BYTES
Antarctica ice loss quickens
The continent lost 92 billion tonnes of ice every year between 2003 and 2014
Thinkstock Photo
ANTARCTICA HAS been consistently losing ice in the past decade and the rate of loss is increasing. The amount of ice lost by Antarctica between 2003 and 2014 is twice the amount of ice it gained, and the vast majority of that loss was from West Antarctica while the gains were in the eastern part. Since 2008, ice loss from West Antarctica's unstable glaciers doubled from an average 121 billion tonnes annually to twice that amount by 2014. Satellite data shows that Earth's southern most continent lost 92 billion tonnes of ice per year in the period. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, April 1
HEALTH
Airborne danger
Noroviruses, THE group of viruses responsible for over 50 per cent of global gastroenteritis cases, can spread by air up to several metres from an infected person. Preventive steps by hospitals during outbreaks may be insufficient to contain this kind of infection. In a study at eight hospitals during gastroenteritis outbreaks, noroviruses were found in the air at six. Virus concentrations ranged from 13 to 2,350 particles per cubic meter of air. A dose of 20 norovirus particles is sufficient to cause gastroenteritis. Clinical Infectious Diseases, April 21 (online)
ECOLOGY
Bee killer
Thinkstock PhotoNeonicotinoids, A class of pesticides, is extremely dangerous to bees and threatens crops that depend on pollination by bees. The pesticide kills brain cells of bees, hindering their ability to learn, collect food or reproduce. In a study, bees were fed a sugar solution with very low levels of neonicotinoid (2.5 parts per billion), found typically in flowers, and the movements of the toxins to the brain was tracked. It emerged that even one-tenth of these levels were enough to harm bees. The FASEB Journal, May 2015
GEOLOGY
New light on Deccan Traps' origin
The ASTEROIDthat fell into the ocean near Mexico 66 million years ago and caused extinction of dinosaurs is likely to have triggered global volcanic eruptions. The Deccan Traps in India, formed by lava flows around the same time, were also probably a result of the crash. The impact generated seismic energy throughout the upper 200 km of the earth's mantle, sufficient to trigger volcanic eruptions. The Geological Society of America Bulletin, April 30 (online)
Cold fish in hot water
Cold sea fish stocks would reduce as seas get warmer, shows British study
A RISE IN temperature of oceans and seas could seriously affect popular North Sea fish, such as haddock, plaice and lemon sole, which thrive in cold water. A team of British researchers have found that the North Sea, which washes the eastern shores of Britain, has warmed four times faster than the global average in the last 40 years and would warm further over the coming century. But its fish species will not be able to move northwards to avoid warming since those areas are not deep enough. As their population declines, warmer water fish from southern Europe are likely to take their place. The researchers' model used fisheries databases and climate model projects. Nature Climate Change, April 13
ECOLOGY
Toxic streams
A GLOBAL study of pesticides in streams and waterways states that such pollution is rare, but when found, it exceeds regulatory limits about half the time. Of the 2,500 aquatic sites covered in the study, just 2.6 per cent of the samples contained measurable levels of insecticides. At the sites containing insecticides, 52.4 per cent of the detections exceeded regulatory thresholds. In fact, the high levels of pesticide contamination constituted an excessive threat to aquatic biodiversity. PNAS, April 13
PHYSICS
Soil hardens when struck harder
Soil AND sand actually get stronger when they are struck harder. Duke University researchers in the US developed techniques that enabled them to simulate high-speed impacts in artificial soil and sand in the lab. The findings help explain why attempts to make ground-penetrating missiles go deeper by shooting them harder and faster have had limited success. Projectiles experience more resistance and stop sooner as their strike speed increases, shows the research which may lead to better control of earth-penetrating missiles designed to destroy enemy bunkers. Physical Review Letters, April 10
HEALTH
New weapon against cancer
Genetically modifiedSalmonella enterica can be used to kill cancer cells, shows a recent study. Researchers focused on modifying the lipopolysaccharide structure in the walls of the Salmonella strain to make the bacteria less toxic so that they would not harm healthy cells, but can effectively colonise tumours and would turn toxic after entering cancer cells. The therapy would be used in conjunction with chemotherapy and radiation once it gets to human trials. mBio, April 14
What plants don't need
Light pollution has damaging effect on natural environment, including food chain
Source: Jon Bennie / University Of ExeterARTIFICIAL LIGHT can affect the growth and flowering of plants and even the number of insects dependent on them for food. Researchers simulated street lighting on artificial grassland plots containing pea aphids, sap-sucking insects, at night. These were exposed to two different types of light—a white light similar to newer commercial LED lights and an amber light similar to sodium street lamps popular in the streets of the UK. The low-intensity amber light was shown to inhibit, rather than induce, flowering in greater bird's foot trefoil, a wild plant of the pea family and a source of food for the pea aphid in grasslands. The number of aphids was also significantly suppressed under the light treatment due to the limited amount of food available. This shows that light pollution can have a permanent adverse impact on wildlife and ecosystem. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, March 16
CLIMATE CHANGE
Vanishing ponds of the Arctic
Warming TEMPERATURES are shrinking ponds in the Arctic tundra. Rise in temperature thaws nutrient-rich permafrost, releasing nutrients into ponds and enhancing plant growth, which takes over shallow ponds. More than 2,800 ponds in the northern region of Alaska's Barrow Peninsula were analysedwith photos and satellite images between 1948 and 2010. The number of ponds had decreased by 17 per cent, while pond size had shrunk by an average of one-third. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, March 12
HEALTH
Folic acid reduces risk of stroke
Adults WITH hypertension can reduce the risk of heart attack by taking folic acid supplements along with the prescribed medication, enalapril. More than 20,000 adults with high blood pressure but without a history of stroke in China were given a daily treatment of a single-pill combination of enalapril and folic acid or a tablet containing enalapril alone. The first stroke occurred in 282 participants in the enalapril-folic acid group compared to 355 participants in the enalapril group. This represents a 21 per cent reduction in the risk of first stroke. JAMA, March 15
OCEANS
Low oxygen affects some fish
The LEVEL of oxygen in water affects certain species of fish. Deep waters of the West Coast, US, are low on oxygen. Fish species such as spotted ratfish and petrale sole are most sensitive and their presence has been found to decline sharply in the West Coast, while greenstriped rockfish and dover remain unaffected by dissolved oxygen levels. Such co-relation can affect the marine chain by driving fish into habitats that are less desirable for fishing. Fisheries Oceanography, March 11
