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Natural Disturbances: Climate Change May Cause Loss Of Ice Dynamics In Streams

Natural Disturbances: Climate Change May Cause Loss Of Ice Dynamics In Streams

Winter floods are important natural 'disturbances' for maintaining species-rich riparian zones along northern watercourses. Movies like The Day After Tomorrow and An Inconvenient Truth exaggerated some of the big effects of a climate gone crazy but less attention is given to smaller, realistic scenarios, like a disturbance in existing winter floods.Riparian forests are important as they supply habitat, store carbon, provide shading, and filter water. Ice formation and winter floods are significant factors for vegetation and wildlife in northern regions.  According to Ph.D. candidate Lovisa Lind at Umeå universitet, during cold winter days, frazil ice (tiny ice particles) forms in the super-cooled water of open turbulent stream reaches.

Lobbying Works Behind The Scenes, But Protests Work Out Front

Lobbying Works Behind The Scenes, But Protests Work Out Front

Contrary to common belief, politicians are not in the pocket of highly-paid environmental, corporate or union lobbyists. They certainly do what lobbyists want, as long as it isn't getting too much attention, but government gets a lot more responsive when publicity is attached.

Massive Clouds Shot 100 Miles Into The Mars Atmosphere, And No One Knows Why

Massive Clouds Shot 100 Miles Into The Mars Atmosphere, And No One Knows Why

Plumes that reached over 100 miles above the surface of Mars, reported by citizen scientist astronomers in March and April 2012, continue to puzzle scientists. In the past, similar events had been seen, but only up to around 50 miles.  The features developed in less than 10 hours, covering an area of up to 1000 x 500 kilometers, and remained visible for around 10 days, changing their structure from day to day. None of the spacecraft orbiting Mars saw the features because of their viewing geometries and illumination conditions at the time but citizen scientists and their telescopes did. 

Science 2.0: Network Analysis Versus Privacy

Science 2.0: Network Analysis Versus Privacy

Protecting privacy in an age of online big data is difficult and social network data adds its own challenges, something that has been a concern since Science 2.0 began in 2006, when genomic data was really beginning its ascent. 

The Long-Term Married Are Having Sex More Often Than Ever

The Long-Term Married Are Having Sex More Often Than Ever

Youth may be idealized but that doesn't mean older people aren't getting busy - they just don't take pictures on their cell phones and post them to Instagram. A new survey found that people in the early years of marriage have sex more frequently, and sexual activity tapers off over time, but then a rebound occurs after 50 years.

Mesothelioma In Southern Nevada Likely Result Of Natural Asbestos

Mesothelioma In Southern Nevada Likely Result Of Natural Asbestos

Malignant mesothelioma has been found at higher than expected levels in women and in individuals younger than 55 years old in the southern Nevada counties of Clark and Nye, likewise in the same region carcinogenic mineral fibers including actinolite asbestos, erionite, winchite, magnesioriebeckite and richterite were discovered.
Malignant mesothelioma is a fatal cancer associated with asbestos, a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals, exposure that develops on the outer linings of the lungs. The 3-year survival rate is only 8% and there are limited therapeutic options.

Wisdom Or Woo? Survey Shows American Rise And Fall Of Natural Products

Wisdom Or Woo? Survey Shows American Rise And Fall Of Natural Products

A nationally representative survey shows that natural product use in the United States has shifted since 2007, with some products becoming more popular and some falling out of favor. Overall, natural products (dietary supplements other than vitamins and minerals) remain the most common alternative medicine.
If you think these products rise and fall based on television and diet fads that get mainstream media attention, you would be correct.

Pollution And Suicide: Middle-aged Men At Highest Risk After Breathing Poor Air

Pollution And Suicide: Middle-aged Men At Highest Risk After Breathing Poor Air

A new study from the University of Utah is adding to the small, but growing body of research that links air pollution exposure to suicide.
In research published today in The American Journal of Epidemiology, investigator Amanda Bakian, Ph.D., an assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Utah, and her colleagues outline chemical and meteorological variables that are risk factors for suicide. Their study, titled "Risk assessment of air pollution and suicide," examines how those factors play out among different genders and age groups. The findings build on other research by Bakian released in April 2014, when she found that fine particulates and nitrogen dioxide in air pollution are linked with an increased risk for suicide.

Hormone Replacement Therapy Associated With Increased Ovarian Cancer Risk

Hormone Replacement Therapy Associated With Increased Ovarian Cancer Risk

Taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for the menopause, even for just a few years, is associated with a significantly increased risk of developing the two most common types of ovarian cancer, according to a detailed re-analysis of all the available evidence, published in The Lancet.
The findings from a meta-analysis of 52 epidemiological studies, involving a total of 21488 women with ovarian cancer, almost all from North America, Europe and Australia, indicate that women who use HRT for just a few years are about 40% more likely to develop ovarian cancer than women who have never taken HRT.

Michael Mann And The Iconic 'hockey Stick' Graphic At The Center Of The Climate Debate

Michael Mann And The Iconic 'hockey Stick' Graphic At The Center Of The Climate Debate

The "Hockey Stick" graph, a simple plot representing temperature over time, led to the center of the larger debate on climate change, and skewed the trajectory of at least one researcher, according to Michael Mann, Distinguished Professor of Meteorology at Penn State.
"The "Hockey Stick" graph became a central icon in the climate wars," Mann told attendees today last week at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. "The graph took on a life of its own."

Gauguin As Experimental Printmaker Analyzed

Gauguin As Experimental Printmaker Analyzed

French artist Paul Gauguin has had quite the resurgence - having a painting sell for nearly $300 million will do that - but the artist noted for his colorful paintings of Tahitian life was also a highly experimental printmaker. The techniques and materials Gauguin used to create his unusual and complex graphic works are little studied but a team from Northwestern University and the Art Institute of Chicago used a simple light bulb, an SLR camera and computational power to uncover new details of Gauguin's printmaking process -- how he formed, layered and re-used imagery to make 19 unique graphic works in the Art Institute's collection.

Blacksmith Genesis: World’s First Compact Rotary 3-D Scanner Printer

Blacksmith Genesis: World’s First Compact Rotary 3-D Scanner Printer

The Blacksmith Group has unveiled the world’s first compact 3-D printer that can also scan items into digitized models - and it was crowdfunded.The Blacksmith Genesis allows users to scan any item, then edit the digitized model and print it out in 3-D. The first production run will be shipped out in March to the people who supported the crowdfunding campaign. It is available for pre-order at a cost of $2,200, with flat rate shipping
to 70 countries worldwide
for another $150. It is housed in a black aluminum casing, weighs 6 kilograms and features a 2-inch LCD display, Wi-Fi, an integrated SD-card reader and a USB connection for instant printing.