Threats To Wild Tigers Growing:
The wild tiger now occupies a mere 7 percent of its historic range, and the area known to be inhabited by tigers has declined by 41 percent over the past decade, according to a recent article. Growing trade in folk medicines made from tiger parts and tiger skins, along with habitat loss and fragmentation, is believed to be the chief reason for the losses. The assessment, by Eric Dinerstein of the World Wildlife Fund and 15 coauthors, describes the wild tiger's population trajectory as "catastrophic" and urges international cooperation to ensure the animal's continued existence in the wild.
An Apple Peel A Day Might Keep Cancer At Bay:
An apple a day keeps the doctor away? Or, what appears to be more accurate: An apple peel a day might help keep cancer at bay, according to a new Cornell study. Cornell researchers have identified a dozen compounds -- triterpenoids -- in apple peel that either inhibit or kill cancer cells in laboratory cultures. Three of the compounds have not previously been described in the literature.
Cells Re-energize To Come Back From The Brink Of Death:
The discovery of how some abnormal cells can avoid a biochemical program of self-destruction by increasing their energy level and repairing the damage, is giving investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital insights into a key strategy cancer cells use to survive and thrive.
Cellular Message Movement Captured On Video:
Scientists have captured on video the intracellular version of a postal delivery service. Reporting in the journal Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications (BBRC), bioengineering researchers at UC San Diego published videos of a key message-carrying protein called paxillin moving abruptly from hubs of communication and transportation activity on the cell surface toward the nucleus. Paxillin was labeled with a red fluorescence marker to make it stand out in live cells.
Fibromyalgia: The Misunderstood Disease:
Fourteen years ago, Josephine* began to experience severe pain throughout her body. As her symptoms became worse, she sought help from a variety of specialists, but no one could diagnose her condition. "I was told they didn't know what was wrong with me; the blood tests came back good, x-rays came back clear," she says. "They had no idea and they'd shuffle me to another doctor, another specialist." She saw rheumatologists, neurologists, internists, and blood specialists, but there was still no answer.
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Would not "naturally occurring populations of tigers" be better than "wild tigers"-? Seriosuly, human activities ranging from habitat destruction and deforstation to expanding population to other environmental impacts pose an major threat to many animal and plant species.In the case of the tiger, the likely remedy I suggest is not more preserves (not likely to happen) but the establishment of viable populations in suitable habitats elsewhere. This is also a solution to similar situation for other animal and plant species either threatened or endangered. If one were to list the many species likely to disappear in the next 10, 50, or 100 years, almost exclusively as the result of "development" it would be a most depressing world. Many threatened and endangered species are in politically unstable or impoverished regions with little to no chance that any protective measures would be put in place or are enforceable. The notion of large refuge areas in mostly developed parts of the world has a real appeal.