Earth Hour 2013 Official Video (by earthhour)

Source: youtube.com

Live Chat: New Treasures in the Genome - ScienceNOW

The sequencing of the human genome drove home the discovery that genes were just a small part of our total DNA—what made up much of the rest remained a big mystery. Now, a massive international project has begun to solve this mystery and bring us closer to understanding the links between genetics and disease. What is this other DNA doing? How much of the genome do we now understand? How can researchers use this information to understand disease better?

Join us for a live chat at 3 p.m. EDT on Thursday, 13 September, on this page. You can leave your questions in the comment box below before the chat starts. The full text of the chat will be archived on this page.

Human Genome Is Much More Than Just Genes - ScienceNOW

But scientists deciphering the human genome found, to their surprise, that these protein-coding genes took up less than 3% of the genome. In between were billions of other bases that seemed to have no purpose.

Now a U.S.-funded project, called the Encyclopedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE), has found that many of these bases do, nevertheless, play a role in human biology: They help determine when a gene is turned on or off, for example. This regulation is what makes one cell a kidney cell, for instance, and another a brain cell. “There’s a lot more to the genome than genes,” says Mark Gerstein, a bioinformatician at Yale University.

jtotheizzoe: The Shiniest Stuff of Life This African fruit has earned the title of shiniest living material on Earth. It’s from a plant called Pollia condensata, and its candy-painted hues are not the result of traditional pigments like we’re used to seeing in plants. Normally, the greens, yellows, reds and oranges we see in leaves and fruits are deposits of pigmented molecules like carotene or lycopene. Like the exotic iridescence seen in butterfly wings and jeweled beetles, this berry’s sparkle and shimmer is actually due to complex molecular structures that stack like a series of psychedelic reflectors. Cambridge University biophysicists recently decoded those structures. For more details on the nano-optical magic, visit Ed Yong at Not Exactly Rocket Science.
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jtotheizzoe:

The Shiniest Stuff of Life

This African fruit has earned the title of shiniest living material on Earth. It’s from a plant called Pollia condensata, and its candy-painted hues are not the result of traditional pigments like we’re used to seeing in plants. Normally, the greens, yellows, reds and oranges we see in leaves and fruits are deposits of pigmented molecules like carotene or lycopene.

Like the exotic iridescence seen in butterfly wings and jeweled beetles, this berry’s sparkle and shimmer is actually due to complex molecular structures that stack like a series of psychedelic reflectors. Cambridge University biophysicists recently decoded those structures. For more details on the nano-optical magic, visit Ed Yong at Not Exactly Rocket Science.

(via mothernaturenetwork)

Source: blogs.discovermagazine.com

Department of Energy and Climate Change Blog» Blog Archive » Solar panels – are they really a clean energy technology?

World is under “transition and transformation phase” of energy; we are doing research to discover “GHG emission free energy”. It will take some time but our scientists will be able to achieve this goal at cumulative rate. Solar Panels provide safer green energy. This technology is boon for rural areas of those parts of world where there is no single source of power supply. In future, solar power will be the mutual part of life.  

Thanks  Jonathan for this well written, well discussed  and EXCELLENT article. 

Regards

Prabhat Misra

www.twitter.com/redtapemovement

Climate Change- is there any solution?

The current problem of ‘climate change’ is due to GLOBAL WARMING which in turn is the result of our past discovery of ‘STEAM POWER’ and ‘FOSSIL FUELS’ at the advent of INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION. At that time, the policy makers, scientists and engineers did not judge the fate and impact of that industrial revolution. UNIPCC2007 report has predicted dark future of the earth. The EARTH POLES will become more warmer which will result into rise in sea water level. In tropical regions desertification and drought will increase while in temperate regions more rainfall is expected. Thus, global cropping pattern will change and will result into fall in agriculture production. The main GHG responsible for climate change is carbon dioxide. The life time of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is more than 100 years. The high concentration of these gases trap more infra-red radiation and remitted back to earth’s surface resulting in global warming. 
Here are few suggestions, which needs urgent attention: 1. There should be a WORLD COMMISSION FOR SCIENCE AND DEVELOPMENT for promoting the researches and developmental works which have zero to low carbon emission.
2. There should a compulsory constitutional amendment to make ENVIRONMENTAL WAY OF LIFESTYLE a compulsory duty.
3. Our investment in R & D should be more on the forthcoming areas like solar, tidal, wind and water energies apart from on lowering carbon emission.
4. There should be a big role for N.G.Os. in implementing environment friendly plans & projects of government.
5. There should be effective AWARENESS programmes, at grass root level, to save the environment from degradation.
6. Carbon caping should not be the one way legislation programme against developing nations. This should be the primary duty of DEVELOPED nations to provide financial help and green technology transfer to help DEVELOPING nations in phasing-out the fossil fuels.
Such steps are big BUT will be helpful in controlling GREEN HOUSE EFFECT and CLIMATE CHANGE.

Burundi: Reclaiming forest reserve while improving livelihoods | UNDP

A Success Story and Model for World Community to save our Ecology  

During Burundi’s civil war, thousands of people sought refuge in the Kibira forest reserve near the capital Bujumbura.

But since the war ended in 2002, damage to the forest has been exacerbated as internally displaced persons and nearby communities cut down trees to clear land for farming, and use the wood for fuel………………….With the support of various organisations, including the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme, an association of 350 women, Dukingirikibira (“Let us protect our forest”), is working on reforestation initiatives as a way to rehabilitate the forest reserve, while earning income………………..Since 2010, the association members have planted more than 300,000 seedlings of indigenous forest species on 116 hectares of land. They also earn income from combining agriculture and forestry initiatives in a sustainable way, selling avocado and plum trees and passion fruit vines, among other products.

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