On the Radar

The pick of the news in science

Skip the sausage

Eating processed meats every day is associated with a 42 per cent higher risk of heart disease and a 19 per cent higher risk of type 2 diabetes, according to a new study from Harvard.

The analysis, published online this week by the journal Circulation, combed through 20 studies involving over 1.2 million individuals and compared the impact of eating smoked, cured or chemically preserved processed or unprocessed beef, lamb or pork.

“Processed meats such as bacon, salami, sausages, hot dogs and processed deli meats may be the most important to avoid,” said researcher Renata Micha, who suggested that salt and preservatives may underlie the increased odds of heart disease and diabetes.

‘Pinnochio’ frog found 

In the run up to the International Day for Biological Diversity this Saturday, a report has highlighted one of the world’s great hotspots for recording new species.

Presenting findings from a 2008 expedition to the Foja Mountains in Indonesian New Guinea, the report logs the discovery of several previously unknown species including a wallaby, a blossom bat, 12 insects, a flowering shrub and a pair of imperial pigeons.

At times the scientists didn’t even have to look that far – a new species of frog (dubbed Pinnochio because of its long spiky nose) just turned up sitting on a bag of rice one day at the team’s campsite.

The expedition was carried out by Conservation International, National Geographic and the Smithsonian Institute.

“Given the complexity of the oil and the ocean, combined with the sheer volume of oil thats been released, it’s clear that adequately studying what’s going on out here will be a Herculean task

Science journalist Mark Schrope blogging for Nature about his experience on the research vessel Pelican, which is at the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico