Albuquerque, N.M - Oil and gas developers could end up playing a big role in an effort by federal and state archaeologists to better understand the history of early human life among the sand dunes and grasslands of southeastern New Mexico.
The Bureau of Land Management announced Tuesday that it has signed an agreement with the New Mexico Historic Preservation Division and the federal Advisory Council on Historic Preservation that will give oil and gas developers an option of funding excavation work and other studies rather than paying for archaeological surveys when they propose new development.
Science & Technology
Neuroscientists at Johns Hopkins have discovered that mice lacking an enzyme that contributes to Alzheimer disease exhibit a number of schizophrenia-like behaviors. The finding raises the possibility that this enzyme may participate in the development of schizophrenia and related psychiatric disorders and therefore may provide a new target for developing therapies.
The BACE1 enzyme, for beta-site amyloid precursor protein cleaving enzyme, generates the amyloid proteins that lead to Alzheimer's disease. The research team years ago suspected that removing BACE1 might prevent Alzheimer.
"We knew at the time that in addition to amyloid precursor protein, BACE1 interacts with other proteins but we didn't know how those interactions might affect behavior," says Alena Savonenko, M.D., Ph.D., an assistant professor in neuropathology at Hopkins.
The BACE1 enzyme, for beta-site amyloid precursor protein cleaving enzyme, generates the amyloid proteins that lead to Alzheimer's disease. The research team years ago suspected that removing BACE1 might prevent Alzheimer.
"We knew at the time that in addition to amyloid precursor protein, BACE1 interacts with other proteins but we didn't know how those interactions might affect behavior," says Alena Savonenko, M.D., Ph.D., an assistant professor in neuropathology at Hopkins.
A recent study has shown that although mercury releases from products in the US declined dramatically between 1990 and 2005, they continue to be a significant source of environmental contamination.
The study, published in Journal of Industrial Ecology, provides policy-makers with a better understanding of opportunities for reducing releases of mercury into the environment.
Mercury released from products contributes nearly one-third of total mercury emissions to the air in the US.
Release of mercury to the environment is a serious problem and can harm the development of a fetus if the mother is exposed to high levels. Mercury also frequently accumulates in fish populations.
The study, published in Journal of Industrial Ecology, provides policy-makers with a better understanding of opportunities for reducing releases of mercury into the environment.
Mercury released from products contributes nearly one-third of total mercury emissions to the air in the US.
Release of mercury to the environment is a serious problem and can harm the development of a fetus if the mother is exposed to high levels. Mercury also frequently accumulates in fish populations.
Planet Venus, written off for any sign of life, has microbes in its atmosphere which may well be reaching earth every 580 days, a Sri Lankan scientist has claimed.
Did our great ancestors - microbes - hitchhike to Earth on meteorites? Yes, say researchers from Columbia University who have discovered traces of amino acids - building blocks of life - on meteorites that landed in Australia and the US as recently as 100 years ago.
Scientists have pinpointed a reason why people with Indian ancestry may be more prone to weight problems.
Italian archaeologists have found more than two dozen new tombs at the famed Etruscan burial grounds at Tarquinia north of Rome.
''This is the most exciting discovery here in decades,'' said the archeological superintendent for southern Etruria, Maria Tecla Castaldi.
So far 27 tombs have been added to the thousands at the site since a chance discovery during building work two months ago, she said.
''I've just been down and visited the only tomb that is open, which was probably broken into around 50 years ago,'' she said.
''This is the most exciting discovery here in decades,'' said the archeological superintendent for southern Etruria, Maria Tecla Castaldi.
So far 27 tombs have been added to the thousands at the site since a chance discovery during building work two months ago, she said.
''I've just been down and visited the only tomb that is open, which was probably broken into around 50 years ago,'' she said.
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The Amazon rainforest, so crucial to the Earth's climate system, is coming under threat from cleaner air say prominent UK and Brazilian climate scientists in the journal Nature.
The new study identifies a link between reducing sulphur dioxide emissions from burning coal and increasing sea surface temperatures in the tropical north Atlantic, resulting in a heightened risk of drought in the Amazon rainforest.
The Amazon rainforest contains about one tenth of the total carbon stored in land ecosystems and recycles a large fraction of the rainfall that falls upon it. So any major change to its vegetation, brought about by events like deforestation or drought, has an impact on the global climate system.
The new study identifies a link between reducing sulphur dioxide emissions from burning coal and increasing sea surface temperatures in the tropical north Atlantic, resulting in a heightened risk of drought in the Amazon rainforest.
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| ©iStockphoto/Marshall Bruce |
| The Amazon rainforest, so crucial to the Earth's climate system, is coming under threat from cleaner air. |
The Amazon rainforest contains about one tenth of the total carbon stored in land ecosystems and recycles a large fraction of the rainfall that falls upon it. So any major change to its vegetation, brought about by events like deforestation or drought, has an impact on the global climate system.
New scientific evidence suggests that deep inside the planet Mercury, iron "snow" forms and falls toward the center of the planet, much like snowflakes form in Earth's atmosphere and fall to the ground.
The movement of this iron snow could be responsible for Mercury's mysterious magnetic field, say researchers from the University of Illinois and Case Western Reserve University. In a paper published in the April issue of the journal Geophysical Research Letters, the scientists describe laboratory measurements and models that mimic conditions believed to exist within Mercury's core.
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| ©NASA |
| Mosaic of Mercury. |
The movement of this iron snow could be responsible for Mercury's mysterious magnetic field, say researchers from the University of Illinois and Case Western Reserve University. In a paper published in the April issue of the journal Geophysical Research Letters, the scientists describe laboratory measurements and models that mimic conditions believed to exist within Mercury's core.
Scientists have come up with a controversial theory which suggests that huge comet impacts wiped out North America's large mammals 13,000 years ago.
According to a report in National Geographic News, the hypothesis, first presented in May 2007, proposes that an onslaught of extraterrestrial bodies caused the mass extinction known as the "Younger Dryas event" and triggered a period of climatic cooling.
According to a report in National Geographic News, the hypothesis, first presented in May 2007, proposes that an onslaught of extraterrestrial bodies caused the mass extinction known as the "Younger Dryas event" and triggered a period of climatic cooling.
