Scientists say El Nino, the Pacific Ocean phenomenon that's again starting to stir weather patterns across the globe, first surfaced in its present form due to a climate change about 5,000 years ago, according to temperature records stored in Peruvian fish bones.
A study published Friday in the journal Science relies on a record of seawater temperatures captured via oxygen molecules in a tiny bone, called an otolith, found in the inner ears of sea catfish that live along Peru's coast.
"This is more evidence that climate change is the norm, and climate stability is the exception in Earth's history, even in relatively recent times," said lead author C. Fred Andrus, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Georgia.
The new study builds on work by Carnegie Museum of Natural History and University of Pittsburgh anthropologist James Richardson III and the University of Maine's Daniel Sandweiss, who first found evidence of the climate shift in mollusk and fish remains from Peru nearly a decade ago.
Altered crops poorly monitored
A study released last week by the National Academy of Sciences says there is no evidence that genetically engineered crops have harmed the environment but faults the government for failing to monitor many crops after they are approved for commercial use.
"Without systematic monitoring, the lack of evidence of damage is not necessarily lack of damage," the study says. The Agriculture Department also needs to seek more advice from scientists outside the agency and from the public.
USDA, which requested the study after critics accused it of lax regulation, is supposed to ensure that hardier, gene-altered crops don't develop into superweeds or endanger insects and other animals. Fred Gould, a North Carolina State University scientist who led the study, said the problems it cited amounted to "small loopholes."
Honored
The Engineer's Society of Western Pennsylvania last week presented Jay Apt, the former astronaut and now Carnegie Mellon University engineer, with its Metcalf Award for Lifetime Achievement in engineering.
Apt, an astronaut for 21 years who logged more than 30 days in space, joined CMU's Department of Engineering and Public Policy after stepping down as head of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History two years ago.
The Metcalf Award recognizes his work in computer control of large mechanical systems, space system design and operations and, most recently, in mobile robotics. He is managing director of iNetworks LLC, a venture capital firm.
Also, the society presented its Outstanding Engineering Acheivement Award to Anthony DeArdo and Isaac Garcia of the University of Pittsburgh for their development of "green steel," an environmentally friendly machining steel that contains no toxic lead.
Poland has honored Penn State astronomer Alexander Wolszczan, discoverer of the first planets outside the solar system, by featuring him on a set of 16 postage stamps celebrating the past millenium.
Wolszczan's likeness shares space on the stamp with another Polish astronomer, Copernicus, father of modern astronomy. Other stamps feature Pope John Paul II and Lech Walesa.
The Pittsburgh section of the American Society of Civil Engineers has named Christopher J. Earls of the University of Pittsburgh School of Engineering as Professor of the Year.
An assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering, Earls studies structural steel design, structural stability and the use of supercomputers for structural analysis. The award was presented Saturday.
