Males feeling the consequences of lead more than females

Research is suggesting that estrogen and estradiol can help keep girls safer when exposed to lead. There is a much higher chance of males suffering the negative consequences of lead exposure and displaying the negative cognitive disabilities. "The findings also add to the evidence that lead exposure has a negative impact on cognitive functioning, especially those functions housed within frontal areas of the brain. Executive functions are controlled largely by the prefrontal cortex, while reading skills rely more heavily on the temporal or parietal areas of the cerebral cortex" (Maya Khanna). From the research that was conducted on a group of children aged 3-6, the found that a larger majority of boys displayed cognitive problems, and they boys lived in older houses that used lead paint. More on this can be found here. 

New 3D maps of greenland reveal new ice history

Technology is always growing and that is no exception to the world of climate recording. New 3D maps have been constructed to help scientists get a better understanding and view of the Greenland ice sheet. It allows for more information to arise about the history of how the Greenland ice sheet formed and what its projected fate will be. Greenland has been losing ice mass for the last twenty years and it is only accelerating. New advancements in radar data collection has allowed researched to get a better view of the different ice sheets that Greenland houses. To see more about how these advancements work, click here.

 Credit: NASA

Cash from the mash

Some companies in the oil olive making biz are looking for more ideas to be able to use everything they can in the olive oil making process to minimize the amount of waste produced. A group from Spain is looking into creating heat and energy from the waste during the process.The technology is still in the making and would not be a good economic investment currently as it is not a cheap process. But there are hopes that in the future this technology will become more available and affordable to the public. To find out more about this new technology, click here.

Why are forecasters wrong so often?

As we've all seen time and time again, the weather forecasters seem to be wrong more than right when it comes to predictions of the weather more than a few hours out. A few researches decided to investigate what the possible reasons could be for this. They were able to find out that "land-use changes (i.e. an area that had been covered in forest is suddenly bare), topography, particles in the atmosphere and population density" were the main reasons for inaccuracy in estimates. By changing the environment around us, we are changing the way that nature is going to respond. To see more possible reasons, click here.

Why did the Easter Islanders die off?

This question has been long debated as to whether the islanders were killed off by disease brought by the European travelers or if they over-exhausted their resources through the building of massive stone sculptures and over population. Research suggests that certain areas of the island where abandoned well before the europeans arrived and that other areas were inhabited long after the european contact. The research is suggesting that instead of putting themselves into extinction, the islanders pulled back their production in hopes of saving themselves. More information can be found here.

   Credit: Image courtesy of University of California - Santa Barbara

Sea Level Lowering in Europe

Research is discovering that the sea level is actually lowering in areas or Europe, the Straight of Gibralter to be exact.As stated by Prof Chris Hughes, "Much in the same way that stirring a cup of tea makes it swirl around a low point in the middle of the cup, the rotation of the Earth causes ocean currents in the northern hemisphere to slope as they flow, with a low in the sea level on their left hand side." So because of the rotation of the earth, we are seeing different affects on the sea level depending where you look. This gives researchers more information regarding ocean current power and how it is affecting the rest of the planet. More information on the topic can be found here.

Algae may be used as biodiesel and jet fuel

A common algae typically grown commercially to produce fish food has been discovered as a potential source for biodiesel and jet fuel. Researchers Greg O’Neil from Western Washington University and Chris Reddy of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution found that fatty acids contained in the algae could be converted into fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs), which are the molecules in biodiesel. 

Tom Kleindinst/Woods Hale Oceanographic Institution

They believe that since it is possible to produce two fuels from this one type of algae, commercialization of this method is probable. O’Neil and Reddy have stated that this is only the first step of many, but that they are excited by this initial result.

Source: Science Daily