 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| . |  |
. |
Washington (AFP) Aug 18, 2010 US scientists have created the first bank of frozen coral cells, intended to preserve endangered coral species in Hawaii and protect their diversity. The bank so far contains frozen sperm and embryonic cells from mushroom coral and rice coral, but researchers say they plan to expand the cell library to include more of Hawaii's coral species. "Because frozen banked cells are viable, the frozen material can be thawed one, 50 or, in theory, even 1,000 years from now to restore a species or population," said Mary Hagedorn, a faculty member at Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology. "In fact, some of the frozen sperm samples have already been thawed and used to fertilize coral eggs to produce developing coral larvae," she said. The project, a joint program of the Smithsonian Institution and the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, is located on Coconut Island in Oahu. Hawaii's reefs are threatened by pollution caused by poor agricultural practices, run-off from farms and plants, and destructive practices including dynamite fishing, the researchers said. "Unless action is taken now, coral reefs and many of the animals that depend on them may cease to exist within the next 40 years, causing the first global extinction of a worldwide ecosystem during current history," they added.
Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links Water News - Science, Technology and Politics
First Louisiana shrimp season since BP oil spill startsWashington (AFP) Aug 16, 2010 Louisiana's first shrimping season since the BP oil disaster spewed millions of gallons of crude into the Gulf of Mexico got underway Monday, but few boats took to the water and the ones that did found oil, a major shrimp wholesaler said. "We got four boats that went out - out of 1,400 - and I'm hearing they're finding oil," Dean Blanchard, the largest shrimp wholesaler in the United State ... read more |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2010 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
YahooMyWeb
Google
Facebook
