The world’s last remaining “pristine” forest – the boreal forest – is under increasing threat across large stretches of Russia, Canada and other northern countries, a team of international researchers has found. The researchers have called for the urgent preservation of existing boreal forests in order to secure biodiversity and prevent the loss of this major global carbon sink.

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By following the “nose” of fruit flies, scientists are on the trail of new insect repellents that may reduce the spread of infectious disease and damage to agricultural crops. That’s because they’ve learned for the first time how a group of genes used to differentiate smells is turned on and off, opening new possibilities for insect control. Researchers can target these or similar genes in other insects to create substances that make crops and people “invisible” to insect antennae. Without the ability to smell correctly, the insects are far less likely to attack a person or plant, as is the case with mosquitoes whose ability to smell lactic acid is disrupted by the active ingredient in insect repellents, DEET.

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Researchers have identified a gene that acts as a master switch to control obesity in mice. When the gene is deleted, even high-fat-diet mice remain thin. Deleting the gene, called ‘IKKE’, also appears to protect mice against conditions that, in humans, lead to Type 2 diabetes, which is associated with obesity and is on the rise among North Americans, including children and adolescents.

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After the failure of the Deepwater Horizon oil well, nearly 2 million gallons of dispersant were released into the Gulf of Mexico to contain the spill. While the early reports suggested that it successfully dispersed much of the oil, the long-term effect of such a massive volume of dispersant on ecosystems, wildlife and humans remains to be seen. Some environmentalists believe that the effects of such dispersants on aquatic life may be nearly as severe as the oil spill itself and suggest we should not use dispersants.

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Results of the first human clinical studies confirm that a new yogurt fights the bacteria that cause gastritis and stomach ulcers with what researchers describe as almost vaccine-like effects. The new yogurt is part of a growing “functional food” market that generates $60 billion in sales annually. The yogurt is currently on store shelves in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. The new study opens the door to possible arrival of the product in Canada and the US, say researchers.

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Warmer ocean temperatures could mean dramatic shifts in the structure of underwater food webs and the abundance of marine life, according to a new study. Until now, little has been known about how changes in temperatures might affect the total productivity and growth of all marine consumers (such as animals, fungi and bacteria) relative to their prey (including algae and plants).

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As gas prices continue to soar, motorists are crying out for less expensive alternatives that will allow them to stay in their cars. Now, scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy are answering that call with key scientific research that is working to chemically manipulate algae for the production of the next generation of renewable fuels – hydrogen gas to be used in the new hydrogen fuel cells.

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Wind energy may be one of the fastest growing sectors of the energy industry as energy utilities try to minimize their reliance on fossil fuels. However, this “green-energy” industry is not without its own environmental consequences. Researchers say that nocturnally active birds and bats have increasingly become prey to these large wind turbines, yet little guidance can be found for assessing the impacts of wind energy on the birds until now.

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A five-year, $8.8 million pilot project to examine whether seeding clouds with silver iodide produces a measurable increase in snowfall has started in the US. The test area is the skies over Wyoming’s Medicine Bow, Sierra Madre, and Wind River mountain ranges and involves intensive observations of Wyoming snow clouds. Scientists from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) designed the experiment to evaluate a technique that has been mired in controversy for decades.

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Worldwide emissions of carbon dioxide from fossil fuel burning are dramatically altering ocean chemistry and threatening marine organisms, including corals that secrete skeletal structures and support oceanic biodiversity. A recent report summarizes the known effects of increased atmospheric carbon dioxide on these organisms, and recommends future research to determine the extent of the impacts. “It is clear that seawater chemistry will change in coming in ways that will dramatically alter marine life,” says the report’s lead author. Others look to the ocean as a huge carbon storage sink (countering the negative effects of higher levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide).

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