Growth of northern Tibet proved the key to East Asian biodiversity
2021-01-27
(Press-News.org) Pioneering work led by a joint China-UK consortium has revealed the origin of one of the world's most important ecosystems, the East Asian biodiversity "hotspot," thus solving a longstanding riddle as to what prompted its formation and evolution.
In a recent study published in Science Advances, a joint research team led by scientists from Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the University of Bristol (UK) and the Open University (UK) has revealed the first direct mechanism explaining how the growth of mountains in Northern Tibet drastically altered climate, vegetation and plant diversity in East Asia.
The researchers used an innovative climate model that simulates vegetation and plant diversity, coupled with spectacular new fossil finds, to demonstrate Northern Tibet's importance in transforming what was previously near desert into lush forests.
"We approached this question by integrating modeling results and fossil data," said Dr. LI Shufeng from XTBG, lead author of the study.
The researchers conducted 18 sensitivity experiments using different Tibetan topographies representing various late Paleogene to early Neogene conditions, which tested almost all possible Tibetan orographic evolution scenarios.
They found that from the late Paleogene to the early Neogene (40-23 million years ago), the growth of the north and northeastern portion of Tibet was the most important factor in the development of biodiversity, because it increased rainfall, especially winter rainfall, over East Asia where previously dry winter conditions had existed. This allowed the development of a stable, wet and warm climate that was vital for a variety of unique plants and animal species to evolve in vast numbers, creating what we know today as a biodiversity hotspot. Today, it is one of the world's natural medicinal cabinets and a source of important new pharmaceutical drugs.
According to Prof. Paul J. Valdes of the University of Bristol, most previous studies attempting to identify the source of this hotspot focused on southern Tibet and the Himalaya. But Valdes said the rise of northern Tibet was the key.
"The topography of northern Tibet decreases the East Asian winter monsoon winds in the southern part of China, causing wetter winters in eastern Asia and this allows the expansion of vegetation and biodiversity," said Valdes.
So enigmatic was the change that even in Chinese folklore this area is known as the "land of fish and rice," due to its agricultural wealth, fertile soils, pleasant climate and variety of unique species.
"If there was no northern Tibetan growth, there would be no 'land of fish and rice' in eastern Asia," said Prof. ZHOU Zhekun from XTBG.
INFORMATION:
[Attachments] See images for this press release:
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
2021-01-27
(Embargoed for January 28, 2021 3 a.m. SPT; January 27th 2 pm EST, 2021) -- Note: this study is scheduled for publication in the Journal Science Translational Medicine)
A study presented today by Dr. Nobuyuki Takahashi of the Center for Cancer Research (CCR), National Cancer Institute (NCI), Bethesda, Md. at the IASLC World Conference on Lung Cancer Singapore demonstrates that small cell lung cancer (SCLC) may have an inherited predisposition and lays the foundation for understanding the interaction between genotype and tobacco exposure in exacerbating SCLC risk as well as potential therapeutic implications. Because tobacco is the dominant carcinogen, secondary causes of lung cancer are often diminished in perceived importance, especially in SCLC, the most lethal ...
2021-01-27
A study has revealed for the first time the ancient origins of one of the world's most important ecosystems by unlocking the mechanism which determined the evolution of its mountains and how they shaped the weather there as well as its flora and fauna.
It was previously thought Southern Tibet and the Himalaya were instrumental in turning the once barren land of eastern Asia into lush forests and abundant coastal regions which became home to a rich array of plant, animal and marine life, including some of the world's rarest species. But new findings, published today in the journal Science Advances, conversely show Northern Tibet played the more influential role in this transformation which began more than 50 million years ago.
Scientists from a UK-China partnership, ...
2021-01-27
By Elton Alisson | Agência FAPESP - Melatonin synthesized in the lungs acts as a barrier against SARS-CoV-2, preventing expression of genes that encode proteins in cells such as resident macrophages in the nose and pulmonary alveoli, and epithelial cells lining the alveoli, all of which are entry points for the virus. The hormone, therefore, prevents infection of these cells by the virus and inhibits the immune response so that the virus remains in the respiratory tract for a few days, eventually leaving to find another host.
The discovery by researchers at the University ...
2021-01-27
A study led by a University of Illinois Chicago researcher uses a new approach to measure precarious, or low-quality, employment in the United States. And, according to those findings, precarious employment has increased 9% between 1988 and 2016.
Precarious employment, or P.E., is defined as low-quality employment, which is often characterized by low wages, job insecurity and irregular hours, making employment risky and stressful for the worker.
In her study, "Changes in precarious employment in the United States: A longitudinal analysis," Vanessa Oddo, assistant professor in UIC's School of Applied Health Sciences, sought to create ...
2021-01-27
People who are pregnant, breastfeeding or trying to conceive should be offered the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccine based on ethical grounds, argue authors of a commentary in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).
They discuss how health care providers and patients can use a shared decision-making approach to weigh the risks and benefits to decide on the right action for the individual.
"Core principles of medical ethics hold that medical decisions or interventions should respect individuals' autonomy, be just, be beneficial (beneficence), and not cause harm (nonmaleficence)," writes Dr. Jonathan Zipursky, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and the University ...
2021-01-27
Benoît Lessard and his team are developing carbon-based technologies which could lead to improved flexible phone displays, make robotic skin more sensitive and allow for wearable electronics that could monitor the physical health of athletes in real-time.
With the help of the Canadian Light Source (CLS) at the University of Saskatchewan (USask), a team of Canadian and international scientists have evaluated how thin film structure correlates to organic thin-film transistors performance.
Organic electronics use carbon-based molecules to create more flexible and efficient devices. The display of our smart phones is based on organic-LED technology, which uses organic molecules to emit bright light and others to respond to touch.
Lessard, the corresponding author ...
2021-01-27
HOUSTON - (Jan. 27, 2021) - Just a little soap helps clean up the challenging process of preparing two-dimensional hexagonal boron nitride (hBN).
Rice University chemists have found a way to get the maximum amount of quality 2D hBN nanosheets from its natural bulk form by processing it with surfactant (aka soap) and water. The surfactant surrounds and stabilizes the microscopic flakes, preserving their properties.
Experiments by the lab of Rice chemist Angel Martí identified the "sweet spot" for making stable dispersions of hBN, which can be processed into very thin antibacterial films that handle temperatures up to 900 degrees Celsius (1,652 degrees Fahrenheit).
The work led by Martí, alumna Ashleigh Smith McWilliams and graduate student Cecilia Martínez-Jiménez ...
2021-01-27
For the last century, seismic building codes and practices have primarily focused on saving lives by reducing the likelihood of significant damage or structural collapse. Recovery of critical functions provided by buildings and infrastructure have received less attention, however. As a result, many remain vulnerable to being knocked out of service by an earthquake for months, years or for good.
A committee of experts, formed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) under the direction of Congress, has urged officials at all levels of government to support research and policies that could help get the buildings and services society depends on up and running quickly after an earthquake. In a report delivered to ...
2021-01-27
The rapid growth of e-cigarette use is a major public health problem in the United States - with significant attention on use among adolescents and young adults. Although manufacturers of e-cigarettes tout their products as safer alternatives to cigarette smoking, research has shown that e-cigarettes can be as hazardous as traditional tobacco products but appeal to those who were never cigarette smokers.
In the first study to assess national use of e-cigarettes among adults with disabilities, George Mason University's College of Health and Human Services researchers found that adults with disabilities were twice as likely to use e-cigarettes (8.4%) than adults without ...
2021-01-27
Despite all the advances in consumer technology over the past decades, one component has remained frustratingly stagnant: the optical lens. Unlike electronic devices, which have gotten smaller and more efficient over the years, the design and underlying physics of today's optical lenses haven't changed much in about 3,000 years.
This challenge has caused a bottleneck in the development of next-generation optical systems such as wearable displays for virtual reality, which require compact, lightweight, and cost-effective components.
At the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
[Press-News.org] Growth of northern Tibet proved the key to East Asian biodiversity
