The Obama administration reaffirmed its commitment to clean energy sources today by giving the green light to the controversial Cape Wind project, clearing the way for 130 wind turbines to be built off the coast of Cape Cod. The wind farm will be built in Nantucket Sound, and aims to harness the steady breezes blowing along the East coast to produce clean, albeit expensive energy.

The project had been delayed for almost a year due to opposition from local Native American tribes. Two Wampanoag tribes said the turbines, which will stand more than 400 feet above the ocean surface, would disturb spiritual sun greetings and possibly ancestral artifacts and burial grounds on the seabed, which was once exposed land before the sea level rose thousands of years ago [Boston Globe]. U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, who approved the project, assured the tribes that he had ordered modifications to lessen the turbines’ impact. He also said that the approval would require Cape Wind to conduct additional marine archaeological surveys and take other steps to reduce the project’s visual impact [Boston Globe]. If not held back by any other legal hurdles, construction could begin later this year.

The Horseshoe Shoals area of Nantucket Sound is said to be one of the best sites for a wind farm along the entire East coast: It not only has shallow, sheltered waters close to the shore, but also a strong supply of steady breezes. The wind farm is expected to produce as much power as a medium-size coal-fired power plant, and the project is also expected to reduce carbon emissions by the equivalent of 175,000 cars [Boston Globe]. The company behind the project, Cape Wind, says it can begin generating power by 2012 and hopes to supply power to the residents of Cape Cod and the nearby islands of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket.

Some economic details still need to be worked out: The price of its electricity is expected to be higher than conventional power, and Cape Wind is still in negotiations with the utility company National Grid, which has agreed to purchase and distribute some of the wind farm’s power. Despite this hiccup, Cape Wind says the wind farm will be source of hundreds of green jobs and a reliable domestic energy source, while offshore wind advocates are hoping it can jump-start the U.S. industry [WBUR]. Opponents, however, contend that the turbines won’t just endanger marine life but will also be an eyesore in this scenic tourist stop.

The United States is the world’s largest producer of wind power, but there are still no commercial offshore wind farms; Cape Wind hopes to be the first. The U.S. Department of Energy envisions offshore wind farms accounting for 4 percent of the country’s electric generating capacity by 2030 [WBUR].

Related Content:
80beats: Huge Offshore Wind Network Could Solve the Calm-Day Problem
80beats: Windmills on NYC Skyscrapers Sound Cool, but Wouldn’t Work
80beats: Wind Turbines Could Theoretically Power the Entire World, and Then Some
DISCOVER: High-Flying Windmills Blow Away Their Ground-Based Cousins

Image: iStockphoto

Who needs poppy plants to produce morphine? Last month scientists said they’d isolated the genes those plants use to synthesize the narcotic chemical and made it themselves in a lab. Now, in a study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, another team has suggested that we mammals might possess the pathway to create our own morphine.

Because we have receptors for the opiate in our brains (which makes it such an effective and addictive painkiller), and because morphine traces show up in our urine, scientists had long wondered if animals could produce the drug themselves. But studies using living animals yielded inconclusive results because of possible contamination from external sources of morphine in their food or in the environment [Nature]. In addition, the body breaks down and changes morphine, which complicates the task.

To sort out this mess, researchers injected mice with tetrahydropapaveroline (THP). Human brain cells have this chemical, and plants use it to make morphine. After the injection, mice started to turn the THP into salutaridine. In morphine-producing poppy plants salutaridine is then converted to thebaine, which undergoes further reactions to become morphine. The researchers show that mice can also do that chemical conversion, as well as others needed to generate morphine [Science News].

“This paper seems to be one of the most definitive I’ve seen,” says Chris Evans, a neurobiologist and expert on opioid drugs at the University of California, Los Angeles. “They’ve convincingly shown that there’s a pathway there which could possibly produce morphine” [Nature News]. But to what end? This study simply showed that the morphine-producing pathway is possible; it didn’t find traces in tissue. Thus, it can’t say for sure that mammals do produce morphine naturally, nor for what it would be used. Pain relief seems the obvious answer, since that’s the most common use of plant-created morphine, but the scientists don’t know if the body could make enough for that purpose.

The other outstanding question is: Did animals and plants evolve these pathways separately, or do parts of it date all the way back to simple common ancestors before the kingdom split? Coauthor Meinhart Zenk is leaning toward independent evolution, because the early parts of the process are different.

Related Content:
80beats: The Poppy’s Secret: Scientists Find the Genes That Make Morphine
80beats: To Help Heroin Addicts, Give Them… Prescription Heroin?
80beats: A Prompt Dose of Morphine Could Cut PTSD Risk for Wounded Soldiers
DISCOVER: The Biology of Addiction
DISCOVER: Vital Signs, all our medical mysteries

Image: flickr / Evil Erin

The guys guarding the velvet rope at downtown's hottest nightspot may be tough--but at least they don't spit like these llama bouncers. The BBC reports that two llamas, Willy and Jack, have been drafted to protect the eggs and chicks of wading birds at the Merseyside nature park in Britain--in particular, they'll guard lapwing and redshank birds, which are threatened species in England. Researchers say that the highly territorial llamas will kick up a fuss if intruders drop by, and will scare away foxes and other predators looking to snack on eggs or chicks. With the llamas on watch, the park officers hope, the young birds will have a shot at survival. This is not the first time that llamas have been deployed to protect livestock. The llama and its relative the alpaca have previous work experience protecting lambs and sheep from predators. Alpacas, in fact, come with great references—having been employed by the Prince of Wales to protect his lambs from foxes during lambing season at his Gloucestershire estate. Looking at the llamas' resumes, it’s their bouncing skills that stand out. The BBC describes:
It is hoped their slightly erratic behavior, along with the groaning noises and the sound they make when afraid or ...

You should probably just click this to see the whole comic. Notice I didn’t say "… see the whole joke" because, of course, it’s true. It’s also true that lobsters live in trees.

Incidentally, and no joke, this comes when a dozen astronomers are headed to Capitol Hill to make the case that astronomy is important. I hope they can do it. It is important!

I’m on the road today, so I don’t have time to explain the fascinating science behind this freaky new picture of feathered dinosaurs young and old. So let me just direct your attention to fellow D-blogger, Ed Yong, and Nature’s Janet Fang for more.

[Image by Xing Lida and Song Qijin]