Just six months ago residents of the eastern U.S. were shoveling themselves out of the snowiest winter ever--weather that prompted mockery of global warming among some people . Now, scientists have a new explanation for why such anomalous snowstorms can coexist with global warming: The storms were kicked up by the convergence of two natural, large-scale weather patterns.

In order to better understand possible triggers of last year's media-dubbed " snowmaggedon ," a team of scientists from Columbia University's Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory analyzed more than 50 years of snow data as well as measurements of atmospheric pressure and sea-surface temperatures. They found that a combination of El Niño (periodic sea-surface warming in the tropical Pacific Ocean) with an unusual period of decreased variability in atmospheric pressure across the North Atlantic (known as the North Atlantic oscillation , or NAO) frequently results in a pile-up of snow in the mid-Atlantic region.

[More]



Climate change - Pacific Ocean - Global warming - Columbia University - North Atlantic oscillation

When a magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck Chile on February 27, residents and seismologists knew it was a big one. But a new analysis reaffirms just how massive it was. [More]



Chile - Earthquake - Seismology - South America - Earth Sciences

When a magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck Chile on February 27, residents and seismologists knew it was a big one. But a new analysis reaffirms just how massive it was. [More]



Chile - Earthquake - Seismology - South America - Earth Sciences

The neurological responses caused by observing somebody else playing a game have been uncovered. Researchers found differing responses for neutral observers, compared to those who wished the player to fail and those who wanted to see the player succeed.

Pediatric researchers continue to discover recurrent translocations -- places in which two chromosomes exchange pieces of themselves, and can lead to genetic disease and disability. Originating in locations where DNA strands are prone to bending and breaking, this translocation between chromosomes 8 and 22 strengthens the possibility that unstable spots in the genome may reflect a general mechanism lurking in the structure of DNA.

Researchers seeking to learn more about stroke by studying how the body responds to toxins in snake venom are this week releasing new findings that they hope will aid in the development of therapies for heart disease and, surprisingly, cancer.

Resveratrol, a popular plant extract shown to prolong life in yeast and lower animals due to its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, appears also to suppress inflammation in humans, based on results from the first prospective human trial of the extract.

Over millions of years, retroviruses, which insert their genetic material into the host genome as part of their replication, have left behind bits of their genetic material in vertebrate genomes. In a recent study, a team of researchers found that human and other vertebrate genomes also contain many ancient sequences from Ebola/Marburgviruses and Bornaviruses -- two deadly virus families.

Can single-shot imaging with femtosecond x-ray pulses from powerful new free electron lasers really work, or will the beam damage the sample too quickly? Pulse length is the key. A new study reveals that "frustrated absorption" explains why ultrashort pulses, even if their peak power is greater, do less damage to molecules than longer pulses.

Editor's note: The following is an excerpt from The Fate of Nature by Charles Wohlforth, published on June 8 by St. Martins Press. The Fate of Nature considers the burgeoning science of human nature and behavior, using Alaska as a starting point to explore our capacity to save the planet from environmental decline. As we meet a cast of characters from hippie activists to blind evolutionary scientists, from environmentalists to oil companies, we come to better understand the history of mankind's relationship with nature and the challenges for our future life on the planet. [More]



Exxon Valdez - Alaska - Oil spill - Energy - Environment