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Plants are one of the last bulwarks against climate change. They feed on carbon dioxide, growing faster and absorbing more of the greenhouse gas as humans produce it. But a new study finds that limited nutrients may keep plants from growing as fast as scientists thought, leading to more global warming than some climate models had predicted by 2100.

When plant biodiversity declines, the remaining plants face diminishing productivity, say scientists in study published April 20 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "The loss of biodiversity is threatening ecosystem productivity and services worldwide, spurring efforts to quantify its effects on the functioning of natural ecosystems," said lead author Jingjing Liang, a forest ecologist from West Virginia University.

A new study by UC San Francisco has found that statins can help prevent disease in older adults but must be weighed against potentially serious side effects.

Amid a projected cost of almost $900 billion for cardiovascular disease over the next decade in the U.S., statins are used by nearly half the elderly population in the nation. But in spite of the widespread use, there has been little systematic scrutiny of the potential risks of the drugs in older adults and whether those side effects could offset cardiovascular and other health benefits.

For the second year in a row, energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the United States have increased, according to the latest official figures. However, unlike 2013, when emissions and gross domestic product (GDP) grew at similar rates (2.5% and 2.2%, respectively), 2014's CO2 emissions growth rate of 0.7% was much smaller than the 2014 GDP growth rate of 2.4%.

Por segundo año consecutivo, las emisiones de dióxido de carbono (CO2) relacionado con la producción energía en los Estados Unidos han aumentado, según las últimas cifras oficiales.

Sin embargo, a diferencia de 2013, cuando las emisiones y el producto interno bruto (PIB) creció a un ritmo similar (2,5% y 2,2%, respectivamente), en el 2014 la tasa de crecimiento de las emisiones de CO2 de 0,7%, fue mucho menor que la tasa de crecimiento del PIB de ese año, que fue del 2,4%.

Las emisiones de CO2 relacionadas con la energía son el mayor componente de las emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero globales estadounidenses. El 31 de marzo de 2015, los Estados Unidos presentaron oficialmente...