The global crisis for endangered species is more serious than the financial meltdown, with numbers of imperiled animals and plants rising at record rates, scientists are warning in a report released today.In its latest four-year assessment of endangered species, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has added several new entries to the Red List of Threatened Species. Judging from the list's expansion, the report warns, the world is unlikely to meet a goal of reversing a trend toward species depletion by 2010. [More]
As moviegoers make plans to watch summer blockbusters this weekend, there is an additional choice for New Yorkers: Journey to the Stars, the new space show opening July 4 at the Hayden Planetarium in the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) Rose Center for Earth and Space. [More]
John Reece Roth, 71, a prominent plasma physicist was sentenced to four years in prison for 18 counts of conspiracy, wire fraud and violations of the Arms Export Control Act, after he allowed a Chinese graduate student to see sensitive information on Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAVs), also known as drones. [More]
[The following is an exact transcript of this podcast.]We might think perfect pitch is an innate talent. Well, a study in the American Journal of Human Genetics is providing some evidence for that. [More]
University of Quebec's Team OMER found inspiration in nature--penguins, actually--as they set two international speed records last week at the International Human-Powered Submarine Races held at the U. S. Naval Surface Warfare Center's Carderock test tank in Bethesda, Md. [More]
In the watery limbo between sea and river, where salt and fresh water mingle in the roots of mangrove trees, a handful of uniquely adapted species--terrestrial and aquatic--have evolved to fill the novel niche. [More]
Cancer experts say a study tracking 774 prostate cancer patients for a median of eight years has shown that a three-way combination of measurements has the best chance yet of predicting disease metastasis.
The Archaea are single-celled organisms and a domain unto themselves, quite apart from the so called eukaryotes (bacteria and higher organisms). Many species live under extreme conditions, and carry out unique biochemical processes shared neither with bacteria nor with eukaryotes. Methanogenic archaeans, for example, can produce methane gas out of carbon dioxide and hydrogen.
As childhood obesity rates continue to increase, experts agree that more information is needed about the implications of being overweight as a step toward reversing current trends. A new study has found that overweight children, especially girls, show signs of the negative consequences of being overweight as early as kindergarten.
It is well documented that police officers have a higher risk of developing heart disease: The question is why. In the most recent results coming out of one of the few long-term studies being conducted within this tightly knit society, researchers have determined that underlying the higher incidence of subclinical atherosclerosis -- arterial thickening that precedes a heart attack or stroke -- may be the stress of police work.
Risk for hepatocellular carcinoma, a primary malignancy of the liver, was statistically significantly higher among women with hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection than among women without the virus, according to a new study.
New details have emerged about the history of water on Mars, gleaned from the 2008 NASA Phoenix Mars Mission. Scientists found patterns in the ground near the lander, multi-sided shapes about three to ten meters in size. The shapes are created when the surface contracts and the ice cracks. Sand fills in the cracks before the ice expands and buckles the surface to make the distinctive patterns.