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. Throughout the world, nitrogen compounds are released to the atmosphere from agricultural activities and combustion of fossil fuels. These pollutants are deposited to ecosystems as precipitation, gases, and particles, sometimes many hundreds of miles downwind of their release point. The Catskill Mountains of southeastern New York are a case in point -though they contain little in the way of industrial or agricultural pollution sources, they receive some of the highest nitrogen deposition rates in North America due to pollutants drifting in from midwestern power plants and east-coast cities. http://www.physorg.com/news156434150.html Biology Mon, 16 Mar 2009 14:56:48 EST news156434150 Wondering which paper towel or toilet paper is the greenest? The nonprofit advocacy group Greenpeace has released a pocket guide to paper products -- an updated version of the old National Resources Defense Council guide. The products also include facial tissues and paper napkins, although many people suggest ANY paper napkin is not a good thing. Use cloth until it's dirty, wash it with the rest of the clothes and skip the ironing. http://www.physorg.com/news155829622.html Space & Earth Mon, 09 Mar 2009 15:01:06 EST news155829622 A new study at Wake Forest University School of Medicine reveals that many N.C. high schools are not adequately prepared to handle the immediate medical needs of a student or employee who suffers a sudden cardiac arrest on campus. The findings were used to support a new statewide program to place automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in high schools. http://www.physorg.com/news155815091.html Medicine & Health Mon, 09 Mar 2009 10:58:43 EST news155815091 From geckos and iguanas to Gila monsters and Komodo dragons, lizards are among the most common reptiles on Earth. They are found on every continent except Antarctica. One even pitches car insurance in TV ads. They seemingly can adapt to a variety of conditions, but are most abundant in the tropics. http://www.physorg.com/news155333999.html Biology Tue, 03 Mar 2009 20:20:19 EST news155333999 The southeast Pacific nation of Papua New Guinea, home to some of the most biologically diverse ecosystems on Earth, has created its first national conservation area to preserve forever a swath of pristine tropical forest larger than Singapore. http://www.physorg.com/news155278758.html Biology Tue, 03 Mar 2009 04:59:50 EST news155278758 In what eventually could become a major bureaucratic turf war, there have been stirrings on Capitol Hill about moving the U.S. Forest Service from the Agriculture to the Interior Department. http://www.physorg.com/news155140212.html Space & Earth Sun, 01 Mar 2009 14:30:40 EST news155140212 Shiitake mushrooms are the third most popular mushroom species in the U.S. In addition to taste, shiitake have a multitude of health benefits. Low in calories, glucose and sodium, shiitake are high in potassium, phosphorus, copper, and zinc. http://www.physorg.com/news154890129.html Other Sciences Thu, 26 Feb 2009 17:02:44 EST news154890129 As if straight out of prehistory, dozens of bison emerge timidly from the dark trunks of a primeval forest, their imposing bulk masking their vulnerability. http://www.physorg.com/news154867537.html Biology Thu, 26 Feb 2009 10:46:43 EST news154867537 Women undertaking a ten week program of 75 minute Restorative Yoga (RY) classes gained positive differences in aspects of mental health such as depression, positive emotions, and spirituality (feeling calm/peaceful) compared to the control group. The study, published today in a special issue of Psycho-Oncology focusing on physical activity, shows the women had a 50% reduction in depression and a 12% increase in feelings of peace and meaning after the yoga sessions. http://www.physorg.com/news154767999.html Medicine & Health Wed, 25 Feb 2009 07:07:01 EST news154767999 Coffee shrubs, both in themselves and because they are most often cultivated in the shade of large trees, can have a positive impact on plant and animal diversity in those parts of the landscape that are deforested and dominated by agriculture. What constitutes a dilemma for consumers wishing to shop ecologically is that when coffee is grown in a forest, which is also common, the impact on diversity is negative. http://www.physorg.com/news154265255.html Biology Thu, 19 Feb 2009 11:28:20 EST news154265255 An international team of scientists have discovered that rainforest trees are getting bigger. They are storing more carbon from the atmosphere in their trunks, which has significantly reduced the rate of climate change. http://www.physorg.com/news154186040.html Space & Earth Wed, 18 Feb 2009 13:27:53 EST news154186040 A widely used blood pressure medication may be the key to preventing brain function loss common after radiation treatment, according to a newly published study by researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. The findings offer the hope of an improved quality of life for cancer patients. http://www.physorg.com/news154174058.html Medicine & Health Wed, 18 Feb 2009 10:08:09 EST news154174058 New research findings out of Wake Forest University School of Medicine and the University of Wisconsin may help provide some direction for men diagnosed with prostate cancer about whether their cancer is likely to be life-threatening. http://www.physorg.com/news153738140.html Medicine & Health Fri, 13 Feb 2009 09:03:24 EST news153738140 Researchers in the Department of Chemistry at Wake Forest University in collaboration with colleagues at the Wake Forest University Health Sciences Comprehensive Cancer Center have developed a new class of platinum-based anti-tumor drugs that animal studies have shown to be 10 times more effective than current treatments in destroying certain types of lung cancer cells. http://www.physorg.com/news153595851.html Chemistry Wed, 11 Feb 2009 17:31:18 EST news153595851 Millions of American teenagers participate in Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, 4-H, and other programs designed to develop responsibility in young people. A new study suggests that it's not the fun and games of these programs, but the tough tasks -those that ask young people to make sacrifices and do difficult things for the good of the group -that are most likely to foster responsibility and self-discipline. http://www.physorg.com/news153127961.html Medicine & Health Fri, 06 Feb 2009 07:33:13 EST news153127961 Mountain pine beetles devastating lodgepole pine stands across the West might best be kept in check with aerial application of flakes containing a natural substance used in herbal teas that the insects release to avoid overcrowding host trees, according to a team of scientists. http://www.physorg.com/news152808979.html Space & Earth Mon, 02 Feb 2009 14:56:56 EST news152808979 (PhysOrg.com) -- Picture a tree in the forest. The tree "inhales" carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, transforming that greenhouse gas into the building materials and energy it needs to grow its branches and leaves. http://www.physorg.com/news152208800.html Space & Earth Mon, 26 Jan 2009 16:13:58 EST news152208800 New technology deployed on airplanes is helping scientists quantify landscape-scale changes occurring to Big Island tropical forests from non-native plants and other environmental factors that affect carbon sequestration. http://www.physorg.com/news152011959.html Space & Earth Sat, 24 Jan 2009 09:33:06 EST news152011959 (PhysOrg.com) -- A new study led by the U.S. Geological Survey and involving the University of Colorado at Boulder indicates tree deaths in the West's old-growth forests have more than doubled in recent decades, likely from regional warming and related drought conditions. http://www.physorg.com/news151856202.html Space & Earth Thu, 22 Jan 2009 14:17:18 EST news151856202 Two new studies show that commonly prescribed forms of postmenopausal hormone therapy may slightly accelerate the loss of brain tissue in women 65 and older beyond what normally occurs with aging. http://www.physorg.com/news151001109.html Medicine & Health Mon, 12 Jan 2009 16:45:09 EST news151001109 U.S. Forest Service Southern Research Station (SRS) Ecologist Jim Miller, Ph.D., one of the foremost authorities on nonnative plants in the South, today identified the invasive plant species he believes pose the biggest threats to southern forest ecosystems in 2009. http://www.physorg.com/news150991399.html Space & Earth Mon, 12 Jan 2009 14:03:19 EST news150991399 Human impact on tropical forest ecosystems has reached a "tsunami" stage, say scientists, and will require a new generation of sophisticated remote-sensing technology to monitor the changes. Speaking at a January 12, 2009 symposium "Will the Rainforests Survive? New Threats and Realities in the Tropical Extinction Crisis*," hosted by the Smithsonian Institution, Gregory Asner of the Carnegie Institution's Department of Global Ecology presents new estimates of the global human impact on rain forests, including not only deforestation but also the extent of selective logging and forest regeneration. http://www.physorg.com/news150990023.html Space & Earth Mon, 12 Jan 2009 13:40:23 EST news150990023 Climate change can have significant impacts on high-elevation lakes and imperiled Sierra Nevada Yellow-legged frogs that depend upon them, according to U.S. Forest Service and University of California, Berkeley, scientists. http://www.physorg.com/news148223511.html Biology Thu, 11 Dec 2008 13:11:51 EST news148223511 Hispanics often do not visit undeveloped natural areas like national forests because of a lack of information about recreation opportunities, according to a recent Forest Service report. http://www.physorg.com/news148046321.html Space & Earth Tue, 09 Dec 2008 11:58:41 EST news148046321 A medication used for high blood pressure does not improve a common form of heart failure, according to new results from a large, international study. http://www.physorg.com/news147616869.html Medicine & Health Thu, 04 Dec 2008 12:41:09 EST news147616869 One of the most widely used herbal supplements for improving memory and cognition has no impact on the development of dementia or Alzheimer's disease, according to new results from a $30 million, multi-center study. http://www.physorg.com/news146245702.html Medicine & Health Tue, 18 Nov 2008 15:48:22 EST news146245702 Although the Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP) significantly reduced cutting of old-growth forests on federal land, forests in the driest regions are now at greater risk of being lost to wildfire than to logging. A team of federal and university scientists recently completed a study and analysis of large-diameter forests and discovered that elevated fire levels in the Pacific Northwest outweighed harvest reductions in the loss of older forests. http://www.physorg.com/news145274086.html Space & Earth Fri, 07 Nov 2008 09:54:46 EST news145274086 Why did the elephant cross the road? It didn't according to a new study by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and Save the Elephants that says endangered forest elephants are avoiding roadways at all costs. The authors of the study believe that these highly intelligent animals now associate roads with danger - in this case poaching, which is rampant in Central Africa's Congo Basin. http://www.physorg.com/news144408831.html Biology Tue, 28 Oct 2008 10:33:51 EST news144408831 Earthworms can change the chemical nature of the carbon in North American forest litter and soils, potentially affecting the amount of carbon stored in forests, according to Purdue University researchers. http://www.physorg.com/news144333709.html Space & Earth Mon, 27 Oct 2008 13:41:49 EST news144333709 Trees in a hyper-diverse tropical rainforest interact with each other and their environment to create and maintain diversity, researchers report in the Oct. 24 issue of the journal Science. This study was conducted in the Yasuni forest dynamics plot of the Pontificia Universidad Cat¨(R)lica del Ecuador, the most diverse tropical forest site associated with the Center for Tropical Forest Science/Smithsonian Institution Global Earth Observatory network (CTFS/SIGEO). http://www.physorg.com/news143994059.html Biology Thu, 23 Oct 2008 15:20:59 EST news143994059