Science stories you've missed

A study published today, April 6, in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment examines a novel twist on an old idea: that beauty is more than skin deep. The authors have shown how one should take charisma into account when studying and managing invasive species. Such interlopers are the second largest cause of biodiversity loss. Transferred to new environments by human activity, they become competitors or predators of local species, which are often unable to withstand the incursion. An international research team, involving two French laboratories, have evidenced an aspect of these invasions: species charisma. The popularity of a species and its perception by society and the media, they concur, determines how it is introduced and what impact it has on its new surroundings. In Italy, for example, the arrival of the popular North American grey squirrel threatens the existence of the native red squirrel. "Charisma is used in the literature to refer to the “attractive...

Fifty years ago tomorrow, I was a breathless seven-year-old running back to my grandmother's in South Texas so I could watch Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin land on the moon. My friend Stephanie was not only unimpressed, but as I recall even ridiculed my interest, which she deemed nerdy. I did not care. Yah, me! How I wish there were a picture taken of little me with my brown legs on Mama Sue's shag carpeting, watching that magical moment, because not only would I like to see it but I need to show a Millennial or two that it actually happened. Or would the television coverage be enough? On the 50th anniversary of this seminal moment in world and scientific history and achievement, word comes that many young people doubt the facts concerning the lunar event. According to SatelliteInternet.com , 18% of 18 to 34-year-olds don't believe in the moon landing; compared to just 3% in my age group. However, these people often also believe aliens have visited Earth - some 75% of de...