Margery Egerton

Saturday, December 17, 2011

New species found ... and lost?

California Academy of Sciences / Liu et al.

Chlaenius propeagilis is a new species of beetle from China, described in the journal Zookeys.

By Alan Boyle

Scientists are tallying up scores, or even hundreds,?of newfound species ? but they're also musing on how many species?will be lost before they're found.

This year's?count from the California Academy of Sciences demonstrates that the pace of discovery is, if anything, increasing: Researchers associated with the academy added 140?species to the big biological list, and?a 42-day expedition to the Philippines?could eventually add hundreds more.

Among the highlights are four new species of deep-sea sharks, six completely new genera of African goblin spiders, three new genera of barnacles and 31 new sea-slug species.?This year's tally of 140 compares favorably with the?count of 110 species that were added during 2010.

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the Academy's gallery of the latest finds:

Terry Gosliner via California Academy of Sciences

Chelidonura mandroroa is a new species of sea slug, also known as a nudibranch, from the Indo-Pacific. Nudibranchs use their vivid colors to warn predators of their toxic or unpalatable nature. This nudibranch and five other new species were described in the journal Zootaxa.

Williams and Alderslade / Calif. Academy of Sciences

Anthoptilum gowletthomesae is a new species of sea pen from Australia. It can attach to rocky surfaces.

Luiz Rocha via Calif. Academy of Sciences

Sparisoma sp. is a new species of parrotfish from Sao Tome.

Fidanza and Almeda / Calif. Academy of Sciences

Cambessedesia uncinata is a new species of subshrub from Brazil, described in Harvard Papers in Botany.

Robert Van Syoc via Calif. Academy of Sciences

Minyaspis amylaneae is a new species of barnacle from Fiji. Minyaspis is also a new genus, one of three described in the journal Zootaxa.

The folks at the California Academy of Sciences aren't the only ones taking stock of new species. Earlier this week, the WWF conservation group noted that 208 newly described species, including a "psychedelic gecko,"?were recorded in Southeast Asia's Mekong River region during 2010. Australian researchers say they've found more than 1,000 new species in the country's Outback, and they estimate another 3,500 are waiting to be discovered beneath the arid topsoil. They say thousands more species of small animals are probably still undiscovered in Africa and South America.

"If you start multiplying this on a global basis, there's likely to be massive diversity that will be uncovered in coming decades," Andy Austin, a biologist at the Australian Center for Evolutionary Biology and?Biodiversity at the University of Adelaide, is quoted as saying.

But if all that biodiversity is just waiting to be discovered, why do we hear all this talk about a modern extinction crisis??It's because hundreds or thousands of other species are passing into oblivion every year. That was the point behind the WWF's survey of the Mekong Delta.

"While the 2010 discoveries are new to science, many are already destined for the dinner table, struggling to survive in shrinking habitats and at risk of extinction," Stuart Chapman, conservation director of WWF Greater Mekong, said in a news release. Vietnam's Javan rhino population is among the latest to bite the dust.

Another just-released study puts the issue in terms that a 6-year-old could understand: One out of every six species related to the characters in the movie "Finding Nemo" is facing extinction, according to researchers at Simon Fraser University and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.?Among the most threatened are the?real-life kin of Squirt and Crush the marine turtles, Anchor the hammer head shark and Sheldon the seahorse.

"It's unthinkable that the characters in 'Finding Nemo' could become extinct, but this is the reality unless we pay more attention to the diversity of marine life," SFU's Loren McClenachan, the study's lead author, said in a news release. The report is due to be published in the journal Conservation Biology.

Are all these concerns leading you to lose?your appetite for shark-fin soup?and rhino-horn concoctions? Feel free to weigh in below with your comments on the campaign to find species and keep them from being lost.

More species lost and found:

Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page or following @b0yle on Twitter. You can also add me to your Google+ circle, and check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.

Source: http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/14/9451326-new-species-found-and-lost

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AOL TV gets HuffPost makeover (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) ? AOL TV has been rebranded as HuffPost TV.

The retooled site, huffingtonpost.com/tv, launched Wednesday morning as part of editorial boss Arianna Huffington's ongoing makeover of AOL's editorial properties.

Following the model established at The Huffington Post, it will feature prominent bloggers such as Aaron Sorkin, Norman Lear, Bill Maher and Dr. Phil McGraw.

"It's going to be a sophisticated, bordering on obsessive take on the most buzzworthy shows," Michael Hogan, executive entertainment editor at Huffington Post Media Group, told TheWrap. "But I also think we're going to be looking for ways to connect what's happening on TV to the broader culture."

Hogan said that Jaimie Etkin, former associate culture editor for Newsweek and The Daily Beast, has been hired to serve as editor. AOL TV's five staffers will move to the new site.

Hogan said that HuffPost TV will retain the television listings and show pages from AOL TV -- but will have a different color. Moreover, its tone will better reflect the Huffington Post's.

"People really love to talk about TV, and they know that the Huffington Post is a place to have conversations online, so to me it's like the internet and TV were kind of made for each other," Hogan said.

"One of the primary objectives here is not just to kind of hear ourselves speak and pat ourselves on the back, but to really engage with an audience that we know is there," he said. "They're already there reading The Huffington Post and commenting on The Huffington Post, but also, we know there are all these communities around all these shows, so we want to provide the best possible venue for people to talk about the shows."

He said that people want to talk about the shows they've just watched -- and that HuffPost TV will give them a place to do that.

AOL acquired The Huffington Post for $315 million this past February. When it did, it installed Arianna Huffington as president and editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post Media Group, which includes AOL properties.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111214/media_nm/us_aoltv

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Friday, December 16, 2011

Video: Pier 1 Imports CEO Talks Q3

Mad Money host Jim Cramer says Pier 1 Imports is the best turnaround story in all of the retail sector. Alex Smith, Pier 1 Imports president & CEO, weighs in. "This quarter everything came together for us," he says.

Jackson daughter tells 'Ellen' about acting dreams (omg!)

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Michael Jackson's daughter says she was inspired to be an actress after seeing her father in the film "Moonwalker."

"My dad was in the movie 'Moonwalker' and I knew he could sing really well, but I didn't know he could act," Paris Jackson told talk show host Ellen DeGeneres, according to a transcript of the episode to air Thursday. "I saw that and I said, 'Wow, I want to be just like him.'"

The film featuring Jackson's signature dance move and other videos was released in 1988.

Paris said her father encouraged her and did improvisation sessions to develop her skills. The 13-year-old has been cast alongside Larry King in a film based on a new children's book, "Lundon's Bridge and the Three Keys," which is in early stages of development.

The Internet Movie Database, known as IMDB, shows the film is tentatively scheduled for a 2013 release, although filmmakers have not presented the teen's proposed acting contract to a Los Angeles court as required because she is a minor.

Paris also talked about the lengths that her father took to protect her identity for an episode that will air on Thursday.

She said her father protected her and her two brothers from the media, such as by placing them in masks or dressing them in costumes when they were in public. She said she initially thought wearing the mask was stupid, but later came to realize that it was for her and her brothers' protection.

She said no one recognized her when she began attending school after her father's death in June 2009.

"I was like, yes, I have a chance to be normal," she said.

Jackson's children have since been in the public eye, appearing onstage at their father's televised memorial service, the Grammy Awards and other television appearances.

___

Online: http://ellen.warnerbros.com/

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/omg_rss/rss_omg_en/news_jackson_daughter_tells_ellen_acting_dreams193927302/43906957/*http%3A//omg.yahoo.com/news/jackson-daughter-tells-ellen-acting-dreams-193927302.html

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Thursday, December 15, 2011

New biodiversity data publishing framework proposed

Public release date: 15-Dec-2011
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Contact: Tim Hirsch
thirsch@gbif.org
(45) 28-75-14-85
Global Biodiversity Information Facility

Recommendations target social, cultural, technical, policy, legal, economic components to promote data sharing

Copenhagen, Denmark A comprehensive framework to encourage and facilitate the sharing of biodiversity data has been published in a peer-reviewed journal.

The 24 recommendations of the GBIF Data Publishing Framework Task Group are included in a special supplement of BMC Bioinformatics.

Some of the measures proposed by the task group have already been taken up by GBIF and others, including the publication of 'data papers' to bring academic recognition to those publishing metadata to describe datasets.

Others are in the pipeline, such as new services to monitor and publish use of data in a Data Usage Index, and a mechanism to ensure that all those involved in collecting, adding value to and publishing data are acknowledged in a single citation.

Introducing the data publishing framework in the central paper of the supplement, Tom Moritz and co-authors write that the first recommendation is the primary one from which all the others follow: "All data relevant to the understanding of biodiversity and to biodiversity conservation should be made freely, openly and effectively available."

The authors define a data publishing framework as an environment conducive to ensuring free and open access to the world's primary biodiversity data: "The core purpose of the framework is to overcome barriers or impediments affecting access to data and the publishing of data."

The paper goes on to argue that sharing of biodiversity data must be the expected norm, and that data should only be withheld in exceptional circumstances when precise localities need to be protected, for example in cases involving marketable plants or animals, or for species of special concern. "We emphasize that such data represent a small fraction of biodiversity data and should not be allowed to dictate normal practice," the authors add.

Other recommendations include:

expanding and improving the metadata framework used by GBIF to help users establish whether data records are fit for use;
strengthening the network of GBIF's mirror sites and 'trusted digital repositories' or data hosting centres;
meeting the need for stable and proven persistent identifiers so that data records remain permanently discoverable and accessible;
establishing a 'biodiversity informatics potential index' to demonstrate the potential and urgency of countries' investment in management of biodiversity data (GBIF will shortly release such an index);
encouraging sponsors of biodiversity research to set mandatory requirements for free and open access to biodiversity datathe paper welcomes moves in this direction by the National Science Foundation in the United States; and
encouraging professional societies and professional disciplines to require evidence of effective sharing of data in evaluations for hiring, promotion and tenure.

The authors of the paper conclude: "Implementation of these recommendations should expedite the progress of archiving, curation, discovery and publishing of primary biodiversity data, because scientists and originators of data will realize the value and incentives for such efforts.

"We believe that implementation of our recommendations by the GBIF network, and its adoption by similar initiatives such as GEO-BON (Global Earth Observation Biodiversity Observation Network), IPBES (Intergovernmental Science-Policy Interface on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services) and CBD (Convention on Biological Diversity), will contribute to a much needed global research infrastructure and specifically to an open access regime in biodiversity and conservation science."

Separate papers in the BMC Biodiversity Informatics supplement cover: the 'data paper' mechanism; indicators for a Data Usage Index; an index for biodiversity informatics potential of countries; and proposals for a data hosting infrastructure.

###

For more information, contact:

Vishwas Chavan
GBIF Secretariat
vchavan@gbif.org

Tim Hirsch
GBIF Secretariat
thirsch@gbif.org

Notes to editors: The Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) was established by governments in 2001 to encourage free and open access to biodiversity data, via the Internet. Through a global network of 57 countries and 47 organizations, GBIF promotes and facilitates the mobilization, access, discovery and use of information about the occurrence of organisms over time and across the planet.

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

New biodiversity data publishing framework proposed

Public release date: 15-Dec-2011
[ | E-mail |

Share ]

Contact: Tim Hirsch
thirsch@gbif.org
(45) 28-75-14-85
Global Biodiversity Information Facility

Recommendations target social, cultural, technical, policy, legal, economic components to promote data sharing

Copenhagen, Denmark A comprehensive framework to encourage and facilitate the sharing of biodiversity data has been published in a peer-reviewed journal.

The 24 recommendations of the GBIF Data Publishing Framework Task Group are included in a special supplement of BMC Bioinformatics.

Other recommendations include:

expanding and improving the metadata framework used by GBIF to help users establish whether data records are fit for use;
strengthening the network of GBIF's mirror sites and 'trusted digital repositories' or data hosting centres;
meeting the need for stable and proven persistent identifiers so that data records remain permanently discoverable and accessible;
establishing a 'biodiversity informatics potential index' to demonstrate the potential and urgency of countries' investment in management of biodiversity data (GBIF will shortly release such an index);
encouraging sponsors of biodiversity research to set mandatory requirements for free and open access to biodiversity datathe paper welcomes moves in this direction by the National Science Foundation in the United States; and
encouraging professional societies and professional disciplines to require evidence of effective sharing of data in evaluations for hiring, promotion and tenure.

###

For more information, contact:

Vishwas Chavan
GBIF Secretariat
vchavan@gbif.org

Tim Hirsch
GBIF Secretariat
thirsch@gbif.org

[ | E-mail |

Share ]

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-12/gbif-nbd121411.php

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Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Families demand prosecutions in W.Va. mine blast (AP)

BEAVER, W.Va. ? Money ? even a lot of it ? is cold comfort to some relatives of the 29 men who died in the worst mining disaster in decades. They want justice, the kind that comes with a courtroom and a prison cell.

The families listened in shock Tuesday as federal prosecutors announced the biggest settlement in a U.S. coal mining disaster with the new owners of the Upper Big Branch mine. The former owner, Massey Energy, had been accused of putting profits ahead of safety, so Alpha Natural Resources agreed to pay nearly $210 million, with checks of $500,000 headed to the grieving families before Christmas.

Federal regulators explained how the deal wiped the slate clean for some 370 safety violations related to the April 5, 2010, explosion, the worst U.S. mine disaster in four decades. Though the Mine Safety and Health Administration also pledged to review its own handling of the mine, the words failed to placate. No criminal charges were announced.

"It was an act of murder," declared an angry Clay Mullins, whose brother Rex was among those killed. "They murdered 29 men, and I'm not satisfied one bit."

Gene Jones, whose twin brother Dean died in the blast, said MSHA's investigation and the settlement showed the depth of coal operators' callousness.

"These people don't care. They're all wondering who they can pay off," Jones said. "I want to see people go to jail because this was preventable."

Federal regulators agreed in their final report, saying the explosion was the result of a series of basic safety violations and entirely preventable.

MSHA said the root cause was Massey's "systematic, intentional and aggressive efforts" to conceal life-threatening problems, noting managers went so far as to maintain two sets of pre-shift inspection books ? an accurate one for itself, and a fake one for regulators. They also habitually warned miners underground when an inspector arrived on site, trying to give crews time to make the mine appear safe.

MSHA administrator Kevin Stricklin said in the year before the blast, his agency issued more violation orders at Upper Big Branch than at any other mine. It shut the mine down 48 times that year but had to let it reopen when problems were fixed. The agency lacked the power to close mines permanently ? and still does.

"We thought we were keeping accidents from happening," he said.

Alpha, which bought Massey in June, will bankroll a variety of cutting-edge safety improvements and pay for years of violations at Upper Big Branch and other former Massey operations. Though the corporation can't be held criminally liable under the settlement, some former Massey employees may be.

"No individuals are off the hook," warned U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin, adding that prosecutors are still investigating. So far, only one person has been held accountable: Former security chief Hughie Elbert Stover was convicted last month of lying to investigators and trying to destroy mine records. He is awaiting sentencing.

Gary Quarles, whose son Gary Wayne died in Upper Big Branch, said Stover's trial should be the first of many.

"I'll be satisfied when I hear who they're going to indict and what for," he said. "... I want to hear names, and I want to know what they're going to be charged for. Today would have been a fine day for them to have told us."

Goodwin said there were enormous benefits provided by the settlement.

"It wasn't simply the stroke of a pen writing a check," he said.

MSHA's final report detailed 369 safety violations at Upper Big Branch, including 12 it said contributed to the explosion. MSHA labeled nine of the violations that led to the accident as flagrant, the most serious designation.

The report confirmed what the agency and other investigators have previously concluded: Massey allowed highly explosive methane gas and coal dust to accumulate, and worn and broken cutting equipment created the spark that ignited the fuel. Broken and clogged water sprayers allowed a mere flare-up to turn into an inferno that ripped through miles of underground tunnels and killed men instantly.

Stricklin said the initial fire was just 20 feet wide, 12 feet long and 8 feet high. Then it met the coal dust and became a chain-reaction event.

Last year, Stricklin said, U.S. mines experienced about 40 such ignitions, and all but one or two were extinguished immediately by miners who had proper training and equipment. At Upper Big Branch, they had neither. MSHA's investigation found 112 miners had no basic safety training whatsoever.

"Every time Massey sent miners into the UBB Mine, Massey put those miners' lives at risk," said MSHA director Joe Main.

The settlement consists of $46.5 million in restitution to the miners' families, $128 million for safety improvements, research and training, and $35 million in fines for safety violations at Upper Big Branch and other Massey mines.

The deal guarantees the families of the dead miners and two co-workers who survived the explosion each receive $1.5 million. Those who accept the payout can still pursue lawsuits, but the $1.5 million will be deducted from any settlement or jury award. At least eight families of dead miners previously settled with Massey.

Virginia-based Alpha CEO Kevin Crutchfield said the agreement represented the best path forward.

"We're particularly pleased that a substantial portion of the settlement is going towards furthering miner safety, which has always been Alpha's guiding principle," he said.

The deal was seen as precedent-setting because of the amount of money and the efforts to make mining safer.

"Alpha definitely knows they had a problem. Whenever they bought Massey, they bought all of Massey's older problems," said Bruce Dial, who runs a mine consulting company out of Pineville, N.C. "This is their way of saying, `Massey did this, we bought Massey, let's settle up and start new.'"

Alpha will invest $48 million in a mine-safety research trust and spend an additional $80 million to improve safety at all of its mines with the latest technology. The improvements will include coating mines with crushed limestone to reduce the risk of a coal-dust explosion; using digital sensors to continuously monitor air flow and methane levels; and adopting emergency oxygen equipment, similar to what firefighters rely on, to give miners an uninterrupted supply of air while trying to escape from an underground accident.

When asked why the Justice Department, not the Department of Labor, initiated such improvements, MSHA said prosecutors have far more discretion about how to use its money and Main conceded: "It's clear to everybody that the U.S. attorney's office can move swifter than we can."

___

Messina reported from Charleston. Associated Press writer John Raby in Charleston also contributed to this story.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111207/ap_on_re_us/us_mine_explosion

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