Researchers Create a Butterfly Species, Discover a Rodent Family
Scientists have crossbred two butterfly species to create a distinct third species, the naturally occurring H. heurippa. The researchers had noticed that the distinctive red and white wing patterns of H. heurippa appeared to be an almost exact mix of the patterns of two other species. By mating butterflies of the two parent species, the scientists achieved hybrid speciation, where instead of one species diverging into two, as is usually the case, two species come together to form a third.
A live specimen of a rodent family thought to have been extinct for 11 million years was found recently in central Laos. The animal, which scientists have nicknamed the Laotian rock rat, is a calm, dark, furry, squirrel-like creature. The discoverers plan to study the species closely so as to preserve its habitat and thereby avoid sending the family into actual extinction.
A new microscope design, which allows for direct, real-time observation of genetic behavior, has revealed that some genes are expressed in spurts of activity rather than continuously. Albert Einstein College of Medicine researchers observed a gene that helps regulate the life cycle of one species of amoeba and found that it activates in short pulses. The researchers hypothesize that the pulsing behavior may regulate development: Much as a thermostat only releases a little bit of heat at a time, so a house doesn't overheat, this gene only activates briefly, so there isn't too much activity at once.
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Bush Safeguards 7,000 Species
On Thursday President Bush created the largest marine conservation area in the world. The sanctuary, which covers 140,000 square miles of Hawaiian Islands and surrounding waters, is home to over 7,000 species, many of which live exclusively within the new preserve. The refuge will be formed using a 100-year-old law known as the
A British and Dutch research team has found that Arctic sea level is dropping by as much as 2 millimeters per year. The data was collected by Europe's ERS-2 satellite, which detects sea level by measuring the travel time of microwave pulses it generates. While sea level is not uniform across the globe, the receding sea level in the Arctic still puzzles scientists. The team's leader, Dr Remko Scharroo, said he awaits an explanation from the geophysics community.
NASA's Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) has started collecting data that will reveal where aerosols are located and how they are affecting climate change. Aerosols, tiny, dust-like particles in the atmosphere, reflect some of the sun's rays away from Earth, causing a "global cooling" effect. CALIPSO will use lidar, a radar-like technology that uses visible light instead of radio waves, to determine how much of the Earth's atmosphere is covered by aerosol clouds.
Companies and Countries Encourage Alternate Energy
Bank of America has joined a small but growing contingent of organizations offering cash incentives to employees who purchase hybrid cars. The company will offer $3,000 to hybrid-purchasing workers in Boston, Los Angeles, and Charlotte, North Carolina, matching the $3,000 federal tax credit for purchasing a hybrid. Other companies offering such incentives include Google and Timberland.
Russia is preparing to build the world's first floating nuclear power plant, which would be ideal for generating power in remote arctic areas, a state representative said. The $336 million unit will be built at an atomic submarine construction yard in the Arctic. Environmental groups have criticized the project as unsafe, but Sergei Kiriyenko, head of Russia's Federal Atomic Power Agency, has assured them that "there will be no floating Chernobyl."