Science News Archive - June 09, 2005
A group of Colombian scientists believe they've found a way to wipe out cocaine production: unleash an army of hungry moth caterpillars. But critics of the proposal say the chance for "ecological mischief" is high.
Plenty of research has been done on young athletes, but little is known about marathoners, swimmers and softball players over age 50. That's about to change. Over the next several days at the Senior Olympics here, researchers plan to learn a lot from these aged physical specimens, perhaps gaining new insights into aging and exercise.
Almost 1,000 whales, dolphins and porpoises die daily in fishing nets and urgent changes are needed in trawling methods to save nine populations under immediate threat, conservation group WWF said on Thursday. The accidental catching of cetacea in fishing gear is one of the gravest global threats to marine mammals.
Scientists gather routinely at the Texas Medical Center to share research. But they are meeting this weekend in enemy territory for a war-room session on political strategy. Advocates of embryonic stem cell research from the fields of academia, politics, health care and medicine are plotting ways to quell opposition and get the research money flowing.
Hidden dangers revealed to passing ships.
High-tech gadgets like strategically placed ocean pressure sensors could be valuable tools for protecting residents of tsunami-prone areas. But the biggest need, says Cornell University tsunami expert Philip Liu, is for sustained education so both residents and tourists understand the best ways to stay safe when a tsunami hits.
Researchers at Yale have identified a gene that regulates the major immune response in plants, programmed cell death (PCD), according to a recent report in the journal Cell.
The following highlights summarize research papers in Geophysical Research Letters (GL). The papers related to these Highlights are printed in the next paper issue of the journal following their electronic publication. June 9, 2005
New imaging technique—a trillion times faster than conventional techniques—advances field of plasmonics, could lead to better semiconductors.
Scientists at the University of York are warning that dramatic changes may soon occur in Africa’s vegetation in response to global warming.
