Nature

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New studies reveal differing perceptions of nature-altering science

Two new National Science Foundation (NSF)-sponsored research studies say public acceptance of the relatively new, nature-altering science of nanotechnology isn't a foregone conclusion. Instead, the studies indicate continued concern.

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Predicting boom and bust ecologies

The natural world behaves a lot like the stock market, with periods of relative stability interspersed with dramatic swings in population size and competition between individuals and species

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Tree branching key to efficient flow in nature and novel materials

Nature, in the simple form of a tree canopy, appears to provide keen insights into the best way to design complex systems to move substances from one place to another, an essential ingredient in the development of novel "smart" materials.

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Nature reserves attract humans, but at cost to biodiversity

Rather than suppressing local communities in developing nations, nature reserves attract human settlement, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley.

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Biodiversity as a natural resource

What will the loss of biodiversity cost us in the long term? How much do national economies need to invest now in order to stop the trend? And what price will we have to pay if we do not act? These are the questions the TEEB – The Economics of Eco-systems and Biodiversity – project is seeking to answer.

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Mimicking nature could help business survive the credit crunch

As credits crunch, recession bites, and business struggle to stay primed, researchers in Spain suggest that a more surgical approach to management and business practice is needed if a company is to survive. Writing in the International Journal of Management Practice from Inderscience Publishers, the team explains how businesses could take a cue from nature to them restructure.

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Sun Ring in FL Keys

Today a very strange phenomena occurred in Florida Keys as a Ring around the sun was formed in the clear skies.

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Lowly Icelandic midges reveal ecosystem's tipping points

The midges that periodically swarm by the billions from Iceland's Lake Myvatn are a force of nature.

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In Sweden Mushrooms Come Early

In more news from the Swedish wilderness, January brings the first mushrooms of the year to the country’s woods.

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Model connects circuit theory to wildlife corridors

Scientists at Northern Arizona University and the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis have developed a model that uses circuit theory to predict gene flow across landscapes.

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One-Quarter of US Bird Species at Risk of Extinction

Twenty-five percent of all bird species in the United States are at risk of extinction, according to a report by the National Audubon Society and American Bird Conservancy, the nation's leading bird conservation groups. WatchList 2007 is a compilation of the most endangered birds in the United States.

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The beauty of nature explained!

The beauty of nature is partly due to the uniformity of leaf and flower size in individual plants, and scientists have discovered how plants arrive at these aesthetic proportions.

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