Evolution Demonstrated Again
Darwin's famous Galápagos finches have provided scientists with more evidence of evolution, this time by evolving over an observable time-scale. The authors of a study published in the July 14 issue of the journal Science documented microevolution in the finches' beaks over a period of 22 years. In 1982, a population of large ground finches arrived on an island previously dominated by the medium ground finch. The large finch was more adept at breaking open and eating large seeds than its medium-sized cousin. When food became scarce in 2003 and 2004, selection favored the smaller-beaked medium ground finches, which ate smaller seeds and therefore avoided competition with the large ground finches. The current generation has observably smaller beaks than the finches of 1982.
The Environmental Protection Agency has pinpointed the dry cleaning chemical perchloroethylene as a possible carcinogen and is requiring dry cleaners housed in residential buildings to phase out their use of the chemical, which affects the central nervous system. EPA spokeswoman Jennifer Wood said perchloroethylene could pose a danger to people living in the same building as cleaners that use it. Dry cleaning machines generally last for about 15 years; by the year 2020 no machines in residential buildings will be allowed to use perchloroethylene.
William French Anderson, a world-renowned geneticist and runner-up for Time magazine's Man of the Year in 1995, was convicted of child molestation on Wednesday, July 19. Anderson's pioneering work in gene therapy, a technique that involves injecting healthy genes into unhealthy patients, won him numerous awards. He has published more than 350 articles and launched the journal Human Gene Therapy. Anderson faces up to 22 years in jail for the molestation of a colleague's daughter.
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NASA Aims for Business As Usual
The American Astronomical Society (AAS) has announced its support for a bill designed to secure emergency appropriations for NASA. The AAS statement notes that the NASA space science program has suffered due to the unexpected expense of the Discovery mission and the costs of the Columbia disaster and Hurricane Katrina. The bill, sponsored by senators Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) and Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), would allow NASA to boost its space science projects. "NASA science is fundamental to the Vision for Space Exploration," said AAS president J. Craig Wheeler, in a statement.
The safe return of the space shuttle Discovery has allowed NASA to focus on the reestablishment of regular shuttle flights that are scheduled to begin next month, said NASA chief Michael Griffin after Discovery landed. The three-shuttle fleet has 16 more launches planned before it is retired. NASA officials expressed hope that these flights will complete the construction of the International Space Station. President Bush praised NASA's dedication to "implementing our nation's vision for human and robotic space exploration."
Corporations Look To Hydrogen, Environmentalists to Oil
Ford has become the first automaker to begin production of a commercially viable and available hydrogen engine, a system that has almost zero emissions of regulated pollutants. The new Ford engine will power a fleet of shuttle buses, which will first be delivered to Florida and then to other points across North America, said Ford spokesman Nick Twork. Ford has chosen to debut the new engine technology in buses because, due to their static routes, they require only a few centralized fueling stations, Twork said, and construction of a nationwide hydrogen fueling station infrastructure for cars is currently too expensive.