High Levels Of Pollutants May Decrease Sexual Organ Size In Polar Bears
Exposure to high levels of environmental pollutants called organohalogen compounds seems to reduce the size of sexual organs in male and female polar bears, researchers say...

Pollution Can Convert Airborne Iron Into Soluble Form Required For Phytoplankton Growth
A surprising link may exist between ocean fertility and air pollution over land, according to a research.

Species unique to tidal marshes face threats
Yet they face a broad variety of threats from human-caused environmental damage, according to an assessment in the August 2006 issue of BioScience written by Russell Greenberg of the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center and colleagues.

Bird brains shrink from exposure to contaminants
The regions in robins' brains responsible for singing and mating are shrinking when exposed to high levels of DDT, says new University of Alberta research--the first proof that natural exposure to a contaminant damages the brain of a wild animal.

Report warns about carbon dioxide threats to marine life
A landmark report released today summarizes the known effects of increased atmospheric carbon dioxide on these organisms, known as marine calcifiers, and recommends future research for determining the extent of the impacts.

More large forest fires linked to climate change
Almost seven times more forested federal land burned during the 1987-2003 period than during the previous 17 years. In addition, large fires occurred about four times more often during the latter period.

Air pollution and lung function among susceptible adult subjects: a panel study
The article is about a time-series panel study of subjects with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, and ischemic heart disease to evaluate whether daily levels of air pollutants have a measurable impact on the lung function of adult subjects wi

Phage-Host Interaction: an Ecological Perspective
The article is an overview of phage titers encountered in the biosphere, and phage-host relationship...

Purdue scientists: Genetically modified fish could damage ecology
The genetic modifications that improve animals for human consumption also could doom populations if released into the wild, according to a Purdue University research team.

How Healthy Is That Marsh? Biologists Count Parasites
Is that salt marsh healthy? To answer this, Sea Grant biologists are cracking open common marsh snails and counting parasitic worms. Their claim: the more parasites, the healthier the marsh.

Ecological alarm: Oceans turning to acid from rise in CO2
If CO2 from human activities continues to rise, the oceans will become so acidic by 2100 it could threaten marine life in ways we can’t anticipate, says scientist

Poison + water = hydrogen. New microbial genome shows how
Take a pot of scalding water, remove all the oxygen, mix in a bit of poisonous carbon monoxide, and add a pinch of hydrogen gas. It sounds like a recipe for a witch's brew. It may be, but it is also the preferred environment for a microbe known as Carboxy

Mosquitofish threaten amphibians
The mosquitofish is being distributed around the world to control mosquitoes--without regard for its effects on other aquatic species. New research shows that mosquitofish devour tadpoles just as readily as mosquito larvae and so can decimate native amphi

Can We Restore Wetlands And Leave the Mosquitoes Out?
When it comes to restoring nature, some members of the natural world are shunned for good reason. Restoring wetlands has a foreseeable and inevitable downside: the creation of mosquito habitat.

Oysters: The Natural Way To Protect Our Shores
Oyster reefs are self-sustaining, and are additionally attractive because they usenative materials, have the potential for long-term growth, andcontribute to overall ecosystem stability and quality.

More acidic seas pose new threat, scientists warn
The escalating level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is making the world's oceans more acidic, scientists say. They warn that, by the end of the century, the trend could devastate coral reefs and creatures that underpin the sea's food web.

Higher Carbon Dioxide, Lack Of Nitrogen Limit Plant Growth
Earth's plant life will not be able to "store" excess carbon from rising atmospheric carbon dioxide levels as well as scientists once thought because plants likely cannot get enough nutrients, such as nitrogen, when there are higher levels of ca

Plants Become Green Mr. Clean To Combat Toxic Messes
The next big way to clean up toxic sites may be coaxing plants to become janitors, scientist says.

Researchers Clean Up Petroleum Spills With Plants
A husband and wife research team at Purdue University has pioneered the use of plants to help clean up soil contaminated with petroleum products.

Too much sugar not good for coral reefs
David Kline at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and colleagues find that bacteria on coral reefs grow out of control as the level of simple sugars in seawater increases.