Scientific news in small doses | The Press

A few milligrams of all the scientific news of the week

Eric-Pierre Champagne
The Press

“Tipping point” in sight for the Amazon

The Amazon is approaching a “tipping point” more quickly than expected, which could transform the largest tropical forest in the world into a savannah, a carbon sink vital for the balance of the planet. According to a study published in the journal Nature Climate Change, the Amazon rainforest is less and less resilient and could begin to turn into savannah as early as 2050. In addition to climate change, forest fires and logging are driving this transformation. Over the past decade, the Amazon has released 20% more greenhouse gases (GHGs) than it has absorbed. The transformation into savannah of the Amazon basin would have enormous consequences. Some 90 billion tons of CO₂ – twice the annual global emissions – could then be released into the atmosphere, further accentuating the warming.

Quiz

Which birds were domesticated 7000 years ago?

According to a study published in the journal PNAS, geese were first domesticated 7000 years ago in China. Japanese researchers have identified and analyzed 232 goose bones found at an archaeological site in the east of the country. According to them, several pieces of evidence indicate that these birds were at least partially domesticated.

The number

19,700 km^⁠3

This is the average volume of ice in the Arctic for the month of February, the ninth lowest since this data is recorded. Ice volume is considered one of the indicators of the effects of climate change. Like the Amazon rainforest, Arctic ice plays an important role in regulating the climate, and its gradual disappearance will accelerate global warming.

A bit of a shark in Fido’s feed

Scientists have conducted an unusual study that has established that several types of dog food are made with vulnerable fish species, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s red list. The team of researchers from Yale University-NUS College, Singapore, analyzed 45 dog products from 16 different brands. The third contained traces of silky shark and coral shark, species classified as vulnerable. Other shark species at risk have also been identified. However, the product label only indicated that the feed contained “fish”, “sea fish” or “white fish”. Remember that over the past 50 years, shark populations have declined by 70%. The study was published in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science.

A fossil named Biden

No, it’s not the 79-year-old president of the United States, but a 328-million-year-old octopus fossil found in Montana. The animal is the oldest known cephalopod to have suckers on all 10 of its arms. The American scientists who made this discovery decided to name the species Syllipsimopodi bideni, in honor of Joe Biden. Their aim was to highlight that the current president takes the climate crisis very seriously and made it clear that science has an important role to play. The White House would not comment on the study that was just published in the journal NatureCommunications.