Briefs

A really long hibernation

Researchers have sequenced the DNA of two extinct cave bears and say their method is accurate enough to try using it on extinct humans such as Neanderthals, according to a report published last week. The cave bears are the first extinct animals to have their genes sequenced, and the findings can be used to determine the precise relationship between the 40,000-year-old bears and living species.

The buzz on bumblebees

Rare bumblebees in Britain could be facing extinction because in-breeding is changing industrious females into lazy males who do not work. Scientists at the University of Southampton discovered that isolated species on nature reserves up and down the country are breeding with relatives because they are trapped within areas of farmed land.

Iraq's environment also suffering

Iraq's environmental problems -- among the world's worst -- range from a looted nuclear site which needs cleaning up to sabotaged oil pipelines, a UN official said last week. "An improvement is almost impossible in these security conditions. Chemicals are seeping into groundwater and the situation is becoming worse and creating additional health problems," said Pekka Haavisto, Iraq task force chairman at the United Nations Environmental Programme.

Genes to the rescue

Researchers have used a novel gene transfer technique to remedy a genetic defect, phenylketonuria (PKU), in mice. The process targets a corrective gene to a specific neutral site on the chromosomes of liver cells, so that inserting the gene doesn't cause any genetic damage. PKU is an inherited metabolic disorder that predisposes affected children to severe and irreversible mental retardation. PKU is caused by a deficiency of the liver enzyme PAH, which converts phenylalanine to tyrosine.

Europe puts its house in order

The European Union's emissions trading system could get a makeover in the future as officials prepare for a planned review, with potential changes ranging from new gases to a new system of allocating pollution rights. But policy makers at the EU's executive Commission have expressed caution about making too many alterations to the still young scheme, which is the key part of the 25-nation bloc's efforts to meet its commitments under the Kyoto Protocol.

Man versus nature revealed

The devastating impact of mankind on the planet is dramatically illustrated in pictures published on Saturday showing explosive urban sprawl, major deforestation and the sucking dry of inland seas over less than three decades. Mexico City mushrooms from a modest urban center in 1973 to a massive blot on the landscape in 2000, while Beijing shows a similar surge between 1978 and 2000 in satellite pictures published by the UN in a new environmental atlas.

Longline ban sought

Costa Rica and more than 1,000 scientists from around the world were to ask the UN yesterday to ban a form of industrial fishing they say menaces an endangered sea turtle and other marine creatures. The technique, known as longline fishing, is used by large fishing vessels in the Pacific Ocean that trail lines studded with hooks that can stretch out as long as 70km behind them.