Earth

Accurate estimates of the severity of the new H1N1 virus, and in particular how many deaths might arise over the course of the pandemic, are central to healthcare planning over the coming months, say experts in a paper published on bmj.com today.

They will also help to influence decisions on whether to implement social distancing measures such as school closures.

Wild birds of several species are dying in large numbers from a paralytic disease with unknown cause near the Baltic Sea. A research team at Stockholm University, Sweden, led by Associate Professor Lennart Balk, has demonstrated strong relationships between this disease, breeding failure, and advanced thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiency in eggs, young, and adults.

Scientists at NOAA's National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science and the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) have successfully conducted the first remote detection of a harmful algal species and its toxin below the ocean's surface. The achievement was recently reported in the June issue of Oceanography.

No one can be certain exactly how much Earth's climate will warm due to carbon emissions but a new study this week suggests that even the best predictions using current methods might be incorrect.

The Wildlife Conservation Society announced today that critically endangered alligators in China have a new chance for survival. The WCS's Bronx Zoo, in partnership with two other North American parks and the Department of Wildlife Conservation and Management of the State Forestry Administration of China, has successfully reintroduced alligators into the wild that are now multiplying on their own.

New evidence shows that sex may be a reason why some plants better defend themselves than others.

In research published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, scientists from North Carolina State University and Duke University discovered that sexually produced evening primrose plants withstand attacks from plant-eaters like caterpillars better than plant relatives that reproduce by themselves.