Stable carbon isotope ratios of rock varnish organic matter: a new paleoenvironmental indicator

Stable carbon isotope ratios of organic matter in rock varnishes of Holocene age from western North America and the Middle East show a strong association with the environment. This isotopic variability reflects the abundance of plants with different photosynthetic pathways in adjacent vegetation. Analyses of different layers of varnish on late Pleistocene desert landforms indicate that the carbon isotopic composition of varnish organic matter is a paleoenvironmental indicator.     

Epizootic Carcinoma in the Winter Flounder, Pseudopleuronectes americanus

The winter flounder, Pseudopleuronectes americanus, is an esteemed food fish and has sustained an important commercial and recreational fishery for many years in the northeastern United States. Histopathologic examinations of hepatic tissues of winter flounder from Boston Harbor revealed a high prevalence of neoplasms. The lesions, designated as cholangiocarcinomas and hepatocarcinomas, were found in 16 of 200 fish examined and resembled those experimentally induced in rodents by exposure to carcinogens.