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Public Release: 6-Nov-2009
 American NaturalistAnts are friendly to some trees, but not others Tree-dwelling ants generally live in harmony with their arboreal hosts. But new research suggests that when they run out of space in their trees of choice, the ants can get destructive to neighboring trees. Contact: Kevin Stacey
Public Release: 6-Nov-2009
BioScienceAIBS publishes Darwin articles open access Two articles about Charles Darwin and his development of the theory of evolution by natural selection have been published in the AIBS journal BioScience and have been made open to the public in honor of the 150th anniversary of the publication of "On the Origin of Species." The articles are by Kevin Padian and James T. Costa. Together the articles dispel some common myths about Darwin the man and detail his efforts over many years to develop a theory to explain nature's diversity. Contact: Tim Beardsley
Public Release: 6-Nov-2009
ScienceNitrogen loss threatens desert plant life, study shows As the climate gets warmer, arid soils lose nitrogen as gas, reports a new Cornell study. That could lead to deserts with even less plant life than they sustain today, say the researchers. 
National Science Foundation
Contact: Blaine Friedlander
Public Release: 6-Nov-2009
Geological Society of America BulletinPast climate of the northern Antarctic Peninsular informs global warming debate The seriousness of current global warming is underlined by a reconstruction of climate at Maxwell Bay in the South Shetland Islands of the Antarctic Peninsula over approximately the last 14,000 years, which appears to show that the current warming and widespread loss of glacial ice are unprecedented.
National Science Foundation
Contact: Dr. Rory Howlett
Public Release: 6-Nov-2009
3rd International Barcode of Life ConferenceDNA barcodes: Creative new uses span health, fraud, smuggling, history, more Some 350 experts from 50 nations gathering in Mexico for their 3rd global meeting will outline the latest creative applications of DNA barcoding, including several projects related to human health, fraud, smuggling, the food chain and reconstructing environmental history. Contact: Terry Collins
Public Release: 5-Nov-2009
Geophysical Research LettersAGU journal highlights -- Nov. 5, 2009 Featured in this release are research papers on the following topics: "Antarctica warming a regional, not local, trend"; "New model factors storms into shoreline loss"; "Study agrees reservoir contributed to Wenchuan earthquake"; "Much Arctic warming linked to sea-ice, cloud-cover changes"; "Sorting out natural from human influences in ocean warming"; and "Meteoritic impacts may have cooked up life's components." Contact: Maria-Jose Vinas
Public Release: 5-Nov-2009
BiotropicaResearchers hail innovative plan to save rainforest, reduce greenhouse gas emissions An innovative proposal by the Ecuadorian government to protect an untouched, oil rich region of Amazon rainforest is a precedent-setting and potentially economically viable approach, says a team of environmental researchers from the University of Maryland, the World Resources Institute and Save America's Forests. Contact: Lee Tune
Public Release: 5-Nov-2009
Coral reefs inspire rare consensus -- just save them One of the first set of studies to examine what tourists and recreation enthusiasts actually think about coral reef ecosystems suggests they are a rare exception to controversies over human use versus environmental conservation -- their stunning beauty is so extraordinary that almost everyone wants them protected in perpetuity.
Hawaii Coral Reef Initiative
Contact: Mark Needham
Public Release: 5-Nov-2009
1st Annual Chemical Sciences and Society SymposiumChemists describe solar energy progress and challenges, including the 'artificial leaf' Scientists are making progress toward development of an "artificial leaf" that mimics a real leaf's chemical magic with photosynthesis -- but instead converts sunlight and water into a liquid fuel such as methanol for cars and trucks. That is among the conclusions in a newly available report from top authorities on solar energy who met at the 1st Annual Chemical Sciences and Society Symposium. The symposium was organized by the American Chemical Society and other scientific societies. Contact: Michael Bernstein
Public Release: 5-Nov-2009
November 2009 story tips from the US Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory Fuel economy ratings for the new 2010 model year automobiles are posted at www.fueleconomy.gov, which ORNL maintains for the US Department of Energy and the US Environmental Protection Agency. A team led by ORNL's Nina Balke has moved closer to developing more rugged memory and logic devices. Heavy trucks are less heavy but just as safe and rugged because of steel rail frames. A new approach to crunching massive volumes of data uses neural networks like an artificial brain. Contact: Ron Walli
Public Release: 5-Nov-2009
TectonophysicsAre the Alps growing or shrinking? The Alps are growing just as quickly in height, as they are shrinking. This paradoxical result could be proven by a group of German and Swiss geoscientists. Contact: F. Ossing
Public Release: 5-Nov-2009
Journal of ZoologyMale sabertoothed cats were pussycats compared to macho lions Despite their fearsome fangs, male sabertoothed cats may have been less aggressive than many of their feline cousins, says a new study of male-female size differences in extinct big cats. Contact: Robin Ann Smith
Public Release: 5-Nov-2009
Boat tail reduces truck fuel consumption by 7.5 percent A boat tail, a tapering protrusion mounted on the rear of a truck, leads to fuel savings of 7.5 percent. This is due to dramatically improved aerodynamics, as shown by road tests conducted by the Dutch PART (Platform for Aerodynamic Road Transport) public-private partnership platform. Contact: Gandert van Raemdonck
Public Release: 5-Nov-2009
Vertebrate PaleontologyThe last European hadrosaurs lived in the Iberian Peninsula Spanish researchers have studied the fossil record of hadrosaurs, the so-called "duck-billed" dinosaurs, in the Iberian Peninsula for the purpose of determining that they were the last of their kind to inhabit the European continent before disappearing during the K/T extinction event that occurred 65.5 million years ago. Most notable among these fossils is the discovery of a new hadrosaur, the Arenysaurus ardevoli, found in Huesca, Spain. Contact: SINC
Public Release: 5-Nov-2009
ScienceWhy nice guys usually get the girls For the insects called water striders, the pushiest guys don't always get the girls, according to a research team led by a University of Arizona scientist. The finding provides support for the theory of multi-level selection and contradicts previous laboratory experiments that suggested that the most aggressive males are the most successful at reproducing.
Edmund Niles Huyck Preserve, National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation
Contact: Mari N. Jensen
Public Release: 5-Nov-2009
ScienceAirborne nitrogen shifts aquatic nutrient limitation in pristine lakes The impact of airborne nitrogen released from the burning of fossil fuels and wide-spread use of fertilizers in agriculture is much greater that previously recognized and even extends to remote alpine lakes, according to a study published Nov. 6 in the journal Science.
National Science Foundation
Contact: Margaret Coulombe
Public Release: 5-Nov-2009
ScienceGenome sequence for the domestic horse to be unveiled The whole genome sequence of the domestic horse has been completed by the genome-sequencing center of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, in collaboration with an international team of researchers that includes scientists at the University of California, Davis. The findings, which have important implications for improved breeding of horses and for studies of human health, will be reported in the Nov. 6 issue of the journal Science.
NIH/National Human Genome Research Institute, Dorothy Russell Havemeyer Foundation, Volkswagen Foundation, Morris Animal Foundation, Italy's Programmi di Ricerca Scientifica di Rilevante Interesse Nazionale
Contact: Patricia Bailey
Public Release: 5-Nov-2009
Genome ResearchGenomes of biofuel yeasts reveal clues that could boost fuel ethanol production worldwide As global temperatures and energy costs continue to soar, renewable sources of energy will be key to a sustainable future. An attractive replacement for gasoline is biofuel, and in two studies published online in Genome Research, scientists have analyzed the genome structures of bioethanol-producing microorganisms, uncovering genetic clues that will be critical in developing new technologies needed to implement production on a global scale. Contact: Peggy Calicchia
Public Release: 5-Nov-2009
ScienceHow size matters for catalysts University of Utah chemists demonstrated the first conclusive link between the size of catalyst particles on a solid surface, their electronic properties and their ability to speed chemical reactions. The study is a step toward the goal of designing cheaper, more efficient catalysts to increase energy production, reduce Earth-warming gases and manufacture a wide variety of goods from medicines to gasoline.
US Air Force Office of Scientific Research, US Department of Energy
Contact: Lee Siegel
Public Release: 5-Nov-2009
ScienceCaught in the act: Butterfly mate preference shows how 1 species can become 2 Breaking up may not be hard to do, say scientists who've found a population of tropical butterflies that may be splitting into two distinct species. The cause of this particular break-up? A shift in wing color and mate preference. In a paper published this week in the journal Science, the researchers describe the relationship between diverging color patterns in Heliconius butterflies and the long-term divergence of populations into new and distinct species.
National Science Foundation
Contact: Lee Clippard
Public Release: 5-Nov-2009
ScienceHorse genome sequence and analysis published in Science An international team of researchers has decoded the genome of the domestic horse Equus caballus, revealing a genome structure with remarkable similarities to humans and more than one million genetic differences across a variety of horse breeds. In addition to shedding light on a key part of the mammalian branch of the evolutionary tree, the work also provides a critical starting point for mapping disease genes in horses.
NIH/National Human Genome Research Institute, Dorothy Russell Havemeyer Foundation, Volkswagen Foundation, Morris Animal Foundation, Programmi di Ricerca Scientifica di Rilevante Interesse Nazionale
Contact: Nicole Davis
Public Release: 4-Nov-2009
NatureBacteria expect the unexpected Organisms ensure the survival of their species by genetically adapting to the environment. If environmental conditions change too rapidly, the extinction of a species may be the consequence. A strategy to successfully cope with such a challenge is the generation of variable offspring that can survive in different environments. For the first time scientists have now observed the evolution of such a strategy under lab conditions in an experiment with the bacterial species Pseudomonas fluorescens.
Marsden Fund Council, Royal Society of New Zealand, Veni Fellowship, Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research, Bright Futures Scholarship, New Zealand Foundation for Research, Science and Technology, others
Contact: Christian Kost
Public Release: 4-Nov-2009
NatureEarthquakes actually aftershocks of 19th century quakes When small earthquakes shake the central US, citizens often fear the rumbles are signs a big earthquake is coming. Fortunately, a new Northwestern University study instead shows that most of these earthquakes are aftershocks of big earthquakes (magnitude 7) in the New Madrid seismic zone that struck the Midwest almost 200 years ago. Aftershocks go on until the fault recovers, which takes much longer in the middle of a continent. Contact: Pat Vaughan Tremmel
Public Release: 4-Nov-2009
Journal of HeredityScientists propose a 'genome zoo' of 10,000 vertebrate species In the most comprehensive study of animal evolution ever attempted, an international consortium of scientists plans to assemble a genomic zoo -- a collection of DNA sequences for 10,000 vertebrate species, approximately one for every vertebrate genus.
American Genetic Association, NIH/National Human Genome Research Institute, Moore Foundation
Contact: Tim Stephens
Public Release: 4-Nov-2009
ASA-CSSA-SSSA International Annual MeetingsGreat wines come from great soils Experts will discuss terroir with an emphasis on soil science in a symposium on Wednesday, Nov. 4 in Pittsburgh. "Terroir: Winegrapes and the Environment" will be presented in two parts at the 2009 Annual Meetings of the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America and Soil Science Society of America in Pittsburgh, Pa. Contact: Sara Uttech
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