MARINE LIFE: Sea census finds shark hideaway

A shark playground, a sea stars mountain and octopi revealing an unsuspected Antarctic ancestry are among the mysteries unveiled in the latest worldwide effort to draft a census of all sea life.

At the World Conference on Marine Biodiversity in Valencia, Spain, which began Tuesday, researchers were to discuss the "Census of Marine Life" update report, which details efforts by more than 2,000 scientists from more than 80 nations to account for all the species in the world's oceans by 2010.

Since 2000, the census initiative -- executed by boat, tags, nets and submarine -- has uncovered more than 5,300 new species, ranging from blind lobsters to sulfur-eating bacteria. Among the discovery highlights:

• The deepest hydrothermal vents, 2.5 miles beneath the Atlantic Ocean, are thronging with species of shrimp and mussels.

• Great white and other sharks head to a previously unknown off-season Pacific region, perhaps to mate.

• Tens of millions of brittle sea stars were discovered tip-to-tip on an undersea mountain in the Antarctic Ocean.

• Combined genetic evidence from deep-sea octopi shows that many newer species evolved from a predecessor living in shallow Antarctic waters about 30 million years ago.

• The deepest comb jellyfish ever found was discovered at a depth of 23,455 feet in the Ryukyu Trench near Japan. The discovery raises questions about the availability of food resources at such depths.

ARCHAEOLOGY: Egypt finds new pyramid

Egypt's chief archaeologist has announced the discovery of a 4,300-year-old pyramid in Saqqara, the sprawling necropolis and burial site of the rulers of ancient Egypt.

The 16-foot tall pyramid is said to belong to Queen Sesheshet, the mother of King Teti who was the founder of the 6th Dynasty of Egypt's Old Kingdom.

Egypt's antiquities chief Zahi Hawass made the announcement Tuesday. Hawass says the new pyramid is the 118th discovered so far in Egypt.
SPACE EXPLORATION: Cold may delay launch

An approaching cold front could thwart NASA's plans to launch space shuttle Endeavour on Friday on a flight to the international space station.

Shuttle weather officer Kathy Winters said there was a 60% chance of acceptable conditions at the 7:55 p.m. Friday liftoff time and only a 40% chance Saturday.

During the 15-day mission, Endeavour's seven astronauts will deliver a new bathroom, kitchenette, two bedrooms and exercise machine, as well as a water recycling system -- and a new resident for the space station. A new astronaut will replace one of the three space station residents.
MAMMALS: Rat mystery nears end

In 1899, an English ship stopped at Christmas Island, near Australia. Within nine years, the island's entire native rat population had gone extinct, and scientists have wondered ever since what exactly happened.

Now, researchers led by an Old Dominion University scientist think they have unraveled the mystery -- and, they say, the lessons of Christmas Island apply today to issues such as disease, invasive species and the law of unintended consequences.

Turns out, says biology professor Alex Greenwood, that a British black rat had stowed away on the ship in a bale of hay. Upon reaching the island, the rat -- or several rats -- escaped on land and spread a so-called hyperdisease among the native population.

The study by Greenwood and eight colleagues, including ODU graduate student Kelly Wyatt, is published in this month's PLoS One, a scientific journal. It is being celebrated as the first evidence for extinction of a mammal entirely because of disease.
RESEARCH: Corn raises, cooks meat

The vast majority of the cows and chickens served at McDonald's, Burger King and Wendy's were raised on corn, and sizzling corn oil cooked many of the fries, according to a new study in Tuesday's issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Hope Jahren of the University of Hawaii said her researchers purchased three burgers, three chicken sandwiches and three orders of fries at three restaurants from each of the chains in Detroit, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver, Boston and Baltimore.

The foods then were tested for stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen that allow researchers to trace the type of fat used or the source of nutrition for the animals. Jahren, of the Department of Geology and Geophysics, is an expert on stable isotopes who researches analytical techniques.

Of course, fast-food companies do not raise livestock but purchase it from other companies.

The paper noted that most of the meat is developed in the final weeks before slaughter and that is also the time when the ratio of isotopes is set.

Jahren's study found that 100% of the sampled chicken had been fed a corn-based diet, as had most of the beef. Only 12 samples of beef -- all from Burger Kings on the West Coast -- indicated a food source in addition to corn.