ScienceDaily Environment Headlines
for Thursday, July 22, 2010
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Climate change causes larger, more plentiful marmots, study shows; Implications for many creatures that hibernate (July 22, 2010) -- Researchers have discovered that changes in seasonal timing can increase body weight and population size simultaneously in a species -- findings likely to have implications for a host of other creatures, especially those that hibernate. ... > full story
Marriage patterns drive fertility decline (July 22, 2010) -- Researchers have applied an evolutionary "use it or lose it" principle when studying past marriage patterns, to show that marriage can influence the evolution of age-patterns of fertility. ... > full story
What causes hybrid vigor? Researchers find genetic 'noise' caused by surprising variation in gene activity (July 22, 2010) -- Plant scientists have provided a new solution to an old debate on why species hybrids can be more vigorous than their parents. The researchers found a type of genetic "noise" caused by a surprising degree of variation in gene activity even for highly similar traits in closely related species. They found that when species hybridize, some of the variation in gene activity may be canceled out, leading to greater vigor. ... > full story
Military greenhouse gas emissions: EPA should recognize environmental impact of protecting foreign oil, researchers urge (July 22, 2010) -- US military operations to protect oil imports coming from the Middle East are creating larger amounts of greenhouse gas emissions than once thought, new research from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln shows. ... > full story
Need for protection against ticks that carry Lyme disease confirmed by new research (July 21, 2010) -- Research on the population of black-legged ticks, which can transmit Lyme disease from host animals to humans, reinforces that it is important to take preventative measures when spending time outdoors. ... > full story
Stormwater model to inform regulators on future development projects (July 21, 2010) -- Researchers have developed a computer model that will accurately predict stormwater pollution impacts from proposed real-estate developments -- allowing regulators to make informed decisions about which development projects can be approved without endangering water quality. The model could serve as a blueprint for similar efforts across the United States. ... > full story
Finding frugal aliens: 'Benford beacons' concept could refocus search for signs of intelligent extraterrestrial life (July 21, 2010) -- By looking at the point-of-view of ET civilizations sending beacons, an astrophysicist and microwave-expert brother advocate new approach for SETI to find signals of intelligent alien life. ... > full story
Engineered stem cells may limit heart attack damage, improve function (July 21, 2010) -- Implanting tiny plastic scaffolds seeded with genetically engineered stem cells reduced organ damage and led to better cardiac function after a heart attack, according to new research. ... > full story
CSI at the service of cellulose synthesis: Plant researchers identify protein involved in formation of cellulose (July 21, 2010) -- Grains, vegetables and fruit taste delicious and are important sources of energy. However, humans cannot digest the main component of plants - the cellulose in the cell wall. Even in ruminants, animals that can metabolize cellulose, the digestibility of the cell wall plays a crucial role in feed utilization. Scientists are therefore looking for ways of increasing the digestibility of animal feed, and of utilizing plant cell walls to generate energy. To do this they must first understand how plant cells develop their cell walls from cellulose and identify the genes and proteins involved. Scientists have now discovered a hitherto unknown protein required for cellulose production. ... > full story
International law failing to protect coral reefs and tropical fish, experts argue (July 21, 2010) -- International law has failed to protect coral reefs and tropical fish from being decimated by a growing collectors market, but US reforms can lead the way towards making the trade more responsible, ecologically sustainable and humane, according to a group of 18 experts. ... > full story
Primitive frogs do a belly flop: Study shows that frogs evolved jumping before they refined landing (July 21, 2010) -- Sometimes divers, to their own painful dismay, do belly flops. But did you ever see a frog belly flop? That's just what primitive living frogs do, according to a new study looking at the evolution of frog jumping and landing. They found that frogs became proficient at jumping before they perfected landing. This evolutionary split, characterized by an inability to rapidly rotate the limbs forward during flight in order to land front legs first, might also explain why primitive frogs' back legs are out-of-phase with one another when they swim. ... > full story
Do cleaning products cause breast cancer? (July 21, 2010) -- Women who report greater use of cleaning products may be at higher breast cancer risk than those who say they use them sparingly. Researchers asked more than 1500 women about their cleaning product usage and found that women who reported using more air fresheners and products for mold and mildew control had a higher incidence of breast cancer. ... > full story
New methodology improves winter climate forecasting (July 21, 2010) -- It's hot out right now, but new research will help us know what to expect when the weather turns cold. Researchers have developed a new methodology that improves the accuracy of winter precipitation and temperature forecasts. The tool should be valuable for government and utility officials, since it provides key information for use in predicting energy consumption and water availability. ... > full story
Poplar tree protein can be used to shrink memory elements and increase computer memory density (July 21, 2010) -- Scientists in Israel have succeeded in showing how it is possible to greatly expand the memory capacity of future computers through the use of memory units based on silica nanoparticles combined with protein molecules obtained from the poplar tree. ... > full story
Where the wild veggies are: Cultivated cucumber and melon originated in Asia and Australia (July 21, 2010) -- Cucumbers and melons are familiar items on our market stands. Botanists have now shown that both plants originated in Asia. The cucumber traces its ancestry to the slopes of the Himalayas, but, surprisingly, the closest living wild relative of the melon is found in Australia. ... > full story
Flower organ's cells make random decisions that determine size (July 21, 2010) -- The sepals of the plant Arabidopsis thaliana -- commonly known as the mouse-eared cress -- are characterized by an outer layer of cells that vary widely in their sizes, and are distributed in equally varied patterns and proportions. Scientists have long wondered how the plant regulates cell division to create these patterns. Melding time-lapse imaging and computer modeling, a team of scientists has provided a somewhat unexpected answer to this question. ... > full story
Drilling down to the nanometer depths of leaves for biofuels (July 21, 2010) -- By imaging the cell walls of a zinnia leaf down to the nanometer scale, energy researchers have a better idea about how to turn plants into biofuels. A team has used four different imaging techniques to systematically drill down deep into the cells of Zinnia elegans. ... > full story
New way to target viruses could make antiviral drugs more effective (July 21, 2010) -- Scientists have developed a new way to target viruses which could increase the effectiveness of antiviral drugs. Instead of attacking the virus itself, the method developed at the University of Edinburgh alters the conditions which viruses need to survive and multiply. ... > full story
Expedition to Mid-Cayman Rise identifies unusual variety of deep sea vents (July 21, 2010) -- The first expedition to search for deep-sea hydrothermal vents along the Mid-Cayman Rise has turned up three distinct types of hydrothermal venting, report marine biologists. The work was conducted to search extreme environments for geologic, biologic, and chemical clues to the origins and evolution of life. ... > full story
First-of-its-kind map details the height of the globe's forests (July 21, 2010) -- Using satellite data, scientists have produced a first-of-its kind map that details the height of the world's forests. Although there are other local- and regional-scale forest canopy maps, the new map is the first that spans the entire globe based on one uniform method. ... > full story
Computer program predicts MRSA bacteria's next move (July 21, 2010) -- Researchers are using computers to identify how one strain of dangerous bacteria might mutate in the same way a champion chess player tries to anticipate an opponent's strategies. The predictive software could result in better drug design to beat antibiotic-resistant mutations. ... > full story
Rapid losses of Africa's native livestock threaten continent's food supply, experts warn (July 21, 2010) -- Urgent action is needed to stop the rapid and alarming loss of genetic diversity of African livestock that provide food and income to 70 percent of rural Africans and include a treasure-trove of drought- and disease-resistant animals, according to a new analysis presented at a major gathering of African scientists and development experts. ... > full story
Rapid growth in adolescence leads to fewer offspring, biologists find (July 21, 2010) -- Biologists working on guppies report that rapid growth responses to increased food availability after a period of growth restriction early in life have repercussions in adulthood. Based on their experiments, the biologists found that female guppies that grew rapidly as juveniles produced fewer offspring than usual. The research sheds light on how organisms, including humans, respond to changes in their environment, such as food availability. ... > full story
Probiotics use in mothers limits eczema in their babies, study finds (July 21, 2010) -- Women who drank milk with a probiotic supplement during and after their pregnancy cut the incidence of eczema in their children by almost half compared to mothers who drank a placebo, researchers have shown. ... > full story
NOAA ship Fairweather maps aid shipping through Bering Straits (July 21, 2010) -- As Arctic ice recedes, countries are looking forward to faster, safer and more efficient sea routes across the top of the world. Responding to a request from the US Navy, US Coast Guard, Alaska Maritime Pilots and the commercial shipping industry, NOAA sent one of its premier surveying vessels, NOAA Ship Fairweather, to detect navigational dangers in critical Arctic waters that have not been charted for more than 50 years. ... > full story
Why some plants flower in spring, autumn and some in summer (July 20, 2010) -- Scientists have uncovered a new piece in the puzzle about why some plants flower in spring/autumn and some in summer. They have isolated a gene responsible for regulating the expression of CONSTANS, an important inducer of flowering, in Arabidopsis. This knowledge will enable more predictable flowering, better scheduling and reduced wastage of crops. ... > full story
Animal connection: New hypothesis for human evolution and human nature (July 20, 2010) -- It's no secret to any dog-lover or cat-lover that humans have a special connection with animals. But in new research, a paleoanthropologist argues that this human-animal connection goes well beyond simple affection. He proposes that the interdependency of ancestral humans with other animal species -- "the animal connection" -- played a crucial and beneficial role in human evolution over the last 2.6 million years. ... > full story
Underwater sponges and worms may hold key to cure for malaria (July 20, 2010) -- Healing powers for one of the world's deadliest diseases may lie within sponges, sea worms and other underwater creatures. A scientist is analyzing more than 2,500 samples from marine organisms collected off deep sea near Florida's coast. Some of them could hold the key to developing drugs to fight malaria, a mosquito-borne illness that kills more than 1 million people worldwide annually. ... > full story
Uncovering behavior of long-dead insects (July 20, 2010) -- What can you learn from the 120-year-old body of a parasitoid wasp? Using material from museum collections, researchers report that they can tell how males wasps court their females, based on dead specimens. ... > full story
Beach umbrellas do not block out all solar radiation, study shows (July 20, 2010) -- A team of researchers from Spain has found that 34% of ultraviolet radiation filters through under beach umbrellas. According to the study, umbrellas intercept the full direct flow that comes from the Sun, but not the diffused radiation that penetrates through from the sides. ... > full story
Health impacts of Deepwater Horizon disaster on coastal Louisiana residents surveyed (July 20, 2010) -- Researchers have conducted a survey to gain an understanding of the health impacts the ongoing Deepwater Horizon disaster is having on people living in Louisiana's coastal communities. ... > full story
Artificial cells communicate and cooperate like biological cells, ants (July 20, 2010) -- Researchers have designed "biologically inspired" artificial cells capable of self-organizing into independent groups that can communicate and cooperate, behaving like complex natural organisms. ... > full story
Adaptation in mole blood aids tunnelling (July 20, 2010) -- 'Super hemoglobin' allows moles to thrive underground. Researchers have made the first identification of an adaptation in the blood of Eastern moles which allows more efficient transport of carbon dioxide, facilitating the moles' burrowing behavior. ... > full story
Bioinformatics used to detect rogue use of synthetic biology (July 20, 2010) -- A team of students is using bioinformatics to implement federal guidance on synthetic genomics. The students' work will help gene synthesis companies and their customers better detect the possible use of manufactured DNA as harmful agents for bioterrorism. ... > full story
Cool roofs can offset carbon dioxide emissions and mitigate global warming, study finds (July 20, 2010) -- A new study has found that implementing cool roofs and cool pavements in cities around the world can not only help cities stay cooler, they can also cool the world, with the potential of canceling the heating effect of up to two years of worldwide carbon dioxide emissions. ... > full story
Microbial world's use of metals mostly unmapped (July 20, 2010) -- Microbes boast a broader and more diverse array of metal-driven chemical processes than scientists imagined. In fact, most have yet to be discovered, according to a first-of-its-kind technique that catalogs all of the metals in a microbe. The method could lead to innovative clean energy and bioremediation technologies. ... > full story
Of bugs and brains: Gut bacteria affect multiple sclerosis (July 20, 2010) -- Biologists have demonstrated a connection between multiple sclerosis -- an autoimmune disorder that affects the brain and spinal cord -- and gut bacteria. ... > full story
Unearthing King Tet: Key protein influences stem cell fate (July 20, 2010) -- Researchers have discovered that a protein called Tet 1 helps stem cells renew themselves and stay pluripotent -- able to become any type of cell in the body. ... > full story
When climate change becomes a health issue, are people more likely to listen? (July 20, 2010) -- Framing climate change as a public health problem seems to make the issue more relevant, significant and understandable to members of the public -- even some who don't generally believe climate change is happening, according to new research. ... > full story
Frog killer caught in the act: DNA barcoding reveals five undiscovered frog species among 30 wiped out by fungal epidemic (July 20, 2010) -- The first before-and-after view of an amphibian die-off has just been published. Using DNA barcodes, they showed that the fungal disease that wipes out frogs -- chytridiomycosis -- has killed an estimated 30 species of amphibians in Panama, including five species previously unidentified by scientists. ... > full story
Mermaid opens prospect of cleaner seas with pollution early warning system (July 20, 2010) -- Alarm at the massive oil plume in the Gulf of Mexico emphasizes the problem of marine pollution and how difficult it is to evaluate. Thanks to a EUREKA project, another heavily polluted maritime ecosystem, the European North Sea, has been for more than 20 years a test-bed for a highly advanced early-warning system for all types of pollution. This development is now aiding marine authorities around the world to keep seas clean. ... > full story
Flower power makes tropics cooler, wetter (July 19, 2010) -- The world is a cooler, wetter place because of flowering plants, according to new climate simulation. The effect is especially pronounced in the Amazon basin, where replacing flowering plants with non-flowering varieties would result in an 80 percent decrease in the area covered by ever-wet rainforest. ... > full story
'Violin fungus' genetically decoded (July 19, 2010) -- An international team has sequenced the genome of the common split gill mushroom, Schizophyllum commune, a widely distributed fungus which grows on and decomposes wood. It is this ability which scientists have exploited to improve the tonal qualities of wood used to make violins. ... > full story
Small fish exploits forbidding environment, turns jellyfish into dinner (July 19, 2010) -- Jellyfish moved into the oceans off the coast of southwest Africa when the sardine population crashed. Now another small fish is living in the oxygen-depleted zone part-time and turning the once ecologically dead-end jellyfish into dinner, according to an international team of scientists. ... > full story
June was the fourth consecutive month that was warmest on record (July 19, 2010) -- June was the fourth consecutive month that was the warmest on record for the combined global land and surface temperatures (March, April, and May were also the warmest). This was the 304th consecutive month with a combined global land and surface temperature above the 20th century average. The last month with below average temperatures was February 1985. ... > full story
Getting mosquitoes under control: Gene-silencing nanoparticles may put end to pesky summer pest (July 19, 2010) -- Summer just wouldn't be complete without mosquitoes nipping at exposed skin. Or would it? New research may help solve a problem that scientists and pest controllers have been itching to for years. Scientists have developed a way to use nanoparticles to deliver double-stranded ribonucleic acid to silence genes in mosquito larvae. ... > full story
Melting DNA into a barcode (July 19, 2010) -- A completely new method for producing an image of individual DNA molecules’ genetic make-up has been developed. According to the researchers, the technique could be used to find out more easily whether someone is carrying a genetic predisposition to certain diseases. ... > full story
High-speed study of zebrafish larvae: New technique can analyze larvae in seconds (July 19, 2010) -- With the aim of speeding up the process of studying zebrafish larvae and enabling large-scale studies, engineers have developed a new technique that can analyze the larvae in seconds. ... > full story
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