http://www.physorg.com/ en-us Physorg.com internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Peatlands, especially those in tropical regions, sequester gigantic amounts of organic carbon. Human activities are now having a considerable impact on these wetlands. For example, drainage projects, in combination with the effects of periodic droughts, can lead to large-scale fires, which release enormous amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere, and thus contribute to global warming. http://www.physorg.com/news178803752.html Space & Earth Mon, 30 Nov 2009 11:43:01 EST news178803752 (AP) -- Australian authorities plan to corral about 6,000 wild camels with helicopters and gun them down after they overran a small Outback town in search of water, trampling fences, smashing tanks and contaminating supplies. http://www.physorg.com/news178441148.html Biology Thu, 26 Nov 2009 07:20:01 EST news178441148 The time of day matters to forest trees dealing with drought, according to a new paper produced by a research team led by Professor Malcolm Campbell, University of Toronto Scarborough's vice-principal for research and colleagues in the department of cell and systems biology at the St. George campus. http://www.physorg.com/news178203257.html Biology Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:10:03 EST news178203257 From a devastating food crisis in Guatemala to water cuts in Venezuela, El Nino has compounded drought damage across Latin America this year. http://www.physorg.com/news177921078.html Space & Earth Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:50:11 EST news177921078 (AP) -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel called Thursday for all countries to fix binding climate change targets next year at the latest, acknowledging that no such deal is likely at global talks in Copenhagen next month. http://www.physorg.com/news177868179.html Space & Earth Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:10:01 EST news177868179 (PhysOrg.com) -- Breakthrough research done earlier this year by a plant cell biologist at the University of California, Riverside has greatly accelerated scientists' knowledge on how plants and crops can survive difficult environmental conditions such as drought. http://www.physorg.com/news177774971.html Biology Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:57:27 EST news177774971 Continued improvement of climate forecasts is resulting in better information about what rainfall and streamflow may look like months in advance. A researcher from North Carolina State University has developed an innovative water management framework that would take advantage of these forecasts to plan for droughts or excess rain in order to make the most efficient use of an area's water resources. http://www.physorg.com/news177247476.html Space & Earth Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:25:58 EST news177247476 California experienced centuries-long droughts in the past 20,000 years that coincided with the thawing of ice caps in the Arctic, according to a new study by UC Davis doctoral student Jessica Oster and geology professor Isabel Montaņez. http://www.physorg.com/news177088772.html Space & Earth Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:20:55 EST news177088772 Much as adrenaline coursing through our veins drives our body's reactions to stress, the plant hormone abscisic acid (ABA) is behind plants' responses to stressful situations such as drought, but how it does so has been a mystery for years. Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Grenoble, France, and the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (CSIC) in Valencia, Spain discovered that the key lies in the structure of a protein called PYR1 and how it interacts with the hormone. Their study, published online today in Nature, could open up new approaches to increasing crops' resistance to water shortage. http://www.physorg.com/news176993365.html Biology Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:00:02 EST news176993365 The transition zone can be one of the most challenging places to maintain high-quality turfgrass; changeable growing conditions in these regions often prove too hot for some grasses and too cold for others. Finding turfgrass that thrives in these challenging environments can be perplexing for turf management professionals and homeowners alike. http://www.physorg.com/news176565046.html Biology Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:00:01 EST news176565046 Even the highly drought-resistant cowpea (a long type of legume) now has an increasingly difficult time surviving in the Sahel countries where climate change has resulted in shorter and less frequent rainy seasons. Wageningen University, The Netherlands, scientist Eugene Agbicodo recently localised genes of the cowpea that contribute to an improved drought tolerance. http://www.physorg.com/news176459183.html Biology Tue, 03 Nov 2009 08:27:06 EST news176459183 Chinese meteorologists covered Beijing in snow Sunday after seeding clouds to bring winter weather to the capital in an effort to combat a lingering drought, state media reported. http://www.physorg.com/news176293628.html Space & Earth Sun, 01 Nov 2009 10:27:56 EST news176293628 A new European Earth observation satellite will be launched in the early hours of Monday morning (2 November 2009) from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia. http://www.physorg.com/news176030951.html Space & Earth Thu, 29 Oct 2009 10:40:06 EST news176030951 (PhysOrg.com) -- Nations, communities and families in Africa need to safeguard their homes and livelihoods against the unpredictable effects of climate change, according to a discussion paper written by Imperial College London's Professor Sir Gordon Conway, published today (28 October). http://www.physorg.com/news175963280.html Space & Earth Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:00:03 EST news175963280 (PhysOrg.com) -- New technology to analyze gene expression at the level of different cell types offers new insights in the ways that plants and animals react to the environment and how they change when they are diseased. http://www.physorg.com/news175890741.html Biology Tue, 27 Oct 2009 19:35:14 EST news175890741 A team of biologists in California led by researchers at The Scripps Research Institute and the University of California, San Diego has solved the structure of a critical molecule that helps plants survive during droughts. Understanding the inner workings of this molecule may help scientists design new ways to protect crops against prolonged dry periods, potentially improving crop yields worldwide, aiding biofuels production on marginal lands and mitigating drought's human and economic costs. http://www.physorg.com/news175440942.html Biology Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:20:04 EST news175440942 For the first time, the capacity of soya plants to absorb nitrogen from the air has been precisely determined in dry areas of Eastern Austria. The primary aim of this project, backed by the FWF Austrian Science Fund, is to compare methods for determining nitrogen fixation levels and their application under conditions of drought stress. These methods are of particular interest for organic farming, where soya is playing an increasingly important role. Initial findings were recently presented and discussed at an "open field day". http://www.physorg.com/news175237684.html Space & Earth Tue, 20 Oct 2009 06:20:01 EST news175237684 Cowpea, a protein-rich legume crop, is immensely important in many parts of the world, particularly drought-prone regions of Africa and Asia, where it plays a central role in the diet and economy of hundreds of millions of people. http://www.physorg.com/news174672194.html Biology Tue, 13 Oct 2009 17:50:01 EST news174672194 A 2005-2007 dry spell in the southeastern United States destroyed billions of dollars of crops, drained municipal reservoirs and sparked legal wars among a half-dozen states -but the havoc came not from exceptional dryness but booming population and bad planning, says a new study. http://www.physorg.com/news173622528.html Space & Earth Thu, 01 Oct 2009 14:00:02 EST news173622528 It's been cultivated for at least 7,000 years and spread from South America to grow on every continent except Antarctica. Now the humble potato has had its genome sequenced. http://www.physorg.com/news173020272.html Biology Thu, 24 Sep 2009 14:22:02 EST news173020272 (PhysOrg.com) -- El Niņo, the periodic eastern Pacific phenomenon credited with shielding the United States and Caribbean from severe hurricane seasons, may be overshadowed by its brother in the central Pacific due to global warming, according to an article in the September 24 issue of the journal Nature. http://www.physorg.com/news172930305.html Space & Earth Wed, 23 Sep 2009 13:12:42 EST news172930305 (AP) -- The United Nations opened talks Monday on setting up a better weather surveillance system worldwide so all nations can get earlier, more accurate warnings about hurricanes, droughts and floods. http://www.physorg.com/news170920225.html Space & Earth Mon, 31 Aug 2009 07:20:01 EST news170920225 Kenya's persistent and bruising drought is having a serious impact on the country's wildlife, one of its main tourist attractions, obliging the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) to feed hippos to keep them alive. http://www.physorg.com/news170833518.html Biology Sun, 30 Aug 2009 07:20:01 EST news170833518 New research shows that air pollution in eastern China has reduced the amount of light rainfall over the past 50 years and decreased by 23 percent the number of days of light rain in the eastern half of the country. The results suggest that bad air quality might be affecting the country's ability to raise crops as well as contributing to health and environmental problems. http://www.physorg.com/news169474977.html Space & Earth Fri, 14 Aug 2009 13:23:48 EST news169474977 He may study grasses by profession, but Texas AgriLife Research forage agronomist Dr. Dariusz Malinowski has a passion for flowers, particularly winter hardy hibiscus. http://www.physorg.com/news169471324.html Biology Fri, 14 Aug 2009 12:23:10 EST news169471324 Droughts have devastating effects on farmers. In most of the world, droughts are the leading cause of crop failure. Droughts increase consumer costs, kill livestock, reduce crop yields, and trigger wildfires and dust storms, which lead to malnutrition and famine, social unrest and political instability. Now, researchers at the University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources (CAFNR) are constructing drought simulators over a variety of soil types so that scientists can study how certain plants respond to a broad range of drought conditions, providing information that is critical to develop more tolerant crop plants. http://www.physorg.com/news168263589.html Space & Earth Fri, 31 Jul 2009 13:10:26 EST news168263589 Rice is the world's most important food crop. Understanding its valuable genetic diversity and using it to breed new rice varieties will provide the foundation for improving rice production into the future and to secure global food supplies. http://www.physorg.com/news167563846.html Biology Thu, 23 Jul 2009 10:50:03 EST news167563846 Global warming will likely mean more unpredictable weather, scientists say, and a new study by researchers at the University of Georgia pins down, possibly for the first time, how drought conditions in an area's fall and winter may effect tornado activity the following spring. http://www.physorg.com/news165048049.html Space & Earth Wed, 24 Jun 2009 07:41:34 EST news165048049 A drought in Tibet has intensified into the region's worst in three decades, leaving thousands of hectares parched and killing more than 13,000 head of cattle, China's state media said Saturday. http://www.physorg.com/news164735814.html Space & Earth Sat, 20 Jun 2009 18:30:01 EST news164735814 A new study by researchers from the Nairobi-based International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and the United Kingdom's Waen Associates has found that by 2050, hotter conditions, coupled with shifting rainfall patterns, could make anywhere from 500,000 to one million square kilometers of marginal African farmland no longer able to support even a subsistence level of food crops. However, the land, on which some 20 to 35 million people currently live, may still support livestock. http://www.physorg.com/news163261949.html Space & Earth Wed, 03 Jun 2009 15:33:45 EST news163261949