| 'Dumb' pair wrestle python at fast food restaurant Stunned customers watched on as two men wrestled with a python in a McDonald's restaurant car park in Melbourne's north last night. abc.net.au |
Lawyers Look to Exploit a Scientific Error The indictment of a former Los Alamos scientist contains a glaring error that some experts say could hurt the government’s case. feeds.nytimes.com |
Video: The early birdwatchers | Tim Birkhead Birds teach us about ourselves. Tim Birkhead discusses some of the many lessons we've learned about promiscuity, evolution and ourselves as the result of looking closely at birdsTim Birkhead is a professor of behaviour and evolution at the University of Sheffield. His research on promiscuity and sperm competition in birds helped to re-shape current understanding of bird mating systems. His undergraduate teaching (for which he has two awards) includes courses in animal behaviour and the history and philosophy of science. Tim's research has taken him to Canadian High Arctic, Labrador, California, Australia, Africa and Europe. Since 1972 he has maintained a long-term study of guillemots on Skomer Island, Wales, which is where he did his PhD. Tim has been president of the International Society for Behavioural Ecology and currently serves on the management committee of the Darwin Correspondence Project. Tim initiated the biennial Biology of Spermatozoa (BoS) meetings at Losehill Hall, Derbyshire in 1992. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2004.As well as a passion for research, Tim is committed to undergraduate teaching and the public understanding of science. He has given talks to non-scientists at book festivals, the Royal Institution, at Café Scientifique and elsewhere. He has written for New Scientist, BBC Wildlife, Natural History magazine and the Independent and has a regular column in the Times Higher Education. He has written or edited 10 books, including Promiscuity (2000 Faber & Faber [Amazon UK; Amazon US]). His popular science books have gained widespread recognition and The Cambridge Encyclopaedia of Ornithology was awarded the McColvin medal for best reference book (1991 [Amazon UK; Amazon US]), and The Red Canary (Weidenfeld & Nicolson 2003 [Amazon UK; Amazon US]) was awarded the Consul Cremer Prize. His most recent book The Wisdom of Birds is an illustrated account of how we know what we know about birds [paperback Amazon UK; hardcover Amazon US].He is married and has three (recently fledged) children and a dog, enjoys walking, playing guitar and painting in his spare time.GrrlScientistguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Plant diversity: the key to life on Earth | Andrew Wood Plants are a biological resource more valuable than all the money in all of our banks – let's work towards protecting themWhat wonderous life in this I lead! Ripe apples drop about my head; The luscious clusters of the vine Upon my mouth do crush their wine; The nectarine, and curious peach, Into my hands themselves do reach; Stumbling on melons, as I pass, Ensnared with flowers, I fall on grass. Meanwhile the mind, from pleasure less, Withdraws into its happiness: The mind, that ocean where each kind Does straight its own resemblance find; Yeh it creates, transcending these, Far other worlds, and other seas; Annihilating all that's made To a green thought in a green shade. Andrew Marvell (1621-78) Plants are an inspiration, and they are at the centre of our lives. For marriage we celebrate with a bouquet, and at a funeral we remember with a wreath. From the banana in our lunchbox, to the homes we construct, the fuels we burn and the air we breathe, plants are an integral part in our living world.We may have put humans on to the moon, yet we still don't have a definitive list of all plant species on Earth. In 2002, governments that were parties to the convention on biological diversity adopted the global strategy for plant conservation. Among the 16 adopted targets for 2010 was, first, a working list of all known plant species. Botanic gardens in the UK and US are leading in this research and the plant list currently stands at an estimated 380,000 species – and it's still not complete.Traditionally, botanic gardens have been considered as beautiful collections of exotic plants in greenhouses. Elsewhere, these "indoor plants" are wild, and many are under threat. The botanic gardens' collections act as an insurance policy, protecting a biological resource which is more valuable than all the money in all of our banks. For all life on Earth depends on plants. Plant diversity (rather than simply abundance) is critical: greater diversity gives greater resilience to disease and other threats while also preserving the complex interdependence of ecosystems.Negotiations in Nagoya, Japan involving 192 countries which are part of the convention on biological diversity open today. Under discussion are proposals for better plant conservation and higher targets than those adopted in 2002. The huge task of creating a definitive list of plants and building the capacity for conservation is onerous, but botanic gardens have played their part in working towards several of the 2010 targets. By working with international partners and especially those in the economically poorer countries (which are often much richer in biodiversity), we are progressing.An estimated one in five plants are under threat of extinction: prioritising their conservation and their associated habitats will also safeguard the future of animal and human life. Governments attending the Nagoya meeting must build capacity in all countries.The botanic gardens community is calling for all 16 of the proposed new targets to be adopted, and this would include at least 75% of threatened plant species in ex situ collections, preferably in the country of origin, and at least 20% available for recovery and restoration programmes. This target is particularly important in the face of climate change: we can't guarantee that plants can be conserved in their natural habitats.We must have a positive outcome from Nagoya meeting. Our biological inheritance is at stake, and so is the inspiration for so much in our lives.BiodiversityPlantsConservationWildlifeBiologyAndrew Woodguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Soyuz lands after space station mission Three astronauts aboard the Russian spacecraft Soyuz have touched down safely in northern Kazakhstan after spending five months aboard the International Space Station. bbc.co.uk |