December 9, 2005

Old Fridges, Cars Slow Ozone Hole Recovery

The Antarctic ozone hole will probably take longer to heal than was previously thought. At the current rate of recovery, the hole won't fix itself until around 2065, some 15 years later than the generally accepted estimate. In the 1987 Montreal Protocol, many nations agreed to phase out the use of chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs, that eat away at the protective ozone layer when released into the atmosphere. But the amount of CFCs that linger on in old refrigerators, fire extinguishers, air-conditioning systems and other equipment was greatly underestimated. National Geographic News

December 8, 2005

'Borneo beast' seen in the underbrush

Patience pays off for the researchers who may have spotted a new carnivore in the jungles of Borneo. nature.com/news

December 7, 2005

Dog Decoded

Researchers published the full genetic code of a 12-year-old boxer named Tasha. But she is not just another addition to the list of animals with completely sequenced genomes. Domestic dogs have a unique genetic background, thanks to humans. Humans have created more than 400 dog breeds, each with its own traits, and its own genetic code. So it should be a lot easier to pin down the genetic roots of traits in dogs than in people, whose characteristics and genetic groupings are much less clear cut. nature.com/news