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. Glaciers along the Gulf of Alaska are enriching stream and near shore marine ecosystems from a surprising source - ancient carbon contained in glacial runoff, researchers from four universities and the U.S. Forest Service report in the December 24, 2009, issue of the journal Nature. http://www.physorg.com/news180786023.html Space & Earth Wed, 23 Dec 2009 14:40:01 EST news180786023 (PhysOrg.com) -- Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists are testing out alternative ways of tilling the soil and rotating crops to see if they can help wheat farmers in Oregon sequester more carbon in the soil and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. http://www.physorg.com/news179058963.html Space & Earth Thu, 03 Dec 2009 10:50:01 EST news179058963 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 Researchers in MIT's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering believe they have pinpointed a pathway by which arsenic may be contaminating the drinking water in Bangladesh, a phenomenon that has puzzled scientists, world health agencies and the Bangladeshi government for nearly 30 years. The research suggests that human alteration to the landscape, the construction of villages with ponds, and the adoption of irrigated agriculture are responsible for the current pattern of arsenic concentration underground. http://www.physorg.com/news177515521.html Space & Earth Sun, 15 Nov 2009 13:52:45 EST news177515521 Coral reefs support some of the most diverse ecosystems on the planet, yet they thrive in a marine desert. So how do reefs sustain their thriving populations? http://www.physorg.com/news177312219.html Biology Fri, 13 Nov 2009 05:50:03 EST news177312219 (PhysOrg.com) -- Toxic uranium is often found in soil and groundwater in places where uranium was either mined or enriched to make nuclear fuel and weapons. Uranium contamination, which is a threat to wildlife and water supplies and can cause kidney damage and cancer in humans, is especially problematic because it takes billions of years to decay radioactively. In addition, traditional clean-up methods involving pumping of contaminated water are useless against uranium because it sticks to soil. Thus, finding a treatment option that is both efficient and cost-effective is tricky. To help narrow the search, a team of researchers recently obtained data partially collected at the NSLS to question a popular potential bioremediation method involving the infusion of organic carbon. http://www.physorg.com/news157309491.html Space & Earth Thu, 26 Mar 2009 18:05:37 EST news157309491 Converting forests or fields to biofuel crops can increase or decrease greenhouse gas emissions, depending on where - and which - biofuel crops are used, University of Illinois researchers report this month. http://www.physorg.com/news147443911.html Biology Tue, 02 Dec 2008 12:38:31 EST news147443911 Scientists have long known that life can exist in some very extreme environments. But Earth continues to surprise us. At a European Science Foundation and COST (European Cooperation in the field of Scientific and Technical Research) 'Frontiers of Science' meeting in Sicily in October, scientists described apparently productive ecosystems in two places where life was not known before, under the Antarctic ice sheet, and above concentrated salt lakes beneath the Mediterranean. http://www.physorg.com/news146140920.html Biology Mon, 17 Nov 2008 10:42:00 EST news146140920