Earthweek: A Diary of the Planet (July 26, 2013)

New "Life" Form
French scientists say they have discovered two new viruses so different from anything ever before seen on Earth that they might as well have come from outer space.  The new "Pandoravirus" species are so named because "opening" them has spawned so many questions about the nature of life.  One was found in a freshwater pond near Melbourne, Australia, and the other off the coast of central Chile.  They are larger than any other viruses ever discovered, and more than 90 percent of their genes are new to science.  The largest is a full 1 micrometer long and can easily be seen through a standard lab microscope.  "One of our jokes is that either they are from outer space or from a cellular ancestor that's now disappeared," said researcher Chantal Abergel from CNRS, the French national research agency.  Viruses are technically not alive because they can't generate their own energy.  It's thought that the Pandoraviruses were once live, self-supporting cells that downsized themselves to viruses by becoming parasites.
Greenhouse Greening
Increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels are causing deserts of the world to bloom with new green foliage, according to a new study.  Randall Donohue, from Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, used satellite observations from the past 30 years and found green foliage increased in arid regions during that period.  Higher levels of CO2 help the leaves during photosynthesis, the process by which green plants convert sunlight into sugar.  It can also help plants lose less water to the air during the process.  The findings were published in the journal Geophyscial Research Letters. 
War Not in Our Blood
It is not in human nature to make war, according to new research published in the journal Science.  Some scholars say that humankind inherited the inclination to wage war from its closest relative the chimpanzee, which exhibits a kind of war between groups.  But two researchers from Finland's Abo Akademi University say that's not the case and believe war developed with the rise of modern civilization, which caused conflicts over resources such as agriculture and livestock.   There is very little archeological evidence of war in our precivilized past.  So the researchers looked at modern-day hunter-gatherer people without the kind of property or social class divisions that emerged with the rise of civilization.  "When we looked at all the violent events, about 55 percent involved one person killing another.  That's not war," said Fry.  "When we looked at group conflicts, the typical pattern was feuds between families and revenge killings, which is not war either."  Only a very small number of more organized killings comparable to war were found, and almost all of them were in one of the 21 groups studied.
Earthquakes
A violent temblor in China's western Gansu province killed nearly 100 people and left more than 1,000 others severly injured.  The 5.9 magnitude quake caused about 1,200 buildings to collapse with tens of thousands of others becoming badly damaged.
*   Central New Zealand's strongest quake since 1942 burst water mains, smashed windows and downed power lines around the capital city of Wellington.
*    A moderate earth movement was felt in eastern Afghanistan and adjacent areas of Pakistan.
Java Eruption
Indonesian officials urged residents around Java's Mount Merapi to remain calm after the volcano belched steam and debris with a huge explosion.  But hundreds fled their villages along the slopes of Indonesia's most volatile volcano out of fears of an even more violent event.  Geologists said the blast was not an eruption, but due to rainwater building up pressure when it came in contact with ground made hot by subterranean lava.
Tropical Cyclone
The fourth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season formed off the coast of Africa on July 24.  Tropical Storm Dorian was predicted to remain well below hurricane force as it moved toward the Windward Islands.
*    Tropical Storm Flossie formed in the eastern Pacific well off Mexico.
Bird Paralysis
Ravens and crows in eastern British Columbia are being afflicted by a paralysis that has left at least dozens dead.  Wildlife rehabilitation expert Leona Gren said the first reports of the mysterious avian ailment emerged in the Peace Region during late May.  "They are all feathered out.  There's no wing damage and they seem quite bright, and if you feed them by hand, they will eat," Green told the Vancouver Sun.  "But their legs are completely paralyzed and their claws are clubbed with no feeling from their spines to their legs."  She added that without the use of their legs, they can't launch themselves into flight.  It's feared the birds are suffering from the effects of West Nile virus, to which they are especially susceptible.