Feature Article

Organophosphorous (OP) pesticides are associated with reduced fetal growth in animals, but human studies are inconsistent. Researchers pooled data from four cohorts to examine associations of prenatal OP exposure with birth weight (n=1,169), length (n=1,152), and head circumference (n=1,143).

Original Source

Chrysotile asbestos accounts for more than 90% of the asbestos used worldwide and exposure is associated with asbestosis (asbestos-related fibrosis) and other malignancies, but the molecular mechanisms involved are not fully understood. A common pathogenic mechanism for these malignancies is represented by epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), through which epithelial cells undergo a morphological transformation to take on a mesenchymal phenotype.

In this first worldwide synthesis of in situ and satellite-derived lake data, we find that lake summer surface water temperatures rose rapidly (global mean = 0.34°C decade

Brazil plans to meet the majority of its growing electricity demand with new hydropower plants located in the Amazon basin. However, large hydropower plants located in tropical forested regions may lead to significant carbon dioxide and methane emission. Currently, no predictive models exist to estimate the greenhouse gas emissions before the reservoir is built. This paper presents two different approaches to investigate the future carbon balance of eighteen new reservoirs in the Amazon.

The fossil record provides striking case studies of biodiversity loss and global ecosystem upheaval. Because of this, many studies have sought to assess the magnitude of the current biodiversity crisis relative to past crises—a task greatly complicated by the need to extrapolate extinction rates. Here we challenge this approach by showing that the rarity of previously abundant taxa may be more important than extinction in the cascade of events leading to global changes in the biosphere.

The negative effect of increasing atmospheric nitrogen (N) pollution on grassland biodiversity is now incontrovertible. However, the recent introduction of cleaner technologies in the UK has led to reductions in the emissions of nitrogen oxides, with concomitant decreases in N deposition. The degree to which grassland biodiversity can be expected to ‘bounce back’ in response to these improvements in air quality is uncertain, with a suggestion that long-term chronic N addition may lead to an alternative low biodiversity state.

The negative effect of increasing atmospheric nitrogen (N) pollution on grassland biodiversity is now incontrovertible. However, the recent introduction of cleaner technologies in the UK has led to reductions in the emissions of nitrogen oxides, with concomitant decreases in N deposition. The degree to which grassland biodiversity can be expected to ‘bounce back’ in response to these improvements in air quality is uncertain, with a suggestion that long-term chronic N addition may lead to an alternative low biodiversity state.

When the gavel came down for the final time at the climate summit in Paris on 12 December, representatives from 195 countries erupted into cheers. They had approved a landmark plan to combat climate change after two weeks of gruelling negotiations. The agreement commits most countries to reduce their greenhouse-gas emissions, while seeking to protect low-lying islands from rising seas and helping poor nations to develop their economies without relying on cheap, dirty fossil fuels.

The response of the Greenland Ice Sheet (GIS) to changes in temperature during the twentieth century remains contentious1, largely owing to difficulties in estimating the spatial and temporal distribution of ice mass changes before 1992, when Greenland-wide observations first became available2. The only previous estimates of change during the twentieth century are based on empirical modelling3, 4, 5 and energy balance modelling6, 7.

The devastating magnitude-7.8 earthquake that struck Nepal in April caused surprisingly few landslides, researchers say — confirming the early impressions of scientists who raced to map collapsed terrain in the quake’s aftermath. However, there is still hot debate over just how severe the event’s impacts were.