articles

Una libélula de apenas una pulgada y media de largo parece ser el más prolífico viajero de larga distancia del mundo animal: vuela miles de millas sobre los océanos, ya que migra de un continente a otro, según una investigación publicada recientemente.

Walter and Eliza Hall Institute researchers have uncovered a protein that is key to the development of blood cancers caused by a common genetic error. 

The discovery is a missing piece in the puzzle of understanding how high levels of a protein called MYC drive cancer development, and may to lead to future strategies for early treatment or possibly even prevention of these cancers.

Seventy per cent of human cancers have abnormally high levels of MYC, which forces cells into unusually rapid growth.

Ice melt in the Arctic Ocean is opening up previously untouched areas to industrial fishing fleets using ecologically risky bottom trawling methods, writes Joe Sandler Clarke. Ecosystems supporting walruses, polar bears, puffins and other sea birds could be stripped bare.

Bottom trawling is widely considered to be the among most destructive fishing techniques, with vast nets catching fish as they are dragged along the sea bed.

Using official data and ship tracking systems, researchers found that large numbers of fishing vessels owned by major companies have taken advantage of melting sea ice to fish in previously impossible to reach parts of the Norwegian and Russian Arctic.

Greenland's snowy surface has been getting darker over the past two decades, absorbing more heat from the sun and increasing snow melt, a new study of satellite data shows. That trend is likely to continue, with the surface's reflectivity, or albedo, decreasing by as much as 10 percent by the end of the century, the study says.

El uso de la bicicleta está disminuyendo en todo el mundo en medio de crecientes niveles de riqueza y aumento del uso de vehículos motorizados en los países en desarrollo, reveló un estudio.

Cuatro de cada diez hogares en el planeta tienen una bicicleta, de acuerdo con un documento elaborado sobre la base de encuestas de 150 países entre 1989 y 2012. Sin embargo, la creciente popularidad y la asequibilidad del transporte motorizado, tales como coches y motos, "han desfavorecido el uso de la bicicleta", los investigadores dicen.

China en particular experimentó un colapso en las tasas de propiedad en bicicleta desde 1992, cuando el 97 por ciento de los hogares tenía bicicletas. Sin embargo, esto se redujo a 63 por ciento...