Survey in Biological News

Results of national nursery survey unveiled

GAINESVILLE, FLThe U.S. Green industry, including nursery and greenhouse producers, landscape services firms, and wholesale and retail distributors, has grown dramatically during the past two decades, becoming an increasingly important sector of American agriculture. In 2002, the Green Industry...

UH Manoa researchers release results of statewide survey of snail, slug invasions in Hawai'i

Hawai`i's ongoing problem with invasive species such as snails and slugs, including their serious impact on plant nurseries and other aspects of the local horticultural industry, has been investigated and documented by four University of Hawai`i at Mānoa researchers. It is the first document...

New national survey says public reveres bison

Americans are woefully out of touch with the fact that the American bison, or buffalo, is in trouble as a wild, iconic species, but they do love them as an important symbol of their countryand as an entre on the dinner table. These sentiments were found in a public survey released today by the ...

In a last 'stronghold' for endangered chimpanzees, survey finds drastic decline

In a population survey of West African chimpanzees living in Cte d'Ivoire, researchers estimate that this endangered subspecies has dropped in numbers by a whopping 90 percent since the last survey was conducted 18 years ago. The few remaining chimpanzees are now highly fragmented, with only one v...

Smithsonian coral biodiversity survey of Panama's Pearl Islands

A comprehensive survey of coral biodiversity in Panama's Las Perlas Archipelago, published in the journal Environmental Conservation by researchers from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and their colleagues, has resulted in clear conservation recommendations for a new coastal manageme...

Skull survey could improve vehicle safety

Women's skulls are thicker than men's, but they both shrink slowly after we reach adulthood. That's the conclusion of a new imaging study of 3000 people published in the Inderscience International Journal of Vehicle Safety. The detailed results could help in the design of more effective devices fo...

Widespread support for nonembryonic stem cell research, VCU Life Sciences Survey shows

The VCU Life Sciences Survey is the first poll to reflect the discovery reported internationally in November that human skin cells can be used to create stem cells or their near equivalents. When asked about the implications of this development, more than six in 10, or 63 percent, say that both em...

Single-largest biodiversity survey says primary rainforest is irreplaceable

As world leaders prepare to discuss conservation-friendly carbon credits in Bali and a regional initiative threatens a new wave of deforestation in the South American tropics, new research from the University of East Anglia and Brazils Goeldi Museum highlights once again the irreplaceable importan...

Americans remain pessimistic about the environment, Stanford-AP survey finds

Americans remain pessimistic about the state of the environment and want prompt action taken to improve its health, according to the second annual ''America's Report Card on the Environment''-a national public opinion survey conducted by the Woods Institute for the Environment at Stanford Universi...

Misconceptions about Alzheimer's varies among races, survey suggests

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Alzheimer's disease is still a mystery to people of different races and a large percentage of people across the board are unaware that treatments are available to reduce symptoms. This is one of the surprising findings in a national survey, "Public opinion about Alzheimer's...

St. Jude influenza survey uncovers key differences between bird flu and human flu

Scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have found key features that distinguish influenza viruses found in birds from those that infect humans. The St. Jude team used a mathematical technique to identify specific amino acid building blocks that are statistically more likely to app...

American Dietetic Association releases 2008 nutrition trends survey

CHICAGO Increasing numbers of American adults are aware of the importance of nutrition and physical activity and are taking steps to eat a healthy diet and engage in exercise, according to the American Dietetic Association's nationwide consumer opinion survey, Nutrition and You: Trends 2008. ...

Field Museum provides gold standard for mammal survey

CHICAGO, Oct. 6, 2008 Putting together the Who's Who of bats, bears, beaked whales and all of Earth's other known mammals was a gigantic task ably assisted by a Field Museum scientific team with access to one of the planet's most extensive and diverse mammal collections. A team headed by the I...

Unmanned aerial vehicles mark robotic first for British Antarctic Survey

Scientists at British Antarctic Survey (BAS) in collaboration with the Technical University of Braunschweig (TUBS), Germany have completed the first ever series of flights by autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in Antarctica. This is the first time that unpiloted UAVs have been used in the ...

Global survey of lizards reveals greater abundance of animals on islands than on mainland ecosystems

A comprehensive survey of lizards on islands around the world has confirmed what island biologists and seafaring explorers have long observed: Animals on islands are much more abundant than their counterparts on the mainland. Besides confirming that longstanding observation, the study signals an ...

Center releases new public survey on stem cells

Stem cells are unique among human cells in that they possess the uncanny ability to develop into virtually any other cell of the body, offering a hypothetical tool kit for repairing diseased hearts, mending broken spinal cords, or correcting genetic diseases, among other hoped-for benefits. Stem c...

EMBO pioneers pension plan for internationally mobile postdoctoral researchers

... in their chosen fields. Generally this has meant delaying planning for financial security later in life until they take up permanent positions. A survey conducted by the EMBO Fellowship office revealed that less than ten per cent of fellows contributed to a pension scheme, while nearly all of them were...

More than half of Texas physicians do not always recommend HPV vaccine to girls

...11- and 12-year-old girls, but results of a recent survey showed that more than half of Texas physicians do not follow these recommendations. The survey was published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers ...ical Association to assist them in conducting this survey as part of their efforts to assess educational nee...

Race/ethnicity, family income and education associated with sugar consumption

...take of added sugars should be tailored to each group. Using data from adults (≥18 years) participating in the 2005 US National Health Interview survey (NHIS) Cancer Control Supplement, investigators from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), Bethe...

Douglas-fir, geoducks make strange bedfellows in studying climate change

...ologies over several centuries and greatly extend our climate histories." Black is working with Jason Dunham, an ecologist with the U.S. Geological survey in Corvallis, and OSU graduate student Brett Blundon to apply tree ring techniques to freshwater mussels, which also show annual growth through rings....

Research shows rates of severe childhood obesity have tripled

...lished on-line and will appear in the September print edition. Skelton and colleagues compared data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination survey (NHANES). They looked at the prevalence of obesity and severe obesity in a study population of 12,384 children, representing approximately 71 million ...

Large trees declining in Yosemite

...climate conditions may play a role. The number of large-diameter trees in the park declined 24 percent between the 1930s and 1990s. U.S. Geological survey and University of Washington scientists compared the earliest records of large-diameter trees densities from 1932� to the most recent records f...

1 in 6 health workers won't report in flu pandemic -- study by Ben-Gurion U. researchers

... in the importance of their job were 18 times more likely to say they "would respond" compared to those in the "low threat/low efficacy" group. The survey analysis was based on Witte's Extended Parallel Process Model (EPPM), used for understanding adaptive behavior in the face of unknown risk. It examin...

Biologists rediscover endangered frog population

...tional Forest's San Jacinto Wilderness. Biologists from the U.S. Geological survey (USGS) assessing suitability of sites to re-establish frogs and scientists ...cross Southern California," said Adam Backlin, a USGS scientist who led the survey team that spotted the first new Tahquitz Creek frogs on June 10. Biologis...

After dinosaurs, mammals rise but their genomes get smaller

...netic sequence initially dropped into genomes by viruses. IU School of Informatics (Bloomington) bioinformaticians Mina Rho and Haixu Tang oversaw the survey of mammalian and non-mammalian genomes. Transposable elements often lose their functionality soon after insertion but nevertheless are disturbingl...

Comprehensive look at rare leukemia finds relatively few genetic changes launch disease

...ree cells from normal controls and allow the uncontrolled cell division that is a hallmark of cancer. Downing said the findings underscore the need to survey the entire genome of childhood AML and take a more detailed look at particular AML subtypes. Added Ina Radtke, Ph.D., the paper's lead author: "Thi...

121 breeding tigers estimated to be found in Nepal

...s like the tiger, it is important to undertake the survey simultaneously in all potential habitats," says Dr... abundance and distribution of tigers, the current survey employed two methods - Camera Trapping method inside the protected areas and Habitat Occupancy survey both inside and outside the protected areas." A...

Reintroduced Chinese alligators now multiplying in the wild in China

...ibution." Plans to reintroduce Chinese alligators started in 1999 with a survey conducted by WCS, the Anhui Forestry Bureau, and the East China Normal Univ...hat is a small fraction of the alligator's former range. The results of the survey were dire, with an estimate of fewer than 130 animals in a declining popula...

A 'heart healthy' diet and ongoing, moderate physical activity may protect against cognitive decline

... In 1995, 3,831 study participants 65 years of age or older completed a survey that included a food frequency questionnaire and cognitive assessment. Cogn...s issue using data from The Third National Health and Nutrition Examination survey (NHANES III, 1988-1994). They identified 1,799 men and women age 60 and old...

Results from trials of DHA in Alzheimer's disease and age-related cognitive decline

...arch studies from ICAD 2009 show advances made in biomarkers and early detection from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI), and also survey results from doctors about the enablers and barriers they face in diagnosing people with Alzheimer's. DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) is naturally found...

Our 'caveman logic' embraces ESP over evolution

...nstitutions. For example, a 2007 poll found that nearly 70 percent of Americans believe angels and demons are active forces in the world, while a 2009 survey concluded that only 39 percent believe in Darwin's theory of evolution. Even non-religious persons often thank God or "the heavens" in response to goo...

Plastics chemical retards growth, function of adult reproductive cells

...any tissues and fluids, including urine, blood, breast milk, the amniotic fluid of pregnant women and the antral fluid of mature follicles. A national survey conducted by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2003-2004 found BPA in 93 percent of the 2,517 people (age 6 and up) who were t...

Your own private global warming

... A group of researchers from the British Antarctic survey have collected individuals from a wide range of species commonly found in Antarctic waters and subjected them to increasing levels of water temperatur...

Research network wins approximately £5.7 million to target human and animal diseases in Africa

...rigins and up to 80 per cent of emerging infectious human diseases come from livestock or wild animals, yet Africa currently has the least capacity to survey major livestock or wildlife diseases. Livestock provide a vital source of nutrition, financial security and status in the continent, but livestock pro...

Your own private global warming

... A group of researchers from the British Antarctic survey have collected individuals from a wide range of species commonly found in Antarctic waters and subjected them to increasing levels of water temperatur...

Ecological Society of America announces 2009 award recipients

...he fields of geobotany, physiographic ecology, plant succession or the distribution of plants along environmental gradients. In the paper, the authors survey the plants of a central New England woodland, describing biological variation within species and the diversity among them. The contribution illustrate...

Policy transparency key to saving world's fisheries

...igned to elicit worst- to best-case scenarios. The survey was translated into five languages and distributed...tained in the study. The results of this global survey showed that 7% of all coastal states carry out rig...ays Mora. "Perhaps the most striking result of our survey was that not a single country in the world was con...

NOAA forecast predicts large 'dead zone' for Gulf of Mexico this summer

...rch and Control Act. Data from the U.S. Geological survey on river flow and nutrient concentrations this spr...tion Plan, will follow a NOAA-supported monitoring survey led by the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortiu...ing a five-week NOAA Fisheries Service summer fish survey in the northern Gulf of Mexico between June 8 and ...

Elephant-size loopholes sustain Thai ivory trade

...ants are providing cover for illegal trade in wild-caught, highly-endangered Asian elephants from both Thailand and neighbouring Myanmar. TRAFFIC's survey documented over 26,000 worked ivory products for sale in local markets, with many more retail outlets dealing in ivory products than were observed dur...

New tracking approach will help protect polar bears

...tive tool to monitor Canada's bear populations," says Dr. de Groot. "This [new] method, along with others being evaluated, should allow us to annually survey all of the country's polar bears, non-intrusively, with Inuit involvement, at a fraction of the current cost." The Queen's researchers, including ...