Earth
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Agriculture
Wheat gone wild
Researchers have identified a gene responsible for boosting the protein, iron, and zinc content of some varieties of wild wheat by 10 to 15 percent.
- Earth
Lead in the Water: Mapping gets a handle on disinfectant’s danger
Researchers are investigating the link between lead-contaminated water and chloramine, a chemical disinfectant that is increasingly used in municipal water supplies.
- Earth
Leaden swan song
Large numbers of trumpeter swans are succumbing to lead poisoning as a result of ingesting old shotgun pellets in areas where use of lead shot has been banned for more than a decade.
- Earth
No-stick chemicals can mimic estrogen
Some of the perfluorinated compounds used to impart nonstick properties to fabrics and cookware can not only activate a receptor for sex hormones but also inappropriately feminize fish.
- Earth
Sharks, dolphins store pollutants
Florida's top aquatic predators are rapidly accumulating high concentrations of brominated flame retardants and other persistent toxic chemicals.
- Earth
Could Prozac muscle out mussels?
Antidepressant drugs may be depressing wild-mussel populations.
- Agriculture
Organic Dairying Is on Upswing, But No Panacea
Some small dairy farms are making the switch to organic operations to increase profits and distinguish their products from undifferentiated commodities.
- Earth
Balancing Act: El Niños and dust both affect coral bleaching
Most of the annual variation in the extent of coral bleaching in the Caribbean is driven by two factors: the amount of dust and other particles suspended in the atmosphere, and the climate phenomenon known as El Niño.
- Agriculture
Cow Power
To improve the dire economics of dairying, some farmers are looking to generate commercial quantities of electric power.
- Earth
Farm salmon spread deadly lice
In the Pacific Northwest, sea lice that spread from cultivated salmon to their wild counterparts have become major parasites affecting the wild population.
- Earth
The African source of the Amazon’s fertilizer
More than half of the airborne dust that provides vital nutrients to the Amazonian rainforest comes from a small corner of the Sahara.
- Earth
Dashing Rogues
Rogue waves, which tower over the waves that surround them, are probably more common than scientists had previously suspected.
