Prose and Passion

water for lemurs, heineken for scientists

I have two vaguely drink-related stories in Current Biology ( http://www.current-biology.com/ ) today.

First, researchers fear that even a slight reduction of rain in the tropical rain forests of Madagascar might endanger lemur species there, as they can't take up enough liquid by chewing leaves, especially the old ladies among the lemurs, who have bad teeth ...

Current Biology Vol 16 No 21

R900

Leaves clue to lemur peril

Leaf changes provide a clue to the climate threat facing one Madagascan

lemur species, writes Michael Gross.

Lemurs are of great evolutionary

and ecological interest. But for

at least one species, in their

Madagascan homeland and

possibly as a result of climate

change, drought poses a serious

threat. In a research project

that has been running for nearly

20 years, Patricia Wright from

the Stony Brook University in

the state of New York and her

coworkers have been studying

the behaviour of Madagascar's

lemurs with a view to aid the

protection of their habitat.

For more than a decade,

the Earthwatch Institute has

supported this research with a

volunteer workforce.

Recently, Wright discovered

that even a slight reduction in

rainfall can increase the threat to

the survival of the Milne-Edwards

sifakas lemur. Only if there is

enough rain during their lactation

period, Wright found, will older

females produce enough milk to

keep their infants alive. In drier

conditions, mature lemur mothers

with worn teeth will not be able

to chew the amounts of leaves

required to produce sufficient

milk, and the infant mortality will

increase significantly.

Wright comments that "it

is shocking that just a slight

change in climate, even in the

rainforest where we assume

there is plenty of water, can

impact on infant survival so

dramatically". The lemurs can

live up to 30 years and normally

continue to reproduce in their

third decade. (In this respect,

lemurs are typical of primate

biology, while human females

with their long post-fertility

lifespan are exceptional.) "With

a potential five more births

during the latter decade of

each female lemur's life, the

impact of climate change and

deforestation on the population

will be devastating," Wright

concludes.

full story:

http://www.current-biology.com/content/article/abstract?uid=PIIS0960982206023049

The other is about the most important international prize in environmental sciences, which was sponsored by an industrialist called Alfred. But it wasn't Alfred Nobel, of dynamite fame, it was Alfred Heineken, whose beer famously refreshes the parts that others can't reach. So it makes sense that his awards refresh the parts that Nobel doesn't reach ...

News focus

Prize bolsters environmental sciences

Michael Gross^a^,^b

^aMichael Gross is a science writer based at Oxford. He can be contacted via his web page at www.michaelgross.co.uk
^bLink: http://www.knaw.nl/heinekenprizes

Available online 6 November 2006.

Nobel prizes get plenty of press coverage, but the most prestigious award for ecological work is much less famous than the beer with which it shares its name. Michael Gross reports.

Legend has it that Alfred Nobel was well aware that his invention of dynamite and the damage resulting from its military use would taint his legacy. Thus, to restore the balance, he came up with the brilliant idea of funnelling his fortune into a set of awards to be named after him, which soon became the most prestigious accolades in the fields they covered. And tough luck for the disciplines that were forgotten, like mathematics and parts of biology.

By contrast, the Dutch brewery boss Alfred Heineken (1923–2002), the third family member to lead the eponymous company and grandson of its founder, provided humanity with a widely popular beer, and was reportedly an equally popular man, so he had little need to balance the books. Still, the flamboyant businessman widely known as 'Freddy' endowed the H.P. Heineken awards for biochemistry and biophysics in honour of his father, Henry Pierre Heineken, who had been a chemist with a life-long passion for science. The first Heineken laureate was Erwin Chargaff in 1964, whose base-pairing rules laid the foundation for the discovery of the DNA double helix structure. The high quality of the prize is underlined by the fact that many of the winners, such as Tom Cech, Aaron Klug and Paul Nurse, went on to win a Nobel prize soon afterwards.

In 1988, Alfred Heineken, who held a doctorate in chemistry like his father, but also sustained keen interests in medicine, music, and the arts, set up a second foundation in his own name, to cover a wider range of subjects. Since 1990, the A.H. Heineken prizes cover the fields of medicine, environmental sciences, history and art. This year, the addition of the cognitive sciences to the portfolio brought the total number of Heineken prizes to six, which will be awarded every other year by the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW).

full text: http://www.current-biology.com/content/article/abstract?uid=PIIS0960982206023037

2006-11-07 13:58:05 GMT

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		water for lemurs, heineken for scientists I have two vaguely drink-related stories in Current Biology ( http://www.current-biology.com/ ) today. First, researchers fear that even a slight reduction of rain in the tropical rain forests of Madagascar might endanger lemur species there, as they can't take up enough liquid by chewing leaves, especially the old ladies among the lemurs, who have bad teeth ... Current Biology Vol 16 No 21 R900 Leaves clue to lemur peril Leaf changes provide a clue to the climate threat facing one Madagascan lemur species, writes Michael Gross. Lemurs are of great evolutionary and ecological interest. But for at least one species, in their Madagascan homeland and possibly as a result of climate change, drought poses a serious threat. In a research project that has been running for nearly 20 years, Patricia Wright from the Stony Brook University in the state of New York and her coworkers have been studying the behaviour of Madagascar's lemurs with a view to aid the protection of their habitat. For more than a decade, the Earthwatch Institute has supported this research with a volunteer workforce. Recently, Wright discovered that even a slight reduction in rainfall can increase the threat to the survival of the Milne-Edwards sifakas lemur. Only if there is enough rain during their lactation period, Wright found, will older females produce enough milk to keep their infants alive. In drier conditions, mature lemur mothers with worn teeth will not be able to chew the amounts of leaves required to produce sufficient milk, and the infant mortality will increase significantly. Wright comments that "it is shocking that just a slight change in climate, even in the rainforest where we assume there is plenty of water, can impact on infant survival so dramatically". The lemurs can live up to 30 years and normally continue to reproduce in their third decade. (In this respect, lemurs are typical of primate biology, while human females with their long post-fertility lifespan are exceptional.) "With a potential five more births during the latter decade of each female lemur's life, the impact of climate change and deforestation on the population will be devastating," Wright concludes. full story: http://www.current-biology.com/content/article/abstract?uid=PIIS0960982206023049 The other is about the most important international prize in environmental sciences, which was sponsored by an industrialist called Alfred. But it wasn't Alfred Nobel, of dynamite fame, it was Alfred Heineken, whose beer famously refreshes the parts that others can't reach. So it makes sense that his awards refresh the parts that Nobel doesn't reach ... News focus Prize bolsters environmental sciences Michael Gross^a^,^b ^aMichael Gross is a science writer based at Oxford. He can be contacted via his web page at www.michaelgross.co.uk ^bLink: http://www.knaw.nl/heinekenprizes Available online 6 November 2006. Nobel prizes get plenty of press coverage, but the most prestigious award for ecological work is much less famous than the beer with which it shares its name. Michael Gross reports. Legend has it that Alfred Nobel was well aware that his invention of dynamite and the damage resulting from its military use would taint his legacy. Thus, to restore the balance, he came up with the brilliant idea of funnelling his fortune into a set of awards to be named after him, which soon became the most prestigious accolades in the fields they covered. And tough luck for the disciplines that were forgotten, like mathematics and parts of biology. By contrast, the Dutch brewery boss Alfred Heineken (1923–2002), the third family member to lead the eponymous company and grandson of its founder, provided humanity with a widely popular beer, and was reportedly an equally popular man, so he had little need to balance the books. Still, the flamboyant businessman widely known as 'Freddy' endowed the H.P. Heineken awards for biochemistry and biophysics in honour of his father, Henry Pierre Heineken, who had been a chemist with a life-long passion for science. The first Heineken laureate was Erwin Chargaff in 1964, whose base-pairing rules laid the foundation for the discovery of the DNA double helix structure. The high quality of the prize is underlined by the fact that many of the winners, such as Tom Cech, Aaron Klug and Paul Nurse, went on to win a Nobel prize soon afterwards. In 1988, Alfred Heineken, who held a doctorate in chemistry like his father, but also sustained keen interests in medicine, music, and the arts, set up a second foundation in his own name, to cover a wider range of subjects. Since 1990, the A.H. Heineken prizes cover the fields of medicine, environmental sciences, history and art. This year, the addition of the cognitive sciences to the portfolio brought the total number of Heineken prizes to six, which will be awarded every other year by the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW). full text: http://www.current-biology.com/content/article/abstract?uid=PIIS0960982206023037 2006-11-07 13:58:05 GMT Site Home