Cashew nut fossils have been identified in 47-million year old lake sediment in Germany, revealing that the cashew genus Anacardium was once distributed in Europe, remote from its modern “native” distribution in Central and South America.

It was previously proposed that Anacardium and its African sister genus, Fegimanra, diverged from their common ancestor when the landmasses of Africa and South America separated. However, groundbreaking new data in the October issue of the International Journal of Plant Sciences indicate that Europe may be an important biogeographic link between Africa and the New World.

A new paper estimates that fires in the continental United States and Alaska release about 44 metric tons of mercury into the atmosphere every year. It is the first study to estimate mercury emissions for each state, based on a new computer model developed at NCAR.

The authors caution that their estimates for the nation and for each state are preliminary and are subject to a 50 percent or greater margin of error.

Forest fires and other blazes in the United States likely release about 30 percent as much mercury as the nation's industrial sources, according to initial estimates in a new study by scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR).

Researchers from Kent State University and the University of Bucharest, Romania, have discovered a new primitive crab species Cycloprosopon dobrogea in eastern Romania. Previously unexamined, these ancient crabs from the Prosopidae family existed more than 150 million years ago during the Jurassic period.

“Studying primitive and extant crabs helps determine various aspects of biodiversity and patterns of evolution, such as when arthropods diversified,” says Dr. Carrie Schweitzer, associate professor of geology at Kent State University.

Have you ever wondered why you inherited your mother’s smile but not your father’s height? Researchers at the Universities of Leeds and Dundee are one step closer to unravelling how nature combines both maternal and paternal DNA to create genetically unique offspring.

In a world first, Leeds researchers Professor Simon Phillips, Dr Stephen Carr and Dr Jonathan Hadden, together with Professor David Lilley at Dundee, have mapped the 3 dimensional structure of an enzyme responsible for splitting DNA strands – a process at the heart of human individuality.

The discovery of the T7 endonuclease 1 enzyme’s structure was made by using x-ray crystallography techniques.

A hot topic during the 2008 elections will be proposals for national health care.

Australia’s coral reefs, particularly the Great Barrier Reef, are national icons, of great economic, social, and aesthetic value. Tourism on the Great Barrier Reef alone contributes approximately $5 billion annually to the Australia’s economy. Income from recreational and commercial fishing on tropical reefs contributes a further $400 million annually. Consequently, science-based management of coral reefs is a national priority.

Globally, the welfare of 500 million people is closely linked to the goods and services provided by coral reef biodiversity.

The world’s oceans are becoming more acid, with potentially devastating consequences for corals and the marine organisms that build reefs and provide much of the Earth’s breathable oxygen.