Socioecological network finds space for cattle, fish, and people in the big mountain west
The social and ecological systems of mountains and their river basins are best approached holistically when dealing with complex problems in natural resources management, say ecologists working with the Mountain Social Ecological Observatory Network (MntSEON). An open access special issue of ESA's journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment on "Social-ecological systems in mountain landscapes," highlights initiatives designed to build knowledge networks and foster resiliency in vulnerable mountain communities.
Source: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-02/esoa-snf020818.php
Obesity drives US health care costs up by 29 percent, varies by state
Recent research by John Cawley, professor of policy analysis and management at Cornell University, provides new insights on how individual states are affected by the health care costs of obesity.
Source: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-02/cu-odu020618.php
Simple rules can help fishery managers cope with ecological complexity
A team of ecologists and economists are the first to test whether real-life ecological interactions produce economic benefits for the fishing industry. The results were published online Jan. 29 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Source: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-02/uow-src020818.php
NASA seeks the gold in Winter Olympics snow
NASA engineer Manuel Vega can see one of the Olympic ski jump towers from the rooftop of the South Korean weather office where he is stationed. Vega is not watching skiers take flight, preparing for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics and Paralympic games. Instead, he's inspecting the SUV-sized radar beside him. The instrument is one of 11 NASA instruments specially transported to the Olympics to measure the quantity and type of snow falling on the slopes, tracks and halfpipes.
Source: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-02/nsfc-nst020818.php
AI computer vision breakthrough IDs poachers in less than half a second
Researchers at the USC Center for Artificial Intelligence in Society have long been applying AI to protect wildlife. Initially, computer scientists were using AI and game theory to anticipate the poachers' haunts, and now they have applied artificial intelligence and deep learning to spot poachers in near real-time.
Source: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-02/uosc-acv020818.php
Metasurfaces enable improved optical lens performance
Producing the perfect color images we need and love often requires multiple, heavy lenses so that each color focuses in exactly the same plane. Now Penn State engineers have developed a new theory that solves the problem using a single thin lens comprised of gradient index materials and metasurface layers to properly direct the light.
Source: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-02/ps-mei020818.php
Biochar could replace unsustainable peat moss in greenhouse industry
Plant lovers are familiar with peat moss as the major component of potting mix, but harvest of the material is becoming unsustainable. Not only is peat being removed faster than it can re-form, its use in potting mix contributes to the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
Source: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-02/uoic-bcr020818.php
Hearing loss linked to poor nutrition in early childhood, study suggests
Young adults who were undernourished as preschool children were approximately twice as likely to suffer from hearing loss as their better- nourished peers, a new study suggests.
Source: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-02/jhub-hll020818.php
Stem cell research provides hope for tasmanian devils with a deadly, transmissible cancer
Using stem cell therapy, Morris Animal Foundation-funded researcher Dr. Deanne Whitworth and her colleagues at the University of Queensland, have taken the first step toward developing an effective treatment for devil facial tumor disease (DFTD), which is decimating Tasmanian devils in the wild. The team's findings were recently published in Stem Cells and Development.
Source: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-02/maf-scr020818.php
Undergraduate student uncovers genes associated with aggressive form of brain cancer
Using publicly available data and novel computer software called KINC, an undergraduate researcher in genetics and biochemistry at Clemson University was able to uncover a group of 22 genes that are implicated together as having involvement in glioblastoma, the most aggressive type of brain cancer.
Source: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-02/cu-usu020818.php
Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/