PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Protected area expansion target: Is a huge promise lost due to land conversion?

2014-11-18
(Press-News.org) By expanding the protected area network to 17 percent of land one could triple the present protection levels of terrestrial vertebrates. Globally coordinated protected area network expansion could deliver a result 50 percent more efficient compared to countries looking only at biodiversity within their own area. Land conversion is however fast degrading options for conservation. Protected areas are one of the main tools for halting the ongoing global biodiversity crisis. According to the Aichi Target 11 adopted by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the global protected area network should be expanded from the present approximately 11% to at least 17% of terrestrial areas by 2020. "Our results show that there is a very high potential to significantly increase species protection levels by expanding the protected area network. With 17% of land one could triple the present protection levels, measured by the average fraction of the remaining range of a species protected. This would mean going up to more than 60% coverage compared to about 19% now. This of course requires the expansion to be planned carefully and implemented in practice," says assistant professor Tuuli Toivonen from the Conservation Biology Informatics Group at the University of Helsinki. "Unfortunately, our analysis also shows that the opportunity may be lost due to land-use change. If land use projections become real, over 1,000 threatened species could in the near future lose more than 50 per cent of their present effective ranges worldwide," continues Dr. Federico Montesino Pouzols from the same research group. The results show that there is strong evidence on the need of international collaboration in conservation. "In fact, globally coordinated protected area network expansion will deliver a result that is approximately 50% more efficient compared to countries acting on their own looking only at biodiversity within their own area," says Federico Montesino Pouzols. The results are based on extensive conservation prioritization that combines global distribution data for 24,757 terrestrial vertebrates and 827 terrestrial ecoregions with advanced land-use models for the present and 2040. "The analysis approach can serve as a model for repeatable and quantitative assessment of conservation efficiency, gaps and expansion of the global PA network. As data quality improves, it will be increasingly possible to plan conservation action efficiently simultaneously at the global and local levels" concludes Professor Atte Moilanen, leader of the Conservation Biology Informatics Group.

INFORMATION:



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Family planning programs involving men, empower women

Family planning programs involving men, empower women
2014-11-18
WASHINGTON - In a society where women often lead very restricted lives and men are the primary household decision makers, new research suggests women are empowered when men are included in family planning programs. A study, from the Institute for Reproductive Health at Georgetown University Medical Center, suggests that addressing the dynamics between husbands and wives can result in women making more financial decisions and having more control over their social interactions, while at the same time meeting their family planning needs. "Our study is one of the first to ...

Avoiding skin graft rejection: It's possible!

2014-11-18
A research team bringing together José Cohen and Philippe Grimbert (Inserm Unit 955/Université Paris Est Créteil [UPEC] and the Centre for Clinical Investigation - Biotherapies 504 [CIC-BT 504]), and their collaborators at Institut Curie and AP-HP (George Pompidou European Hospital) has succeeded in finding a combination of drugs that reduces the risk of rejection following a skin graft. When tested in mice, this treatment seems effective, since no sign of rejection is observed nearly 30 days after transplantation. These results are published in the American ...

New measurement of HDL cholesterol function provides information about cardiovascular risk

New measurement of HDL cholesterol function provides information about cardiovascular risk
2014-11-18
DALLAS - November 18, 2014 - Groundbreaking research from UT Southwestern Medical Center shows that cholesterol efflux capacity (cholesterol efflux), which measures HDL cholesterol function, appears to be a superior indicator of cardiovascular risk and a better target for therapeutic treatments than standard measurements of HDL. Current measurement methods reflect only the circulating levels of HDL and not the functional properties of this lipoprotein. The latest findings appear online today in The New England Journal of Medicine. HDL's key function is the removal of ...

Soy spells fewer hot flashes for certain women

2014-11-18
CLEVELAND, Ohio (November 17, 2014)--Does soy in the diet help with hot flashes? It does, but only for women whose bodies can produce the soy metabolite equol, reports a study of American women just published online in Menopause, the journal of The North American Menopause Society. About 20% to 50% of North American and European women have this ability. The researchers surveyed women from age 45 to 55 in a Seattle, Washington-area healthcare system to find study participants who weren't using hormone therapy and ate soy foods at least three times a week. The participants ...

Establishment of induced pluripotent stem cells from Werner syndrome fibroblasts

2014-11-18
Hiroshima, Japan--- Associate Professor Akira Shimamoto and Professor Hidetoshi Tahara at the Graduate School of Biomedical & Health Science in Hiroshima University, Professor Koutaro Yokote at the Graduate School of Medicine in Chiba University, Visiting Professor Makoto Goto at the Medical Center East in Tokyo Women's Medical University, and collaborators including the staff at the Cancer Chemotherapy Center in the Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research, Tottori University, and Keio University established induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells from the fibroblasts of Werner ...

Finding new ways to make drugs

Finding new ways to make drugs
2014-11-18
Chemists have developed a revolutionary new way to manufacture natural chemicals and used it to assemble a scarce anti-inflammatory drug with potential to treat cancer and malaria. The breakthrough could lead to new and cheaper ways to produce rare drugs in large quantities. "We took small molecules and clipped them together like Lego," said lead researcher Professor Michael Sherburn, from the Research School of Chemistry at The Australian National University (ANU). "The building blocks are carefully designed in such a way that the first reaction generates a product ...

History's lesson reveals depth of fish catch decline

Historys lesson reveals depth of fish catch decline
2014-11-18
Scientists in Australia have used historic media to measure the decline in Queensland's pink snapper fishery, highlighting a drop of almost 90 per cent in catch rates since the 19th Century. Researchers from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies (Coral CoE) at the University of Queensland and the Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry examined thousands of newspaper articles dating back to1870 to reveal the historic catch rates for the iconic Queensland fishery. "We found that 19th century recreational fishers would regularly catch hundreds of ...

Breakthrough offers promise for spinal cord injury patients to breathe on their own again

2014-11-18
Case Western Reserve researchers have developed a procedure that restores function to muscles involved in the control of breathing - even when they have been paralyzed for more than a year. The breakthrough offers hope that one day patients with severe spinal cord injuries will be able to breathe again without the assistance of a ventilator. Principal investigator Philippa M. Warren, PhD, presented the results Nov. 17 at Neuroscience 2014, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience. The research represents a critical step forward in efforts to reverse even long-term ...

Ferroptosis, a novel form of non-apoptotic cell death, holds great therapeutic potential

2014-11-18
Ferroptosis is a recently recognized form of regulated necrosis. Up until now, this form of cell death has only been thought to be a possible therapeutic approach to treat tumour cells. Yet, ferroptosis also occurs in non-transformed tissues as demonstrated by this study, thus implicating this cell death pathway in the development of a wide range of pathological conditions. More specifically, the deletion of the ferroptosis-regulating enzyme Gpx4* in a pre-clinical model results in high ferroptosis rates in kidney tubular epithelial cells causing acute renal failure. Specific ...

Risk analysis for a complex world

2014-11-18
The increasing complexity and interconnection of socioeconomic and environmental systems leaves them more vulnerable to seemingly small risks that can spiral out of control, according to the new study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The study examines risks are perceived as extremely unlikely or small, but because of interconnections or changes in systems, can lead to major collapses or crises. These risks, which the researchers term "femtorisks," can include individuals such as terrorists, dissidents, or rogue traders, or factors ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Korea University study identifies age 70 as cutoff for chemotherapy benefit in colorectal cancer

Study explores brain cell communication called ‘crosstalk’

4 beer and wine discoveries

Massage Therapy Foundation awards $299,465 research grant to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

Chung-Ang University develops chloride-resistant Ru nanocatalysts for sustainable hydrogen production from seawater

Afghanistan’s August 2025 earthquake reveals the cost of international isolation, UN scientists warn

Shortlist announced for Panmure House Prize

Small nuclear RNA base editing a safer alternative to CRISPR, UC San Diego researchers find

Can Hayabusa2 touchdown? New study reveals space mission’s target asteroid is tinier and faster than thought

Millisecond windows of time may be key to how we hear, study finds

Graz University of Technology opens up new avenues in lung cancer research with digital cell twin

Exoplanets are not water worlds

Study shows increasing ‘healthy competition’ between menu options nudges patients towards greener, lower-fat hospital food choices

New insights into melanoma plasticity uncover a critical role of iron metabolism

A graphene sandwich — deposited or transferred?

New light-powered motor fits inside a strand of hair

Oil rig study reveals vital role of tiny hoverflies

Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia researchers boost widespread use of dental varnish across pediatric network

iRECODE: A new computational method that brings clarity to single-cell analysis

New NUS-MOH study: Singapore’s healthcare sector carbon emissions 18% lower than expected, a milestone in the city-state’s net zero journey

QUT scientists create material to turn waste heat into clean power

Major new report sets out how to tackle the ‘profound and lasting impact’ of COVID-19 on cardiovascular health

Cosmic crime scene: White dwarf found devouring Pluto-like icy world

Major report tackles Covid’s cardiovascular crisis head-on

A third of licensed GPs in England not working in NHS general practice

ChatGPT “thought on the fly” when put through Ancient Greek maths puzzle

Engineers uncover why tiny particles form clusters in turbulent air

GLP-1RA drugs dramatically reduce death and cardiovascular risk in psoriasis patients

Psoriasis linked to increased risk of vision-threatening eye disease, study finds

Reprogramming obesity: New drug from Italian biotech aims to treat the underlying causes of obesity

[Press-News.org] Protected area expansion target: Is a huge promise lost due to land conversion?