Biodiversity

"A species of Himalayan yew tree that is used to produce Taxol, a chemotherapy drug to treat cancer, is being pushed to the brink of extinction by over-harvesting for medicinal use and collection for fuel, scientists warned on Thursday."

"WEST LAFAYETTE, Indiana -- An ant species common to the mainland United States that is known for its tropical smell has invaded Hawaii for the first time. A population of odorous house ants, Tapinoma sessile, has been found at an upland site on the island of Maui. Also called stink ant, and coconut ant, these ants got their names because they invade houses and smell like coconut when smashed."

"The Supreme Court [Monday] decided -- for now -- not to get involved in ongoing litigation over California's endangered delta smelt."

"These mosquitoes are genetically engineered to kill — their own children."

"Genetic engineering has failed to increase the yield of any food crop but has vastly increased the use of chemicals and the growth of "superweeds", according to a report by 20 Indian, south-east Asian, African and Latin American food and conservation groups representing millions of people.

"BLOOMINGTON, Minn. -- The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has designated the Ozark hellbender as endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act. Hellbenders are among the world's largest salamanders. The Ozark hellbender inhabits the White River system in southern Missouri and northern Arkansas."

"ZANESVILLE -- Jonathan Merry said he was seven feet away from being attacked by a black bear. It was one of several harrowing encounters the 25-year-old Muskingum County sheriff's deputy faced as he and others were confronted by dozens of exotic animals escaping from a 73-acre farm in western Muskingum County."

"MILWAUKEE — Just a month before the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is set to release new rules to protect the Great Lakes from overseas ships carrying in invasive species, legislation is moving through Congress that conservation groups say might roll back those protections."

"A federal judge has thrown out a key section of an Interior Department rule that declared global warming is threatening the survival of the polar bear."

"Climate change's laundry list of impacts — melting glaciers and rising sea levels, shifts in timing for bird migration and flower budding, a poleward shift of species — just got a new addition: shrinking species."

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