THERE IS A GERMAN WORD FOR THIS; GESTAPO

A New Section Of US Attorneys Is Being Created To Strip Naturalized Citizenship From Suspected Fraudsters

Experts said the move appeared to be another symbolic effort aimed at targeting immigrants.


Manuel Balce Ceneta / Associated Press
People are sworn in as new citizens of the United States during a special naturalization ceremony for 50 new Americans at the State Department in 2007.

The Department of Justice is creating a new section of attorneys to handle cases aimed at stripping naturalized citizenship from people suspected of fraud, officials announced Wednesday.

The move will likely inspire increased fear in immigrant communities already on edge over the Trump administration’s immigration restrictions.

DOJ officials framed the creation of the Denaturalization Section, which will be housed in the civil Office of Immigration Litigation, as an effort to crack down on an increase in cases of those who have engaged in fraud, human rights violations, sexual offenses, and other crimes.

“When a terrorist or sex offender becomes a U.S. citizen under false pretenses, it is an affront to our system—and it is especially offensive to those who fall victim to these criminals,” Assistant Attorney General Jody Hunt said in a statement. “The Denaturalization Section will further the Department’s efforts to pursue those who unlawfully obtained citizenship status and ensure that they are held accountable for their fraudulent conduct.”

Justice Department lawyers have filed 94 denaturalization cases since 2017 and the agency’s annual filing rate has shot up by 200% over the past three years, according to a DOJ official. During that same period, there has been a 600% increase in case referrals from DHS.

DOJ officials said in a statement that “the growing number of referrals anticipated from law enforcement agencies motivated the creation of a standalone section dedicated to this important work.” Individuals can have their citizenship stripped if the government proves that naturalization was illegally received or if it was “procured by” lying or concealing a fact like a previous crime.

In its announcement of the new section, justice officials highlighted successful denaturalizations, including a person who had allegedly been associated with terrorist groups, another who had been prosecuted for executing people in Bosnia, and four people who had falsely claimed to be a family in order to gain visas.

Experts said the move appeared to be another symbolic effort aimed at targeting immigrants.

“While this effort may result in relatively few denaturalizations, it shows that the administration’s desire to keep immigrants ‘looking over their shoulder’ extends past legalization and even naturalization. If you weren’t born here, this administration is trying to keep you uncomfortable,” said Sarah Pierce, a policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute.

In 2018, US Citizenship and Immigration Services officials announced that they would increase their focus on denaturalization cases from an operation that began years ago, including under the Obama administration, that inspected cases of potential fraud. USCIS officials at the time said they would look to refer more than 1,000 cases to the justice department.

Under Operation Janus, officials had found that hundreds of thousands of fingerprints were missing from a centralized fingerprint system. The government believed some individuals may have “have sought to circumvent criminal record and other background checks in the naturalization process.” Government officials had found that more than 800 people were granted citizenship even though they had been ordered deported under a different identity.

Hamed Aleaziz is a reporter for BuzzFeed News and is based in San Francisco.
Last updated on February 26, 2020

Pew Research Center: 1 in 10 eligible voters in 2020 are naturalized citizens

Naturalized U.S. citizens make up 10 percent of the eligible voting population, a Pew Research Center report revealed on Wednesday. Photo by Matthew Healey/UPI | License Photo

Feb. 26 (UPI) -- One in 10 eligible voters in 2020 are naturalized U.S. citizens, a Pew Research Center study released Wednesday said.

Over 23 million immigrants who became citizens, a record, will be able to vote. The number increased by 93 percent since 2000, a period in which U.S.-born eligible voters grew by 18 percent. The number of immigrants living in the United States has risen from 9.6 million in 1965, when the Immigration and Nationality Act became law, to about 45 million today, currently constituting about 13.9 percent of the population. A rising number of immigrants, 7.2 million between 2009 and 2019, have chosen to become U.S. citizens, the study says.

Fifty-six percent of immigrants-turned-citizens live in California, Texas, New York or Florida, and two-thirds have been U.S. residents for over 20 years. The majority came from either Latin American or Asian countries. Mexican immigrants account for 16 percent of the total. Hispanics, at 7.5 million, accounted for 34 percent of all immigrant eligible voters in 2018. At 6.9 million, Asian immigrant eligible voters comprise 31 percent of the foreign-born electorate. Both figures are increased since 2000. White immigrant eligible voters are 22 percent of the group, a decline since 2000, and black immigrant eligible voters comprise 7 percent, up from 2000.

Combined, immigrants born in Mexico, the Philippines, India, China, Vietnam, Cuba, Korea, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and El Salvador, account for about half of all immigrant eligible voters, the study reveals.

The study is based on Census Bureau data.

Issues of immigration policy are regarded as an important issue in the 2020 election. Policy changes proposed by the White House have resulted in polarized reactions from the voting public. The Pew report suggests that "these proposals may also affect how immigrants see their place in America and the potential role they could play in the 2020 presidential election."

MORE ON IMMIGRATION
DHS Considered How To Punish States That Deny Access To Driver Records, A Memo Says Hamed Aleaziz · Feb. 10, 2020

ICE Is Now Fingerprinting Immigrants As Young As 14 Years Old

Hamed Aleaziz · Feb. 5, 2020

 The Gestapo was a secretive plainclothes agency and agents typically wore civilian suits. There were strict protocols protecting the identity of Gestapo field personnel. 


... Uniforms were worn by Gestapo men assigned to the Einsatzgruppen in occupied territories, in this case the Waffen-SS field uniform.

A CLASSIC GESTAPO WHO DUNNIT 

Search Results

Web results

The Third Reich's Good Cop | The New Yorker

https://www.newyorker.com › magazine › 2017/07/10 › the-third-reichs-g...

Jul 3, 2017 - Philip Kerr's Bernie Gunther solves crimes for Nazi Germany. ... one of crime fiction's most satisfying and unlikely survivors: the good cop in the ... Kerr made his first trip to Berlin in the early eighties, a few years after the course ... ahead of the Gestapo—not to mention the Mafia, the South American diaspora ...

A Bernie Gunther Novel - Penguin Random House

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com › series › BRG › a-bernie-gunther-...

Philip Kerr has won an international reputation as a master of historical suspense ... suspense with his noir detective Bernie Gunther tackling the dark underbelly of Nazi- ... A vicious murder puts Bernie Gunther on the trail of World War 2 criminals in ... novel hailed by The New York Times Book Review as “one of Kerr's best.

A final bow for Philip Kerr's detective Bernie Gunther - The ...

https://pilotonline.com › entertainment › books

Apr 24, 2019 - What's in a name? ... "Metropolis: A Bernie Gunther Novel" by Philip Kerr (G.P. Putnam's ... does it mean to be a "good cop" and a "good man" in Nazi Germany? ... Gunther does not hate Jews; as he admits in "The One from the Other," he ... Berlin's chief of the Criminal Police, who offers Gunther, a vice cop, ...

Fictional Crimes/Historical Crimes: Genre and Character in ...

https://www.mdpi.com › 2313-5778 › 3 › htm

by L Major - ‎2019 - ‎Related articles

Nov 14, 2019 - This paper will explore Philip Kerr's Berlin Noir trilogy, composed of March Violets (1989) ... These detective stories are not directly about the Holocaust, and although the crimes investigated by the mordant Bernie Gunther are fictional, they are ... style highly appropriate for crime novels set in Nazi Germany.

Berlin Noir: The First Three Bernie Gunther Novels (A Bernie ...

https://www.amazon.com › Berlin-Noir-Penguin-Gunther-Mystery-ebook

 Rating: 4.4 - ‎500 reviews

Editorial Reviews. Amazon.com Review. Now published in one paperback volume, these three ... Now in one volume—the first three novels in Philip Kerr's New York Times bestselling ... We first meet ex-policeman Bernie Gunther in 1936, in March Violets (a term of ... March Violets, Pale Criminal and A German Requiem.

Report: Japan requested IAEA valuation of Fukushima plan
By
Elizabeth Shim
(0)


Japan's crippled Fukushima Daiichi plant discharges 170 tons of contaminated water daily. File Photo by Kimimasa Mayama/EPA-EFE

Feb. 28 (UPI) -- Japan has requested a valuation from the International Atomic Energy Agency of its plans to discharge contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi plant, where a nuclear meltdown in 2011 has resulted in the daily production of nuclear wastewater.

Tokyo's ministry of industry asked the head of the IAEA Rafael Grossi to consider the disposal plans, Japanese newspaper Sankei Shimbun reported Friday.

The Japanese request was sent on Feb. 10 to the international agency, ahead of Grossi's visit to Japan this week, according to the report.

On Thursday in Tokyo, Grossi told reporters the IAEA is reviewing a subcommittee report on the plans, Kyodo News reported.

RELATED Japan lifts last remaining ban on Fukushima fish

Grossi also said he would "assuage" concerns of Japanese fishermen and the South Korean government. Opponents of the wastewater disposal say the move would damage the environment. Fishermen in Japan have said they are concerned the disposal could affect sales of fish.

"The issue of the timing is always important...but it's not a race against time. It is a race, I would say, more against safety. And more safety, this is what is very important," Grossi said.

About 170 tons of water is contaminated every day at the Fukushima plant. Tokyo has said the water is being purified, using an advanced liquid-processing system. The process does not remove tritium and leaves traces of radioactive elements.

RELATED Green Day postpone Asia tour dates over coronavirus

Grossi, a former Argentine diplomat, has supported the Japanese plan and said this week it is aligned with international practice. Grossi also said this week other countries discharge nuclear wastewater but the measures have not caused significant problems, according to the Sankei.

Residents of Fukushima have shown mixed responses to the discharge plans.

According to a survey from local paper Asahi Shimbun, conducted on Saturday and Sunday, about 57 percent of 1,035 respondents opposed the plan, while 31 percent said they approve.

Israeli high court rejects surrogacy ban for same-sex parents, single men
By
Don Jacobson
(0)


The ruling is a major victory for LGBT advocates, who have opposed the surrogacy law for two years. File Photo by Abir Sultan/EPA-EFE

Feb. 28 (UPI) -- The Israeli Supreme Court has ruled a controversial law that bars same-sex couples and single men from accessing surrogacy services is discriminatory -- and ordered it be changed, or entirely eliminated.

The high court's unanimous decision, handed down Thursday, was a victory for Israel's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, which staged mass protests in 2018 after the Knesset limited the law to allow only single women and heterosexual couples to become parents via surrogacy.

An attempt to amend the controversial statute to include same-sex couples was not successful, despite support from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"The sweeping exclusion of homosexual men from the use of surrogacy is viewed as 'suspicious' discrimination, suggesting that this part of the population is inferior," Supreme Court President Esther Hayut and Justices Hanan Melcer and Neal Hendel wrote in Friday's decision.

RELATED Supreme Court to hear Philadelphia case on same-sex foster parents

The plaintiffs, the Association of Israeli Gay Fathers, celebrated the victory.

"Even if there's still a ways to go to reach full equality, from today we can all raise a family -- just like everyone else," group co-founders Itai and Yoav Finks Arad said. "We must now see to it that the next government enacts a new, egalitarian law."

The high court ordered the Knesset to amend the legislation within 12 months or it would move to strike it entirely from the books.

RELATED Gay men underestimate HPV risk, researchers say

Blue and White Party leader Benny Gantz -- who will again face off against Netanyahu in another election Monday, the third in less than a year -- also welcomed the ruling.

"The time has come to actually amend the surrogacy bill, rather than just talking about it," he said. "A Blue and White-led government is the only one that would amend the bill and ensure equality."

3.81-mile line of books awarded Guinness World Record
BUT DID THEY READ THEM ALL

A New York state nonprofit broke a Guinness World Record by creating a line of books measuring 3.81 miles long. Photo courtesy of The Book Fairies

Feb. 28 (UPI) -- Guinness World Records confirmed a New York state-based nonprofit broke a world record by assembling a line of books 3.81 miles long.

The record-keeping organization said more than 150 volunteers from Freeport-based nonprofit The Book Fairies set up a line of 31,000 books winding through two connecting elementary schools in Wyandanch for a total distance of 3.81 miles.

Guinness said the distance was sufficient to beat the previous record, a 2.6-mile line of books created in Illinois.

"It's truly exhilarating to know that it is official," Book Fairies founder Amy Zaslansky told The Long Island Press. "We literally won by a mile and set an incredible new record with the help of our dedicated volunteers, partners, and sponsors."

The books used in the record were donated to Wyandanch residents.

Long-overlooked arch is key to function, evolution of human foot

According to a new study, a long overlooked arch in the foot is key to the foot's stiffness. Photo by Mikael Häggström/Wikimedia Commons

Feb. 26 (UPI) -- The foot's longitudinal arch has long been credited with providing the stability needed for bipedalism, but new research suggests a different one, the transverse arch, is much more important.

When humans walk and run, a significant amount of pressure is placed on the foot -- a force exceeding several times the body's weight. Despite this pressure, the foot doesn't significantly bend.

This stiffness was key to the evolution of bipedalism, but scientists have long misplaced the origins of this stability. It turns out, researchers have been crediting the wrong arch.

Unlike the medial longitudinal arch, which travels the length of the foot, the transverse arch spans the width of the midfoot.

RELATED Human brain, braincase evolved independently, researchers say

"There are a set of bones with rather complicated shapes in the middle of your foot, called the tarsal bones," lead researcher Madhusudhan Venkadesan, an engineer at Yale University, told UPI in an email. "These are arranged in an arc that spans the width of the foot. The metatarsals that attach to the tarsals are therefore also arranged in an arc at one end. These bones are held together by an array of ligaments, tendons, muscles, and other fascia."

Researchers began considering the previously ignored importance of the transverse arch after pondering the stiffness of a bent dollar bill.

"Hold it with your fingers at one end of its length, and it flops down," Venkadesan said. "But press down with your thumb to slightly curl it along the width and the bill will stiffen and become straighter."

RELATED Ape-like pelvis found in Hungary could change the story of human evolution

To identify the mechanical properties at work, researchers used a combination of mathematical analysis and experiments. Their efforts, detailed Wednesday in the journal Nature, revealed the mechanical principle for why curvature induces stiffness.

"Bending a curved structure causes the material to also stretch," Venkadesan said. "Even a thin sheet of paper is quite stiff if you try to stretch it. The transverse curvature engages this stretching stiffness to stiffen the whole structure of the foot."

To test the mathematical analysis, scientists experimented with both foot mimics and cadaver feet. Because the foot's structure is so complex, they needed to test mechanical mimics of the foot first.

RELATED Scientists claim ancient supernova led humans to walk upright

Since it was impossible to remove the arch from a cadaver foot, researchers had to find a way to disable the arch's effect on stiffness. Tests using the mechanical feet showed the arch's elastic tissues are most essential to its stiffness.

"Therefore, cutting those tissues disrupts the way in which the transverse arch increases stiffness," Venkadesan said. "So, although we cannot change the arch to test the idea, we would disrupt its effect to measure its importance. The mechanical mimics allowed us to verify this experimental design."

Experiments on the feet of human cadavers proved the transverse arch and its elastic tissues are the main source of the foot's stiffness -- more important than the longitudinal arch.

RELATED Humans evolved from apes that adapted to the ground

Scientists hope their findings will inspire improved designs for robotic and prosthetic feet. The research has already offered scientists a new way to trace the evolution of bipedalism.

Analysis of the fossil record showed the transverse arch first evolved in hominins 1.5 million years before the appearance of a fully developed longitudinal arch.

"We also know that Australopithecus afarensis, the species that Lucy belonged to, left nearly human-like footprints despite not having as much of a longitudinal arch as us," Venkadesan said. "Based on these, we may speculate that animals were able to walk like us over 3.5 million years ago because of the transverse arch. The interplay with the longitudinal arch may be important for running, and more data are needed to understand these things."

Crater on Earth offers clues to Mars' watery past
Researchers say that if crater samples collected by the Mars 2020 rover are successfully returned to Earth, they have an idea for how to determine if water on the planet was once able to support life.


In an artist's conception, the Mars 2020 rover is seen introducing a drill that can collect core samples of the most promising rocks and soils and set them aside on the surface of Mars. A future mission could potentially return these samples to Earth. File Photo by NASA/UPI | License Photo

Feb. 27 (UPI) -- Planetary scientists agree that Mars once hosted significant amounts of water on its surface. But how the planet held onto to its water and whether or not its water could have supported life remain open questions.

For clues as to what a watery Mars would have looked like, scientists turned to a crater on Earth, the Nordlinger Ries crater in southern Germany.

"Ries is an impact structure, analogous to many of the impact features on Mars that held water in the past," Tim Lyons, professor of biogeochemistry at the University of California Riverside, told UPI in an email. "While there are differences, the impact breccia layer on Reis is very similar to features seen on Mars."

By studying the composition of Ries and the ancient weathering processes that made its breccia look the way it does, scientists were able to get a sense of how Martian crater samples might offer clues to the composition of the Red Planet's ancient atmosphere.

RELATED NASA's InSight lander mission yields first scientific paper on Marsquakes

The concentration of nitrogen isotopes and other minerals measured in Ries rock samples suggest the ancient crater site was exposed to water with high alkalinity and a high pH.

Mars receives significantly less thermal energy from the sun than Earth. For the cold, distant planet to have hosted ocean-like bodies of water some 4 billion years ago, scientists estimate the Mars' atmosphere would have had to contain large amounts of greenhouse gases -- specifically, CO2.

Their analysis of Ries crater rock samples -- detailed this week in the journal Science Advances -- suggest weathering by an atmosphere rich in CO2 would likely produce Martian crater rock samples featuring the chemical signatures of high alkalinity and a low or neutral pH.

RELATED Mars loses water to space during warm, stormy seasons

"Under extreme CO2 conditions, as might have been required on Mars, the alkalinity production is driven by very high rates of weathering linked to the high CO2," Lyons said. "But the high CO2 would also interact with the lake waters, keeping the pH comparatively lower."

By gaining a better understanding of the relationship between nitrogen isotopes in rock samples and the pH levels in ancient water, scientists will have a better idea of what to look for in Martian crater samples when the Mars 2020 rover touches down on the Red Planet next year.

When those crater samples are returned to Earth in a decade, scientists will be able to measure nitrogen isotope ratios and determine whether there were indeed high levels of carbon dioxide in Mars' ancient atmosphere.

RELATED Study links Earth's oldest asteroid strike with end of 'Snowball Earth'

Most of Madagascar's rainforest on pace to disappear by 2070

By Brooks Hays
Ruffed lemurs provide vital ecosystem services to Madagascar's rainforest by spreading a variety of seeds across the forest floor. Photo by Rabe Franck/CUNY

(UPI) -- Nearly all of Madagascar's eastern rainforest is likely to be gone by 2070 if deforestation and global warming progresses at the current pace, according to a new study.

Nearly 90 percent of the biodiversity found on Madagascar is unique to the island nation, but the latest findings -- published this week in the journal Nature Climate Change -- suggests Madagascar's many novel plants, mammals, reptiles and amphibians are likely to face significant habitat losses.

Over the last few decades, Madagascar's rainforest has been subjected to deforestation and overharvesting. Scientists used predictive models to simulate the impacts of human-caused climate change and deforestation on the island's vital habitat.

Scientists also analyzed the results of two surveys of two critically endangered ruffed lemur species. These apes, found nowhere else on Earth, provide the forest with vital ecosystem services. But as several studies have previously shown, many of Madagascar's lemur populations are rapidly declining.

RELATED Mothering poison frog in Madagascar helps scientists study the maternal brain

"Because of their essential role as seed dispersers and their sensitivity to habitat degradation, ruffed lemurs serve as a critical indicator of the health of Madagascar's entire eastern rainforest," Andrea Baden, a professor of anthropology at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, said in a news release.

Models showed that if global warming and deforestation continue at their current pace, roughly half of all available lemur habitat could disappear over the next few decades.

"Even more alarming, these two factors together are projected to essentially decimate suitable rainforest habitat by the end of the century," Baden said.

RELATED New study finds most important marine areas aren't protected

The latest study suggests there are things policy makers and conservationists can do to protect lemurs and other members of the island's rainforest ecosystems. Protections for vital habitat and policies designed to curb deforestation rates could insulate the most vulnerable species from further declines.

Because ruffed lemurs are so important to the health of the rainforest, protecting their habitat can help safeguard dozens of other species. In addition to making large swaths of Madagascar's remaining rainforest off-limits to loggers and developers, researchers suggest conservation efforts focus on protecting corridors that connect large pockets of healthy lemur habitat.

"The results from our study will be useful to nonprofit organizations, park management, and the broader conservation community," Baden said. "Our results indicate potential conservation opportunities for ruffed lemurs and any of the rainforest-dwellers that rely on forest cover and connectivity. Protected areas are vital to species persistence."

RELATED Gut bacteria reveal which lemurs are most vulnerable to deforestation

RELATED Evolution brought rare flightless bird species back from the dead

SOME GOOD NEWS

Antarctic ice walls protect glaciers from warm ocean water
By
Brooks Hays
(0)


Ice walls along the outer edge of coastal glaciers help protect inland ice from warm ocean currents. Photo by University of Gothenburg

Feb. 27 (UPI) -- The planet's oceans are capable of storing a lot more heat than Earth's atmosphere. But while Antarctica's coastal glaciers have experienced accelerating melt rates over the last few decades, the continent's interior ice remains relatively stable.

This stability isn't well understood, nor are the threats to this stability.

Using data collected by an array of instruments deployed along the coast of the Getz glacier in West Antarctica, scientists at the University of Gothenburg, in Sweden, were able to gain new insights into the influence of warm ocean currents on the continent's ice shelves.

The data confirmed what previous studies have shown, that Antarctica's ice shelves are thinning as a result of global warming.

RELATED Scientists greatly underestimating methane emitted by humans

"What we found here is a crucial feedback process: the ice shelves are their own best protection against warm water intrusions," Céline Heuzé, Gothenburg climate researcher, said in a news release. "If the ice thins, more oceanic heat comes in and melts the ice shelf, which becomes even thinner etc. It is worrying, as the ice shelves are already thinning because of global air and ocean warming."

But the research also showed the walls at the edge of ice shelves are surprisingly effective at protecting inland ice from warm water.

The Getz glacier has a floating section measuring several hundred feet thick. Beneath this section lies saltwater. The end of this floating section features a vertical edge that plunges roughly 1,000 to 1,300 feet beneath the ocean surface.

RELATED Complex causes behind Arctic greening, researchers say

"Warm seawater flows beneath this edge, towards the continent and the deeper ice further south," said Anna Wåhlin, lead author of the study and professor of oceanography at Gothenburg.

But the new data showed most of the warm ocean currents are blocked by the vertical edge.

"This limits the extent to which the warm water can reach the continent," Wåhlin said. "We have long been stumped in our attempts to establish a clear link between the transport of warm water up on the continental shelf and melting glaciers."

RELATED Without sea ice, Arctic permafrost more likely to thaw

The new research, published this week in the journal Nature, highlights the importance of monitoring the nexus between ice and ocean at the ends of the floating portions of coastal glaciers.

The findings suggest the threats to coastal glaciers and the inland ice they guard are different than researchers previously estimated.

"We no longer expect to see a direct link between increasing westerly winds and growing levels of melting ice," Wåhlin said. "Instead, the increased water levels can be caused by the processes that pump up warmer, heavier water to the continental shelf, for example as low-pressure systems move closer to the continent."

SEE  https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/search?q=ANTARCTICA

SEE  https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/search?q=THWAITE

SEE  https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/search?q=GLACIER

Biofluorescence suprisingly common among amphibians

By Brooks Hays


In a newly published study, scientists reported biofluorescence in 32 amphibian species, including Cranwell's horned frog. Photo by St. Cloud State University

Feb. 27 (UPI) -- Until now, scientists knew of only four biofluorescent amphibians, one salamander and three frog species. According to a new study, published this week in the journal Scientific Reports, biofluorescence appears to be fairly common among amphibians.

For the study, Jennifer Lamb and Matthew Davis, biologists at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota, exposed a handful of specimens from 32 different amphibian species to ultra-violet light. Researchers used a spectrometer to measure the wavelengths of the light emitted by the amphibians.


All of the tested species proved to be biofluorescent, but each species boasted remarkably distinct patterns of fluorescence. Some featured a few splotches, while others boasted fluorescent bones. Some specimens had fluorescent patterns across their entire body.

The eyes of amphibians feature rod cells capable of detecting green and blue light. Biofluorescent patterns may help amphibians locate one another in low-light environs.

RELATED Flying radically transformed gut microbiomes of bats, birds

It's possible the feature could do the opposite, as well, helping frogs and salamanders blend in and camouflage themselves under certain light conditions.


According to the study, the fluorescence observed in the amphibians could have a variety of causes. It's possible many amphibians rely on fluorescent pigments in their dermal cells. Some species likely utilize fluorescent proteins. Previous studies have found tree frogs fluoresce by exuding biofluorescent, mucous-like secretions.

"For other vertebrates, ossified elements immediately beneath the skin are responsible for biofluorescent patterns ... under ultra-violet excitation," researchers wrote in their paper. "Here we found that the bones in the digits of the marbled salamander fluoresced in response to blue light."

The new study suggests that ancestors of modern amphibians likely also featured biofluorescence, which would explain the phenomenon being widespread among frogs and salamanders living today.

Scientists hope their discovery will inspire further investigation of the source and purpose of biofluorescence among specific amphibian species.

"Our results provide a roadmap for future studies on the characterization of molecular mechanisms of biofluorescence in amphibians, as well as directions for investigations into the potential impact of biofluorescence on the visual ecology and behavior of biofluorescent amphibians," scientists wrote.

RELATED Plankton species uses bioluminescence to scare off predators

RELATED Better understanding of coral-algae relationship could help prevent bleaching

Study explains how the oceans became so diverse

By Brooks Hays


Slow and steady diversification and a resilience to extinction explains the ocean's exceptional levels of biodiversity. Photo by Pxfuel/CC

Feb. 28 (UPI) -- Researchers have uncovered the source of the ocean's remarkable biodiversity.

According to the latest research, the ocean wasn't host to a rapid period of diversification. Likewise, the most diverse groups of marine species don't enjoy higher rates of speciation, or origination.

Instead, scientists found several marine lineages have maintained a slow and steady pace of diversification over long periods of time. Mobility and adaptability has allowed these lineages of fishes, arthropods and mollusks to avoid extinction.

For the study -- published Friday in the journal Science -- scientists analyzed some 20,000 genera of fossil marine species from the past 500 million years, as well as roughly 30,000 genera of living marine animals.

RELATED Curbing nutrient overload helps coral resist bleaching

Their findings showed that while many other lineages were forced to start from ground zero after extinction events, fishes, arthropods and mollusks have been both adaptable and resilient.

"Being a member of an ecologically flexible group makes you resistant to extinction, particularly during mass extinctions," lead study author Matthew Knope, assistant professor of biology at the University of Hawaii at Hilo, said in a news release. "The oceans we see today are filled with a dizzying array of species in groups like fishes, arthropods, and mollusks, not because they had higher origination rates than groups that are less common, but because they had lower extinction rates over very long intervals of time."

Scientists have previously hypothesized that higher rates of speciation were essential to diversification -- that the ability to originate more species allowed the most diverse lineages to adapt to a wide variety of ecological niches. But the latest research found the opposite.

RELATED One billion-year-old green seaweed fossils unearthed in China

The paleontological data showed diversification was actually associated with slower rates of origination.

"Perhaps the fable of the tortoise and the hare is apt in explaining marine animal diversification: some groups jumped out to an early diversity lead only to be surpassed by other groups that were more ecologically diverse and less evolutionarily volatile, with steady diversification rates and strong resistance to mass extinctions," Knope said.

Authors of the new study suggest an improved understanding of how biodiversity develops can help scientists and policy makers grapple with the likely impacts of environmental disruption, like climate change, on today's marine animals.

RELATED Data analysis shows evolutionary burst, decline of Mesozoic sea reptile

"Paleontology can help us identify traits that helped species survive and thrive in the past, including during mass extinctions," said co-author Andrew Bush, an associate professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Connecticut. "Hopefully, research like this can help us plan for the effects of environmental disruption in the coming decades."

RELATED Biologists publish first global map of fish genetic diversity