The food chain is a hierarchical series of organisms that are interrelated in their feeding habits. The chain starts when the smallest being like an insect is fed upon a larger prey species, which in turn feeds an even larger species. So if a species among the lower ranks of the chain has accumulated toxins such as pesticides or other organic chemicals, there is potential for these toxic substances to affect the species that prey upon them. This is the subject of new research conducted by the US Geological survey that found when fish feed on insects and when other wildlife species feed on fish, harmful contaminants are transferred up the line.
Read more ...
The International Seabed Authority (ISA) has begun issuing exploration licenses for mining the yet untouched floor of international waters raising concerns about potential environmental impacts. The licenses, issued on 21 July, grant prospecting rights for underwater minerals to private and state-owned companies from Brazil, Cook Islands, Germany, India, Russia, Singapore and the United Kingdom.
Read more ...
Residential geography, time spent in the sun, and whether or not sunglasses are worn may help explain why some people develop exfoliation syndrome (XFS), an eye condition that is a leading cause of secondary open-angle glaucoma and can lead to an increased risk of cataract and cataract surgery complications, according to a study published on Sept. 4 in JAMA, Ophthalmology.
Despite improvements in understanding the cause of this common yet life-altering condition, more work needs to be done. "The discovery that common genetic variants in the lysyl oxidase-like 1 gene (LOXL1) are associated with 99 percent of XFS cases represented a significant advance in our understanding of this condition," said the study's lead author, Louis Pasquale, M.D., Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School (HMS), and director of the HMS Glaucoma Center of Excellence and Mass. Eye and Ear Glaucoma Service and Telemedicine Service. "However, 80 percent of control individuals also harbor these variants and that ratio of cases to control individuals with trait-related variants is fairly similar in regions where XFS is very prevalent and in regions where the condition is relatively rare; this suggests that other genetic or environmental factors contribute to XFS."
Read more ...
¿Cómo puede un fabricante reformular un producto de limpieza que contenga menos productos quÃmicos nocivos, y cómo puede un comerciante llenar sus estantes con mercancÃa más respetuosa del medio ambiente? UL (Underwriters Laboratories), una compañÃa de pruebas de seguridad y certificación de productos, piensa que puede tener una solución: un conjunto de herramientas de datos que ayuda a las empresas a buscar y elegir los ingredientes y productos en función de sus perfiles de responsabilidad social y ambiental.
Gestionado por la recientemente formada división de Información y Análisis de UL...
Read more ...
Al tiempo en que California sufre su tercer año de sequÃa sin precedentes, legisladores del estado acuerdan que se requiere una supervisión más radical de los recursos de agua subterránea en el estado.
Legisladores de California aprobaron la Ley 1168 del Senado y la Ley 1739 de la Asamblea, las cuales en su conjunto exigen un manejo más estricto de los suministros de agua subterránea por agencias locales, dejando al estado la...
Read more ...
