2007 Top Ten of Polemic for Nature

Orange clingfish

The orange clingfish is a clingfish, the only species in the genus Diplocrepis. It is found all around New Zealand from low water to about 5 m, on rocky coastlines. This species grows to a length of 12.5 centimetres (4.9 in) SL

Phosphorus cycle

The phosphorus cycle is the biogeochemical cycle that describes the movement of phosphorus through the lithosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere. Unlike many other biogeochemical cycles, the atmosphere does not play a significant role in the movement of phosphorus, because phosphorus and phosphorus-based compounds are usually solids at the typical ranges of temperature and pressure found on Earth. The production of phosphine gas occurs in only specialized, local conditions. Therefore, the phosphorus cycle

Seafloor spreading

Seafloor spreading or Seafloor spread is a process that occurs at mid-ocean ridges, where new oceanic crust is formed through volcanic activity and then gradually moves away from the ridge

Wolf's mona monkey

Wolf's mona monkey, also called Wolf's guenon, is a colourful Old World monkey in the family Cercopithecidae. It is found in central Africa, primarily between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda. It lives in primary and secondary lowland rainforest and swamp forest

Brown snake

Brown snake may refer to:species of the genus Pseudonaja, highly venomous snakes native to Australia species of the genus Storeria, snakes endemic to North America and Central America King brown snake, a highly venomous snake of the family Elapidae

Somatopleuric mesenchyme

In the anatomy of an embryo, the somatopleure is a structure created during embryogenesis when the lateral plate mesoderm splits into two layers. The outer layer becomes applied to the inner surface of the ectoderm, and with it (partially) forms the somatopleure

Plant cell

Plant cells are eukaryotic cells present in green plants, photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Their distinctive features include primary cell walls containing cellulose, hemicelluloses and pectin, the presence of plastids with the capability to perform photosynthesis and store starch, a large vacuole that regulates turgor pressure, the absence of flagella or centrioles, except in the gametes, and a unique method of cell division involving the formation of a cell plate or phragmoplast that

Electromagnet

An electromagnet is a type of magnet in which the magnetic field is produced by an electric current. Electromagnets usually consist of wire wound into a coil. A current through the wire creates a magnetic field which is concentrated in the hole, denoting the center of the coil. The magnetic field disappears when the current is turned off. The wire turns are often wound around a magnetic core made from a ferromagnetic or ferrimagnetic material such as iron; the magnetic core concentrates the magnetic flux

Instrumental temperature record

The instrumental temperature record is a record of temperatures within Earth's climate based on direct, instrument-based measurements of air temperature and ocean temperature. Instrumental temperature records are distinguished from indirect reconstructions using climate proxy data such as from tree rings and ocean sediments. Instrument-based data are collected from thousands of meteorological stations, buoys and ships around the globe. Whilst many heavily-populated areas have a high density of measurements

Karyotype

A karyotype is a preparation of the complete set of metaphase chromosomes in the cells of a species or in an individual organism, sorted by length, centromere location and other features and for a test that detects this complement or counts the number of chromosomes. Karyotyping is the process by which a karyotype is prepared from photographs of chromosomes, in order to determine the chromosome complement of an individual, including the number of chromosomes and any abnormalities