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Last year was the hottest on record, or the second hottest, depending on the records climatologists look at. The planet has warmed .8 degrees C over the past 150 years, and scientists are generally agreed that greenhouse gases have played a major part in that warming. They also agree that the warming will continue in the decades to come. Many experts are concerned that warming may make two unpleasant things more common: extinctions and diseases. In tomorrow's issue of Nature (link to come here), a team of scientists report on a case that ties these two dangers together: frogs have...

A new weapon in the battle against HIV may come from an unusual source –- tropical frogs. Investigators at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have discovered that compounds secreted by frog skin are potent blockers of HIV infection. The findings, reported this month in the Journal of Virology, could lead to topical treatments for preventing HIV transmission and reinforce the value of preserving the Earth’s biodiversity. "We need to protect these species long enough for us to understand their medicinal cabinet," says Louise A. Rollins-Smith, associate professor of microbiology & immunology, who has been studying the antimicrobial defenses of frogs for...

Environmentalists proposed a $404 million global action plan yesterday at a conference in Washington D. C. to protect and preserve amphibian species. The conference came in response to a study last year that revealed one-third of all amphibian species face a high risk of extinction. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and Conservation International joined other wildlife groups to plan further research studies and long term initiatives to protect amphibian habitats. Next is the task of securing funds for the projects from private institutions and individual donors. "The frogs are trying to tell us something," said Andrew...

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plans to reintroduce several hundred more Wyoming toad tadpoles in Albany County. The Wyoming toad is the only toad in the Laramie Basin and the basin is the toad's only home. The toad was listed as endangered in 1984 and thought to have gone extinct in 1987, although toads were later found at Mortenson Lake southwest of Laramie. Thousands of toads have since been bred in captivity and released, with mixed results. The latest release is planned on private land near Centennial and the Mortenson Lake National Wildlife Refuge. It's part...

Toads married in Hindu ceremony to appease rain gods KHOCHAKANDAR, India (Reuters) -- Two giant toads were married in a traditional Hindu ceremony in eastern India at the weekend by villagers hoping to appease the rain gods and end a dry spell. Some 400 people cheered and blew conches as women put streaks of vermilion on the female toad's head while a band played music and priests solemnized the marriage to the chanting of Hindu hymns.The toads were picked up from separate ponds, dressed in bright red clothes and brought to the marriage venue in a decorated palanquin in Khochakandar...

BERLIN — More than 1,000 toads have puffed up and exploded in a Hamburg pond in recent weeks, and German scientists still have no explanation for what's causing the combustion, an official said Wednesday. Both the pond's water and body parts of the toads have been tested, but scientists have been unable to find a bacteria or virus that would cause the toads to swell up and pop, said Janne Kloepper, of the Hamburg-based Institute for Hygiene and the Environment. "It's absolutely strange," she said. "We have a really unique story here in Hamburg. This phenomenon really doesn't seem to...

Ozone at concentrations found in urban air pollution is known to have significant physiological effects on humans and other mammals. Exposure of the lizard, Sceloporus occidentalis, to 0.6 ppm ozone for 4 h at 25°C induced 1.6°C of behavioral hypothermia immediately following exposure, but selected body temperature recovered to control 35.3°C the next day. Lizards exposed at 35°C to 0.6 ppm ozone for 4 h selected body temperatures 1.9°C below controls after exposure, and the behavioral hypothermic response persisted and increased to 3.3°C the following day. Four-hour exposures of the frog, Pseudacris cadaverina, to 0.2 to 0.8 ppm ozone resulted...

Amphibians face a bleak future Worldwide survey reveals a third of all species are in danger.The world's frogs, newts and toads are dying. They are being over-harvested for food, their homes are being destroyed, and most worryingly, entire species are disappearing for no apparent reason. That is the conclusion of more than 500 herpetologists around the world, reported in Science today. Although it has been known for some time that many amphibian species are in trouble, this is the first global assessment of the group's status. Similar surveys of mammals and birds have been completed, and they were not short...

Out of curiousity I am taking a survey. I am hoping to get a large sample to compare. Yes, I am even doing this without a government grant. Two questions : (1) What is your political affiliation? (2) What is your favorite pet? Cats, dogs, or something else (please be specific).