Sex ratio in some countries skewed

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Sex ratio in some countries skewed OTTAWA (UPI) -- Large parts of China, India and South Korea will experience a 10 percent to 20 percent surplus of young men in the next 20 years, researchers say. A preference for sons in those countries, combined with easy access to sex-selective abortions, has led to a significant imbalance between the number of males and females born there, an article in the Canadian Medical Association Journal reported Monday. The sex ration at birth worldwide is consistent at about 105 boys born for every 100 girls, but with the advent of ultrasounds that enable sex-selection, the sex ratio at birth in some cities in South Korea climbed to 125:1 by 1992 and is above 130:1 in several Chinese provinces from Henan in the north to Hainan in the south, the article said. In 2005 in China, "it was estimated that 1.1 million excess males were born across the country and that the number of males under the age of 20 years exceeded the number of females by around 32 million," Therese Hesketh at University College London said. The imbalances mean a significant percentage of the male population will not be able to marry or have children because of a scarcity of women, the researchers said. Authorities in China, India and South Korea have taken some steps to address the problem, such as instituting laws forbidding fetal sex determination and selective abortion, but more can be done, the article said. "To successfully address the underlying issue of son preference is hugely challenging and requires a multifaceted approach," the authors said. Copyright 2011 by United Press International
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Effect of heat on world corn crop studied PALO ALTO, Calif. (UPI) -- U.S. researchers say historical crop records show corn -- long believed to tolerate hot temperatures -- will, in fact, be seriously affected by global warming. Stanford University agricultural scientist David Lobell and researchers at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center say a clear negative effect of warming on maize -- or corn -- production was confirmed in records of experimental crop trial conducted in Africa from 1999 to 2007. Analyzing data from 20,000 trials in sub-Saharan Africa with weather data recorded in the region, they found a temperature rise of a single degree Celsius (1.8 degrees F.) would cause yield losses for 65 percent of the present maize-growing region in Africa, a Stanford release reported Monday. "The pronounced effect of heat on maize was surprising because we assumed maize to be among the more heat-tolerant crops," Marianne Banziger of the maize and wheat center said. "Essentially, the longer a maize crop is exposed to temperatures above 30 C, or 86 F, the more the yield declines," she said. "The effect is even larger if drought and heat come together, which is expected to happen more frequently with climate change in Africa, Asia or Central America, and will pose an added challenge to meeting the increasing demand for staple crops on our planet." The study is among the first to track the effect of heat on crops, Lobell said. "Projections of climate change impacts on food production have been hampered by not knowing exactly how crops fair when it gets hot," he said. "This study helps to clear that issue up, at least for one important crop." Copyright 2011 by United Press International
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Study: Storm type could predict tornadoes STARKVILLE, Miss. (UPI) -- U.S. meteorologists say they've found some key differences between storm systems that spawn tornadoes and those that don't, raising prediction possibilities. A team of researchers led by Andrew Mercer of Mississippi State University found two factors are crucial: whether a storm has high wind shear -- the change in wind speed and direction with height -- and high "helicity," a measure of how much the storm tends to rotate, ScienceNews.org reported Monday. Most research has focused on storms known to have triggered twisters, and trying to identify why, but many strong storm systems never create actual tornadoes although they can cause harm through high winds, hail or other hazards. "Now we can say, 'Yes, this is what a tornadic outbreak looks like, generally speaking, versus a non-tornadic outbreak,'" Mercer said. In a paper analyzing 50 tornadic and 50 non-tornadic storms, scientists reported it might be possible to identify the differences between the two up to 24 hours before tornadoes are spawned. Studying more storms should help scientists improve their ability to predict tornadoes, another meteorologist said. "We're trying to go after that portion of the severe weather occurrences that we think we have a reasonable chance of being able to forecast," Chuck Doswell at the Cooperative Institute for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies at the University of Oklahoma said. Copyright 2011 by United Press International
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Significant arctic ozone loss tracked POTSDAM, Germany (UPI) -- The arctic region is heading for a record loss of ozone as unusually low temperatures have initiated rapid depletion, European scientists say. Measurements by scientists from the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in Germany have confirmed the loss of this trace gas that protects the Earth's surface from ultraviolet radiation from the sun, an AWI release reported Monday. "Our measurements show that at the relevant altitudes about half of the ozone that was present above the Arctic has been destroyed over the past weeks," AWI researcher Markus Rex said. "Since the conditions leading to this unusually rapid ozone depletion continue to prevail, we expect further depletion to occur," he said. Scientists point to a connection between ozone loss and climate change, noting in the arctic stratosphere at about 12 miles in altitude, where the ozone layer is, the winters have been getting colder and leading to greater ozone losses. In the long term the ozone layer will recover, the researchers said, thanks to extensive environmental policy measures enacted for its protection. "By virtue of the long-term effect of the Montreal Protocol, significant ozone destruction will no longer occur during the second half of this century," Rex said. The protocol, signed in 1987, is an international treaty to protect the ozone layer and banned the production of ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons worldwide. Copyright 2011 by United Press International
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