsenic in Araihazar, Bangladesh; the formation of the Andes and earthquakes in the Seattle fault zone.
Contact: Christa Stratton
cstratton@geosociety.org
303-357-1056
Geological Society of America
Public Release: 29-Oct-2008
Geology
November 2008 Geology and GSA Today media highlights
Geology topics include a new model for Grand Canyon erosion; opal formation on Mars; the beautiful and delicate preservation of soft tissues in the Burgess Shale of Canada; Ediacaran atmosphere, ocean, and fossil preservation, including that of an eight-armed ocean-dweller in both China and Australia; a new technique for seismic hazard studies; and arsenic contamination of drinking water. GSA Today cautions researchers against using sheeted dikes in ophiolites to investigate mid-ocean ridge spreading processes.
Contact: Christa Stratton
cstratton@geosociety.org
303-357-1056
Geological Society of America
Public Release: 29-Oct-2008
FSU Historian's Arctic research has him sitting on top of the world
It's one of the coldest and most remote areas on Earth, but the Arctic region has long held great strategic interest for a number of nations. Now, a Florida State University researcher is leading an international team that is working to produce one of the most comprehensive histories to date of the northernmost part of the world from the late 19th century to the present.
European Science Foundation
Contact: Ronald E. Doel
rdoel@fsu.edu
850-644-9540
Florida State University
Public Release: 29-Oct-2008
1,000 tags reveal mysteries of giant bluefin tuna
A 1,250-pound giant bluefin tuna caught in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada had the honor of being released with the 1000th electronic tracking tag placed on this depleted species by the Tag-A-Giant campaign of Stanford University, Dalhousie University and the Monterey Bay Aquarium. This significant scientific milestone was achieved thanks to a collaboration with Canadian fishermen from Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia.
Tag-A-Giant Foundation, NOAA, Monterey Bay Aquarium
Contact: Randy Kochevar
rkochevar@hotmail.com
831-236-0728
Tag-A-Giant Foundation (The Ocean Foundation)
Public Release: 29-Oct-2008
EPA teams with National Geographic Society and World Resources Institute to map ecosystem services
The US Environmental Protection Agency is collaborating with the National Geographic Society and the World Resources Institute to develop tools that will help to fully account for the value of ecosystem services.
Ecosystem services are the goods and services people obtain from natural systems. These benefits include clean air and water, erosion and flood control, soil enrichment, food and fiber.
Contact: Ann Brown
brown.ann@epa.gov
919-541-7818
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Public Release: 29-Oct-2008
Journal of Glaciology
A glacier's life
Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne researchers have developed a numerical model that can re-create the state of Switzerland's Rhône Glacier as it was in 1874 and predict its evolution until the year 2100. This is the longest period of time ever modeled in the life of a glacier, involving complex data analysis and mathematical techniques. The work will serve as a benchmark study for those interested in the state of glaciers and their relation to climate change.
Swiss National Science Foundation
Contact: Mary Parlange
mary.parlange@epfl.ch
41-216-937-022
Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
Public Release: 29-Oct-2008
Journal of Chemical Technology & Biotechnology
Powered by olive stones? Turning waste stones into fuel
Olive stones can be turned into bioethanol, a renewable fuel that can be produced from plant matter and used as an alternative to petrol or diesel. This gives the olive processing industry an opportunity to make valuable use of 4 million tons of waste in olive stones it generates every year and sets a precedent for the recycling of waste products as fuels.
Contact: Jennifer Beal
wbnewseurope@wiley.com
44-012-437-70633
Wiley-Blackwell
Public Release: 29-Oct-2008
Nature
Scientists find evidence of tsunamis on Indian Ocean shores long before 2004
A quarter-million people were killed when a tsunami inundated Indian Ocean coastlines the day after Christmas in 2004. Now scientists have found evidence that the event was not a first-time occurrence.
US Agency for International Development, Thailand Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, National Science Foundation, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Thailand Research Fund
Contact: Vince Stricherz
vinces@u.washington.edu
206-543-2580
University of Washington
Public Release: 28-Oct-2008
European biodiversity and ecosystem scientists merge and gear up for long-term research
Measures to tackle the human impact on biodiversity require long-term research and collaboration between many countries working with common goals and frameworks. This emerged from a recent workshop organised by the European Science Foundation, which moved towards establishing an ESF Research Networking Programme for ecosystem and biodiversity analysis on the back of existing initiatives.
Contact: Markus Fischer
fischerm@rz.uni-potsdam.de
033-197-74884
European Science Foundation
Public Release: 28-Oct-2008
Scientists probe Antarctic glaciers for clues to past and future sea level
Scientists believe the barely observed Aurora Subglacial Basin, which lies in East Antarctica, could represent the weak underbelly of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet, the largest remaining body of ice on Earth, holding clues about how Earth's climate changed in the past and how future climate change will affect global sea level.
Natural Environment Research Council, Australian Antarctic Division, National Science Foundation, Jackson School of Geosciences
Contact: J.B. Bird
jbird@jsg.utexas.edu
512-232-9623
University of Texas at Austin
Public Release: 28-Oct-2008
American Journal of Preventive Medicine
Neighborhood greenness has long term positive impact on kids' health
In the first study to look at the effect of neighborhood greenness on inner city children's weight over time, researchers from the Indiana University School of Medicine, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis and the University of Washington report that higher neighborhood greenness is associated with slower increases in children's body mass over a two year period, regardless of residential density.
NIH/National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
Contact: Cindy Fox Aisen
caisen@iupui.edu
317-274-7722
Indiana University
Public Release: 28-Oct-2008
Proceedings of the Royal Society B
T.rex 'followed its nose' while hunting
Scientists at the University of Calgary and the Royal Tyrrell Museum are providing new insight into the sense of smell of carnivorous dinosaurs and primitive birds in a research paper published in the British journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
Contact: Leanne Yohemas
leanne.yohemas@ucalgary.ca
403-220-5144
University of Calgary
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