Farmers across the tropics might raze forests to plant biofuel crops, according to new research by Holly Gibbs, a postdoctoral researcher at Stanford’s Woods Institute for the Environment. ‘If we run our cars on biofuels produced in the tropics, chances will be good that we are effectively burning rainforests in our gas tanks,’ she warned. Policies favoring biofuel crop production may inadvertently contribute to, not slow, the process of climate change, Gibbs said. Such an environmental disaster could be ‘just around the corner without more thoughtful energy policies that consider potential ripple effects on tropical forests,’ she added. Gibbs’ predictions are based on her new study, in which she analyzed detailed satellite images collected between 1980 and 2000. The study is the first to do such a detailed characterization of the pathways of agricultural expansion throughout the entire tropical region. Gibbs hopes that this new knowledge will contribute to making prudent decisions about future biofuel policies and subsidies. Gibbs will present her findings in Chicago on Saturday, Feb. 14, during a symposium that begins at 1:30 p.m. CT at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The symposium is titled ‘Biofuels, […]
President Obama’s nomination of Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) as commerce secretary was intended as a noble gesture of bipartisanship. But apparently neither the White House nor Mr. Gregg thought enough about the fact that one of the consequential functions of the Commerce Department — not all of whose functions we would deem essential — is the once-a-decade census. For both parties, this is critical. The population count determines not only the distribution of congressional seats among the states but also the distribution of legislative seats within them and the allocation of billions of federal dollars. And, for most of the past two decades, Republicans and Democrats have been accusing each other of trying to cheat on it. The nub of the matter is the Democrats’ belief that the ‘actual enumeration’ called for in the Constitution inevitably undercounts minorities and the poor, who tend to be harder to find and count — and who also tend to vote Democratic. Republicans, charging chicanery, reject Democratic calls for the use of modern statistical estimation methods to correct for the undercount. Over the years, one of the Republican skeptics has been none other than Judd Gregg, who formerly chaired a Senate subcommittee in […]
For the past eight years, America’s government has declined to fund new research into one of the world’s most promising medical technologies: the use of human embryonic stem cells to repair or replace damaged tissue in the diseased and injured. Embryonic stem cells are special for two reasons, one scientific and one ethical. The scientific reason is that they are able to turn into any of the body’s myriad cell types, which is why they might be used in this way. The ethical reason is that, at the moment, harvesting them usually involves killing human embryos. The embryos in question have no future anyway (they are usually ‘spares from in vitro fertilisation procedures). But it was this destruction of potential human life that disturbed George Bush and his supporters. Barack Obama has promised to reverse the ban. When that happens, American academics will no longer have to watch enviously from the sidelines as their colleagues in Australia, Britain, China, the Czech Republic, Israel, Singapore and South Korea push ahead. But though the legislative wheels have yet to start turning, the mood has already shifted. One sign of this shift came on January 23rd when the country’s Food and […]
Researchers at the University of Iowa find that men increasingly are interested in intelligent, educated women who are financially stable – and chastity isn’t an issue. The findings are part of a study, conducted every decade since 1939, which asks participants to rank a list of 18 characteristics they would want in a partner on a scale ranging from ‘irrelevant’ to ‘essential.’ Included are such items as ‘sociability’ and ‘good cook, housekeeper,’ as well as ‘mutual attraction and love,’ which came in first place for both men and women in 2008. (In 1939, it wasn’t in the top three for either sex.) Male and female participants in 2008 rounded out their top traits with ‘dependable character’ and ’emotional stability, maturity.’ Men ranked intelligence fourth, a big jump from 11th place in 1939; in addition, ‘good financial prospect’ moved to 12th place in 2008, a shift from its low 17th-place ranking in 1939 and last-place ranking in 1967. ‘This is a generation of men who has grown up with educated women as their mothers, teachers, doctors, and role models,’ said Christine Whelan, head of the study and author of ‘Marry Smart: The Intelligent Woman’s Guide to True Love’ […]
In an unusual intersection of materials science and anthropology, researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and The George Washington University (GWU) have applied materials-science-based mathematical models to help shed light on the dietary habits of some of mankind’s prehistoric relatives. Their work forms part of a newly published, multidisciplinary analysis* of the early hominid Australopithecus africanus by anthropologists at the State University of New York at Albany and elsewhere. In the new study, Albany researcher David Strait and his colleagues** applied finite element analysis-an engineer’s modeling tool that employs an intricate geometric mesh to calculate the stresses and strains at play in complex shapes-to the teeth and jaws of A. africanus, an African hominid that lived 2 to 3 million years ago. Their goal was to determine just how, and with how much force, the animal chomped and chewed its food. Such analyses are of great importance to anthropologists. Teeth are the hardest parts of the body, and so are the parts most likely to be found after millions of years. Careful examination of subtle features of teeth and jaws can reveal what an animal could eat, which implies what it did eat, which implies […]
Remote Viewing the Year 2060
