Biodiversity

As ethnobotanists meet in New York City, they offer reminders that obscure and endangered species should be preserved because they sometimes form the basis of miracle drugs.

"Beekeepers in the U.S., looking for a way to stop or slow the die-offs devastating their industry, are watching their options dwindle along with the bees. Last week, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rejected a petition [PDF] that beekeepers and environmental groups filed back in March asking EPA to stop sales of clothianidin, a pesticide believed to be harmful to bees. EPA said use of the chemical does not present an “imminent hazard” — the requirement to suspend registration of a pesticide."

"When Hadyn Parry, chief executive officer of the British biotechnology company Oxitec Ltd, appeared at a Key West town hall meeting to present his plan to use genetically modified mosquitoes in the fight to eradicate dengue fever, he came up against familiar resistance."

Researchers are studying whether the chytrid fungus -- which has decimated frog and salamander populations around the world -- is being spread among wild amphibians by the release of infected animals bought at pet stores. The fungus has devastated some 200 species globally, and may be responsible for the greatest known disease-caused loss of biodiversity in recorded history.

"HENDERSON, Minn. — Minnesota made headlines around the world in 1995 when schoolchildren discovered dozens of grossly deformed frogs in a pond in south central Minnesota."

"Efforts to write benefits for biotech seed companies into US legislation, including the new Farm Bill, are sparking a backlash from groups that say the multiple measures would severely limit US oversight of genetically modified crops."

"For salmon trying to make it upriver to spawn before a hot summer hits, slow and steady loses the evolutionary race. Salmon DNA records stretching back over 30 years show that nature has increasingly selected for fish that migrate from the ocean earlier in the year. It is among the first pieces of genetic evidence that climate change is driving the evolution of a species."

"This week a major conference in Cairns, Australia, is focusing on threats to coral reefs. Across the globe, reefs have been savaged by rising sea temperatures, overfishing, pollution and ocean acidification – a phenomenon related to rising carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere that make it difficult for creatures to build their shells and skeletons."

"UK company wants to unleash genetically modified insects in the Keys, but residents fear not enough is known about the insects"

"The carbon-rich peat forests of northern Sumatra are burning again as palm oil companies break Indonesian law to clear the land for their plantations."