http://www.redorbit.com Science http://www.redorbit.com/modules/news/images/tools/rss_logo.gif http://www.redorbit.com Scientists were outraged on Tuesday over comments made by India’s environment minister, in which he denied a link between climate change and the melting Himalayan glaciers.On Monday, India Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said he questioned the theories put forth by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and found no "conclusive scientific evidence" for a link between the melting Himalayan glaciers and global warming.“None of our glaciers under monitoring are recording abnormal retreat,” Dr V K Raina, retired deputy director-general of the Geological Survey of India, said in a report released Monday.Ramesh referred to the report to state that most glaciers are retreating while some Himalayan glaciers, such as the Siachen glacier, are advancing, the Times of India reported.“The health of Himalayan glaciers is poor,” Ramesh said. http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1783831/indian_official_finds_no_link_to_global_warming_and_glacier/index.html?source=r_science Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:55:03 -0500 Science Scientists have created artificial penises for rabbits -- using cells from the animals -- that were fully functional and even used to father baby rabbits, Reuters reported.The researchers reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Monday that the work moves science even closer to making other complex solid organs such as livers using a patient's own cells.Dr. http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1783810/lab_rabbits_get_functional_artificial_penises/index.html?source=r_science Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:10:00 -0500 Science Image 2: The photo of the mouse was passed around the internet in 1998, mainly via email, sometimes with little to no text accompanying it, leading many people to speculate whether the photo was real. http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1783808/study_to_focus_on_mixing_human_and_animal_dna/index.html?source=r_science Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:30:00 -0500 Science Conservationists are working to get Australia’s koalas on the endangered species list, saying the beloved marsupial could be extinct in 30 years.According the Australian Koala Foundation, the latest survey on the animal suggests that climate chance, disease and over-development have resulted in the number of koalas dropping by probably more than half in the past six years, reported AFP.The study found between 43,000 and 80,000 koalas on mainland Australia, which is considerably less than the estimated 100,000 in 2003, said Foundation chief Deborah Tabart."We're saying (numbers) could be as low as 43,000 and as high as 80,000, she told public broadcaster ABC Radio.A number of koalas have been wiped out by an outbreak of the sexually transmitted disease Chlamydia, and others have been affected by losing their habitat to deforestation and climate change, Tabart said.They have also been faced with malnutrition as their primary food source, eucalyptus leaves, has lost much of its nutritional value due to hotter, drier weather, she said."I really think climate change is starting to affect koala populations," she said.Tabart also said that the findings, based on surveys of almost 2,000 forest sites, indicate complete extinction of the species within 30 years if no action is taken.In 2006, conservation groups were unable to have the iconic creature declared a vulnerable species, but Tabart believes the new data is clear evidence of a "drastic decline"."There has been a great deal of opposition to the protection of the koala over many years and I think that still exists," she said.Researcher Bill Ellis claims to have found proof of extinctions in certain areas and the east coast showed particularly "major declines in populations".Even though the government's threatened species committee was scheduled to make a recommendation by the middle of 2010, representative Bob Beeton commented that the popularity of the koala would not persuade the group."There's a number of species which are charismatic and emotionally charged. http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1784070/koalas_given_30_years_until_extinction/index.html?source=r_science Wed, 11 Nov 2009 06:25:00 -0500 Science Image 1: Adelie penguins have survived in Antarctica for thousands of years and are invaluable for genetic research. Image 2: A group of Adelie penguins strolls across the Antarctic snow. http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1783812/penguin_dna_raises_doubts_about_genetic_dating_techniques/index.html?source=r_science Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:34:17 -0500 Science Journal article:* A remarkable diversity of bone-eating worms (Osedax; Siboglinidae; Annelida). Robert C Vrijenhoek, Shannon B Johnson and Greg W Rouse BMC Biology (in press).Related journal articles:* Rouse GW, Wilson NG, Goffredi SK, Johnson SB, Smart T, Widmer C, Young CM, Vrijenhoek RC (2009) Spawning and development in Osedax boneworms (Siboglinidae, Annelida). Marine Biology 156, 395-405.* Vrijenhoek, RC, Johnson, S, Rouse, GW, 2008. Bone-eating Osedax females and their "harems" of dwarf males are recruited from a common larval pool. Molecular Ecology 17, 4535-4544.* Vrijenhoek RC, Collins PC, Van Dover CL (2008) Bone-eating marine worms: habitat specialists or generalists? Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 275, 1963-1964.* Jones WJ, Johnson SB, Rouse GW, Vrijenhoek RC (2008) Marine worms (genus Osedax) colonize cow bones. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 275, 387-391.* Goffredi SK, Johnson SB, Vrijenhoek RC (2007) Genetic and potential function of microbial symbionts associated with newly discovered species of Osedax polychaete worms. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 73, 2314-2323. Link to PDF* Braby CE, Rouse GW, Johnson SB, Jones WJ, Vrijenhoek RC (2007) Bathymetric and temporal variation among Osedax boneworms and associated megafauna on whale-falls in Monterey Bay, California. Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers 54, 1773-1791. Link to PDF* Rouse GW, Goffredi SK, Vrijenhoek RC (2004) Osedax: Bone-Eating Marine Worms with Dwarf Males. Science 305: 668-671.---Image Caption: This photograph shows a female of an as yet un-named boneworm in the genus Osedax, which has been carefully removed from the whale bone in which it was growing. This worm has green, feathery palps, which extract oxygen from seawater. At its lower end are an ovisac and bulbous "roots," which would normally be embedded in the whale bone. Image: © 2009 Greg Rouse [ more images ] http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1784289/a_motley_collection_of_boneworms/index.html?source=r_science Wed, 11 Nov 2009 08:30:00 -0500 Science Drifters designed to provide new knowledge about marine protected areas, harmful algal blooms, oil spillsIn an effort to plug gaps in knowledge about key ocean processes, the National Science Foundation (NSF)'s division of ocean sciences has awarded nearly $1 million to scientists at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, Calif. The Scripps marine scientists will develop a new breed of ocean-probing instruments. Jules Jaffe and Peter Franks will spearhead an effort to design and deploy autonomous underwater explorers, or AUEs. AUEs will trace the fine details of oceanographic processes vital to tiny marine inhabitants.While oceanographers have been skilled in detailing large-scale ocean processes, a need has emerged to zero in on functions unfolding at smaller scales. By defining localized currents, temperature, salinity, pressure and biological properties, AUEs will offer new and valuable information about a range of ocean phenomena."We're seeing great success in the global use of ocean profiling floats to document large-scale circulation patterns and other physical and chemical attributes of the deep and open seas," said Phillip Taylor of NSF's division of ocean sciences. "These innovative AUEs will allow researchers to sample the environments of coastal regions as well, and to better understand how small organisms operate in the complex surroundings of the oceans."The miniature robots will aid in obtaining information needed for developing marine protected areas, determining critical nursery habitats for fish and other animals, tracking harmful algae blooms, and monitoring oil spills.For marine protected areas, AUEs will help inform debates about the best areas for habitat protection. With harmful algal blooms and oil spills, the instruments can be deployed directly into outbreak patches to gauge how they develop and change over time. In the case of an airplane crash over the ocean, AUEs should be able to track currents to determine where among the wreckage a black box may be located."AUEs will fill in gaps between existing marine technologies," said Jaffe. "They will provide a whole new kind of information."AUEs work through a system in which several soccer-ball-sized explorers are deployed with many tens--or even hundreds--of pint-sized explorers. Collectively, the entire "swarm" of AUEs will track ocean currents that organisms at a small-scale, such as tiny abalone larvae, for example, experience in the ocean."AUEs will give us information to figure out how small organisms survive, how they move in the ocean, and the physical dynamics they experience as they get around," said Franks. "AUEs should improve ocean models and allow us to do a better job of following 'the weather and climate of the ocean,' as well as help us understand things like carbon fluxes."Franks, who conducts research on marine phytoplankton, says that "plankton are somewhat like the balloons of the ocean floating around out there. With AUEs, we're trying to figure out how the ocean works at scales that matter to plankton."If we place 100 AUEs in the ocean and let them go, we'll be able to look at how they move to get a sense of the physics driving current flows."During the pilot phase of the project, Jaffe and colleagues will build five to six of the soccer-ball-sized explorers and 20 of the smaller versions. An outreach component of the project will enlist school children in building and ultimately deploying AUEs.In a related funding award, the researchers have also been given $1.5 million from NSF's Cyber-Enabled Discovery and Innovation initiative to design and develop the systems necessary to control the movement of AUEs.That aspect brings Jaffe and Franks together with researchers at the Cymer Center for Control Systems and Dynamics at the University of California at San Diego's Jacobs School of Engineering and the San Diego Supercomputer Center.---Image Caption: Autonomous underwater explorers (AUEs) will provide new information about the oceans. Credit: SIO http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1783536/swarms_of_robotic_ocean_explorers_being_developed/index.html?source=r_science Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:35:24 -0500 Science Predators with experience of skunks avoid them both because of their black-and-white coloration and their distinctive body shape, according to UC Davis wildlife researcher Jennifer Hunter. The study was published online Oct. http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1784292/skunks_strategy_not_just_black_and_white/index.html?source=r_science Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:26:41 -0500 Science The kelp forests off southern California are considered to be some of the most diverse and productive ecosystems on the planet, yet a new study indicates that today's kelp beds are less extensive and lush than those in the recent past.The kelp forest tripled in size from the peak of glaciation 20,000 years ago to about 7,500 years ago, then shrank by up to 70 percent to present day levels, according to the study by Rick Grosberg, professor in the Department of Evolution and Ecology and the Center for Population Biology at UC Davis, with Michael Graham of the Moss Landing Marine Laboratory and Brian Kinlan at UC Santa Barbara.Kelp forests around offshore islands peaked around 13,500 years ago as rising sea levels created new habitat and then declined to present day levels. http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1784291/californias_ancient_kelp_forest_in_decline/index.html?source=r_science Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:21:10 -0500 Science Were dinosaurs "warm-blooded" like present-day mammals and birds, or "cold-blooded" like present day lizards? The implications of this simple-sounding question go beyond deciding whether or not you'd snuggle up to a dinosaur on a cold winter's evening.In a study published this week in the journal PLoS ONE, a team of researchers, including Herman Pontzer, Ph.D., assistant professor of anthropology in Arts & Sciences, has found strong evidence that many dinosaur species were probably warm-blooded.If dinosaurs were endothermic (warm-blooded) they would have had the potential for athletic abilities rivaling those of present day birds and mammals, and possibly similar quick thinking and complicated behaviors as well¬. http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1784081/warmblooded_dinosaurs_worked_up_a_sweat/index.html?source=r_science Wed, 11 Nov 2009 08:07:31 -0500 Science Veterinary leap forward through collaboration with Zoo Atlanta, Georgia Tech, Emory University and a 300-pound great apeZoo Atlanta recently became the first zoological institution in the world to obtain voluntary blood pressure readings from a gorilla. This groundbreaking stride was made possible by the Gorilla Tough Cuff, a blood pressure reading system devised through partnership with the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University.Created as a senior design project by biomedical engineering undergraduates David Sotto, Nisha Bhatia, Stephanie Drewicz and Scott Seaman, the prototype has now been successfully tested on one of Zoo Atlanta's 22 western lowland gorillas. The students also had guidance from Hanjoong Jo, the Ada Lee and Pete Correll Professor in Biomedical Engineering and the Division of Cardiology; and Professor Franklin Bost, the Coulter Department director of design instruction."Zoo Atlanta is home to the nation's largest collection of gorillas, so there is an ongoing responsibility to contribute to the zoological community's understanding of their care," said Dennis Kelly, President and CEO. "We are proud to have spearheaded an effort that will ultimately benefit gorillas living in captive settings around the world."The Gorilla Tough Cuff operates in the same manner as the mechanism familiar to humans, with the patient slipping an arm into a cuff. As the cuff inflates, the blood pressure reading is measured and displayed on a monitor. The student design team's biggest set of challenges, however, was constructing a durable, comfortable cuff large enough to fit an adult male gorilla weighing upwards of 300 pounds.The prototype system was comprised of a blood pressure cuff bolted to a casing made of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) plastic. The casing was zip-tied to a rectangular mesh trap and the trap was temporarily attached to the gorilla cage. The pressure cuff tubing was connected to an off-the-shelf veterinary blood pressure monitor located outside of the gorilla cage."We also built a safety mechanism into the device so that the gorillas would not be injured if they became alarmed or frightened and tried to remove their arm from the cuff," said Sotto, who is currently a graduate student at Georgia Tech.Once the prototype was complete, the Tough Cuff had its first tester: Ozzie, a 48-year-old male western lowland gorilla. Gorillas aren't typically keen on the idea of inserting their arms into inflatable cuffs: Ozzie's accomplishment is the result of months of patience and diligent voluntary positive reinforcement training on the part of Zoo Atlanta's Primate Team.One of four geriatric gorillas living at the Zoo (the others are Shamba, 50; Choomba, 48; and Ivan, 47), Ozzie is at an age where he may be subject to health concerns similar to those experienced by mature humans. Cardiac disease is the leading cause of mortality in adult male gorillas living in captive settings, and the new system will enable veterinarians to more effectively monitor precursory signs such as high blood pressure."This is a great step forward in the medical management and care of captive gorillas," said Dr. Sam Rivera, Associate Veterinarian at Zoo Atlanta. "Our Veterinary and Primate Teams are extremely fortunate to have the biomedical engineering department at Georgia Tech and Emory University as a resource."The Gorilla Tough Cuff has already been demonstrated for veterinarians and animal care professionals from numerous other accredited zoos. The device could ultimately prove invaluable to the more than 100 institutions around the world currently housing the species. ---Image 1: Ozzie, a 48-year-old male western lowland gorilla at Zoo Atlanta, was the first gorilla to voluntarily have his blood pressure measured with the Gorilla Tough Cuff designed by Georgia Tech students. Credit: Zoo AtlantaImage 2: Ozzie slides his arm into the durable, yet comfortable, Gorilla Tough Cuff. As the cuff inflates, Ozzie's blood pressure is measured and displayed on a monitor. Credit: Zoo AtlantaImage 3: The Georgia Tech team that developed the Gorilla Tough Cuff and a Zoo Atlanta trainer position the pressure cuff casing inside the rectangular mesh trap so that a gorilla's blood pressure can be measured. Credit: Zoo Atlanta http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1784074/worlds_first_voluntary_gorilla_blood_pressure_reading/index.html?source=r_science Wed, 11 Nov 2009 07:01:56 -0500 Science Image Caption: Neal Iverson, an Iowa State professor of geological and atmospheric sciences, worked with a team of Ames Laboratory engineers to develop a machine that can simulate how glaciers slide across their beds. At the bottom of the machine is a hydraulic press that can create pressures equal to those beneath a glacier 1,300 feet thick. Photo by Bob Elbert. http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1783829/lab_machine_will_study_glacial_sliding_related_to_rising_sea/index.html?source=r_science Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:42:26 -0500 Science Image Caption: Old books give off an unmistakable, musty odor. Scientists have developed a new test that can measure the condition of old books and precious historical documents on the basis of their aroma. Credit: Wikimedia Commons http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1783533/aroma_hints_at_ways_to_preserve_treasured_documents/index.html?source=r_science Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:17:52 -0500 Science How revising an ancient species can change what we know of a lineage’s historical distribution and the climate in which it livedFossil plants are windows to the past, providing us with clues as to what our planet looked like millions of years ago. Not only do fossils tell us which species were present before human-recorded history, but they can provide information about the climate and how and when lineages may have dispersed around the world. Identifying fossil plants can be tricky, however, when plant organs fail to be preserved or when only a few sparse parts can be found.In the November issue of the American Journal of Botany, Peter Wilf (of Pennsylvania State University) and his U.S. and Argentine colleagues published their recent discovery of abundant fossilized specimens of a conifer previously known as "Libocedrus" prechilensis found in Argentinean Patagonia. This plant was first described in 1938 based on one fossil vegetative branch whose characteristics were said to most closely match those of a living South American dry, cold-climate conifer found in the study area: Austrocedrus (Libocedrus) chilensis, the Cordilleran Cypress.However, numerous characteristics of the leaves, including their distinctive shape and stomatal arrangements, as well as seed cone details of the newly discovered specimens entirely match those of extant Papuacedrus, a closely related genus, currently found only in tropical, montane New Guinea and the Moluccas.Based on the newly discovered fossil specimens from 52 and 47 million years ago, Wilf and colleagues reassigned the fossil species to Papuacedrus, under the new name combination Papuacedrus prechilensis. One of the major implications of this reassignment is that, because Papuacedrus is known from tropical montane habitats and is physiologically limited to extremely wet climates, it adds to the emerging evidence that Patagonia in the Eocene was a warm, wet tropical place and not a cold, dry steppe as much of it is today. It also adds a tropical West Pacific connection for Papuacedrus, further establishing the interchange of flora with Australia and neighboring areas via a warm and forested Antarctic land connection during the Eocene. Indeed, less complete Papuacedrus fossils have previously been found in Australia and Antarctica."This is a wonderful example of how securely identifying well-preserved and well-dated fossils can have many impacts," Wilf noted. "These fossils contribute critical information about conifer evolution as well as the biogeographic history of the Southern Hemisphere. Combined with the robust site geology we have generated, they also contribute to an important environmental reinterpretation of a large area in the past. Papuacedrus physiologically requires lots of moisture and cannot withstand prolonged droughts."Another important consequence of this find is how it relates to the great diversity of other fossil plant as well as insect species known from the Patagonian fossil sites. The lush, possibly montane, rainforest environment indicated by Papuacedrus helps to explain this stunning richness from the Eocene. "The revision [of this species] not only forces a major shift in biogeographic affinity (Patagonia to New Guinea), but also provides a decisive boost to important hypotheses of rainforest climates during the Eocene in Patagonia that had not been fully substantiated in previous work," Wilf said. "This in turn helps to explain the remarkable plant and insect diversity found in Eocene Patagonia."---Image Caption: This is foliage of Papuacedrus prechilensis (Berry) Wilf et al., comb. nov. (Cupressaceae), from the middle Eocene Río Pichileufú flora of Río Negro Province, Patagonia, Argentina. The monotypic genus Papuacedrus is today restricted to montane rainforests of New Guinea and the Moluccas, but its scarce fossil record includes Tasmania and Antarctica. Wilf et al. describe a suite of well-preserved specimens excavated from early and middle Eocene sites in Patagonia, including an immature seed cone attached to foliage with organic preservation, bearing numerous characters diagnostic of Papuacedrus. The fossils represent the first fossil cone, the oldest record, and the only South American record of Papuacedrus, greatly expanding its history of widespread distribution across Gondwana before cooling and drying conditions forced its extinction in southern South America and retreat to its current range in the equatorial West Pacific. Before the revision here to Papuacedrus, the only previously known fossil of this species was described as a close relative of Austrocedrus chilensis, a dry- and cold-tolerant conifer that grows near the fossil sites. Thus, the revision removes a link to southern South American biomes and puts in its place a link to Australasian montane rainforests. Along with other emerging and consistent data from these floras, this result suggests that a rainforest biome was present in Eocene Patagonia, possibly including topographic relief. High Eocene rainfall, topography, and land connections both to the rest of South America and to Australasia via Antaractica are viable explanations for the extraordinary plant and insect-feeding richness found at the fossil sites. The specimen shown is coalified with light patches of facial leaf cuticle visible overlying coal. Note opposite branching, enlarged lateral leaves, and light-colored amber in foliar resin canals. Credit: Image credit: P. Wilf. http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1784077/fossil_plant_discovery_links_patagonia_to_new_guinea_in_a/index.html?source=r_science Wed, 11 Nov 2009 07:40:12 -0500 Science California experienced centuries-long droughts in the past 20,000 years that coincided with the thawing of ice caps in the Arctic, according to a new study by UC Davis doctoral student Jessica Oster and geology professor Isabel Montañez.The finding, which comes from analyzing stalagmites from Moaning Cavern in the central Sierra Nevada, was published online Nov. http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1783836/cave_study_links_climate_change_to_california_droughts/index.html?source=r_science Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:35:08 -0500 Science New data show that the balance between the airborne and the absorbed fraction of carbon dioxide has stayed approximately constant since 1850, despite emissions of carbon dioxide having risen from about 2 billion tons a year in 1850 to 35 billion tons a year now.This suggests that terrestrial ecosystems and the oceans have a much greater capacity to absorb CO2 than had been previously expected.The results run contrary to a significant body of recent research which expects that the capacity of terrestrial ecosystems and the oceans to absorb CO2 should start to diminish as CO2 emissions increase, letting greenhouse gas levels skyrocket. http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1783828/controversial_new_climate_change_results/index.html?source=r_science Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:39:54 -0500 Science Georgia Tech City and Regional Planning Professor Brian Stone publishes a paper in the December edition of Environmental Science and Technology that suggests policymakers need to address the influence of global deforestation and urbanization on climate change, in addition to greenhouse gas emissions.According to Stone’s paper, as the international community meets in Copenhagen in December to develop a new framework for responding to climate change, policymakers need to give serious consideration to broadening the range of management strategies beyond greenhouse gas reductions alone.“Across the U.S. http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1784290/reducing_greenhouse_gases_may_not_be_enough_to_slow_climate/index.html?source=r_science Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:17:35 -0500 Science A woman is six times more likely to be separated or divorced soon after a diagnosis of cancer or multiple sclerosis than if a man in the relationship is the patient, according to a study that examined the role gender played in so-called "partner abandonment." The study also found that the longer the marriage the more likely it would remain intact.The study confirmed earlier research that put the overall divorce or separation rate among cancer patients at 11.6 percent, similar to the population as a whole. http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1783983/men_leave_separation_and_divorce_far_more_common_when_the/index.html?source=r_science Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:35:19 -0500 Science Temple researcher studies the effects of too much texting on college studentsThe world record for fastest text message typing is held by a 21-year old college student from Utah, but his dexterous digits could mean serious injury later on. http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1783981/a_pain_in_the_neck/index.html?source=r_science Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:31:19 -0500 Science Researchers at the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science at Northwestern University have developed, characterized, and modeled a new kind of probe used in atomic force microscopy (AFM), which images, measures, and manipulates matter at the nanoscale.Using diamond, researchers made a much more durable probe than the commercially available silicon nitride probes, which are typically used in AFM to gather information from a material, but can wear down after several uses.Horacio Espinosa, James and Nancy Farley Professor of Manufacturing and Entrepreneurship, and his graduate student Ravi Agrawal have shown that diamond atomic force microscopy probes are 10 times more durable than silicon nitride probes.Their results were recently published in the Journal of Applied Physics."It is well-known that diamond should perform much better than other probe materials," says Espinosa. http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1783979/new_nanocrystalline_diamond_probes_overcome_wear/index.html?source=r_science Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:27:22 -0500 Science The alcohol industry's sponsorship of sport should be banned and replaced with a dedicated alcohol tax modeled on those employed by some countries for tobacco, say scientists.Writing in the latest issue of the international journal Addiction, the authors have called on governments to outlaw the practice, citing their highly publicized 2008 study that showed alcohol-industry sponsorship of elite and community sport was associated with hazardous drinking among sport participants.Dr Kypros Kypri, from Newcastle University in Australia, and Dr Kerry O'Brien, from The University of Manchester in Britain, claim alcohol industry representatives and sports administrators in the UK and Australia were dismissive of the 2008 research findings despite their publication in a peer-reviewed scientific journal.Both the Portman Group – a public relations body set up by the alcohol industry – and the European Sponsorship Association, whose members include leading alcohol producers, argued that there was no causal relationship between sponsorship and alcohol misuse, which the researchers suggest is reminiscent of arguments used by the tobacco industry's behavior in the 1990s.Dr Kypri said: "The latest moves by the major sporting codes in Australia to lobby against the regulation of alcohol sponsorship of sport show that these bodies remain in denial of alcohol-related problems in their sports."In addition, it is clear that these organizations have enormous vested interests in continuing to receive alcohol money and government should be careful to act in the public interest rather than to cave in to the sports and Big Booze."Co-author, Dr O'Brien added: "Sport administrators are sending mixed messages to participants and fans when, on the one hand, they embrace and peddle alcohol via their sport, while on the other they punish individual sport stars and fans when they display loutish behavior while intoxicated."In place of industry sponsorship, the researchers suggest in their Addiction editorial that governments use the proceeds of alcohol taxation to sponsor sports via independent bodies. http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1783972/scientists_call_for_ban_on_alcoholindustry_sponsorship_of_sport/index.html?source=r_science Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:07:14 -0500 Science The females of the recently discovered Osedax marine worms feast on submerged bones via a complex relationship with symbiotic bacteria, and they are turning out to be far more diverse and widespread than scientists expected. http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1783971/the_bizarre_lives_of_boneeating_worms/index.html?source=r_science Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:03:46 -0500 Science Researchers from Australia and the UK are calling for a new approach to the debate over whether alcohol industry sponsorship of sports increases drinking among sports participants. http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1783970/health_researchers_call_for_alcohol_industry_to_prove_no_harm/index.html?source=r_science Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:59:43 -0500 Science If taking nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen or naproxen is to protect you from developing Alzheimer disease then you will have to start taking them at a very early age according to research in a mouse model of the disease.Emerging data indicate that an early molecular event in the development of Alzheimer disease is the induction of neuronal cell cycle events (CCEs). http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1783820/nsaids_prevent_early_sign_of_alzheimer_disease_in_mice/index.html?source=r_science Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:17:13 -0500 Science The results of a recent study shed light on the copper-zinc relationship in soil and its effect on soybean toxic response.Agricultural soils accumulate trace metals, particularly copper and zinc, as a result of their presence in wastes (sewage biosolids and manures) and fungicides that are applied over long periods of time. http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1783530/copperzinc_interaction_additive_affects_toxic_response_in_soybean/index.html?source=r_science Tue, 10 Nov 2009 09:51:36 -0500 Science