In an unprecedented effort that was published online on the July 28,by the international journal Nature, a team of scientists mapped and analysed global biodiversity patterns for over 11,000 marine species ranging from tiny zooplankton to sharks and whales. The researchers found striking similarities among the distribution patterns, with temperature strongly linked to biodiversity for all thirteen groups studied. These results imply that future changes in ocean temperature, such as those due to climate change, may greatly affect the distribution of life in the sea. The scientists also found a high overlap between areas of high human impact and hotspots of marine diversity. Much research has been conducted on diversity patterns on land, but our knowledge of the distribution of marine life has been more limited.

Newly detected rising sea levels in parts of the Indian Ocean, including the coastlines of the Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea, Sri Lanka, Sumatra and Java, appear to be at least partly a result of human induced increases of atmospheric greenhouse gases, says a study led by the University of Colorado at Boulder. The study, which combined sea surface measurements going back to the 1960s and satellite observations, indicates anthropogenic climate warming likely in amplifying regional sea rise changes in parts of the Indian Ocean, threatening inhabitants of some coastal areas and islands, said CU-Boulder Associate Professor Weiqing Han, lead study author.

Today we like to introduce you to a group of animals found in abundance in our country and most other tropical countries in the world too. They are none other than reptiles which comprise most of the slithering creatures many of us are generally afraid of. How many of you are really scared of snakes, chameleons or crocodiles? Perhaps most of you are. Not only children but also most adults are afraid of these creatures even though some of these animals are really harmless. So, let's check out on this particular group of animals to see if we are familiar with any of them. What exactly is a reptile? Well, it is an animal that is cold blooded and breathes air just like you and me. They are called vertebrates. Reptiles can be as small as your little finger or many times as big as you are.

Is a bachelor’s degree today the financial equivalent of a high school diploma ten years ago? Do you need a master’s degree, or is an associate’s degree viable in today’s job market? Most of all, can you afford to go to college, and will you receive a financial return on your college expenses?

If there's one truism that goes virtually unchallenged these days, it's that a college degree has great value. Beyond the great books, beyond the critical reasoning skills, and beyond the experience itself, there's