My picks from ScienceDaily

How Fish Species Suffer As A Result Of Warmer Waters:

Ongoing global climate change causes changes in the species composition of marine ecosystems, especially in shallow coastal oceans. This applies also to fish populations. Previous studies demonstrating a link between global warming and declining fish stocks were based entirely on statistical data. However, in order to estimate future changes, it is essential to develop a deeper understanding of the effect of water temperature on the biology of organisms under question.

How Trees Manage Water In Arid Environments:

Water scarcity is slowly becoming a fact of life in increasingly large areas. The summer of 2006 was the second warmest in the continental United States since records began in 1895, according to the National Climatic Data Center. Moderate to extreme drought conditions were evident in about 40 percent of the country.

Saving Endangered Whales At No Cost:

By comparing the productivity of lobster fishing operations in American and Canadian waters of the Gulf of Maine, researchers have identified ways in which cost-saving alterations in fishing strategies can substantially reduce fishing-gear entanglements of the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale. The findings appear in the January 9th issue of the journal Current Biology, published by Cell Press, and are reported by Ransom Myers of Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, along with colleagues there and at the University of Rhode Island, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and the University of New Hampshire.

Did We 'Kill' Martian Microbes? New Analysis Of Viking Mission Points To Life On Mars:

We may already have 'met' Martian organisms, according to a paper presented Sunday (Jan. 7) at the meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Seattle. Dirk Schulze-Makuch of Washington State University and Joop Houtkooper of Justus-Liebig-University, Giessen, Germany, argue that even as new missions to Mars seek evidence that the planet might once have supported life, we already have data showing that life exists there now--data from experiments done by the Viking Mars landers in the late 1970s.

Feeling Tired? You May Be Less Likely To Get Hurt, Researcher Says:

Sleepiness and sleep deprivation have long been associated with an increased risk of injury. However, the results of a recent study by a University of Missouri-Columbia researcher suggest that this commonly accepted theory might not be true. In a study of more than 2,500 patients, Daniel Vinson, professor of community and family medicine, found that patients who reported feeling sleepy were, surprisingly, less likely to be injured. Patients who reported better sleep quality in the previous seven days also were less likely to be injured, but patients who reported getting more sleep in the 24 hours before an injury than they did in the previous 24 hours were found to have a higher risk of injury.

"It could be that people who feel sleepy change their behavior," Vinson said. "If I'm feeling really tired, maybe I'll stop driving, maybe I won't play sports. If we're changing what we're doing when we're feeling tired, that may be what lowers our risk of injury."

Trusting Your Instincts Leads You To The Right Answer:

A UCL (University College London) study has found that you are more likely to perform well if you do not think too hard and instead trust your instincts. The research, published online in the journal Current Biology, shows that, in some cases, instinctive snap decisions are more reliable than decisions taken using higher-level cognitive processes. Participants, who were asked to pick the odd one out on a screen covered in over 650 identical symbols, including one rotated version of the same symbol, actually performed better when they were given no time at all to linger on the symbols and so were forced to rely entirely on their subconscious.

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