World News Roundup

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2015

18INTERNATIONAL

Palaeontology

Discovery

Hot or not?

Dinos not truly‘cold-blooded’PARIS, Oct 14, (AFP): A newmethod to chemically analysedinosaur egg shells has allowed sci-entists to gauge the extinct lizards’

body tempera-ture, researcherssaid on Tuesday.

The findingssupport recentwork by otherteams thatdinosaurs wereneither warm-nor cold-blood-ed, but some-where in

between, researchers wrote in thejournal Nature Communications.

But it also indicated that bodytemperature differed betweendinosaur species.

“The temperatures we measuredsuggest that at least somedinosaurs were not fullyendotherms (warm-blooded) likemodern birds,” said the study’slead author Robert Eagle of theUniversity of California LosAngeles (UCLA).

“They may have been intermedi-ate — somewhere between modernalligators and crocodiles and mod-ern birds.”

This meant they could produceheat internally and raise their bodytemperature, but not maintain it at aconsistently high level.

Warm-blooded animals, orendotherms, typically maintain aconstant body temperature whilecold-blooded ones, calledectotherms, rely on external heatsources to warm up — like lizardslazing in the Sun.

Scientists have been debating for150 years whether dinosaurs werewarm-blooded hunters, like mam-mals, or cold-blooded and sluggishlike many reptiles.

Capacity“If dinosaurs were at least

endothermic (warm-blooded) to adegree, they had more capacity torun around searching for foodthan an alligator would,” Eaglesaid.

Warm-blooded animals typicallyneed to eat a great deal to staywarm, forcing them into frequenthunts or to eat large quantities ofplants.

The team said it used a pioneer-ing procedure to measure the inter-nal temperature of dinosaur moth-ers which lived some 71-80 millionyears ago.

They examined the chemicalmakeup of the shells of 19 fos-silised eggs from two types ofdinosaur, unearthed in Argentinaand Mongolia’s Gobi desert.

One was a large, long-neckedtitanosaur sauropod, a member ofthe largest animal group to ever towalk the Earth, and the other asmaller oviraptorid — closely relat-ed to Tyrannosaurus rex and mod-ern birds.

The team analysed the behaviourof two rare isotopes in calcium car-bonate, a key ingredient in eggshells. The isotopes — carbon-13and oxygen-18 — tend to clustertogether more closely at coldertemperatures.

“This technique tells you aboutthe internal body temperature of thefemale dinosaur when she was ovu-lating,” said Eagle’s colleague,Aradhna Tripati.

The titanosaur mother’s tempera-ture had been about 38 degreesCelsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit),the team found. A healthy humantemperature is 37C.

The smaller dinosaur was sub-stantially cooler, probably below32C — but was probably able raiseits temperature above that of itsenvironment, said the team.Fossilised soil from around the nestarea in Mongolia had been about26C.

“The oviraptorid dinosaur bodytemperatures were higher than theenvironmental temperatures —suggesting they were not truly cold-blooded but intermediate,” saidTripati.

Also:LOS ANGELES: Kino Lorber hasacquired all US rights to SuRynard’s songbird documentary“The Messenger” and will beginreleasing the film in December.

“The Messenger” chronicles thestruggle of songbirds worldwide tosurvive in turbulent environmentalconditions brought about byhumans as populations of hundredsof species have declined. The filmcontends that their demise will sig-nify the crash of the global ecosys-tem along with the disappearanceof honey bees and the melting ofthe glaciers.

The film will open in New Yorkat Cinema Village on Dec 4 and inLos Angeles at Laemmle Monicaon Dec 11, followed by a release inover 30 markets nationwide and asubsequent DVD and digital releasenext year.

Producers are SongbirdSOSProductions Inc. and Films aCinq/ARTE. “The Messenger” wonthe prize for Best ConservationProgram at the Jackson HoleWildlife Film Festival.

In this ESA/Hubble & NASA handout released Oct 12, 2015 NGC 4639 is shown, a beautiful exam-ple of a type of galaxy known as a barred spiral. It lies over 70 million light-years away in the con-stellation of Virgo and is one of about 1,500 galaxies that make up the Virgo Cluster. In this image,taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, one can clearly see the bar running through thebright, round core of the galaxy. Bars are found in around two thirds of spiral galaxies, and arethought to be a natural phase in their evolution. The galaxy’s spiral arms are sprinkled with bright

regions of active star formation. Each of these tiny jewels is actually several hundred light-yearsacross and contains hundreds or thousands of newly formed stars. But NGC 4639 also concealsa dark secret in its core - a massive black hole that is consuming the surrounding gas. This isknown as an active galactic nucleus (AGN), and is revealed by characteristic features in the spec-trum of light from the galaxy and by X-rays produced close to the black hole as the hot gas plungestowards it. Most galaxies are thought to contain a black hole at the centre. (AFP)

This self-portrait of NASA’s CuriosityMars rover shows the vehicle at the‘Big Sky’ site, where its drill collectedthe mission’s fifth taste of MountSharp. This image released Oct 13,shows a scene that combinesdozens of images taken on Oct 6 bythe Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI)camera at the end of the rover’srobotic arm. The rock drilled at thissite is sandstone in the Stimson geo-logical unit inside Gale Crater. (AFP)

Jewell Heck

Research urged on: A coalition ofscholars across the West is urging the fed-eral government to partner with theNational Academy of Sciences to studythe future of the Colorado River, includ-ing if climate change is leading to reducedstream flow.

Twenty-three scholars from Western uni-versities sent a letter Tuesday to InteriorSecretary Sally Jewell detailing theirrequest for more scientific research on ahost of issues related to the Colorado River.

Chief among the concerns is if therewill be enough water in the river to sup-port 36 million users in seven US statesand parts of Mexico over the next 50years.

The scholars argue the federal govern-ment is relying on a projection of a 9-per-cent stream flow decline by 2060, whileskimming over other estimates that sug-gest it could fall by as much as 45 percentby 2050 due to climate change.

Secretary Jewell was expected toreceive the letter early Wednesday. TheBureau of Reclamation this summerissued the results of a nearly three-yearstudy that concluded that there will be sig-nificant shortfalls between water supplyand demand on the Colorado River overthe next 50 years. (AP)

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GM crop compromise rejected: EUlawmakers rejected Tuesday a hard-won

Climate

compromise which allows member statesto decide for themselves whether or not toimport Genetically Modified Organisms foruse in food and animal feed.

The European Parliament’s environ-mental committee voted 47 to 3 to rejectthe European Commission’s proposal butdid so on technical grounds, not the health

and safety concerns which for years pre-vented the 28-nation bloc reaching a com-mon position on GMOs.

“Members are concerned that the pro-

A boy stands on the carcass of a dead whale shark, caught by fishermen inthe sea off Surabaya, on the East Java island. Fishermen originally planned tocut the giant fish measuring seven meters and weighing two tons and sell itsmeat but authorities from local fishery agencies arrived and negotiated with

villagers to bury the whaleshark. (AFP)

Eagle

Repaired ‘SpaceX’ tofly by early DecemberJERUSALEM, Oct 14, (RTRS):Space Exploration Technologies,or SpaceX, expects to return arepaired and upgraded Falcon 9rocket to flight around the start ofDecember, a company vice presi-dent said, less than six monthsafter one exploded shortly afterliftoff.

The 208-foot-tall (63-meter)rocket carrying a load of cargo forthe International Space Stationexploded less than three minutesafter liftoff from Florida on June28.

The cause of the accident wastraced to faulty bracket inside therocket’s upper-stage engine. Whenthe steel bracket broke, a bottle ofhigh-pressure helium was released,causing the engine to over-pres-surise and explode.

posal might prove unworkable and lead tothe reintroduction of border controlsbetween pro- and anti-GMO countries,” aparliament statement said. (AFP)

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Heck is buried in Manila: AmericanNobel laureate for chemistry RichardHeck, who designed a method of buildingcomplex molecules that has helped fightcancer, protect crops and make electronicdevices, was buried Tuesday in a metro-politan Manila cemetery beside the tombof his Filipino wife. He was 84.

The professor emeritus at theUniversity of Delaware died Saturday dueto multiple organ failure after bouts withpneumonia, diabetes and liver cirrhosis,said Michael Nardo, his nephew-in-lawwho had taken care of Heck and his wifeover the last decade.

Heck, whose interest in plants as achild led him to a career in chemistry,shared the Nobel prize for chemistry in2010 with two Japanese scientists.

He retired to the Philippines with hiswife Socorro Nardo-Heck, who died in2012. The couple had no children.

Family members and fellow scientistspaid tribute to Heck’s humility and sim-plicity despite his achievements. Wreathsand prayer cards from various scientificgroups adorned a chapel where he wasinterred. (AP)

Spring to come to US 3 weeks early

Emissions cuts not enough: CaneteRABAT, Morocco, Oct 14, (Agencies):Europe’s climate chief has acknowl-edged for the first time that climatepledges made by national governmentsahead of a major UN conference fallshort of meeting the international goal ofkeeping global warming below 2 degreesCelsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit).

In an interview Monday with TheAssociated Press, Climate CommissionerMiguel Arias Canete said the EU’s pro-jections show the current pledges to curbgreenhouse gas emissions would putworld on a path toward 3 degrees Celsius(5.4 degrees Fahrenheit) of warming.

That’s a level that scientists say couldresult in dangerous changes in the Earth’sclimate system, such as rising seas flood-ing coastal areas and small island nations.

Canete said the fact that almost 150countries have made pledges ahead ofa December climate conference inParis is “an extraordinary result” —but not enough.

“In some G20 countries, there ismargin of maneuver to increase thelevel of ambition,” he said, referring tothe Group of 20 major economies.

Canete didn’t rule out improving theEuropean Union’s own target of reducingemissions by at least 40 percent by 2030compared to 1990 levels, even though hecalled it the “most ambitious” of all.

Target“At the moment, we come along

with this target to the talks,” he said,speaking on the sidelines of a climateconference in Rabat. “Let’s see what is

in the final version.”Canete noted the target of the EU —

the world’s third biggest greenhousegas polluter — didn’t include interna-tional credits for funding to reduceemissions in developing countries“which opens the possibility of raisingthe level of ambition.”

The deal envisioned in Paris wouldbe the first where all countries, both richand poor, commit to take action to fightglobal warming, which scientists say ischiefly caused by burning fossil fuels.

To make sure that temperaturesdon’t rise more than 2 degrees Celsiuscompared to pre-industrial times —they are already almost halfway there— the Paris deal should include amechanism to review emissions tar-gets every five years, Canete said.

The EU position wants the firstreview in 2025 but Canete indicatedan earlier date was not out of the ques-tion. “The date is not so important,” headded. “The important thing is to havea permanent mechanism of raisingambition periodically.”

Climate policy expert JenniferMorgan of the World Resources Institute,a Washington-based environmental thinktank, said the date of the first review afterParis is quite significant.

“Science tells us we cannot wait 10years, especially noting how muchmore there is to be done,” Morgan said.

BatteringMarshall Islands Foreign Minister

Tony de Brum, who was unable to

travel to Rabat because of a storm bat-tering the Pacific nation, said lockingin the current emissions targets wouldspell disaster.

“Without much more urgent andambitious action, my country simplywon’t survive,” he said in a statement.

All major economies have present-ed emissions pledges for after 2020 aspart of negotiations for the Paris dealbut they all look different. Developedcountries including the US and the EUhave pledged absolute reductions inemissions, while China has vowed topeak its emissions by 2030 and Indiahas pledged to reduce its emissions perunit of gross domestic product.

Saudi Arabia and other oil and gas-producing countries in the Middle Eastare among those that haven’t proposedany targets yet.

“I had talks with Saudi Arabia lastweek in Istanbul and they told me theywill be coming along with their (tar-get) in due course,” Canete said. “I’mconfident that (it) will arrive beforeParis.”

Meanwhile, French owned energyfirm EDF on Tuesday urged the adop-tion of a carbon price floor in the run-up to a climate warming conference inParis, backing a government proposalto that effect for the sector in France.

“Most firms today have carbon pricescenarios for their investments, and sohave we,” said Claude Nahon, EDF’sdirector of sustainable development.

“But we must go further,” Nahontold a news conference.

“Of course we support a proposalby (Energy Minister Segolene) Royalto create a carbon floor in France, oreven Europe.”

France is out to reduce its depend-ability on nuclear power in favour ofrenewables and last week Royal floatedthe idea, as part of an upcoming parlia-mentary bill, of a carbon floor price tooffset imperfections in a European mar-ket vying to slash carbon emissions andpush firms to adopt cleaner technology.

In July, legislators passed a bill toincrease the target price of carbon to 56euros ($63.7) a ton from 2020, then 100euros a ton in 2030. The current 14.50euros is due to rise next year to 22 euros.

Also:MIAMI: Rising global temperaturesdue to climate change will bringspring to the United States aboutthree weeks earlier than usual in thedecades to come, scientists saidWednesday.

While those who are weary of win-ter may welcome such news, scientistssay the shift will also have long-reach-ing impacts on the growing season ofplants and the animals that dependupon them.

“Our projections show that winterwill be shorter — which sound greatsgreat for those of us in Wisconsin,”said Andrew Allstadt of theUniversity of Wisconsin, Madison, aco-author of the study in the Oct 14edition of the journal EnvironmentalResearch Letters.