Gizmorama!

Good Morning,

In this issue, scientists responsible for monitoring the
diminishing ice sheets report that they are melting at an
alarming rate. Read all about the concerns and possible
threats in the first article.

Until Tomorrow,
Erin

Scientists warn sea level rise

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. - Scientists studying the world’s ice sheets
are warning the ice is melting much faster than expected,
with higher-then-predicted sea level increases expected. The
researchers are starting a tour of east coast U.S. cities,
warning a sea level rise of more than three feet is likely
this century as a result of the accelerated melting. The
“Hip Boot Tour” started Tuesday in Philadelphia and will
include stops in Portland, Maine; Hampton, N.H.; Norfolk,
Va.; Wilmington, N.C.; Miami, St. Petersburg and Tampa, Fla.;
New York and Washington. “Our colleagues in the arctic sci-
ence community have uncovered startling new evidence that
we are losing the world’s ice reservoirs much faster than
predicted in the last report by the Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change,” said arctic policy expert Brooks Yeager
of the non-profit organization Clean Air-Cool Planet, which
is sponsoring the tour. “Basically, the estimates of likely
sea level rise have gone from knee-high to chest-high in the
last five years, as the melting is outstripping even the
previous worst-case scenario.” Each symposium will also
feature a discussion of available policy solutions. “The bot-
tom line is, if we want to keep the sea water where it is, we
have to act quickly,” Yeager said. “The good news is, we have
what we need. We just need to do it.” More information is
available at http://www.hipboottour.info.

Study ID’s fish vision evolutionary switch

ATLANTA - U.S. researchers say they have discovered the
first fish known to have switched from ultraviolet vision
to violet vision, or the ability to see blue light. The
Emory University scientists say their discovery also marks
the first example of an animal deleting a molecule to change
its visual spectrum. Their finding concerning scabbardfish
links molecular evolution to functional changes and possible
environmental factors. “This multidimensional approach
strengthens the case for the importance of adaptive evolu-
tion,” Professor of genetics Shozo Yokoyama, who led the
study, said. “Building on this framework will take studies
of natural selection to the next level.” The research team
that included post-doctoral students Takashi Tada and Ahmet
Altun reported their achievement in the Oct. 13 issue of
the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Study looks at formation of pigment cells

STOCKHOLM, Sweden - Swedish scientists say they have discov-
ered skin pigment cells can be formed from completely differ-
ent cells than previously thought. The Karolinska Institute
scientists say their finding also represents the discovery
of a new kind of stem cell. The body’s pigment gives essen-
tial protection against UV radiation, the scientists said,
noting it consists of a substance called melanin, which is
produced by pigment cells in the skin called melanocytes.
According to the established theory of body pigmentation,
melanocytes bud off from the spinal cord at an early fetal
stage and then migrate to the skin where they remain for the
rest of their lives. In the new study, the findings suggest
most melanocytes actually appear later in fetal development
from an immature cell type that exists in the skin’s nerve
fibers. The cells, called Schwann cell precursors, can also
be found in adults. The researchers said their findings can
provide new knowledge of how changes in skin pigmentation
occur. They describe how a change in cell signaling can make
the Schwann precursor cells develop into pigment cells in-
stead, and argue the Schwann cells are really a kind of stem
cell. “This can help science to understand the development of
diseases such as melanoma,” Professor Patrik Ernfors, who led
the study, said. “We’ve always believed that it develops from
melanocytes, but maybe it actually originates in the (Schwann)
cells.” The findings appear in the journal Cell.