| One in six Mediterranean mammals in trouble The latest regional update of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species finds bad news for mammals living around the Mediterranean. One in six species in the area are now threatened with extinction, according to the IUCN report, " The Status and Distribution of Mediterranean Mammals ,"--the first major assessment of mammals in this region. More than 250 experts contributed to the study. [More] rss.sciam.com |
DNA tests find "extinct" Siamese crocodile For nearly 20 years, the critically endangered Siamese crocodile ( Crocodylus siamensis ) has been considered nearly extinct in the wild, victimized by habitat loss and poaching. A small population was found in Cambodia in 2000 and, until now, it was believed that, at most, 250 of the rare crocodiles existed in the world. [More] rss.sciam.com |
In search of the eastern tropical Pacific's chlorophyll maximum Editor's Note: Journalist and crew member Kathryn Eident and scientist Jeremy Jacquot are traveling on board the RV Atlantis on a monthlong voyage to sample and study nitrogen fixation in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean, among other research projects. This is the third blog post detailing this ongoing voyage of discovery for Scientific American.com . The work of getting the conductivity, temperature and depth (CTD) measurement device safely on deck may be complete, but for many in the science party, the real work is now just beginning. [More] rss.sciam.com |
Rare Javan rhino killed by poachers One of the world's last Javan rhinos ( Rhinoceros sondaicus annamiticu s) has been shot and killed by poachers in Vietnam, the World Wildlife Fund said Monday. The animal was shot and its horn, valued in traditional Asian medicine, was cut off.No one knows exactly how many Javan rhinos remain in the world, but estimates for the population range from 40 to 60 animals, with possibly eight existing in Vietnam's Cat Tien National Park . The critically endangered species is elusive, rarely photographed, and almost never observed in the wild. None exist in captivity. [More] Vietnam - Cat Tien National Park - Endangered species - World Wide Fund for Nature - Poaching rss.sciam.com |
Why Broadband Service in the U.S. Is So Awful The average U.S. household has to pay an exorbitant amount of money for an Internet connection that the rest of the industrial world would find mediocre. According to a recent report by the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University, broadband Internet service in the U.S. is not just slower and more expensive than it is in tech-savvy nations such as South Korea and Japan; the U.S. has fallen behind infrastructure-challenged countries such as Portugal and Italy as well.The consequences are far worse than having to wait a few extra seconds for a movie to load. Because broadband connections are the railroads of the 21st century--essential infrastructure required to transmit products (these days, in the form of information) from seller to buyer--our creaky Internet makes it harder for U.S. entrepreneurs to compete in global markets. As evidence, consider that the U.S. came in dead last in another recent study that compared how quickly 40 countries and regions have been progressing toward a knowledge-based economy over the past 10 years. “We are at risk in the global race for leadership in innovation,” FCC chairman Julius Genachowski said recently. “Consumers in Japan and France are paying less for broadband and getting faster connections. We’ve got work to do.” [More] Julius Genachowski - Internet service provider - Harvard University - Broadband Internet access - Portugal rss.sciam.com |