Author: Jo Louise Seltzer

Mobility—it’s part of modern American life.  So perhaps it’s no surprise that 500 prairie chickens will relocate from Kansas to Missouri in the next few years.

Prairie chickens are the ‘poster bird’ of prairie restoration.  In 1890, hundreds of thousands of these colorful grouse inhibited the native grasslands that covered about a third of Missouri.  Nature lovers know of the prairie chicken for its entertaining courtship display, in which males dance,  make a “booming” song with inflated orange air sacs,  and joust for female partners.

Today, as few as 100 of these birds remain in the state. They are classified as one of the state’s endangered species.

 

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This article was originally published in the St. Louis Beacon.

If you are reading this story on a computer, you are probably using electricity from coal.

Our modern life style depends upon an uninterrupted and inexpensive supply of electrical energy.  Coal powered electric plants operate around the clock to fill the demand for energy. Currently, half of the electrical power in the U.S. comes from burning coal.  The percentage is even higher in Missouri—76 percent.  And, in the St. Louis area alone, electrical consumption— and therefore the use of coal—is up 50 percent since 1990.

Most scientists and policy makers agree that we must make a transition to renewable and cleaner sources of energy as quickly as possible. In the meantime, however, a great deal of the electricity that we rely upon 24/7 will be generated by burning fossil fuels.

 

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This article was originally published in the St. Louis Beacon.

When you get immunized for the H1N1 swine flu virus this fall, researchers from Saint Louis University will be “deciders” of how the vaccine is administered.

For almost two decades the Center for Vaccine Development at SLU has been one of only eight Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Units funded by the National Institutes of Health for clinical trials on new vaccines.

This year, in addition to testing the normal seasonal flu vaccine,  they will be participating in an intense, accelerated clinical research effort aimed at containing the present pandemic.  Cases of H1N1 infection may peak as early as October, so the dosage schedule must be standardized well before then.

“Companies know how to make influenza vaccines,” stated Dr. Robert Belshe, Director of the School of Medicine’s division of Infectious Diseases and the Center for Vaccine Development.  “The problem is knowing how much viral antigen protein to put into the shots.”

 

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This article was originally published in the St. Louis Beacon.

During St. Louis summers, people usually have no trouble answering “Yes” to the question, “Is it hot enough for you.” Even though we’ve recently had weather that reminds many of Michigan in July, our summers and especially our winters have been getting warmer, and at an accelerated pace since the 1970s. Our area has become about 0.8 degrees centigrade (about 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer in the past 100 years, as has the average temperature of the globe.

The changes in temperature are much more striking other places on earth. And researchers at the Missouri Botanical Garden are trying to learn what that means for plant ecosystems in our state and around the world.

The poles show the most warming.  The Himalayas are second in rate of warming,  with glaciers melting faster than anywhere else.  Unlike the poles, the Himalayas support a complex and abundant flora, and this ecology is being affected by increasing temperature and more rain.

“Alpine meadows are being pushed off the mountaintop,” says Jan Salick of the Missouri Botanical Garden.

 

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This article was originally published in the St. Louis Beacon.

If you feed them nectar, they will probably come. And if you are like many — if not most — of us, you will be enchanted by the antics of the tiniest of birds. Hummingbirds have been buzzing around St. Louis during the past month.

The ruby-throated hummingbird is the only hummer that nests in Missouri.

It is neither the biggest nor smallest of these American natives. But considering that it weighs in at about 3 grams (1/10 of an ounce), and is about the length of a finger, you won’t easily spot one unless it is sipping nectar from something close to you.

 

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This article was originally published in the St. Louis Beacon.