Ecosystems in Medical News

Papua New Guinea declares first national conservation area

... home to some of the most biologically diverse ecosystems on Earth, has created its first national ... their forest homeland and the wildlife and ecosystems so vital to their culture and sustenance. ... of the YUS region for protecting such essential ecosystems and all the benefits they provide. Hopefully, ...

New findings on emerging contaminants

... Food Webs* Chemicals are ending up in aquatic ecosystems in part because many municipal wastewater ... before they enter the environment, affected ecosystems could rebound. *Dilution Not the Solution* ... decisions for the environment, especially coastal ecosystems that are already battling such a multitude of ...

New study shows extent of harmful human influences on global ecosystems

... the real impact of human activities on marine ecosystems and help identify ways to lessen the threats. According to the study, the ecosystems most at threat are: coral reefs, which house more ... for routinely assessing the state of marine ecosystems in the future. As we compile more and better ...

Could preserving biodiversity reduce disease?

... by EPA as critical for environmental well-being. Humans rely on healthy ecosystems to provide food, clean air, and drinking water. But less understood is ... Nile Virus. Changing land use and development have altered natural ecosystems greatly in the last 50 years, contributing to a decline in biodiversity. ...

Climate change could impact vital functions of microbes

... meeting in Boston. Microbes perform a number of critical functions for ecosystems around the world and we are only starting to understand the impact that ... the snowpack. There is as much carbon trapped in the soil of northern ecosystems as there is carbon in the atmosphere. It is a big unknown what is going ...

Leading Natural Cosmetics Company Supports Breast Cancer Survivors

... a grant to Ocean Conservancy, which promotes healthy and diverse ocean ecosystems and opposes practices that threaten ocean life and human life. Through ... Ocean Conservancy Ocean Conservancy promotes healthy and diverse ocean ecosystems and opposes practices that threaten ocean life and human life. ...

Global Environment partners provide additional $20 million to protect endangered habitats

... some of the worlds most unique and threatened areas, including island ecosystems and temperate forests. These biodiversity hotspots are home to more ... Biodiversity hotspots where projects will be funded include fragile island ecosystems in the remote Pacific island nations of Micronesia, Polynesia and Fiji, ...

There's a sensor in your pocket

... invisible. "Participatory Sensing" allows individuals to identify, measure, and address problems as diverse as air pollution or the damage to fragile ecosystems using mobile phones with basic sensing and communication systems like cameras, global positioning systems (GPS), and text messaging. A new paper, ...

Discovery in amber reveals ancient biology of termites

... of years later. This phenomenon has been invaluable in scientific and ecological research, and allows researchers to characterize the biology of ecosystems that existed millions of years ago. The amber that contained the termite used in this study came from a mine first excavated in 2001 in the ...

Landmark USGS study

... from the consumption of marine fish and shell fish. Scientists have known for some time that mercury deposited from the atmosphere to freshwater ecosystems can be transformed (methylated) into methylmercury, but identifying the analogous cycles in marine systems has remained elusive. As a result of this ...

The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust Donates $136 Million to Charities

... providing funds to programs that promote youth educational opportunities. In the area of conservation, grants will help to preserve threatened ecosystems by creating partnerships that address the root causes leading to their destruction. The initial conservation work of the Trust will focus on ...

Federal funding gap cited for research on human health impacts due to climate change

... associated with exposure to ozone and allergens from the air. Health effects are also likely to result from altered air, water, agriculture, and ecosystems processes, according to the report. "This paper highlights the gap in our understanding of current impacts of climate on health, and how those ...

Purdue study projects weakened monsoon season in South Asia

... the rainy periods. Noah Diffenbaugh, whose research group led the study, said the summer monsoon affects water resources, agriculture, economics, ecosystems and human health throughout South Asia. "Almost half of the world's population lives in areas affected by these monsoons, and even slight ...

Study of ancient and modern plagues finds common features

... the pandemic of 1918-19. Other factors underlying many instances of emergent diseases are poverty, lack of political will, and changes in climate, ecosystems and land use, the authors contend. "A better understanding of these determinants is essential for our preparedness for the next emerging or ...

Key to virulence protein entry into host cells discovered

... Oomycetes are fungal-like organisms related to marine algae that cause tens of billions of dollars of losses to agriculture, forestry and natural ecosystems every year. The oomycete Phytophthora infestans caused the Irish potato famine in the nineteenth century. Another Phytophthora species, P. ramorum , ...

NOAA and Louisiana scientists predict largest Gulf of Mexico 'dead zone' on record

... size." The forecast is based on a mathematical model developed by LSU through NOAA's long-term research investment by CSCOR's Gulf of Mexico ecosystems and Hypoxia Assessment. The model incorporates U.S. Geological Survey data on the amount of nitrogen reaching the Gulf of Mexico in May. NOAA has ...

Lead shot and sinkers: Weighty implications for fish and wildlife health

... tackle specifically affect wildlife here and in other countries is essential, as well as studies that evaluate the effects on wildlife health and ecosystems of regulations restricting the amount of lead ammunition and lead fishing tackle. ...

Public Health Experts Provide Update on Current Infectious Diseases Threats

... the impact of climate changes on increasing insect-borne infections. "The most important needs are better understanding of the behavior of complex ecosystems to which insects belong, reinvigoration of scientific and public health defenses, and more powerful tools to prevent, control and treat insect-borne ...

Virginia Tech researchers find human virus in chimpanzees

... in the August issue (available on-line in June) of the American Journal of Primatology featuring a special section on "Disease Transmission, ecosystems Health and Great Apes Research," Dr. Kaur, an assistant professor in the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine's Department of ...

Earth observation highlighted at UN biological diversity conference

... carried out that relies on land-cover maps derived from EO data to assess economic costs to the environment. This study is part of The Economics of ecosystems and Biodiversity report - a joint German Ministry for Environment and European Commission initiative. ESA's Oliver Arino also spoke during the ...

Cleaner Air May Threaten Amazon Rainforest

... The study was published in the May 8 issue of Nature . The Amazon rainforest contains about 10 percent of the total carbon stored in land ecosystems and recycles a large amount of the rainfall that it receives, according to background information in the study. Any major change to the Amazon's ...

New portrait of Earth shows land cover as never before

... 10 times sharper than any of its predecessors. Scientists, who will use the data to plot worldwide land-cover trends, study natural and managed ecosystems and to model climate change extent and impacts, are hailing the product generated under the ESA-initiated GlobCover project as 'a milestone.' ...

Stanford biologist awarded 2008 Sophie Prize in Norway

... to Make Conservation Profitable, Daily co-founded the Natural Capital Project, which is developing practical ways to quantify the economic value of ecosystems and the services they provide. In its announcement, the Sophie Foundation recognized Daily as a world leader in "the debate on sustainable ...

Fish devastated by sex-changing chemicals in municipal wastewater

... persistence but rather its persistent discharge in municipal wastewater into surface waters. Kidd says the risk is greatest for aquatic ecosystems downstream from municipalities that either discharge untreated wastewater or maintain only primary treatment facilities. On the flipside, the problem ...

Melting snow provides clues for acidification

... on controls on nitrogen and sulfur cycling during winter is critical to our understanding of long-term trends and will help us predict how forest ecosystems will respond to future disturbances and global change processes. ...

Scripps scientists peg wind as the force behind fish booms and busts

... ecological data. Thats the key, said Checkley a Scripps professor. The rate at which water moves vertically influences the structure of the marine ecosystems out there. Thats the seminal part of this theory. Rykaczewski and Checkley determined that two atmospheric conditions were the main drivers: ...

Connection between health of wetlands and humans in focus

... Despite the vital role wetlands play in society, they remain among the most threatened ecosystems on Earth. To emphasise the direct and positive effects of healthy wetlands for humans, the theme of this years World Wetlands Day, held every year on ...

Predators do more than kill prey

... by showing that prey adapt to food availability as well as the presence of predators. Our study can serve as a model for how humans alter ecosystems when they remove key predators like wolves and bears from land or tuna and billfish from seas, said Reznick , a professor of biology. He and ...

January American Naturalist highlights

... several plant individuals can often be found on a small surface with their roots system thoroughly entwined. How plants share soil nutrients in these ecosystems has been the subject of debate between ecologists for decades, with several key questions still unanswered. In particular, few theories of plant ...

NABJ Joins with U.N. to Cover Climate Change and Development in Senegal

... initiatives in local communities. Among these are a "green wall" tree planting project lessen the impact of climate change, projects to manage local ecosystems and restore lands affected by environmental degradation, and a "Millennium Village" engaged in efforts to reduce poverty and improve lives ...

APHA Adopts New Policies on Food Safety, Global Climate Change, Multidrug-Resistant Organisms, Breastfeeding and Feminine Hygiene

... reflect the importance of global climate change and include mitigation and adaptation strategies to reduce impacts on individuals, communities and ecosystems in the developing world. The Association also calls for increased education about the impacts of climate change for the public health work force and ...

Healthy planet, places and people at risk

... disasters climate change is one of many environmental changes. Our health is also endangered by depleted water flows, land degradation, disrupted ecosystems and acidified oceans. We need better understanding of these risks, and how to reduce them, through new research. The report was commissioned by ...

UNH, state health agency, private industry and NASA to tackle Lyme disease

... Oceans, and Space (EOS). Xiao specializes in the applications of satellite remote sensing and geographical information systems (GIS) technologies to ecosystems science and natural resources. He adds, "Before we can make predictions we have to build the research and education capacity." Ultimately, that ...

Corals added to IUCN Red List of Threatened Species for first time

... urchin populations scour rocks clean of algae, depleting a major food source for other species such as the Galapagos marine iguana. Marine ecosystems are vulnerable to threats at all scales globally through climate change, regionally from El Nio events, and locally when over-fishing removes key ...

Northern Forests Less Effective Than Tropical Forests in Reducing Global Warming

... scientists also found that intact tropical ecosystems are a more important carbon sink than previously ... The models had generally indicated that tropical ecosystems were a net source of 1.8 billion tons of carbon, ... new research indicates, instead, that tropical ecosystems are the net source of only about 100 million ...

Revealing the Secrets of Gut Ecosystem

... new study tracked the evolution of the microbial ecosystems in 14 healthy, full-term human infants that were ... and dynamics of the evolving microbial ecosystems were strikingly similar in the twins. ... genetic and environmental factors shape those ecosystems in reproducible ways. "These data are so rich it ...

Methylmercury in Marine Fish Pose Health Risks to Pregnant Women and Elderly Men

... is known about the behavior of mercury in marine ecosystems and methylmercury in marine fish, the ingestion ... analyses don't consider mercury's impacts on ecosystems and wildlife. The concentration of methylmercury in fish in freshwater and coastal ecosystems can be expected to decline with reduced mercury ...

Deep-sea Mining can Damage Marine Ecosystem

... now to establish scientific and legal methods to protect these sensitive ecosystems and minimize the potential environmental impact of this industry. Imposing ... could drift widely, disrupting the food chain and potentially damaging ecosystems that lie within other countries economic zones or in international waters. ...

Health Problems Due To Ecosystem's Degradation

... There are poor populations who directly depend upon the natural ecosystems for meeting their basic needs. The Health Synthesis Report has emphasized ... Some of the regions that face the greatest danger from the changes in the ecosystems are some parts of South and Southeast Asia, parts of Latin America, ...