Earth

Fistula-related morbidity decreased by prompt treatment in Sierra Leone

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New active surveillance parameters allow for more individualized patient care

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Blood testing, mosquito style

Fire is important part of global climate change, report scientists

(Santa Barbara, Calif.) –– Fire must be accounted for as an integral part of climate change, according to 22 authors of an article published in the April 24 issue of the journal Science. The authors determined that intentional deforestation fires alone contribute up to one-fifth of the human-caused increase in emissions of carbon dioxide, a heat-trapping gas that raises global temperature.

Fire is an important and under-appreciated part of global climate change

Fire must be accounted for as an integral part of climate change, according to 22 authors of an article published in the April 24 issue of the journal Science. The authors determined that intentional deforestation fires alone contribute up to one-fifth of the human-caused increase in emissions of carbon dioxide, a heat-trapping gas that increases global temperature.

What makes a cow a cow? Genome sequence sheds light on ruminant evolution

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Researchers report today that they have sequenced the bovine genome, for the first time revealing the genetic features that distinguish cattle from humans and other mammals.

The six-year effort involved an international consortium of researchers and is the first full genome sequence of any ruminant species. Ruminants are distinctive in that they have a four-chambered stomach that – with the aid of a multitude of resident microbes – allows them to digest low quality forage such as grass.

Fingerprinting slow earthquakes

Washington, DC—The most powerful earthquakes happen at the junction of two converging tectonic plates, where one plate is sliding (or subducting) beneath the other. Now a team of researchers, led by Teh-Ru Alex Song of the Carnegie Institution's Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, has found that an anomalous layer at the top of a subducting plate coincides with the locations of slow earthquakes and non-volcanic tremors. The presence of such a layer in similar settings elsewhere could point to other regions of slow quakes.

Completed cattle genome could improve beef and dairy production

Scientists are tomorrow (24 April 2009) publishing the complete cattle genome in the journal Science. UK researchers, supported in part by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), have played a key part in the annotation and analysis of the genome as part of a 300-scientist collaboration, spanning 25 countries.

Completed bovine genome sequence opens door to better cattle production

COLUMBIA, Mo. – A University of Missouri researcher worked with international teams to sequence the bovine genome and study the diversity among breeds. The research from the completed genome will provide new information about mammalian evolution, cattle genetics and could result in improved cattle production. The results appear this week in two articles in the journal Science.

Ancient Greenland methane study good news for planet, says CU-Boulder scientist

An analysis of ancient Greenland ice suggests a spike in the greenhouse gas methane about 11,600 years ago originated from wetlands rather than the ocean floor or from permafrost, a finding that is good news according to the University of Colorado at Boulder scientist who led the study.

Fire influences global warming more than previously thought

Fire's potent and pervasive effects on ecosystems and on many Earth processes, including climate change, have been underestimated, according to a new report.

"We've estimated that deforestation due to burning by humans is contributing about one-fifth of the human-caused greenhouse effect -- and that percentage could become larger," said co-author Thomas W. Swetnam of The University of Arizona in Tucson.

"It's very clear that fire is a primary catalyst of global climate change," said Swetnam, director of UA's Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research.

Cattle genome sequencing milestone promises health benefits, researcher says

EAST LANSING, Mich. – The landmark sequencing of the domestic cattle genome, reported today in the journal Science, could lead to important new findings about health and nutrition, a participating Michigan State University researcher said.

Theresa Casey, a research assistant professor in the Department of Animal Science, joined 300 colleagues around the world in a six-year project to complete, annotate and analyze the bovine genome sequence.

Greenland's 'good news' methane finding

Ice core research has revealed that a vast, potential source of the potent greenhouse gas, methane, is more stable in a warming world than previously thought.

Based on international research published today in Science, the finding includes Australian contributions from CSIRO and the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO)

Wetlands likely source of methane from ancient warming event

An expansion of wetlands and not a large-scale melting of frozen methane deposits is the likely cause of a spike in atmospheric methane gas that took place some 11,600 years ago, according to an international research team led by Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego.

Bovine genome provides clues to possible new developments

Scientists from Texas AgriLife Research and the Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences (CVM) are part of a consortium of researchers who have developed an annotated sequence of the cattle genome which could lead to better disease resistance and higher quality meat for consumers, the researchers say. Their work was led by the Baylor College of Medicine Human Genome Sequencing Center and published in two reports that appear today in the journal "Science."