23.01.10

Chinese smuggler arrested in Brazzaville

Four arrested for Ivory smuggling

January 2010. The Chinese leader, who admitted apparently that he is responsible for the ivory, is now in jail in Brazzaville. We believe that it is the first time a Chinese national has been jailed and prosecuted for ivory smuggling in Central Africa.

Female birds in species that breed in groups can find themselves under pressure to sexually show off and evolve the same kinds of embellishments

ScienceDaily (Jan. 5, 2010)

The researchers found compelling evidence for why sexual selection sometimes acts with equal strength on both females and males. Sexual selection is strongest in situations where not every individual gets a chance to reproduce -- as when rams butt heads over access to a flock of ewes.
Called reproductive skew, this pattern tends to be common in males. Females of most species generally invest more in producing and nurturing young and tend to have more steady reproductive success.

Chimp and Human Y Chromosomes Evolving Faster Than Expected

ScienceDaily (Jan. 15, 2010) - Contrary to a widely held scientific theory that the mammalian Y chromosome is slowly decaying or stagnating, new evidence suggests that in fact the Y is actually evolving quite rapidly through continuous, wholesale renovation.
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14.01.10

Scientists are reporting that "biochar" --

ScienceDaily (Jan. 14, 2010) - Scientists are reporting that "biochar" -- a material that the Amazonian Indians used to enhance soil fertility centuries ago -- has potential in the modern world to help slow global climate change. Mass production of biochar could capture and sock away carbon that otherwise would wind up in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas.

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