Moss growing on urban trees is a useful bio-indicator of cadmium air pollution in Portland, Oregon, a U.S. Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station-led study has found. The work--the first to use moss to generate a rigorous and detailed map of air pollution in a U.S. city--is published online in the journal Science of the Total Environment.
articles
¡Coma sus nueces hoy!
Los resultados iniciales del estudio de Envejecimiento Saludable (WAHA) sobre nueces presentados en Experimental Biology 2016 (EB) indican que el consumo diario de nuez tiene un impacto positivo en el nivel de colesterol en la sangre sin efectos adversos sobre el peso corporal entre los adultos mayores. El estudio de WAHA es un ensayo clínico en dos sitios con duración de dos años realizado por investigadores del Hospital Clínico de Barcelona y la Universidad de Loma Linda y tiene como objetivo determinar el efecto de las nueces sobre problemas de salud relacionados con la edad.
Good news for the Iberian lynx!
WWF welcomes the 2015 Iberian lynx census released today by the government of Andalusia. The survey shows a significant increase in population with the Iberian lynx reaching the highest number since the species was found to be the most endangered cat in the world in 2002.
The latest population figure of 404 individuals is up from the 327 recorded in 2014. The survey identified 120 breeding females divided into five areas of the Iberian Peninsula including four in Spain – Doñana, Sierra Morena, Montes de Toledo, Valley Matachel – as well as Portugal’s Vale do Guadiana.
Supernova explosion impacted Earth within the last 9 million years
Two new papers appearing in the journal Nature this week are "slam-dunk" evidence that energies from supernovae have buffeted our planet, according to astrophysicist Adrian Melott of the University of Kansas.
Melott offers his judgment of these studies in an associated letter, entitled "Supernovae in the neighborhood," also appearing this week in Nature.
One paper, authored by Anton Wallner and colleagues, proves the existence of ancient seabed deposits of iron-60 isotopes, tracing their source to supernovae occurring about 325 light years from Earth. The second paper, by a team headed by Deiter Breitschwerdt, estimates explosion times of these supernovae, isolating two events: one 1.7 to 3.2 million years ago, and the other 6.5 to 8.7 million years ago.
Can urban gardeners benefit ecosystems while keeping food traditions alive?
When conjuring up an image of a healthy ecosystem, few of us would think of a modern city. But scientists are increasingly recognizing that the majority of ecosystems are now influenced by humans, and even home gardens in urban landscapes can contribute important ecosystem services.
Earth's soils could play key role in locking away greenhouse gases
The world's soils could store an extra 8 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases, helping to limit the impacts of climate change, research suggests.
Adopting the latest technologies and sustainable land use practices on a global scale could allow more emissions to be stored in farmland and natural wild spaces, the study shows.