Leading Antarctic researchers writing in the journal Science this week are calling for stronger, more adaptive conservation measures for the polar continent as a range of environmental challenges looms.

In a 'Policy Forum' article out today, twenty-six international experts -- including Prof Peter Barrett of Victoria University of Wellington and Lou Sanson of Antarctica NZ -- urge policy-makers to protect Antarctica from growing threats to its biosecurity, pressure to exploit its mineral, gas and oil resources, overexploitation of marine resources, pollution from human activities, and the effects of its rapidly changing climate.

"The capability of current conservation governance arrangements to deal with these challenges may be outpaced," the authors state. "The greatest challenge will be addressing threats that are global in scale, but with impacts that are being realised most significantly in Antarctica."

Co-author Lou Sanson, CE of Antarctica NZ told the SMC:

"...Much of our own oceanic circulation and weather patterns are driven by the Antarctic climate system. Changes to these processes will inevitably bring change to our own climate and ocean ecosystems. ...The impact of these changes ultimately on New Zealand's fish stocks and weather are key reasons why we must continue to invest in Antarctic research as a country so close to Antarctica"

Associate Professor Mary Sewell, who researches Antarctic marine life at the University of Auckland, explained her concern that,

"It is the action of all these impacts at once -fishing, climate change, deep sea drilling and mining and invasive species -- "a perfect storm"of change, that the Antarctic may not be able to cope with in the near future."

Joanna Mossop, Senior Lecturer at Victoria University of Wellington commented:

"It is important to remember that, although the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS) is one of the best functioning international organisations, it has limits.

"Not every country is a party, so many countries are not bound by the rules or decisions of the ATS.  Moreover, decisions have to be made by consensus in the ATS, so divisions over appropriate responses among states can slow down or prevent rules developing to respond to new crises.

"...There is no ability for the ATS parties to veto an activity another party allows. This was seen when the international community expressed concern about the Russian plans to drill into the subterranean Lake Vostok, but the Russians continued regardless.

Prof David Wharton, Department of Zoology, University of Otago, commented:

"Communities of terrestrial organisms in Continental Antarctica are amongst the simplest and most vulnerable... Living in one of the most extreme environments on earth they are particularly sensitive to climate change. We urgently need to increase our understanding of these organisms and to ensure their protection."

To read full comments, link to media coverage of the story and hear an SMC  interview with lead author Steven Chown, visit our website.

http://www.sciencemediacentre.co.nz/2012/07/13/antarctica-under-threat/

Article abstract online

The workings of the LHC, very round turtles, printable light sources, inside Hawkings' head and data storage that stands the test of time. 

Vaccines intended to protect animals against viruses are contributing DNA to new strains, according to a new study which has documented the phenomena outside the lab for the first time. 

Infographic produced by the AusSMC (click to enlarge)

The research, published today in Science, focused on two different veterinary vaccine strains used to control the poultry disease infectious laryngotracheitis. The University of Melbourne researchers discovered that when the two vaccines were used in the same populations, they combined into two new strains (a process known as recombination), resulting in disease outbreaks.

The findings of these studies have significance not only for vaccines in poultry, but also potentially for any live viral vaccine which might be capable of recombination, including those in use in humans. 

Prof Peter Openshaw, Director of the Centre for Respiratory Infection (CRI) at the National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, told the UK SMC:

"This is a highly plausible study, showing the importance of close monitoring and investigation of outbreaks of respiratory disease in livestock. Viruses are highly adaptable and will exploit every opportunity for self-improvement. We need to be constantly on the lookout for novel outbreaks and to intensify our study of the benefits and risks of well-intended vaccination programmes."

Further international commentary and links to an AusSMC media briefing on the research are available here.  

On the Sciblogs podcast this week - the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement - its implications and concern that Kiwis don't understand what it might mean for intellectual property use.

The concerns over IP span everything from the extension of copyright from 50 years after the death of an author to 70 years, through to controls around the use of temporary electronic files, which InternetNZ is concerned could impact on the way information is transmitted around the internet.

InternetNZ for its part has created a website, Fairdeal.net.nz which lays out its concerns about the TPPA. 

It's worth reading what they have to say, and if you've time, check out the leaked TPPA documents that outline some of the areas in intellectual property that may change if the TPPA is ratified.

On the podcast, you'll hear from the likes of opensource software developer Daniel Spector, Kiwiblog's David Farrar, intellectual property lawyer Professor Anne Fitzgerald and District Court Judge David Harvey - all with their views on the TPPA.

You'll also hear from Professor John Naughton, author of From Gutenberg to Zuckerberg, about the internet and growing efforts to control it by governments and corporations. Will the net remain free in the spirit in which it rose to such prominence in our lives?

Finally, to the science news story of the week, we hear from one of the authors of a paper in Science who have discovered that two different vaccines used to control an infectious disease in chickens have been able to recombine to generate new virus strains.

The resulting new viruses have been responsible for significant outbreaks of disease and death in farmed chickens. The vaccines in question are known as live attenuated vaccines - and essentially contain weakened forms of the virus that causes the disease.

You can stream the podcast by clicking here, or subscribe in iTunes or via RSS. You can even listen to the podcast on your phone via Stitcher.com

NZ innovation rating up: New Zealand has been ranked 13th in the world in the 2012 Global Innovation Index - up two places from 2011. The report, which analyses innovation in 141 countries, also ranks New Zealand third in the Asia and Oceania region.

Internships announced: Steven Joyce has announced the 70 businesses that will receive Science and Innovation funding to employ graduate students for a minimum of six months to undertake innovative research and development (R&D) work.

• The LHC, Particle Physics and the Cosmos - Particle physics conference - July 12-15, Auckland.

• The Science behind Our Far South - Panel discussion on Gareth Morgan's sub-Antarctic expedition - July 16, Wellington.   

• Disaster and democracy: a global perspective - 2012 Winter Lectures: Hazards, disasters, risks and responses - July 17, Auckland.

• Kiwimars returns - Hear from the New Zealand attendees at the Mars Desert Research Station - July 18, Wellington.

• Life with Oxygen - a Battle against Free Radicals - Rutherford lecture with Prof Christine Winterbourn -  July 19, Wellington.