How Aquaculture Is Threatening the Native Fish Species of Africa

In 1995, Adrian Piers, a veteran aquaculture consultant, imported a batch of Australian red claw crayfish to the tiny southern African monarchy of Swaziland. He began raising the attractive blue-green crustaceans — the males of which have red stripes on their claws and can weigh a little more than a pound — in ponds rented from a sugar estate, and soon found a market for them among French-style chefs in neighboring South Africa.

Veterinary medicine researcher uses genomic technology to battle a costly cattle parasite

A researcher in the University of Calgary Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (UCVM) is using genomic technology in the search for a drug to fight a parasite that costs the cattle industry worldwide billions of dollars a year.

“One aspect of my research program is to develop new drugs to treat parasites of livestock and specifically helminths — parasitic roundworms — which cost the Canadian cattle industry an estimated $210 million a year,” says James Wasmuth, associate professor of host-parasite interactions at UCVM. “This is in lost production as well as treatment. The cost in the U.S. is around $2 billion, and in Brazil it’s a $7 billion-a-year problem for their beef industry.”

NOAA and partners assess coral reef damage in Florida following Hurricane Irma

Recently, scientists from Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary joined other partners from NOAA and outside organizations to conduct a rapid assessment of the Florida Coral Reef Tract, including areas in the sanctuary, following Hurricane Irma. Preliminary reports from the team found extensive shifting of sand and heavy sediment accumulation, which can smother and prevent corals from getting enough sunlight, as well as some structural damage to individual corals and the reef itself.

This effort is the first step in a longer recovery process and helps NOAA begin assessing damage and start preparing and prioritizing future restoration activities. The rapid assessment took place October 9-19.

Lifestyle Changes, Healthier Population

A study by the UPV/EHU-University of the Basque Country has characterised the overweight or obese hypertensive population.

New Research Findings Could Lead to Safer and More Powerful Lithium-Ion Batteries

Virginia Commonwealth University researchers are working to improve conductivity and safety in lithium-ion batteries, which are used to power many electronic devices around the world, including laptops, iPods, satellites, artificial hearts and cell phones.

Tropical Forest Reserves Slow Down Global Warming

National parks and nature reserves in South America, Africa and Asia, created to protect wildlife, heritage sites and the territory of indigenous people, are reducing carbon emissions from tropical deforestation by a third, and so are slowing the rate of global warming, a new study shows.

Peatland Plants Adapting Well to Climate Change, Suggests Study

They account for just three per cent of the Earth’s surface but play a major role in offsetting carbon dioxide emissions – and now a team of scientists led by the universities of Southampton and Utrecht has discovered that the plants that make up peat bogs adapt exceptionally well to climate change.

NASA Finds Winds Shear Still Affecting Tropical Storm Saola

NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite and NASA's Aqua satellite imagery showed wind shear was still affecting Tropical Storm Saola.as it moved through the Philippine Sea.

NASA Finds New Tropical Storm Selma Has Heavy Rain-making Potential

Tropical Storm Selma formed in the Eastern Pacific Ocean off the coast of El Salvador and NASA infrared satellite imagery revealed the storm has very cold cloud top temperatures indicating the potential for heavy rain.

September 2017's Intense Solar Activity Viewed From Space

September 2017 saw a spate of solar activity, with the Sun emitting 27 M-class and four X-class flares and releasing several powerful coronal mass ejections, or CMEs, between Sept. 6-10. Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation, while coronal mass ejections are massive clouds of solar material and magnetic fields that erupt from the Sun at incredible speeds.