Monitoring the saltiness of the ocean water could provide an early indicator of climate change. Significant increases or decreases in salt in key areas could forewarn of climate change in 10 to 20 years time. Presenting their findings at a recent European Science Foundation (ESF) conference, scientists predicted that the waters of the southern hemisphere oceans around South Africa and New Zealand are the places to watch.

Despite overwhelming military superiority, the world’s most powerful nations failed to achieve their objectives in 39 percent of their military operations since World War II, according to a new University of Georgia study.

The study, by assistant professor Patricia L. Sullivan in the UGA School of Public and International Affairs, explains the circumstances under which more powerful nations are likely to fail and creates a model that allows policymakers to calculate the probability of success in current and future conflicts.

The same genetic defect that causes a rare respiratory disease may also lead to some types of congenital heart disease, according to a new study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine.

The link between the two diseases starts with cilia, the tiny, hair-like extensions that help the lungs clear of mucus and remove contaminants such as dust. The researchers first noticed the connection in children with a respiratory disease that affects cilia, primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD). A genetic mutation that impairs cilia movement causes the disease. A few children treated for PCD at UNC-Chapel Hill also had heterotaxy - an abnormal position of the heart and lungs associated with congenital heart disease.

Slicing certain pills in half could slice a hefty amount off of America’s prescription drug costs. While only some types of pills can be split safely, the practice could be used by millions of Americans – including many of those who take popular cholesterol-lowering drugs.

The Biscuit Fire of 2002 burned more severely in areas that had been salvage logged and replanted, compared to similar areas that were also burned in a 1987 fire but had been left to regenerate naturally, a new Oregon State University Study concludes.

The analysis, one of the first to ever quantify the effect of salvage logging and replanting on future fire severity, is being published this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a professional journal.

It found that fire severity was 16 to 61 percent higher in logged and planted areas, compared to those that had burned severely and were left alone in a fire 15 years earlier.

The potential for gun shows to serve as places where criminals obtain firearms can be curbed through increased regulation without adversely affecting attendance or business, according to a new study.

The study, based on field observations made by Garen J. Wintemute, director of UC Davis’ Violence Prevention Research Program, also found that undocumented gun sales between private parties and illegal “straw purchases” in which a person with a clean record buys a weapon for someone with a criminal record were much more common at gun shows in states with little regulation.