Earth
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Life
Lone Star cats rescue cousins in Sunshine State
Florida panther numbers have tripled since the introduction of females from Texas injected vital genetic diversity, a new report says.
- Earth
Gulf spill may have been somewhat bigger than feds, BP estimated
Researchers estimate the oil output using a new technique developed for measuring the output of marine hydrothermal vents.
- Earth
Back to the moon’s future
New crater and composition measurements from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter are helping scientists understand the moon’s history and scout for future landing sites.
- Environment
Gases dominate Gulf’s subsea plumes
Shipboard experiments in June show that natural gas dominates the Gulf oil plumes and that its components are the favorite choice of microbes.
- Life
Streetlights turn young duds into studs
Nocturnal illumination starts youthful male blue tits chirping earlier in the morning, tempting the mates of their still-snoozing elders.
- Climate
Annual Arctic ice minimum reached
Melt isn’t as bad as 2007, but still reaches number three in the record books.
- Agriculture
A taste of the chocolate genome
Competing teams have announced the impending completion of the cacao DNA sequence.
- Health & Medicine
DNA-damaging disinfection by-products found in pool water
A study detects subtle changes in swimmers’ cells after 40 minutes of laps.
- Ecosystems
Climate’s link to plague
Scientists have correlated changes in long-term Pacific Ocean temperature patterns with the incidence of a deadly bacterial pestilence, one spread by fleas living on and around mice and other rodents.
- Earth
What lies beneath
Studies of geology, soils and agricultural demand may prove useful in forecasting the climate effects of deforestation.
- Earth
Not in this toad’s backyard
Yellow crazy ants meet a hungry obstacle as they spread into cacao plantations.
- Ecosystems
No ‘dead zone’ from BP oil
As aquatic microbes dine, they consume oxygen. When too many congregate at some temporary smorgasbord of goodies, they can use up so much oxygen that a so-called dead zone develops — water with too little oxygen to sustain fish, mammals or shellfish. On Sept. 7, federal scientists reported that despite the massive release of oil from the damaged BP well in the Gulf of Mexico, no such dead zone developed.
