Although scientists have speculated over the negative effects of environmental toxins for years, new data suggest that certain environmental toxins may disrupt the normal growth and hormonal development of girls.

Some of these toxins, such as the mycoestrogen zearalenone (ZEA) produced by the Fusarium fungus species, can be found naturally in the environment, have properties similar to the female reproductive hormone estrogen, and are also structurally similar to anabolic growth agents used in animal breeding.

A new study scheduled for publication in The Journal of Pediatrics suggests that certain mycoestrogens may be directly linked to the early onset of sexual development in young girls.

Using the genetic equivalent of an ancient thermometer, a team of scientists has determined that the Earth endured a massive cooling period between 500 million and 3.5 billion years ago.

Reporting today (Feb. 7) in the journal Nature, researchers from the University of Florida, the Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution and the biotechnology company DNA2.0 describe how they reconstructed proteins from ancient bacteria to measure the Earth’s temperature over the ages.

Scientists at the University of Liverpool have found that natural variability in the earth’s atmosphere could be masking the overall effect of global warming in the North Atlantic Ocean.

Scientists have said that surface temperatures around the globe have risen over the last 30 years in accord with global warming. New data, however, shows that heat stored in the North Atlantic Ocean has a more complex pattern than initially expected, suggesting that natural changes in the atmosphere also play a role.

A coalition of researchers at the University of Liverpool and Duke University analyzed 50 years of North Atlantic temperature records and used computer models to assess how the warming and cooling pattern was controlled. They found that the tropics and mid-latitudes have warmed, while the sub-polar regions have cooled.

Hybrid electric vehicles, using both conventional gasoline and stored electricity, are at best a stop-gap and, at worst, slow development of more sustainable fuel-cell powered electric vehicles, say researchers in France.

Jean-Jacques Chanaron Research Director within the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) and Chief Scientific Advisor at the Grenoble School of Management and Julius Teske at Grenoble, question strongly whether the current acceptance of hybrid vehicle technology particularly in the USA is in any way environmentally sustainable.

The researchers have analyzed the spread of this technology including the non-financial drivers for its adoption. They point out that most manufacturers are rapidly integrating hybrid electric vehicles into their technology portfolio, despite the absence of significant profitability.

How you are feeling has an impact on your routine economic transactions, whether you’re aware of this effect or not.

In a new study that links contemporary science with the classic philosophy of William James, a research team finds that people feeling sad and self-focused spend more money to acquire the same commodities than those in a neutral emotional state. The team’s paper, “Misery is not Miserly: Sad and Self-Focused Individuals Spend More,” will be published in the June 2008 edition of Psychological Science and will be presented at the Society for Social and Personality Psychology’s Annual Meeting on Feb. 9.

In most of western civilization, smoking rates have dropped. But in Spanish society cigarette use among women has gone up in the last 50 years.

A study carried out at the Department of Anthropology at the University of Granada has examined, both at a quantitative and a qualitative level, the reasons for the increase - and it's about men, they say.

According to the study, cigarettes have become very important for women in order to;

• face up to stress and anxiety
• control appetite and body weight
• facilitate interaction in social relations
• assert independence

In that sense, they are used as a tool to get closer to men and to get in touch with them in sexual and amorous interactions.