This was shown again in some recent 2017 studies, find out more in this Science Perspectives piece.

Visit the Bumblebee Conservation Trust for more info on what makes bumblebees such great pollinators.

Watch the prototype in action.

Read and watch more on Berkeley News: http://news.berkeley.edu/2018/06/08/in-desert-trials-next-generation-water-harvester-delivers-fresh-water-from-air/

MOFs are porous materials that can be used to capture and release a variety of ions and small molecules.

Read more and listen to a podcast in Chemistry World: https://www.chemistryworld.com/podcasts/mofs-metalorganic-frameworks-/3007204.article

Less than 1% of the total water on Earth is drinkable and easily accessible. Due to an uneven distribution, the world is facing a global water crisis, and billions of people do not have regular access to clean drinking water.

Read more on National Geographic: https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/03/world-water-day-water-crisis-explained/

In arid areas, where an efficient water-harvesting system is most needed, the relative humidity can go as low as about 20% with extremely large temperature variations.

Read more on Sciencing: https://sciencing.com/humidity-mojave-desert-19526.html

Where is Earth's water? The water contained in the atmosphere represents about 0.001% of the total water on Earth, and about 3% of the accessible freshwater.

Read more on USGS: https://water.usgs.gov/edu/earthwherewater.html

The VOC measurements were part of a large community-wide effort by atmospheric scientists to better understand issues posed by air pollution and climate change in California. A link to the field study (including a white paper and policy-relevant findings) can be found at: https://www.esrl.noaa.gov/csd/projects/calnex/.

According to a CBS News article from 2017:

Numerous studies have "confirmed the importance of sea surface temperature in controlling hurricane maximum intensity, and suggest an increase of 2-3 percent in hurricane strength per 1 Celsius degree increase in sea surface temperature under favorable conditions."

However directly connecting individual storms to the increasing sea surface temperatures related to climate change is still a difficult proposition. This is because "on top of the day-to-day intensity fluctuations due to local environmental conditions, hurricanes may also possess chaotic behaviors that cause their intensity to highly vary."

Read this article at CBS News: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/does-climate-change-affect-hurricanes/

One of the reasons for why it is so difficult to predict a change in hurricane frequency is due to intrinsic biases and assumptions built into the climate models being utilized.

While the 2012 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports that tropical hurricanes are likely to decrease in frequency with increasing temperatures, the storms that do form are likely to see increased winds and rainfall.

This article from Climate Central in 2013 details one study by MIT researcher Kerry Emanuel which found that tropical cyclones are likely to become both stronger and more frequent in the years to come, which is contrary to previous findings.

Read the article here: http://www.climatecentral.org/news/study-projects-more-frequent-and-stronger-hurricanes-worldwide-16204

The year 2004 was the "Year of the Four Hurricanes" when Hurricane Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne made landfall in Florida and caused billions of dollars worth of damages.

Since then there have been improvements to electric grids, shelters, forecasting abilities and the ability to communicate which should hopefully save lives in future hurricanes.

The Florida newsgroup Sun Sentinel reviews these 4 hurricanes, what has been improved since, and what still needs fixing. Read their article here: http://interactive.sun-sentinel.com/2004storms/

The National Institute on Drug Abuse provides information about treatments for cocaine addiction, including the length of treatment and what makes a treatment successful. It also highlights how drug addiction compares to other chronic illnesses.

Read more at the National Institute on Drug Abuse:

https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/principles-drug-addiction-treatment-research-based-guide-third-edition/frequently-asked-questions/how-effective-drug-addiction-treatment

Read more in Nature.

Homo erectus footprints hint at ancient hunting party. https://www.nature.com/news/homo-erectus-footprints-hint-at-ancient-hunting-party-1.17346

The area is protected by the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority, an arm of the Tanzanian government. In 2009, the Ngorongoro Wildlife Conservation Act was passed which limited human settlement and subsistence farming in the area, generating some controversy.

Hear one of the authors of this paper, Marco Cherin, discuss the findings of this research in the eLife Podcast.

A type of computer algorithm which relies on a large amount of input data to make a future decision about a new data point.

How do our brains use machine learning algorithms to make decisions? This article explores how machine learning affects everything from our belief systems to our online shopping habits.

Read more in Forbes magazine: https://www.forbes.com/sites/annapowers/2017/12/31/is-our-mind-a-machine-learning-algorithm/

This has been shown by studies time and time again, and the United Nations' Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) lists climate change as one of the major threats to the world's biodiversity, along with habitat loss.

Read more about the value of biodiversity, threats to biodiversity, and the coordinated actions the CBD is taking with governments around the world to combat biodiversity loss on the CBD website.

Einstein's letter was originally published in the 28 November 1919 issue of The Times, a British daily national newspaper.

During the war, Einstein lived and worked in Berlin, Germany. Communication between England and Germany seems to have been limited during the war, even among scientists in those countries. Because science is a collaborative endeavor that spans countries and cultures, Einstein understandably appreciates the renewed communication between these two important countries.

Einstein published his equations that describe gravity with respect to space and time in 1915 —right in the middle of World War I (1914-1918).

Despite poor political relations during this period, two Englishmen published experimental evidence that supported Einstein's theory. Einstein commended the English scientists and institutions for prioritizing scientific pursuits over politics.

In 1959, the Pound–Rebka experiment confirmed that light moving out of a gravitational well is in fact red-shifted.

Read more in The New York Times:

https://www.nytimes.com/1959/12/13/archives/way-to-test-an-einstein-premise-found-by-2-harvard-scientists.html

Dr. Rachel Levin and her team of researchers may have found a solution to minimize coral bleaching, which is caused by ocean warming and is a huge threat to coral reefs. She proposed a way to genetically modify Symbiodinum (a group of microalgae in corals) such that they may increase their stress tolerance to changes in ocean temperature and inherently save coral reefs.

Read more in the Science Daily: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/07/170720095111.htm

Plants are imperative to the world’s ecosystem, nevertheless, many plant species are largely disappearing. Cycads, palm-like plants, are one of these endangered plants that has been around for more than 300 years. Studies are being conducted on ways to save these plants and the implications its extinction may have.

Read more here: https://news.mongabay.com/2017/05/saving-the-most-endangered-plants-in-the-world/

Gene diversity in a species of plants is imperative to its survival when its environment is either degrading or constantly changing. If genetic erosion occurs, the fitness of this species decreases and it is at a much higher risk of extinction which is the case for Pulsatilla patens, a plant species from East Central Europe.

Read more about it: http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0151730

A "nearest neighbors" search takes a specific item and looks for other nearby items that are similar to it. This is a very common problem in everyday life (for example, a business owner who wants to find other coffee shops near hers, or a dating profile that wants to find compatible suitors nearby). But how exactly do nearest neighbors searches work? And how difficult are they to implement?

Read more in Quanta Magazine: https://www.quantamagazine.org/universal-method-to-sort-complex-information-found-20180813/

An exhibit dedicated to electric fish has opened at Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington, D.C. The exhibit includes a life-sized electric eel model and lights powered by eel-generated electricity to enable visitors to see and understand how these creatures work.

For more information on this exhibit, visit https://nationalzoo.si.edu/news/new-electric-fishes-exhibit-opens-smithsonians-national-zoo

This paper goes in-depth on how different kinds of fish use their electrical currents to detect different objects and sense their location. They also use electrical discharge as a way of exposing who they are, similar to how humans can recognize other people are by looking at their faces.

For more information into another use for these fish's electrical discharge visit, https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-04/wuis-jic041511.php

In recent years, traps for adult toads and nets for tadpoles were set in order to limit this invasive population in Australia. While successful in slowing spread in the West, expansion of cane toad territory in northern Australia is only expanding.

Read more in ABC Science: http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2003/02/28/793049.htm

Learn about the air quality index from the Environmental Protection Agency and monitor the air quality in your area. Learn about air quality index

United States Air Quality Monitoring

As this research has presented, due to rising temperatures, bees have began to favor generalist foraging. A recent news story shows how honey bees have started pollinating blueberry plants, which are not very easily accessible for other bees.

Read more: https://www.sciencenews.org/article/honeybees-fumble-their-way-blueberry-pollination

Mutualistic relationships between bees and flowers have resulted in both to coevolve with one another. Bees are essential to the pollination of flowers, because of this recent headlines about their possible endangerment could be catastrophic.

Read more: http://www.sciencetimes.com/articles/11037/20170326/bumble-bees-news-endangered-species-one-important-insect-earth.htm

The effects of foxes on the Aleutian islands are both direct and indirect in nature. The presence of foxes directly affects the seabirds by decreasing their population due to them being easy prey. Indirectly the islands plant composition is affected by the reduced populations of birds distributing fewer nutrients needed by the vegetation. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been reducing fox populations in order to restore the seabirds and have the islands support more plant life. To read more go to USGS: https://soundwaves.usgs.gov/2005/05/research.html

According to the National Weather Service, the official hurricane season starts on June 1 for the Atlantic and May 15 for the Pacific, both ending on Nov. 30. August through November are peak months with a high storm likelihood.

For information about the 2018 hurricane season, check out this article from LiveScience: https://www.livescience.com/57671-hurricane-season.html

For a synopsis of the present study, see Science Daily:

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/05/160505144850.htm

Zika virus is dangerous for fetuses, but in adults the virus may eradicate cancerous brain tumors.

Read more about how Zika virus affects brain tumors here: https://medicine.wustl.edu/news/zika-virus-kills-brain-cancer-stem-cells/

Zika is type of virus called a flavivirus, a family of viruses that is transmitted by mosquitoes and includes yellow fever, West Nile, and dengue virus.

In May 2015, Brazil was the first to associate Zika virus infection with microcephaly in newborns.

Watch the following video for more about the history of Zika: https://youtu.be/FOcSe0LtoTg

How are local communities responding to reports like this one about the impacts of climate change in their region?

Read about how communities in the Maghreb region of North Africa are working to keep desert oasis ecosystems from disappearing at Yale Environment 360: http://e360.yale.edu/features/a_drive_to_save_sahran_oases_as_climate_change_takes_a_toll_cop22

Medicinal Plant Trade in Sierra Leone: Threats and Opportunities for Conservation (Jusu and Sanchez 2014)

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12231-013-9255-2

Other strategies used for conservation include seed banking and establishing new protected areas.

Orchid conservation in the biodiversity hotspot of southwestern China (Lia et al. 2015) http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cobi.12584/full)

In 2016 the Chinese government announced that they plan to establish 30 to 50 nature reserves across China by 2020.

Read more in "China to establish up to 50 new nature reserves in next 5 years" http://www.ecns.cn/2016/11-03/232694.shtml

In Thailand there is a large network of illegal trading for endangered species of orchids to be used for medicinal purposes in China. These trades are done without domestic harvest permits or CITES permit which violates state and international restrictions on wild orchid harvest.

Read More: "Unseen harvest: Southeast Asia’s illegal orchid trade"

http://www.traffic.org/home/2015/11/24/unseen-harvest-southeast-asias-illegal-orchid-trade.html

Read more:

A more recent look at diversity in the region.

Tropical China Plant Diversity, Ecology and Conservation – a Glimpse at the Current State (Liu et al 2017, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12229-017-9180-7)

Authors obtained this information from the following News

Daniels JC (2014) Conservation matters: status and conservation of the federally endangered Schaus swallowtail butterfly. News of the Lepidopterists’. Society 56:138–139

Ednrb antagonists could potentially be used for the treatment of melanoma. Read more: www.theoncologist.alphamedpress.org/content/20/10/1121.full.pdf

Why is it that some people use drugs without becoming addicted, while others will continue to abuse a substance despite consequences such as jail time and health problems?

Read more at the Association for Psychological Science:

https://www.psychologicalscience.org/publications/observer/obsonline/how-a-habit-becomes-an-addiction.html

There is international recognition that plastic pollution in the ocean is a global problem, and policy decisions by governments have worked to address it.

The Jambeck et al. paper focuses on sources of plastic waste entering the oceans. A 2018 publication from Lebreton et al. presents research on the size of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a collection of plastic waste floating halfway between California and Hawaii. The patch contains about 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic, collectively weighing 88,000 tons (more than 500 jumbo jets) and covering an area more than 600,000 square miles (more than twice the size of Texas) in extent. The plastic is "collected" by winds and ocean currents.

For more information, see these links: https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/science/2018/03/22/great-pacific-garbage-patch-grows/446405002/ and https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-22939-w

"The Ocean is essential to life on Earth. Most of Earth's water is stored in the ocean. Although 40 percent of Earth's population lives within, or near coastal regions- the ocean impacts people everywhere. Without the ocean, our planet would be uninhabitable."

Check out this NASA's Goddard video about the ocean: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vgvTeuoDWY

"Underneath all the complexity of a big climate model lies a simple bedrock fact: In the long run, the Earth must balance its energy budget. However much incoming solar radiation the planet absorbs, the same amount must eventually be radiated back into space. The planet warms or cools as needed to satisfy this rule."

Read more about climate models at the American Scientist: https://www.americanscientist.org/article/clarity-in-climate-modeling

A city releases water contaminated by agriculture which will have an adverse effect on local ecosystems.

Read more in Lawrence-Journal World: http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2017/nov/15/short-notice-citys-release-nitrogen-contaminated-w/

The levels of phosphorus in Lake Coeur d’Alene have doubled since the 1990's. This worries authorities about the potential growth of algae and increase in heavy metals in the lake.

Read more in The Spokesman-Review: http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2017/nov/15/phosphorus-pollution-flowing-into-lake-coeur-dalen/

William & Mary’s Virginia Institute of Marine Science are studying oysters to see if they could be used to reduce nitrogen levels.

Read more in the Williamsburg Yorktown Daily: https://wydaily.com/2017/11/05/study-suggests-oysters-offer-hot-spot-for-reducing-nutrient-pollution-tek/

Nutient pollution is affecting the production of fisheries in the ocean by creating dead zones in the ocean where there are low levels of oxygen.

Read more in the Iowa Public Radio: http://iowapublicradio.org/post/farmers-sea-say-livelihood-dying-midwest-ag-pollution#stream/0

Evolutionary 'tinkering' is responsible for novel adaptations throughout the tree of life from fish to apes.

Read more in Science Daily: Distantly related fish find same evolutionary solution to dark water

And Cosmos: How did our brains get so big?

Bacterial symbionts play an important role in the in the morphogenesis (progression from one developmental stage to the next) of the light organ in the Hawaiian bobtail squid.

Read more in Science: Mysteries in Development- How Do Microbes Shape Animal Development?

The following conducted on Angadenia berteroi, a flower from the Apocynaceae family native to south Florida describe the pollination patterns of butterflies and bees.

http://2014.botanyconference.org/engine/search/index.php?func=detail&aid=116

A new Piper species called Piper kelleyj was found in Equador by University of Cincinnati botanist Eric Tepe. The plant is now commonly known as "pink belly" pepper. This is because of the rosy underside of its leaves. It hosts 40 different species of insects (at least).

http://magazine.uc.edu/editors_picks/recent_features/herbarium.html

http://www.amjbot.org/content/102/2/273.long

The research by Martinez and his colleagues used fossil from Piper and compared them to angiosperm species (a plant that has flowers and produces seeds) in order to evaluate the age divergence of the taxa. The divergence was estimated at thirty millions years.

Biodiversity entails all form of life and ecosystems in the planet. The planet needs this biodiversity to support the existence of all life on earth. However, over the last couple of years humans have greatly reduced the Earth’s biodiversity leading to the extinction of whole species and the endangerment of others. If we want to continue existing on this planet is important to work towards protecting biodiversity on our planet.

Read more about it: https://www.bgci.org/plant-conservation/why_conserve/

Extraocular photoreceptors range from simple to complex and are essential for many functions, including circadian entrainment (syncing of internal biological clock to environmental signals such as light and dark) and phototaxis (movement toward light, such as what is seen in many plants).

Read more in Scientific American: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/seeing-without-eyes1/

An extension of High-Resolution Melting (HRM) known as a LunaProbe, was used with LCGreen Plus dye to genotype anonymous blood samples. This eradicated the need for costly probes that could fluorescence, or emit light.

Read more in Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News: https://www.genengnews.com/gen-articles/assay-high-resolution-melting-unlabeled-probes/1986

Melting curves are compared through HRM analysis in order to detect the different sequences in various strains of DNA. There are many new methods and sequence based studies with HRM including gene dosage quantification, mutation identification, gene scanning, to name a few.

Read more in Biocompare: http://www.biocompare.com/Editorial-Articles/41779-High-Resolution-Melt/

This article covers how constant cocaine use affects areas of the brain such as the amygdala, which is associated with the stimulus and response/feeling after drug consumption. Cocaine exposure also alters the prefrontal cortex, which help individuals to select or take an action base on negatively- or positively-associated outcomes. It also discusses N-acetylcysteine, a treatment that was not entirely successful in human trials, but was helpful to individuals in the decision to refrain from drug use.

Read more at Neuroscience News and Research:

https://www.technologynetworks.com/neuroscience/news/cocaine-addiction-scientists-discover-back-door-brain-283940

Climate change brings about higher temperature which means more snow will melt in the arctic tundras. This might impact the growth of new plants in this environment.

Read more in Livescience https://www.livescience.com/28406-arctic-tundra-turning-green.html

Watch a video from National Geographic. https://voices.nationalgeographic.org/2016/11/17/climate-and-the-dividing-line-between-forest-and-tundra/

https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2017/11/16/more-states-use-solar-plants-to-protect-bumble-bee-populations/

Given that bees are being shown to be very important pollinators, it is relevant that South Florida is currently undergoing efforts to preserve bee populations.

Despite the clear evidence of invasive species and altering ecosystems on global ecosystem sustenance, Kevin Esvelt conceived a technology called a gene drive that could suppress the growth of entire wild populations. Despite outside development, Esvelt has since begun opposing gene drives, arguing they could function in a way similar to introducing invasive species.

Read more in Pacific Standard: https://psmag.com/environment/should-we-fight-invasive-species-with-genetic-engineering

Many species are becoming threatened or endangered as the result of habitat fragmentation combined with climate change. These include both plant and animal species. When plant species go extinct, valuable genetic diversity is lost which could have helped breed disease or drought resistance in the future.

Read more in the Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/dec/05/red-list-thousands-of-species-at-risk-of-extinction-due-to-human-activity

This article discusses how researchers are exploring why humans can't tickle themselves.

Read more about self-tickling in Discover: http://discovermagazine.com/2014/sept/2-tickle-yourself-elmo

The authors set out to determine which regions of the brain are involved in rat ticklishness and how ticklishness is impacted by mood. The articles below provide short summaries of this work.

Read more in Science: http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/11/watch-these-ticklish-rats-laugh-and-jump-joy

Read more in Smithsonian: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/ticklish-rats-get-giggles-when-theyre-good-mood-180961061/

Read more in Popular Science: http://www.popsci.com/rats-are-ticklish-when-they-are-in-good-mood?dom=rss-default&src=syn

With new research on the effects of climate change on bumble bee pollination and the decline in pollinators, new man-made developments have risen. We can see the start to a new possible era of man-made pollinators. This could help the declining rate of pollinators but can drastically affect the coevolution of flowers and their pollinators.

Read more in CNN Tech: http://money.cnn.com/2017/02/15/technology/bee-drone-pollination/index.html

This article by Hungate et. al applies its findings to the Conservation Reserve Program, attempting to estimate species richness of CRP. This article ( D. L. Carter, J. M. Blair, Recovery of native plant community characteristics on a chronosequence of restored prairies seeded into pastures in West-Central Iowa. Restor. Ecol. 20, 170–179 (2012). ) is cited, yet this cited paper specifically does not use CRP grasslands, suggesting an error on the part of Hungate et al.

Read more at PrarieBotanist: https://prairiebotanist.com/2017/04/11/a-brief-comment-on-the-economic-value-of-grassland-species-for-carbon-storage/

Grasslands with greater biodiversity were found to feature greater biomass than grasslands with fewer species diversity.

Read more in ScienceDaily: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/04/170419091536.htm

The economic value of grassland species for carbon storage is one of the first papers to monetarily quantify the gain or loss of a species from an ecosystem. Even slight additions (as little as one additional species) to the current U.S. Department of Agriculture's Conservation Reserve program could save hundreds of millions of dollars.

Read more in Michigan News: http://ns.umich.edu/new/releases/24732-diversity-dividends-the-economic-value-of-grassland-species-for-carbon-storage

Mosquitoes carrying Zika can contaminate and spread the disease in the human population in a second. Zika is a yellow fever. This 2017 news relates to the article because if mosquito populations are controlled by hormone regulation, then genetically modifying a suppressor can develop a method to prevent the disease from spreading.

Uncovering the mechanism of Wolbachia invasion may open doors to eradicating viral diseases like Zika and dengue virus.

Read more on the world mosquito program: http://www.eliminatedengue.com/program

Female mosquitoes with sugar-fed diets survive longer than those without sugar-diets. Wolbachia titer size is affected by levels of sugar in the host's diet, which may show correlation between mosquito life expectancy and Wolbachia titer size from dietary sugars.

Read more on Oxford Academic: https://academic.oup.com/jme/article/12/2/220/2219171

This could be a new mechanism affecting Wolbachia interaction with host, similar to recently discovered mechanism affecting sperm in flies using Wolbachia.

Read more on BIOmed central: https://parasitesandvectors.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1756-3305-6-36

DEET, like other pesticides and insecticides, comes with its own cost to the human health and environement.

Read more about it here: http://www.environmentalhealth.ca/spring03hazards.html

Interestingly, scientists have found another repellant that could be much more effective than DEET. This repellant, known as VUAA1 triggers Orco directly rather than specific OR regions.

Read more about it here: https://www.popsci.com/science/article/2011-05/new-insect-repellent-thousands-times-more-effective-deet

With the evolutionary mechanism of natural selection, some mosquitoes have become resistant to insecticides such as DEET. This resistance could be inherited by a dominant gene. The development of such a resistance could become a problem in the future since as DEET is one of the strongest insect repellents to date.

Read more about it here: http://www.nature.com/news/2010/100503/full/news.2010.216.html

To read a popular science version of this paper, check out Motherboard's article, which includes quotes from the author.

http://motherboard.vice.com/read/hairy-humans-and-scaly-lizards-have-more-in-common-than-you-think

The Paris Agreement includes specific actions like the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) each country identifies and reports; these include target national emission rates over time, and whether these have been achieved. The Paris Agreement has been ratified, but related work continues.

For more information on the details of the Paris Agreement, read more in the UNFCCC's Paris Agreement Hub: http://unfccc.int/paris_agreement/items/9485.php

For updates about the Paris Agreement, read more in the UNFCCC's Paris Agreement Newsroom: http://newsroom.unfccc.int/paris-agreement/

Zika is known to be a flavivirus that is transmitted by mosquitoes such as yellow fever, West Nile, and dengue virus. In May 2015, Brazil was the first to associate Zika virus infection with microcephaly in newborns.

Watch more about the history of Zika virus at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOcSe0LtoTg

Zika virus is dangerous for fetuses, but in adults the virus may eradicate cancerous brain tumors.

Read more about the Zika virus uses for brain tumors here: https://medicine.wustl.edu/news/zika-virus-kills-brain-cancer-stem-cells/

Zika is known to have the ability to reinfect other humans because it is known to be found in the blood and continuously be transmitted by mosquitos. Zika virus utilizes host cellular machinery to replicate, and symptoms may emerge a few days to a week after infection.

Watch more about the symptoms, pathology, and outbreak at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGNxGlltnOs

According to the NOAA, the removal of shark fins is prohibited by federal law. This practice, coined "shark finning" has been abolished in the United States since 2000. For further information on government involvement in shark regulations and management, visit this NOAA page

Furthermore, the Caribbean Reef and Caribbean Sharpnose sharks are both prohibited from being harvested, as this Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission site shows shows. -Sindy

The Caribbean reef shark is considered near threatened due to the increased consumption of shark fin delicacies and the selling of shark fins on the black market. This is precisely the reason that no-take marine reserves are crucial to the preservation of Caribbean Reef sharks. -Sindy

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/09/170921161236.htm

Now that researchers have found that people are adapting to high altitudes, few have explored the adverse effects such as chronic mountain sickness. A research team of University of California is expanding their knowledge on both the adaptation and the adverse effects.

http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2014/07/tibetans-inherited-high-altitude-gene-ancient-human

According to news reports, Tibetans have inherited a "superathlete" gene that allows them to live in high altitudes. The gene has been acquired from interbreeding which has been shown to help humans in today's environment.

The Asian shark fin trade has been detrimental to the shark population and according to the The National, a Marine Conservation group called Sea Sheppard Global is campaigning for shark conservation and cleaner oceans in the Middle East. Finning is one of if not the greatest threat to sharks. It entails the process of cutting of the sharks fin and leaving its body in the sea to bleed to death or be eaten by other fish. The point of finning is to make shark fin soup which is an Asian delicacy or to sell for price ranged between $10,000-$20,00. In 2016, congress passed the Shark Fin Trade Elimination act which banned the shark fin trade. Despite this, Shark fins are still being trafficked to the country. https://www.thenational.ae/uae/environment/marine-conservation-group-launches-in-middle-east-1.673006 -Sindy

Mosquitoes carrying Zika can contaminate and spread the disease in the human population in a second. Zika is a yellow fever. This 2017 news relates to the article because if mosquito populations are controlled by hormone regulation, then genetically modifying a suppressor can develop a method to prevent the disease from spreading. - NAJ

For more on the differences between RNAi and CRISPR, see this article in Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News:

https://www.genengnews.com/gen-articles/advertorial-comparing-rnai-and-crispr-technology-for-loss-of-function-genetic-screens/5496

For more on how lentiviral vectors aid in the use of CRISPR, see this article in Science

http://science.sciencemag.org/content/341/6148/833.full

See AddGene for more information about designing sgRNAs and genome-scale sgRNA libraries (including the GeCKO library):

https://www.addgene.org/crispr/guide/

For more on possible future uses of CRISPR-Cas9, see this article in Science Daily:

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/08/160811142643.htm

A video describing the glymphatic system, a paravascular pathway that facilitates the clearance of waste and solutes from the cerebrospinal fluid and interstitial fluid of the brain.

http://www.jci.org/videos/4

The brain uses sleep to wash away the waste toxins built up during a hard day's thinking, researchers have shown.

http://www.bbc.com/news/health-24567412

Brain may flush out toxins during sleep

A NIH-funded study suggests sleep clears brain of damaging molecules associated with neurodegeneration

http://www.nih.gov/news/health/oct2013/ninds-17.htm

The expertise of researchers conducting the replication attempts has been the topic of much debate.

In a recent study, Protzko and Schooler have conducted a study on the question whether researchers' "caliber" influences their success in reproducing studies.

Read more in PsyArXiv Preprints:

https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/4vzfs/?t=1&cn=ZmxleGlibGVfcmVjc18y&iid=c229da44ef46429fb9c1547524d11052&uid=1158994320&nid=244+276893704

Making an experimental setup transparent and reproducible can be quite difficult, because undetected but theoretically relevant variations to the study protocol could produce different results. However, there are some new ideas about how such transparency could be achieved.

Read more in The New Yorker: http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/how-methods-videos-are-making-science-smarter

Reproducibility has become the focus of attention in many areas of science. So far, you have read about examples from cancer research and biology, as well as pharmaceutical research. Another scientific discipline that has recently begun addressing the topic of reproducibility is the field of economics. In their approach to evaluating the reproducibility of studies in experimental economics, Camerer and colleagues have also used a somewhat different methodology.

Read more in Science:

http://science.sciencemag.org/content/351/6280/1433.full.pdf+html

The expertise of researchers conducting the replication attempts has been the topic of much debate.

In a recent study, Protzko and Schooler have questioned whether researchers' "caliber" influences their success in reproducing studies.

Read more in PsyArXiv Preprints: https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/4vzfs/?t=1&cn=ZmxleGlibGVfcmVjc18y&iid=c229da44ef46429fb9c1547524d11052&uid=1158994320&nid=244+276893704

Since this study was published, hurricanes have been increasing in both frequency and intensity in the North Atlantic. We may begin to see shifts in coral reef communities toward something more like Port Royal.

Read more from the U.S. Global Change Research Program:

http://nca2014.globalchange.gov/report/our-changing-climate/changes-hurricanes

For a broad overview of the effects of hurricanes on coral reefs, see the following news report from The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2008/jan/24/climatechange

Deep dive: Hurricanes and their Effects on Coral Reefs, a report by the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network:<br> https://www.coris.noaa.gov/activities/caribbean_rpt/SCRBH2005_03.pdf

Communities in the ocean are often strongly influenced by the physical environment around them, and coral reefs are usually found in clear water. This is why scientists were surprised to discover a coral and sponge reef in the less-than-ideal conditions of the plume of the Amazon river in 2016.

View newly released photos of this reef in National Geographic: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/01/photos-amazon-coral-reef-discovery-research-science/

Read the original article in Science Advances: http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/2/4/e1501252.full

The use of Arabidopsis thaliana has been vital for plant science research.

Learn more about the importance of this plant in this podcast by Professor Kathy Willis on BBC Radio 4.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04d4ppb

Many locations in the world are facing rapid environmental change.

Read more about environmental change in Greenland in the Independent

http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/greenland-how-rapid-climate-change-on-worlds-largest-island-will-affect-us-all-a7926006.html

Coral reefs continue to face threats of increasing severity, which could spell disaster if compounded.

Australia's Great Barrier Reef recently experienced its most severe coral bleaching event in history as a result of the combined effects of ocean warming and an El Niño event.

Read more from the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority: http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/media-room/latest-news/coral-bleaching/2016/the-facts-on-great-barrier-reef-coral-mortality

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/07/160728110501.htm

The Institute for Basic Science research team explained the use of a technique, mTAIL-seq, to study the regulation of translation through the presence and length of the poly-A tail.

A basic background of the process of transcribing DNA into RNA and translating RNA into proteins is given in the article to show the importance of each step of the central dogma.

The IBS research team was able to use their technique to show that the regulation of the messenger RNAs controls what proteins are being expressed in the cell controlling the phenotype of the individual: hair color, height, etc.

http://science.sciencemag.org/content/352/6292/1430

Bin Wu lead a group of researchers in developing molecular techniques which would allow translation elongation and initiation rates to be observed and quantified. Form Wu’s research, the SunTag epitope was developed and combined with MS2 tagging, which was the first experiment that allowed movement of mRNA, translation, and protein migration to be observed in a living cell.

Wu’s research on translation kinetics helped lay the foundation for Morisaki’s research and the development of nascent chain tracking.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/08/160804102311.htm

It is traditionally thought that proteins that are involved in the regulation of translation and transcription are in two different categories. However, researchers at Umea University in Sweden and Inserm in France have now discovered that there is a gray area when discussing regulation of genetic expression at different levels.

The researchers have discovered that some proteins, specifically p53, have the ability to control the expression of the MDMX gene at both transcription and translation. By mutating the region of the p53 gene that encodes the DNA binding domain of the protein (making the translated p53 protein unable to bind to DNA) researchers observed that the control MDMX gene expression was still being regulated by p53 during translation.

From this discovery we can draw the conclusion that protein regulation of genetic expression is even more complex than previously thought.

http://www.pnas.org/content/70/12/3866.full.pdf

Puromycin is an inhibitor of protein synthesis. This article explains why the researchers were unable to see the KDM5B protein after the addition of puromycin. Puromycin causes a premature release of protein chains. The ribosome falls off of the mRNA before translation is complete. The ribosome dissociates into its subunits.

Farming is one type of land use that is both heavily impacted by and contributes to changes in the environment. Learn more about how drought conditions in Spain are affecting and affected by farming in NPR Parallels: http://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2017/07/02/534746211/drought-threatens-crops-wildlife-along-spains-guadalquivir-river-delta?ft=nprml&f=%20NPR

This study received a lot of attention not only in the scientific community, but from the media, veterans advocacy groups, military medicine decisionmakers, and policymakers. It has brought new life to the debate surrounding connections between blast exposure, traumatic brain injury, and the long-term health outcomes and risks for military veterans exposed to blasts.

For some selected news coverage, see the Related science news tab in the sidebar.

In February 2015, the National Institutes of Health NIH organized a meeting of pathologists in Boston to come up with criteria for postmortem diagnosis of CTE.

Read the report from the meeting here: https://www.ninds.nih.gov/Current-Research/Focus-Research/Traumatic-Brain-Injury/NIH-Chronic-Traumatic-Encephalopathy

All that separates individual investors is access to the best ideas and powerful research tools.

See this MarketWatch article about how social media is present in our daily lives and how much it can create a connection between the ideas and investors:

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/social-medias-next-disruption-the-investment-industry-2016-06-09?siteid=rss&rss=1

Doctors can directly stimulate the brains of conscious patients in order to identify and avoid critical regions of the brain during surgery. This technique is also allowing scientists to learn more about the functions of the human brain.

Read more in The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/science/neurophilosophy/2016/feb/26/a-cooler-way-to-evaluate-brain-surgery-patients

There are a range of animals that produce sounds that may be evolutionarily linked to human laughter. However, it can be difficult to interpret the emotions of animals.

Read more from the BBC: http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20170518-why-humans-chimpanzees-and-rats-enjoy-being-tickled

In a later approach to estimating how researchers assess the reproducibility of science, a large-scale survey was conducted with more than 1500 researchers answering questions such as "Have you failed to reproduce an experiment?"

Read more in Nature: http://www.nature.com/polopoly_fs/1.19970!/menu/main/topColumns/topLeftColumn/pdf/533452a.pdf

Improving the quality and credibility of scientific literature can be accomplished by improving the daily practices involved in the research process. Improved reporting and registering hypotheses and sample sizes are some ideas for such changes.

Read more in Nature Human Behavior: http://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-016-0021

An important part of taking action to advance psychological research is establishing an open discussion and dialogue about the direction the field could take. In the course of this movement, several researchers' blogs have become an increasingly popular medium for such debate.

Read more on the topic of reproducibility in Andrew Gelman's blog:

http://andrewgelman.com/?s=reproducibility

and in Uri Simonsohn's Blog Data Colada:

http://datacolada.org/?s=reproducibility

Incentives for working in scientific research often differ greatly by country and institution. In the UK, for instance the allocation of research funding and institutional positions depends on the number of published papers which are rated as highly original, significant, and rigorously conducted.

Read more in The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/higher-education-network/2016/oct/17/why-is-so-much-research-dodgy-blame-the-research-excellence-framework

Examples of faith-based initiatives include EcoFaith Recovery and Interfaith Power and Light.

What are TORCHS factors? Learn more by reading the following links:

https://usa.healthcare.siemens.com/clinical-specialities/womens-health-information/laboratory-diagnostics/torch/risk-factors

http://www.medicineonline.com/articles/t/2/torch-infections.html

One critique about peer reviewing is that peer review may not identify pioneering research.

This report highlights the possible disadvantages of peer review:

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/1334826-does-peer-review-pick-the-best-science/

In 2016, the combined budgets totaled $41.7 billion. The following resources indicate that the research budget continues to increase (as of December 2016).

https://www.nih.gov/about-nih/what-we-do/budget http://www.nsf.gov/about/budget/fy2016/ https://erc.europa.eu/about-erc/facts-and-figures

Recently, scientists have recognized that blast-related traumatic brain injury suffered during military service can have a negative impact on veterans' lives. It has been shown to impair many brain functions (concentration, memory, cognition) and negatively affect mood (irritability, suicidal ideation).

In 2012, President Barack Obama signed an Executive Order to improve access to mental health care for veterans: https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/08/31/executive-order-improving-access-mental-health-services-veterans-service

Though humans are largely driven by self-interest, we do organize ourselves into formal and informal groups that have made us a force of nature on the planet. Some argue that our shared imagination is our strength.

Read more at TED: http://ideas.ted.com/why-humans-run-the-world/

Access to nature has been especially limited for African Americans partially because of a seterotype that they "don't do nature." One woman has developed a network of leaders who now take groups of African Americans hiking, birding, biking, and camping. So far this effort has touched over 7000 urbanites.

Read more at National Public Radio: http://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2015/07/12/421533481/outdoor-afro-busting-stereotypes-that-blacks-dont-hike-or-camp

This poll explored global regional differences in the perception of the threat posed by climate change. Around the world, around 51% of those polled said that climate change is already harming people. Globally, the poll found that a majority of people think their countries should limit greenhouse gas emissions and that the world needs an international agreement to curb emissions.

Within the United States, Canada, Australia, and Germany, large differences in concern about climate change were found between followers of right-of-center parties, who were less concerned, and followers of left-of-center parties, who were more concerned.

Ecoliteracy is understanding how healthy natural systems operate. This includes principles such as:

• All life is interconnected
• There are limits to how quickly natural resources such as fish and trees regenerate
• Changes humans make affect everything else in the ecological system

Ecologically-inspired principles such as these are critical for creative and appropriate changes to the transportation, food, and energy systems that humans design.

Learn more at the Center for Ecoliteracy: https://www.ecoliteracy.org/article/ecological-worldview-hearing-cries-world

Adding a variety of types of green spaces in cities—including lining streets with trees and constructing buildings with plants on their roofs—can provide benefits for ecological systems (e.g., providing food and refuge for migrating animals). Humans also benefit from city designs that include natural features. We feel better physically and mentally, and we develop more accurate knowledge and more positive attitudes about nature.

Read more in Science Daily: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/06/160604051012.htm

The late Ray Anderson turned a petroleum-intense process of making carpet into a sustainable business model.

Read more at the Los Angeles Times: http://articles.latimes.com/2011/aug/15/local/la-me-ray-anderson-20110815

Organizations can facilitate engaging all of their members in the work of sustainability by making it part of everyone's job to be a sustainability champion and providing resources to support new ideas.

Read more in the Stanford Social Innovation Review: https://ssir.org/articles/entry/engaging_employees_to_create_a_sustainable_business

Ecological literacy is the understanding of how complex natural systems make life on Earth possible and the use of this understanding to guide daily choices.

This is a relatively new idea, set forth in the late 1980s. So, even if middle school and high school science teachers took ecology courses in college, many have had no formal training about climate science. This makes it very challenging to teach students about climate change.

Read more at National Public Radio: http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2016/02/19/467206769/why-science-teachers-are-struggling-with-climate-change

You may be familiar with sleep mode on your computer, or you might have seen a printer that defaults to double-sided printing. This type of resource- and energy-saving default mode helps people behave more sustainably without taking any action at all.

Hotels are now installing energy-saving devices that turn off lights and turn down heat when guests leave the room. The guests do not have to do anything to save energy—the devices to it for them.

Read more at the New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/10/business/hotel-energy-efficiency-carbon-footprint.html

Most organizations that purchase supplies and equipment have rules about who they buy them from, often based on cost or quality. Purchasing rules have only recently included environmental requirements. One such example is the Environmentally Preferrable Purchasing Program for purchases by the United States federal government.

Read more at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: https://www.epa.gov/greenerproducts/about-environmentally-preferable-purchasing-program

Offshore wind farms represent a large—and growing—source of renewable energy.

Read more at Scientific American: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/america-rsquo-s-first-commercial-offshore-wind-farm-goes-live/

City buildings are a large source of greenhouse gas emissions. Sustainable building designs that include use of natural light, alternative energy sources, and better insulation reduce greenhouse gas emissions by over 30%.

Read more at National Geographic: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/urban-expeditions/green-buildings/benefits-of-green-buildings-human-health-economics-environment/

Structures such as sidewalks allow people to safely walk to school, shops, or grocery stores rather than drive a car.

Read more at Access Magazine: http://www.accessmagazine.org/articles/spring-2010/vibrant-sidewalks-united-states-re-integrating-walking-quintessential-social-realm/

A fact sheet from the U.S. Energy Information Administration lists all sources of United States energy and what percentage each comprises of total energy use.

Read more at EIA: https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=427&t=3

Jonathan Foley summarized the problems with our current food system—and the potential solutions—a few years ago.

Read more at National Geographic: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/foodfeatures/feeding-9-billion/

Students at Oberlin College used Community-Based Social Marketing (CBSM) to identify which behaviors to change, what the barriers and benefits were to students, and which interventions to plan.

Read more at Oberlin College & Conservatory Office of Environmental Sustainability: http://new.oberlin.edu/office/environmental-sustainability/programs/community-based-social-marketing/

Behavior-change interventions using social and behavioral science have been used successfully to encourage a range of behaviors, including water purification, energy use, and HIV testing.

Read more at the New York Times: https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/05/14/peer-pressure-can-be-a-lifesaver/

There are many different kinds of incentives, ranging from praise to pizza parties, that can be used to encourage sustainable behavior in workplaces.

Read more at GreenBiz.com: https://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2012/05/21/engage-employees-sustainability-programs

Worldwatch Institute promotes research and outreach to "accelerate the transition to a sustainable world." In addition to monitoring the Earth's "vital signs," they post information about current impacts of climate change.

For instance, you can read about contemporary changes in the Rocky Mountains in World Watch Magazine: http://www.worldwatch.org/node/6160

Human impact on the planet is often represented by how many people are living and what they are consuming (e.g. food, clothes, energy, cars, etc.).

Read more at Science Daily: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/11/131114193245.htm

Change begins with an individual. But that is not enough. An individual needs to step forth with an idea for change and then others need to be the first followers. Social science researchers have developed a model for how new ideas turn into a social movement. It begins with an innovator, early adopters see the innovation and try it, then others see the early adopters and copy what they do. Eventually the remaining people join because they don't want to miss out.

Humans who live in cities benefit from being able to interact with nature. Two different ways to accomplish this interaction include urban parks, and windows that can open to let in fresh air.

Read more at the University of Washington's UWToday: http://www.washington.edu/news/2016/06/03/finding-connections-to-nature-in-cities-is-key-to-healthy-urban-living/

The Heroic Imagination Project applies findings from social psychology to help people overcome negative social influence and act positively in their everyday lives.

Read more at: http://heroicimagination.org/

Pope Francis made a statement about humanity's moral responsibility to respond to climate change.

Read more at The Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lloyd-steffen/religion-and-climate-change_b_8900316.html

The internet is a powerful tool for finding people with similar views and interests. Thus it is potentially a helpful tool for helping people build up courage to speak out about issues they are concerned about, such as support for scientific research.

Read more at the New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/01/science/march-for-science-washington-date.html

Global consumerism is resulting in an increasing demand for luxuries, which threatens human health and the environment.

Read more at National Geographic: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/01/0111_040112_consumerism.html

The public relies more on political affiliation and ideology than science on topics such as climate change.

Read more at Scientific American: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/big-gap-between-what-scientists-say-and-americans-think-about-climate-change/

Social exclusion causes physiological reactions in the brain and body that are similar to the pain experienced from a physical injury. Psychologists consider this biological, visceral response to be indicative of an innate need for social connection and inclusion.

Read more at the American Psychological Association Monitor: http://www.apa.org/monitor/2012/04/rejection.aspx

More frequent and intense storms resulting from climate change create hazards like floods and landslides. These extreme events affect topsoil in the landscape and quality of watersheds.

Read more at Scientific American: https://www.scientificamerican.com/podcasts/

We all have a need to feel competent. Trying something new can be discouraging when we haven't seen others doing it, we haven't learned how to do it in school, or we think others won't approve of the activity. It is common for people to resist trying these new behaviors until they develop the appropriate skills and feel socially comfortable.

Read more at The Chicago Tribune:[http://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/home/sc-cons-0710-finds-20140710-story.html]

Ancient human societies developed for a variety of reasons like safety and food security. Some emerging anthropological evidence suggests that early humans also needed each others' help with challenges such as childrearing, lending support for the proverb "it takes a village to raise a child."

Read more at National Public Radio: http://www.npr.org/2011/01/10/132745952/big-babies-helped-shape-early-human-societies

Neighborhoods are an example of complex systems that help us live, travel, work, and play. Suburbs built after World War II tend to be designed around the use of cars. For instance, building homes that are far away from commercial districts containing offices, retail, and entertainment encourages more driving. These systems also include large, single-family homes which use more energy to heat and cool.

Read more at Scientific American: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/location-location-lifestyle-determines-global-warming-pollution/

Roughly one-half of Americans admit to using "retail therapy" to manage anxiety.

Read more in the Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/simple-thrifty-living/can-shopping-help-anxiety_b_5936748.html

The term "eco-anxiety" was coined to describe the stress associated with learning and worrying about climate change and other environmental issues. Potential solutions include cognitive behavioral therapy and connecting with nature.

Read more at: http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/stories/eco-anxiety

More and more frequently, daily news describes emerging evidence of how Earth's systems are rapidly changing. These changes in weather events and resource shortages are on such a large and overwhelming scale that humans will have a hard time adjusting to their consequences.

Here are a few examples:

The Guardian reports catastrophic consequences of Arctic ice melting: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/nov/25/arctic-ice-melt-trigger-uncontrollable-climate-change-global-level

NBC News covers the ramifications of a global drought: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/economy/global-drought-threatens-water-food-supplies-get-used-it-n196841

What comes to mind when you think of ecological crises? Perhaps you think of air and water pollution, species extinctions, or global climate change.

Read more about the planet's "vital signs" at http://vitalsigns.worldwatch.org/

The Natural Step is a process that helps organizations of people, ranging from businesses to communities, plan environmentally sustainable policies and practices.

Read more at SustainableBusiness.com: http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/building-sustainable-citiesscandinavia39s-34eco-municipalities34-show-the-way-26145/

Retinoic acid (a major component of vitamin A) and derived compounds are often used to treat acne. Many of these drugs, however, are known to cause major birth defects at the dosages effective for treating acne. The drug isotretnoin (brand name Accutane®) is in particular known to cause severe birth defects.

As a result, there is heavy regulation of this drug including mandatory birth control. This, unfortunately, was not always the case and resulted in many children born with birth defects. See this article in The New York Times for more:

http://www.nytimes.com/1984/10/11/us/acne-drug-accutane-linked-to-severe-birth-deformities.html

Although development is not regeneration, retinoic acid's role in causing defects in both these processes does highlight shared similarities. Retinoic acid does not disrupt every biology process, you need vitamin A to live of course!

Because retinoic acid is capable of disrupting both these processes this does suggest some link between the two.

Communities in the ocean are often strongly influenced by the physical environment around them. This is why scientists were surprised to find a never-before-seen coral and sponge reef in the less-than-ideal conditions of the plume of the Amazon river in 2016.

View newly released photos of this reef in National Geographic: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/01/photos-amazon-coral-reef-discovery-research-science/

Read the original article in Science Advances: http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/2/4/e1501252.full

Coral reefs continue to face threats of increasing severity, which could spell disaster for reefs if compounded. Australia's Great Barrier Reef recently experienced its most severe coral bleaching event in history as a combined result from ocean warming and an El Niño event.

Read more from the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority: http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/media-room/latest-news/coral-bleaching/2016/the-facts-on-great-barrier-reef-coral-mortality

Since this study was published, hurricanes have been increasing in both frequency and intensity in the North Atlantic. We may begin to see shifts in coral reef communities towards something more like Port Royal.

Read more from the U.S. Global Change Research Program: http://nca2014.globalchange.gov/report/our-changing-climate/changes-hurricanes

To improve the quality of results, the authors chose consanguineous families (families that share a very recent ancestor), because of their high risk of having autistic children.

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University reasoned that families with multiple females with autism must have special genetic variants for autism that can be more easily identified than when comparing other groups.

See more...

Autism is a "heterogeneous" disorder because not all autistic people have the same genetic anomalies. Autism is difficult to characterize not only because there are many different genes that can cause it, but also because autism sometimes results when several otherwise benign mutations come together in the genome of an individual.

See more in this Forbes article

An important part of taking action to advance psychological research is establishing an open discussion and dialogue about the directions the field could take. In the course of this movement, several researchers' blogs have become an increasingly popular medium for such debate.

Read more on the topic of reproducibility in Andrew Gelman's Blog: http://andrewgelman.com/?s=reproducibility and in Uri Simonsohn's Blog Data Colada: http://datacolada.org/?s=reproducibility .

Camerer and colleagues conducted a project aimed at evaluating the reproducibility of studies in experimental economics, using a somewhat different methodology.

Read more in Science: http://science.sciencemag.org/content/351/6280/1433.full.pdf+html

Incentives for working in scientific research often differ greatly by country and institution. In the UK, for instance the allocation of research funding and institutional positions depends on the number of published papers which are rated as highly original, significant and rigorously conducted.

Read more in The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/higher-education-network/2016/oct/17/why-is-so-much-research-dodgy-blame-the-research-excellence-framework

Making an experimental setup transparent and reproducible can be quite difficult, because undetected but theoretically relevant variations to the study protocol could produce different results. However, there are some new ideas about how such transparency could be achieved.

Read more in The New Yorker: http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/how-methods-videos-are-making-science-smarter

Improving the quality and credibility of scientific literature can be accomplished through improving the daily practices involved in the research process. Improved reporting and registering hypotheses and sample sizes are some ideas for such improvements.

Read more in Nature Human Behavior: http://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-016-0021

In a later approach to estimating how researchers assess the reproducibility of science, a large-scale survey was conducted with more than 1500 researchers answering questions such as "Have you failed to reproduce an experiment?".

Read more in Nature: http://www.nature.com/polopoly_fs/1.19970!/menu/main/topColumns/topLeftColumn/pdf/533452a.pdf

You can browse through daily issues of the Congressional Record here.

This link discusses some possible implications of thawing permafrost.

One critique about peer reviewing is that peer review may not identify pioneering research.

This report highlights the possible disadvantages of peer review:

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/1334826-does-peer-review-pick-the-best-science/

The effectiveness of peer review has been refuted many times before:

http://dailycaller.com/2016/04/20/peer-reviews-for-federal-science-grants-are-basically-useless-study-says/

All that separates individual investors is access to the best ideas and powerful research tools.

See this marketwatch article about how social media is present in our daily lives and how much it can create a connection between the ideas and investors: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/social-medias-next-disruption-the-investment-industry-2016-06-09?siteid=rss&rss=1

In 2016, the combined budgets totaled $41.7 billion. From this we can see that the research budget continues to increase.

https://www.nih.gov/about-nih/what-we-do/budget http://www.nsf.gov/about/budget/fy2016/ https://erc.europa.eu/about-erc/facts-and-figures

Both bio-fuel cells and high voltage liquid electrolyte microbatteries have been inspired by the Electric Eel.

More recently a "protocell" was designed by Dr. David LaVan at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Maryland in which the electric charge difference between two cells and the flow of ions through the shared membrane was used to generate electricity much like that generated by the cells of electric Eels.

to read more see: 1- http://www.economist.com/node/14790488

2- Xu, Jian, Fred J. Sigworth, and David A. LaVan. "Synthetic protocells to mimic and test cell function." Advanced Materials 22.1 (2010): 120-127.

If you want to know more about acetylcholine gated ion channels leads to the muscular contraction. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK21586/

You can check this out if you want to know more about what happens during muscular tension: https://www.boundless.com/biology/textbooks/boundless-biology-textbook/the-musculoskeletal-system-38/muscle-contraction-and-locomotion-218/control-of-muscle-tension-829-12072/

http://www.nature.com/ng/journal/v36/n5/full/ng0504-443.html

To read a popular science version of this paper, check out motherelode's article, complete with quotes from the author.

http://motherboard.vice.com/read/hairy-humans-and-scaly-lizards-have-more-in-common-than-you-think

http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2008/11/so-thats-why-chickens-have-combs

It has also been previously suggested that proteins involved in hair formation are found in reptiles for claw formation and in birds for beak formation. This hinted at the shared ancestry of hair, claws and scales.

In this article, the authors will focus on patients who inherited long deletions or additions from their parents. However, this is not the only approach to understanding the genetics of autism. Some look directly at the appearance of de novo SNP.

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Rodents aren't the only animals that show similar stress responses to humans. Check out this interesting story about how crayfish are also being used study anxiety:

http://www.aaas.org/news/science-crayfish-can-be-calmed-anti-anxiety-medication

A good summary of this article and its potential implications for the development of drugs to help patients suffering from anxiety disorders:

http://brainblogger.com/2010/09/19/fear-reducing-drugs-an-emerging-science/

There is a great need for effective treatments of fear and anxiety disorders.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-war-within-treating-ptsd-2/

In 2015, an outbreak of measles at Disneyland resulted in 147 unvaccinated children getting sick. Fortunately, no one died of the disease.

Read more about the outbreak and the threat of not vaccinating children here: [Measles Outbreak Traced to Disneyland Declared Over.]

http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/measles-outbreak/measles-outbreak-traced-disneyland-declared-over-n343686