Science & Technology News
Human ancestors had teeth chemistry like giraffes
Posted Wed, 27 Jun 2012 16:00:00 GMT by Adrian BishopHuman ancestors two million years ago ate plants, including bark, and had teeth chemistry like giraffes, new research suggests.
Human ancestors had teeth chemistry like giraffes
Macro or mega, it's still ecology
Posted Thu, 21 Jun 2012 14:32:10 GMT by Dave ArmstrongA new essay published in PLoS ONE looks at macroecology and sustainability. Humans are constrained by the systems that operate within the planet earth's ecological framework. Ecology has always been a minor partner in human endeavours, but seems to be the crucial one for us now.
Macro or mega, it's still ecology
Elephant pregnancy is unique
Posted Tue, 19 Jun 2012 23:01:00 GMT by Dave ArmstrongElephant pregnancy lasts for 22 months. At up to 680 days (average 647 days), elephants have the longest gestation period on earth. New research, published in Biological Sciences, investigates.
Elephant pregnancy is unique
Archaea live long and slowly
Posted Sat, 02 Jun 2012 19:03:00 GMT by Dave ArmstrongT-Rex came and went, then mammals ruled, all the while the single-celled archaeon persisted with its slow growth lifestyle. Distantly related to bacteria, archaea have the slowest growth rate known to date.
Archaea live long and slowly
Super-eruptions may only take hundreds of years to form
Posted Wed, 30 May 2012 21:00:00 GMT by Adrian BishopVolcanic super-eruptions, with the potential to wipe out huge populations, could take just hundreds of years to form rather than the 100,000 previously thought, say American geologists.
Super-eruptions may only take hundreds of years to form
Sex determination in birds
Posted Tue, 29 May 2012 23:01:00 GMT by Dave ArmstrongThe ZZW hen is female to start with but develops male characteristics and produces no fertile gametes (eggs OR sperm). Except that is for the ZZW Kentish plover, noted in the study of sex determination in birds.
Sex determination in birds
Earthquakes are always big news - or are they?
Posted Sat, 26 May 2012 11:02:39 GMT by Michael EvansEarthquake prediction is an inexact science and the recent Italian earthquake has highlighted the danger of not taking adequate precautions. An Anglo-Russian satelite programme hopes to be able to use electromagnetic signals as a means of early warning.
Earthquakes are always big news - or are they?
Placentals ruled before the Cretaceous
Posted Thu, 24 May 2012 12:09:00 GMT by Dave ArmstrongTheropod dinosaurs ruled the earth then died out in the Cretaceous, leaving the little mammals to diversify. Many genomes are now examinable for signs of diversification in these species' past.
Placentals ruled before the Cretaceous
When dinosaurs ruled the Pampas
Posted Wed, 23 May 2012 10:40:33 GMT by Dave ArmstrongIn Patagonia, which was part of southern Gondwanaland, a very early complete (almost) theropod dinosaur example has been found from the middle of the Jurassic period, 40 million years before any relative.
When dinosaurs ruled the Pampas
Robo-fish uses arti-fish-ial intelligence to find pollution
Posted Tue, 22 May 2012 13:27:20 GMT by Adrian BishopRobotic fish used to find pollution. A four-foot robot fish that uses artificial intelligence to track, find and record water pollution is being tested.
Robo-fish uses arti-fish-ial intelligence to find pollution
Pollination: Flowers are masters of reproduction
Posted Fri, 18 May 2012 15:16:00 GMT by Adrian BishopAmerican university researchers have found how flowers have an efficient way of reproducing, ensuring that fertilisation is successful even if the initial pollen is faulty.
Pollination: Flowers are masters of reproduction
Where, how and what do an ant and a pitcher plant exchange?
Posted Wed, 16 May 2012 10:28:34 GMT by Dave ArmstrongMutual benefits of a relationship between an ant species and pitcher plant; mutualism. Only one of the 120 species of the Nepenthes genus has been found so far to use a single plant - ant species within its tissues to help out.
Where, how and what do an ant and a pitcher plant exchange?
History of a giant salamander (Dicamptodon tenebrosus)
Posted Sun, 13 May 2012 15:03:00 GMT by Dave ArmstrongEcology of coastal giant salamanders, (Dicamptodon tenebrosus). Research into the genetic structure and history of giant salamander populations in the United States and Canada.
History of a giant salamander (Dicamptodon tenebrosus)
LED street lights save millions each year
Posted Thu, 10 May 2012 19:16:22 GMT by Adrian BishopEco-friendly LED street lights are saving million of dollars each year in town and city power bills and are reducing carbon emissions.
LED street lights save millions each year
The Dwarf Mammoth of Crete: Mammuthus Creticus
Posted Tue, 08 May 2012 23:09:00 GMT by Dave ArmstrongThe smallest species of mammoth that ever existed lived on Crete. Fossils of Mammuthus creticus, a dwarf mammoth, were discovered on the Greek island.
The Dwarf Mammoth of Crete: Mammuthus Creticus
They're after Iceman Oetzi's 5300-year-old blood!
Posted Wed, 02 May 2012 21:18:15 GMT by Dave ArmstrongOetzi the iceman should not have had any blood preserved for the length of time (5,300 years) he has been lying in the mountains. But, as ever with this persistent man, Oetzi has come up trumps.
They're after Iceman Oetzi's 5300-year-old blood!
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Does the dog in your living room have any similarity to those wild species that we are losing from our savanna and forests? This new discovery of signalling a hunt could lead us to more understanding of much more than our domestic animals. The beauty of the painted dog lies in intricate behaviour and care systems which maintain a society we should envy.
Zero waste organisations have been spreading to many nations over the last 10 years. Now weve been asking the UK population just how much they care about waste.
For the first time, two otters have a comparative study on their ability to learn from others in their clan. This could lead to study of more animals in this area, providing valuable evidence of evolutionary trends in sociability.
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The future is certainly renewable, but are we too late to prevent future centuries problems of global warming- and the rest! Here are some current US solutions to waste and warming for you to enjoy---there are some ads in this piece but weve allowed them for one blog only.
Need to save money after the spending boom to end them all? Here are 2 sets of opinions on how to pull out the plugs at night at least.
When dolphins are 'rescued' in various countries, the car given seems to be ill-considered. We are simply looking at the success rate which is reported to be low, in most places. They could even end up in commercial aquarium shows, but they certainly rarely make it back to the sea.
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Science & Technology Articles
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The role of marine plankton in sequestration of carbon
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Posted Sat, 02 Jun 2012 19:03:00 GMT by Dave ArmstrongCarbon counting in the USA - with a ground-breaking new biomass map
Posted Wed, 20 Apr 2011 16:00:00 GMT by Martin LeggettAir travel with less carbon, more aerodynamics?
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Posted Sun, 03 Jul 2011 16:44:00 GMT by Colin RickettsIce melt increases at both Poles
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Posted Tue, 05 Aug 2014 08:55:00 GMT by Paul RobinsonWater fleas swap infection for reproduction
Posted Thu, 29 Mar 2012 18:00:00 GMT by Adrian Bishop