EarthScape

Men who start to lose hair at the age of 20 are more likely to develop prostate cancer in later life and might benefit from screening for the disease, according to a new study published online in the cancer journal, Annals of Oncology. The study set out to see if early-onset androgenic alopecia (which are…

A changing climate means allergy-causing ragweed pollen has a longer season that extends further north than it did just 16 years ago, U.S. scientists reported on Monday. In research that gibes with projections by the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, plant and allergy experts found that ragweed pollen season lasted as much as 27…

Channeling 2 percent, or $1.3 trillion, of global gross domestic product into greening sectors such as construction, energy and fishing could start a move toward a low-carbon world, a report launched on Monday said. The investment would expand the global economy at the same rate, if not higher, as under present economic policies, said the…

Fewer big, predatory fish are swimming in the world’s oceans because of overfishing by humans, leaving smaller fish to thrive and double in force over the past 100 years, scientists said Friday. Big fish such as cod, tuna, and groupers have declined worldwide by two-thirds while the number of anchovies, sardines and capelin has surged…

U.S. Small Business Administrator Karen Mills on Wednesday revealed details of a pilot program through which it is working with four cleantech business accelerators across the country to provide mentoring to 100 entrepreneurs in the cleantech arena. The pilot is the inaugural program of the Entrepreneurial Mentor Corps (EMC), a component of Startup America, a…

The European Union will ban six toxic chemicals within three to five years, three of which are commonly used in plastic household items, the European Commission said on this week. After years of heated debate, EU lawmakers agreed in 2006 on a far-reaching proposal to review the way chemicals are approved in Europe. The EU…

Russia’s Natural Resources Ministry wants to set an Arctic nature reserve’s borders in a way that environmentalists say will subvert existing boundaries to accommodate the oil drilling plans of BP and Rosneft. Last month BP — seeking to recover from the impact of the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill — and Russia’s state-run major…

The European Union will ban six toxic chemicals within three to five years, three of which are commonly used in plastic household items. Among the compounds are three plastic softening phthalates, a musk fragrance, a flame retardant and a hardener for epoxy resin. Although the most toxic phthalates have been banned in children’s toys since…

Thankfully, no major US city has gone underwater due to rising sea levels caused from global climate change. What happened in New Orleans was an effect of Hurricane Katrina, a failure of the levees, and the fact that part of the city was built below the water level. However, climate experts predict that sea levels…

ScienceDaily (Feb. 17, 2011) — Several American black bears, captured by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game after wandering a bit too close to human communities, have given researchers the opportunity to study hibernation in these large mammals like never before. Surprisingly, the new findings show that although black bears only reduce their body…