Earth | Page 1261 | Science Codex

New molecules created by UC Riverside chemists have wide applications

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Researchers at the University of California, Riverside have successfully created in the laboratory a class of carbenes, highly reactive molecules, used to make catalysts – substances that facilitate chemical reactions. Until now, chemists believed these carbenes, called "abnormal N-heterocyclic carbenes" or aNHCs, were impossible to make.

Carbenes are made up of unusual carbon atoms and are usually unstable in nature. They attach themselves to metals to form metal-carbene complexes that serve as efficient catalysts used widely in the pharmaceutical industry.

Treaty to limit CO2 should be followed by similar limits on other greenhouse pollutants

When world leaders meet in Copenhagen in December to hash out a treaty limiting carbon dioxide emissions, they should begin planning a future summit to address other pollutants – from soot to ozone – that don't remain in the atmosphere as long as carbon dioxide, but nevertheless are major contributors to global warming.

That is the view of University of California, Berkeley, researcher Stacy C. Jackson, who presents her arguments in a policy piece appearing in the Oct. 23 issue of the journal Science.

Geologists studying groundwater arsenic levels in India empower Bengali women, children

A Kansas State University geologist and graduate student are finding that the most important tools in their fieldwork on groundwater arsenic pollution are women and children armed with pamphlets and testing kits.

"When going into a foreign land, you need the common people's help, support and understanding of the work you are doing," said Saugata Datta, a K-State assistant professor of geology.

The lotus's large leaves reveal its secret to staying dry

DURHAM, N.C. –- An ancient Confucian philosopher once said, "I love the lotus because while growing from mud, it is unstained."

Now, almost one thousand years since Zhou Dunyi wrote these lines in China, scientists finally understand how the plant keeps itself clean and dry. It took an ultra high speed camera, a powerful microscope and an audio speaker to unlock a secret that has puzzled scientists for ages.

A new technique identifies versions of the same song

A team of researchers from Pompeu Fabra University (UPF) has developed a system to identify common patterns in versions of songs, which will help to quantify the similarity of musical pieces. The technique, which appears in the New Journal of Physics, could be applied to analyse time series of data in other fields, such as economy, biology or astronomy.

Analysis of earliest shell-covered fossil animals yields evolutionary insights

(Santa Barbara, Calif.) –– The fossil remains of some of the first animals with shells, ocean-dwelling creatures that measure a few centimeters in length and date to about 520 million years ago, provide a window on evolution at this time, according to scientists. Their research indicates that these animals were larger than previously thought.

Pavlopetri -- the world's oldest known submerged town

The world's oldest known submerged town has been revealed through the discovery of late Neolithic pottery. The finds were made during an archaeological survey of Pavlopetri, off the southern Laconia coast of Greece.

Marine geo-archaeologist Dr Nic Flemming of the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton said: "The discovery of Neolithic pottery is incredible! It means that we are looking at a port city which may be 5000-6000 years old, with trade goods and wrecks nearby showing some of the very earliest days of seafaring trade in the Mediterranean."

Diverting sediment-rich water below New Orleans could lead to extensive new land

Diverting sediment-rich water from the Mississippi River below New Orleans could generate new land in the river's delta in the next century.

The land would equal almost half the acreage otherwise expected to disappear during that period, a new study shows.

For decades, sea-level rise, land subsidence, and a decrease in river sediment have caused vast swaths of the Mississippi Delta to vanish into the sea.

Seismic noise unearths lost hurricanes, may link global warming and hurricane frequency

Boulder, CO, USA - Seismologists have found a new way to piece together the history of hurricanes in the North Atlantic—by looking back through records of the planet's seismic noise. It's an entirely new way to tap into the rich trove of seismic records, and the strategy might help establish a link between global warming and the frequency or intensity of hurricanes.

"Looking for something like hurricane records in seismology doesn't occur to anybody," said Carl Ebeling, of Northwestern University in Evanston. "It's a strange and wondrous combination."

Clemson researchers say algae key to mass extinctionss

CLEMSON — Algae, not asteroids, were the key to the end of the dinosaurs, say two Clemson University researchers. Geologist James W. Castle and ecotoxicologist John H. Rodgers have published findings that toxin producing algae were a deadly factor in mass extinctions millions of years ago. The research not only provides new insights into the past but also offers a caution about the future. The scientists say that current environmental conditions show significant similarity to times when previous mass extinctions occurred.

No test needed for hand-foot genital syndrome in women without HOXA13 gene mutation

Hugh S. Taylor, M.D., professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences at Yale, and colleagues have found that women without mutations of the HOXA13 gene do not need to be subjected to x-rays and other tests for a rare condition called hand-foot genital syndrome. The research is presented at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) scientific meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, October 17-21.

As Greenland melts

Princeton, New Jersey. October 19th, 2009 ~Not that long ago – the blink of a geologic eye – global temperatures were so warm that ice on Greenland could have been hard to come by. Today, the largest island in the world is covered with ice 1.6 miles thick. Even so, Greenland has become a hot spot for climate scientists. Why? Because tiny bubbles trapped in the ice layers may help resolve a fundamental question about global warming: how fast and how much will ice sheets melt?

Suberin in cork for biofuel agriculture

UPTON, NY — Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory have identified a novel enzyme responsible for the formation of suberin — the woody, waxy, cell-wall substance found in cork. While effective at keeping wine inside a bottle, suberin's most important function in plants is to control water and nutrient transportation and keep pathogens out. Adjusting the permeability of plant tissues by genetically manipulating the expression of this enzyme could lead to easier agricultural production of crops used for biofuels.

Arctic lake sediments show warming, unique ecological changes in recent decades

An analysis of sediment cores indicates that biological and chemical changes occurring at a remote Arctic lake are unprecedented over the past 200,000 years and likely are the result of human-caused climate change, according to a new study led by the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Climate change may spur increased growth in Pacific Northwest forests

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Global warming in the next century could cause a significant increase in the productivity of high-elevation forests of the Pacific Northwest, a new study suggests. However, forests at lower elevations – which in recent years have accounted for more than 80 percent of the region's timber harvest – could face a decline in growth.