ScienceDaily Environment Headlines
for Thursday, July 29, 2010
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Marine biodiversity strongly linked to ocean temperature (July 29, 2010) -- Scientists have mapped and analyzed global biodiversity patterns for over 11,000 marine species ranging from tiny zooplankton to sharks and whales. ... > full story
A future with or without trees: Greenhouse gas emissions from Brazilian Amazon state (July 29, 2010) -- Researchers have estimated future emissions of carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane in the Brazilian Amazon state of Mato Grosso. The estimates were made by combining 105 years of historical data on land-use changes with possible scenarios for future deforestation and land use in the region. ... > full story
Hormonal birth control alters scent communication in primates (July 29, 2010) -- Hormonal contraceptives change the ways captive ring-tailed lemurs relate to one another both socially and sexually, according to a study that combined analyses of hormones, genes, scent chemicals and behavior. ... > full story
Genomes behave as social entities: Alien chromatin minorities evolve through specificities reduction (July 29, 2010) -- Researchers in Portugal and the U.S. studied the introgression -- the movement of a gene from one species into the gene pool of another -- of rye alien chromatin in the wheat genome, and showed that genomes behave like social entities. ... > full story
Three-year investigation of military munitions sea disposal site in Hawaii completed (July 29, 2010) -- The University of Hawaii at Manoa's School of Ocean Earth Science and Technology completed a three-year long investigation of Sea Disposal Site Hawaii Number 5, a deep-water military munitions disposal site in US coastal waters approximately 5 miles south of Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Hawaii. This complex investigation required the use of high-resolution sidescan sonar and remotely operated underwater vehicles to locate sea disposed munitions in water as deep as 1,500 feet. ... > full story
Ancient DNA identifies donkey ancestors, people who domesticated them (July 28, 2010) -- In a finding that says much about the people who lived in northern Africa 5,000 years ago, scientists believe domestication of the donkey was achieved by nomadic people responding to the growing borders of the Sahara. Scientists also determined the endangered African wild ass is the living ancestor of the modern donkey and found hints that one strain of African wild ass thought to be extinct may still be alive. ... > full story
Middle school students co-author research on enzyme for activating promising disease-fighters (July 28, 2010) -- Two middle school students from Wisconsin joined a team of scientists who are reporting the first glimpse of the innermost structure of a key bacterial enzyme. It helps activate certain antibiotics and anti-cancer agents so that those substances do their job. ... > full story
Nanotechnology for water purification (July 28, 2010) -- Researchers in India are investigating the use of several nanotechnology approaches to water purification. Water purification using nanotechnology exploits nanoscopic materials such as carbon nanotubes and alumina fibers for nanofiltration ... > full story
Marine phytoplankton declining: Striking global changes at the base of the marine food web linked to rising ocean temperatures (July 28, 2010) -- A new article reveals for the first time that microscopic marine algae known as phytoplankton have been declining globally over the 20th century. Phytoplankton forms the basis of the marine food chain and sustains diverse assemblages of species ranging from tiny zooplankton to large marine mammals, seabirds, and fish. ... > full story
Making eco-friendly diesel fuel from butter (July 28, 2010) -- The search for new raw materials for making biodiesel fuel has led scientists to an unlikely farm product -- butter. In a new study, researchers report that butter could be used as an eco-friendly feedstock, or raw material, for making diesel fuel. ... > full story
First step toward electronic DNA sequencing: Translocation through graphene nanopores (July 28, 2010) -- Researchers have developed a new, carbon-based nanoscale platform to electrically detect single DNA molecules. Using electric fields, the tiny DNA strands are pushed through nanoscale-sized thin pores in a graphene nanopore platform that ultimately may be important for fast electronic sequencing of the four chemical bases of DNA based on their unique electrical signature. ... > full story
Unexplained pattern of cosmic rays discovered (July 28, 2010) -- Researchers saw an unusual pattern when they looked at a "skymap" of the relative intensity of cosmic rays directed toward the Earth's Southern Hemisphere, with an excess of cosmic rays detected in one part of the sky and a deficit in another. A similar lopsidedness, called "anisotropy," has been seen from the Northern Hemisphere by previous experiments, but its source is still a mystery. ... > full story
Fly eye paves the way for manufacturing biomimetic surfaces (July 28, 2010) -- Rows of tiny raised blowfly corneas may be the key to easy manufacturing of biomimetic surfaces, surfaces that mimic the properties of biological tissues, according to researchers. ... > full story
Where do the drugs go? (July 28, 2010) -- Drug delivery inside the body is a complicated process. Compounds travel through a maze of aqueous solutions, lipid membranes, and barriers between the blood and tissues like the brain. New research presents a theoretical model that accurately predicts the hydration free energy (HFE) of a wide variety of organic compounds. ... > full story
Scientists tap into Antarctic octopus venom (July 28, 2010) -- Researchers have collected venom from octopuses in Antarctica for the first time, significantly advancing our understanding of the properties of venom as a potential resource for drug development. They also revealed the existence of four new species of octopus. ... > full story
Getting a step ahead of pathogens (July 28, 2010) -- A recent article examines the possibility of using epistasis to predict the outcome of the evolutionary processes, especially when the evolving units are pathogens such as viruses. ... > full story
New drug delivery technique: Nanoblasts from laser-activated nanoparticles move molecules, proteins and DNA into cells (July 28, 2010) -- Using chemical "nanoblasts" that punch tiny holes in the protective membranes of cells, researchers have demonstrated a new technique for getting therapeutic small molecules, proteins and DNA directly into living cells. ... > full story
Latest 'green' packing material? Mushrooms; Packing foam engineered from mushrooms and agricultural waste (July 28, 2010) -- A new packing material that grows itself is now appearing in shipped products across the country. The composite of inedible agricultural waste and mushroom roots is called Mycobond, and its manufacture requires just one eighth the energy and one tenth the carbon dioxide of traditional foam packing material. ... > full story
Urine: Waste product or future power source? (July 28, 2010) -- Researchers in the UK are looking into the use of urine as the ‘fuel’ for microbial fuel cells (MFCs), which use bacterial cultures to break down ‘food’ to create power. MFCs are a developing technology used to power autonomous robots. ... > full story
Can you ask a pig if his glass is half full? (July 28, 2010) -- Experts in the UK have shown for the first time that a pig's mood mirrors how content he is, highlighting that pigs are capable of complex emotions which are directly influenced by their living conditions. ... > full story
Protein identified that can result in fragile bones (July 28, 2010) -- Too little of a protein called neogenin results in a smaller skeleton during development and sets the stage for a more fragile bone framework lifelong, researchers report. ... > full story
Researchers' 'Posseidon' adventure could save shipping industry millions (July 28, 2010) -- Researchers could save the world’s shipping industry millions of pounds in repairs to broken down vessels after developing a computerized warning system which keeps the ‘lifeblood’ of a ship flowing. The Posseidon system, a new sensor-based processing unit, can continuously monitor the ship’s lubricated system, allowing crews on board to predict any deterioration or contamination in the oil, anticipate problems, allowing them to take action before damage and failure occurs. ... > full story
Multifunctional nanoparticle enables new type of biological imaging (July 28, 2010) -- By combining a nanoparticle's magnetic and thermal properties, researchers have created a new technique that virtually eliminates the background noise from non-radioactive medical imaging. ... > full story
Researchers investigate effects of lightning strikes on aircraft (July 28, 2010) -- Scientists in the UK are researching the potential for damage posed by lightning for carbon fibre composites (CFCs), which are increasingly being used in aircraft manufacture, with a view to reducing damage and minimizing repair costs. ... > full story
Key milestone towards the development of a new clinically useful antibiotic (July 27, 2010) -- Scientists have identified the genes necessary for making a highly potent and clinically unexploited antibiotic in the fight against multi-resistant pathogens. ... > full story
Calcium connections: Basic pathway for maintaining cell's fuel stores (July 27, 2010) -- Investigators have described a previously unknown biological mechanism in cells that prevents them from cannibalizing themselves for fuel. The mechanism involves the fuel used by cells under normal conditions and relies on an ongoing transfer of calcium between two cell components via an ion channel. Without this transfer, cells start consuming themselves as a way of to get enough energy. ... > full story
Native-like spider silk produced in metabolically engineered bacteria (July 27, 2010) -- Biomolecular engineers have developed technology to artificially create spider dragline silk proteins that can be used to make ultra-strong synthetic fibers and bulletproof vests. ... > full story
Engineered coral pigment helps scientists to observe protein movement (July 27, 2010) -- Scientists have shown that a variant form of a fluorescent protein originally isolated from a reef coral has excellent properties as a marker protein for super-resolution microscopy in live cells. ... > full story
Ötzi’s secrets about to be revealed (July 27, 2010) -- Using the latest technologies, scientists in Europe have reached a new milestone in their study of the iceman known as Ötzi. For the first time since his discovery almost 20 years ago, scientists now have access to the complete genetic profile of this world-famous mummy. ... > full story
Potentially hazardous asteroid might collide with the Earth in 2182 (July 27, 2010) -- The potentially hazardous asteroid ‘(101955) 1999 RQ36’ has a one-in-a-thousand chance of impacting the Earth, and more than half of this probability indicates that this could happen in the year 2182, according to a new study. Knowing this fact may help design in advance mechanisms aimed at deviating the asteroid’s path. ... > full story
Shade-coffee farms support native bees that maintain genetic diversity in tropical forests (July 27, 2010) -- Shade-grown coffee farms support native bees that help maintain the health of some of the world's most biodiverse tropical regions, according to a new study. ... > full story
Carbon emissions threaten fish populations (July 27, 2010) -- Humanity's rising carbon dioxide emissions could have a significant impact on the world's fish populations, according to groundbreaking new research. Baby fish may become easy meat for predators as the world's oceans become more acidic due to CO2 fallout from human activity, researchers have discovered. ... > full story
Segmentation is the secret behind the extraordinary diversification of animals (July 27, 2010) -- Segmentation, the repetition of identical anatomical units, seems to be the secret behind the diversity and longevity of the largest and most common animal groups on Earth. Researchers have shown that this characteristic was inherited from a common segmented ancestor thought to have lived 600 million years ago and whose presence "changed the face of the world." ... > full story
Bird flu: Preening spreads viruses in nature (July 27, 2010) -- Scientists discovered that the preen oil gland secretions, by which all aquatic birds make their feathers waterproof, support a natural mechanism that concentrates AIVs from water onto birds' bodies. Since waterbirds use to spread preen oil over their own (self-preening) or other birds' (allo-preening) plumage, it is easily understandable how these preening activities could facilitate the diffusion of the viruses in nature. ... > full story
Oceanographic linkages indicate an alternative route for eel larval drift to Europe (July 27, 2010) -- European eel larvae are generally believed to initially follow a westerly drift route into the Gulf Stream, but new research results on bio-physical linkages in the Sargasso Sea point to a shorter route towards Europe. ... > full story
NASA satellite improves pollution monitoring (July 27, 2010) -- NASA scientists use satellite precipitation data to improve water pollution monitoring models. ... > full story
Indonesia's puzzling Banda arc: New findings explain mystery behind geological development (July 27, 2010) -- The Banda arc -- a gigantic 1,000km long, 180-degree curve in eastern Indonesia -- has puzzled geologists for many years, with much debate and controversy surrounding its complex origin and evolution. A solution to this enigma, resolving many of the previous problems, has finally been found. ... > full story
Keeping trains on track: Early-warning hazard system for the world's railways (July 27, 2010) -- Researchers are collecting high-tech sensing data from satellites, airplanes, magnetic and soil sensors, and unmanned aircraft to devise a solution that will provide a reliable early-warning system for train operators. ... > full story
Converging weather patterns caused last winter's huge snows in U.S. (July 26, 2010) -- The memory of last winter's blizzards may be fading in this summer's searing heat, but scientists studying them have detected a perfect storm of converging weather patterns that had little relation to climate change. The extraordinarily cold, snowy weather that hit parts of the US East Coast and Europe was the result of a collision of two periodic weather patterns in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, a new study finds. ... > full story
Arctic voyage illuminating ocean optics (July 26, 2010) -- During NASA's ICESCAPE voyage to the Arctic, scientists have been looking at the phytoplankton in the Arctic's Chukchi Sea -- how many, how big and at what depths they are found. But there are other ways of looking at these small life forms. ... > full story
How monarch butterflies fly away home (July 26, 2010) -- Some North American monarchs born in the Midwest and Great Lakes fly directly west over the Appalachians and settle along the eastern seaboard. This finding is the first proof of longitudinal migration and solves the long-standing mystery of why monarchs always show up later on the east coast compared to the interior. The study also suggests conservation efforts must target the Great Lakes region. ... > full story
Archaeologists discover biggest rat that ever lived: Weight of about 6 kilograms (over 13 lb) (July 26, 2010) -- Archaeological research in East Timor has unearthed the bones of the biggest rat that ever lived, with a body weight around six kilograms. Today's biggest rats weigh around two kilograms and live in rainforests in the Philippines and New Guinea. ... > full story
Missing link in cell mitosis discovered: The role of protein in controlling cell division unveiled (July 26, 2010) -- A major discovery promises to revolutionize the way scientists think about key aspects of cellular lifecycle and offers a new avenue for cancer researchers to explore in their quest to one day slow down the progression of cancer. ... > full story
Meals as medicine: Anti-obesity effects of soy in rat model of menopause (July 26, 2010) -- A diet rich in soy prevents weight gain in post-menopausal female rats, according to new research. ... > full story
An alchemist’s dream: Lead-free electronics (July 26, 2010) -- It’s been said that the typical mobile phone contains roughly half of all elements found on the Periodic Table. One of the most problematic substances used in phones and other electronics is lead. But making lead-free electronics has proved problematic – until now. Researchers have now developed a method that enables the industrial production of a substance that can be used to replace lead in many electronic applications. ... > full story
Non-human sugar in biotech drugs causes inflammation, study finds (July 26, 2010) -- Researchers have discovered that a kind of sugar molecule common to chimpanzees, gorillas and other mammals but not found in humans provokes a strong immune response in some people, likely worsening conditions in which chronic inflammation is a major issue. ... > full story
Storm elves and sprites recorded on video (July 26, 2010) -- A team of Spanish researchers has made a high-speed recording of elves and sprites in storms, fleeting and luminous electric phenomena produced in the upper layers of the atmosphere. ... > full story
New antibacterial material for bandages, food packaging, shoes (July 26, 2010) -- A new form of paper with the built-in ability to fight disease-causing bacteria could have applications that range from antibacterial bandages to food packaging that keeps food fresher longer to shoes that ward off foot odor. The new material consists of the thinnest possible sheets of carbon. ... > full story
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