ScienceDaily Environment Headlines
for Friday, March 18, 2011
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A new evolutionary history of primates (March 18, 2011) -- A robust new phylogenetic tree resolves many long-standing issues in primate taxonomy. The genomes of living primates harbor remarkable differences in diversity and provide an intriguing context for interpreting human evolution. The phylogenetic analysis was conducted by international researchers to determine the origin, evolution, patterns of speciation, and unique features in genome divergence among primate lineages. ... > full story
Intervention offers 'best chance' to save species endangered by climate change, expert argues (March 18, 2011) -- A scientist is proposing a radical program of "assisted colonization" to save species endangered by climate change. He says the strategy is applicable across the world, and he suggests Britain as a potential haven for species such as the Iberian lynx, the Spanish Imperial Eagle, the Pyrenean Desman and the Provence Chalkhill Blue butterfly. ... > full story
Vitamin A plays key role in the human body, study suggests (March 18, 2011) -- In a recently published study mapping the structure and function of the so-called "orphan" nuclear receptor TR4, investigators suggest that vitamin A may play a more direct role than was previously known in certain physiological functions including sperm cell formation and the development of the central nervous system. ... > full story
Biodiversity conservation: Zoos urged to breed animals from threatened populations (March 17, 2011) -- Zoological gardens breed animals from threatened populations and can thus make a greater contribution towards biodiversity conservation. ... > full story
Bio-inspired sensors hold promise (March 17, 2011) -- Scientists are using insights from nature as inspiration for both touch and flow sensors -- areas that currently lack good sensors for recording and communicating the senses. ... > full story
New tool to monitor coral reef 'vital signs' (March 17, 2011) -- Scientists have created a new tool to monitor coral reef vital signs. By accurately measuring their biological pulse, scientists can better assess how climate change and other ecological threats impact coral reef health worldwide. ... > full story
Electric grid reliability: Increasing energy storage in vanadium redox batteries by 70 percent (March 17, 2011) -- Researchers have discovered that the vanadium redox battery's performance can be significantly improved by modifying its electrolyte solution. The finding could improve the electric grid's reliability and help connect more wind turbines and solar panels to the grid. ... > full story
E. coli engineered to produce record-setting amounts of alternative fuel (March 17, 2011) -- Scientists have produced 15 to 30 grams per liter of n-butanol by constructing a biochemical pathway and adding a driving force to E. coli, setting a record beyond current production practices. ... > full story
Why are the elderly so vulnerable to pneunomia? (March 17, 2011) -- Scientists are providing insight into why the elderly are so vulnerable to pneumonia and other bacterial infections. ... > full story
Fossils record reveals ancient migrations, trilobite mass matings (March 17, 2011) -- Fossilized snapshots are providing paleontologists with new insights into the behavior of ancient marine creatures. Like modern crabs and lobsters, trilobites appear to have gathered in large groups for protection when they shed their protective exoskeletons. During molting, there was safety in numbers. And, like their modern cousins, trilobites seem to have used these molting gatherings as opportunities for mating. ... > full story
New tool debuts for measuring indoor air pollutants (March 17, 2011) -- A promising new approach for checking the accuracy of measurements of hazardous indoor air pollutants may soon be ready for prime time, researchers report. The measurement tool, a reference sample for volatile organic compounds (VOCs), would be a boon to testers of indoor air quality and to manufacturers of paints, rugs, cleaners and other building products. ... > full story
New technique enables much faster production of inexpensive solar cells (March 17, 2011) -- Researchers have demonstrated that the speed at which inexpensive solar cells are produced can be increased by a factor of 10 -- and that this can be achieved without any detriment to the energy yield of the cells. This will almost certainly result in a further reduction in the price of the cells, which are made of amorphous silicon. ... > full story
New laser technique opens doors for drug discovery (March 17, 2011) -- Researchers have demonstrated that a new laser technique can be used to measure the interactions between proteins tangled in a cell's membrane and a variety of other biological molecules. These extremely difficult measurements can aid the process of drug discovery. ... > full story
Not so eagle eyed: New study reveals why birds collide with human-made objects (March 17, 2011) -- From office block windows to power lines and wind turbines, many species of bird are prone to colliding with large human-made objects, many of which appear difficult not to notice to human eyes. A new study outlines a new approach to understanding how birds see the world and why they find pylons and turbines so hard to avoid. ... > full story
Saint Patrick didn’t have it easy ... but at least the food wasn’t bad (March 17, 2011) -- Shipped to Ireland as a slave, it must have been a cold, hungry journey for Patrick. But through her researches, an Irish food expert has been able to recreate the diet available in 5th century Ireland to a young saint-in-the-making. ... > full story
Sounds of Japan earthquake and aftershocks from underwater observatories (March 17, 2011) -- Researchers in Spain have recorded the sound of the earthquake that shook Japan on Friday, March 11. The recording, now available online, was provided by a network of underwater observatories located on either side of the earthquake epicenter, close to the Japanese island of Hatsushima. ... > full story
Rare Andean cat no longer exclusive to the Andes (March 17, 2011) -- Once thought to exclusively inhabit its namesake mountain range, the threatened Andean cat -- a house cat-sized feline that resembles a small snow leopard in both appearance and habitat -- also frequents the Patagonian steppe at much lower elevations, according to a new study. ... > full story
Omalizumab relieves seasonal asthma attacks in youth, study finds (March 17, 2011) -- A drug that targets the antibody immunoglobulin E, a key player in asthma, nearly eliminated seasonal increases in asthma attacks and decreased asthma symptoms among young people living in inner city environments, a clinical trial has found. ... > full story
NASA's Aqua satellite spies a '3-leaf Clover' view of Ireland for St. Patrick's Day (March 17, 2011) -- Typical clovers have three leaves, unless you happen to be lucky, and NASA's Aqua satellite has provided three different views of Ireland to mark Saint Patrick's Day on March 17, 2011. With the luck o' the Irish, NASA's Aqua satellite was fortunate to capture mostly clear views of the Emerald Isle in these near-infrared/visible, infrared and microwave light views acquired by Aqua's Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument on March 3, 2011, at 13:11 UTC. ... > full story
Plasticity of plants helps them adapt to climate change (March 17, 2011) -- The phenotypic plasticity of plants, which enables them to change their structure and function, helps them to adapt to environmental change, according to new research. This research will make it easier to anticipate plants' response to current climate change. ... > full story
Northern peatlands a misunderstood player in climate change (March 17, 2011) -- Researchers have determined that the influence of northern peatlands on the prehistorical record of climate change has been over estimated, but the vast northern wetlands must still be watched closely as the planet grapples with its current global warming trend. ... > full story
Sexual plant reproduction: Male and female parts 'talk' in the same way as do cells in your brain (March 17, 2011) -- Scientist have discovered that pollen, the organ that contains the plant male gametes, communicate with the pistil, their female counterpart, using a mechanism commonly observed in the nervous system of animals. ... > full story
Ancient 'hyperthermals' serve as guide to anticipated climate changes; Sudden global warming events more frequent? (March 16, 2011) -- Bursts of intense global warming that have lasted tens of thousands of years have taken place more frequently throughout Earth's history than previously believe, according to new evidence. ... > full story
High-tech concrete technology has a famous past (March 16, 2011) -- Almost 1,900 years ago, the Romans built what continues to be the world's largest unreinforced solid concrete dome in the world-the Pantheon. The secret is in the light-weight concrete used to build the dome and a process called internal curing. A new paper reviews the status of modern improvements on this ancient material. ... > full story
Zooming in on the weapons of Salmonella (March 16, 2011) -- Bacteria like salmonellae infect their host cells by needle-shaped extensions which they create in large numbers during an attack. Scientists have now employed recently developed methods of cryo-electron microscopy and have been able to clarify the structure of this infection apparatus on the near-atomic scale. The exact knowledge of the needles' building plan may help to develop substances that interfere with its function and thus prevent infection. ... > full story
Viscous cycle: Quartz is key to plate tectonics (March 16, 2011) -- More than 40 years ago, pioneering tectonic geophysicist J. Tuzo Wilson described how ocean basins opened and closed along North America's eastern seaboard. His observations, dubbed "The Wilson Tectonic Cycle," suggested the process occurred many times during Earth's long history, most recently causing the giant supercontinent Pangaea to split into today's seven continents. Now, new findings shed surprising light on these restless rock cycles. ... > full story
Pig model of cystic fibrosis improves understanding of disease (March 16, 2011) -- Using a newly created pig model that genetically replicates the most common form of cystic fibrosis, researchers have now shown that the CF protein is "misprocessed" in the pigs and does not end up in the correct cellular location. This glitch leads to disease symptoms, including gastrointestinal abnormalities and lung disease in the pigs, which mimic CF in humans. ... > full story
Japan earthquake disaster: Geophysicists create animation showing sequence of quakes (March 16, 2011) -- The earthquake disaster on March 11, 2011 was an event of the century not only for Japan. With a magnitude of Mw = 8.9, it was one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded worldwide. Two days before, a strong foreshock with a magnitude Mw = 7.2 took place almost exactly at the breaking point of the tsunami-earthquake. Geophysicists in Germany have now created an animation that shows the sequence of quakes since March 9. ... > full story
Why some microbial genes are more promiscuous than others (March 16, 2011) -- While most organisms get their genes from their parents, bacteria also regularly pick up genes from more distant relatives. This ability to "steal" snippets of DNA from other species is responsible for the rapid spread of drug resistance among disease-causing bacteria. A new study of more than three dozen species - including the microbes responsible for pneumonia, ulcers and plague -- settles a longstanding debate about why bacteria are more likely to steal some genes than others. Bacteria are more likely to adopt 'loner' genes than genes that are well-connected, the study finds. ... > full story
Naval sonar exercises linked to whale strandings, according to new report (March 16, 2011) -- An international team of researchers reports the first data on how beaked whales respond to naval sonar exercises. Their results suggest that sonar indeed affects the behavior and movement of whales. ... > full story
New 'dissolvable tobacco' products may increase risk of mouth disease (March 16, 2011) -- The first study to analyze the complex ingredients in the new genre of dissolvable tobacco products has concluded that these pop-into-the-mouth replacements for cigarettes in places where smoking is banned have the potential to cause mouth diseases and other problems. ... > full story
Earthquake could mean major shortage of some Japanese cars in US (March 16, 2011) -- American consumers thinking about buying a car made by Toyota, Nissan or Honda might want to make their decisions quickly. That's because work at Toyota, Nissan, Honda and other auto plants in Japan has been interrupted following the historic earthquake, resulting in a loss of 10,000 vehicles per day for Toyota alone. ... > full story
NASA satellite sees area affected by Japan tsunami (March 16, 2011) -- A new before-and-after image pair from the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) instrument on NASA's Terra spacecraft shows a region of Japan's northeastern coast, northeast of the city of Sendai, which was affected by the March 11, 2011 tsunami. ... > full story
How chickens keep their cool: Mutation explains odd look of Transylvanian naked neck chicken (March 16, 2011) -- Its head looks like a turkey's, its body resembles a chicken's -- now scientists can explain why one of the poultry world's most curious specimens has developed such a distinctive look. The Transylvanian naked neck chicken -- once dubbed a Churkey or a Turken because of its hybrid appearance -- has developed its defining feature because of a complex genetic mutation. ... > full story
Gene modification: Leaf beetle larvae attacking birch trees produce toxic cocktails that differ from the ones produced by conspecifics living on willows (March 16, 2011) -- Larvae of the leaf beetle Chrysomela lapponica attack two tree species: willow and birch. To fend off predator attacks, their larvae produce toxic butyric acid esters or salicylaldehyde, whose precursors they ingest with their leafy food. Scientists found that a change in the genome has emerged in beetles specialized on birch: The activity of the salicylaldehyde producing enzyme salicyl alcohol oxidase is missing in these populations, whereas it is present in willow feeders. ... > full story
Proteins may affect behavior and physiology of female mosquitoes (March 16, 2011) -- Researchers have identified 93 seminal fluid proteins and 52 sperm male-derived proteins that include candidates likely to affect the behavior and physiology of female mosquitoes of the species, Aedes aegypti. ... > full story
The development of better biotech enzymes (March 16, 2011) -- Enzymes are proteins that speed up chemical reactions, such as laundry detergent digesting protein stains, which are otherwise very difficult to remove. Scientists have now demonstrated a fundamental principle in changing the activity of enzymes by means of protein engineering. ... > full story
Malaria drug slows pancreatic cancer growth in mouse models (March 16, 2011) -- Scientists report they have used hydroxychloroquine, a drug routinely prescribed for malaria and rheumatoid arthritis, to shrink or slow the growth of notoriously resistant pancreatic tumors in mice. ... > full story
Unprecedented view of protein folding may help develop brain disease therapies (March 16, 2011) -- When vital proteins in our bodies are misfolded, debilitating diseases can result. If researchers could see the folding happen, they might be able to design treatments for some of these diseases. But many of our most critical proteins are folded, hidden from sight, inside tiny molecular chambers. Now researchers have gotten the first-ever peek inside one of these protein-folding chambers as the folding happened, and the folding mechanism they saw surprised them. ... > full story
Scientists fly through the clouds to piece together climate puzzle (March 16, 2011) -- As scientists try to better understand and put together the puzzle of Earth's climate, the role of clouds remains one of the most important missing pieces. Researchers from four NASA centers, other U.S. agencies and several colleges and universities are set to participate in the Mid-latitude Airborne Cirrus Properties Experiment (MACPEX), an airborne field campaign based at Ellington Field, Texas, that aims to answer some major questions about clouds. ... > full story
New study predicts cholera epidemic in Haiti will far exceed UN projections (March 16, 2011) -- A new study predicts that the cholera epidemic in Haiti this year will be far worse than United Nations' projections, which had estimated 400,000 cases of the diarrheal disease over the course of the epidemic. ... > full story
New vaccine candidate shows strong potential to prevent highly contagious norovirus (March 16, 2011) -- Scientists have found that an experimental vaccine against human norovirus -- the bug behind 90 percent of highly contagious nonbacterial illnesses causing diarrhea and vomiting -- generates a strong immune response in mice without causing the animals any harm. Using a novel viral vector-based method to grow and deliver the vaccine that has shown promise in other agents designed to fight such infections as HIV and hepatitis C, they are the first to test this vaccine design method's effectiveness against the human norovirus. ... > full story
Dairy farmer finds unusual forage grass (March 16, 2011) -- A grass breeder has rediscovered a forage grass that seems just right for today's intensive rotational grazing. ... > full story
Wheels up for NASA mission's most extensive Arctic ice survey (March 16, 2011) -- Researchers and flight crew arrived in Thule, Greenland, on March 14 for the start of NASA's 2011 Operation IceBridge, an airborne mission to study changes in Arctic polar ice. This year's plans include surveys of Canadian ice caps and expanded international collaboration. ... > full story
How tuberculosis bacteria manage to survive inside body’s macrophage cells (March 15, 2011) -- Tuberculosis kills two million people each year. Researchers in Sweden are now presenting new findings that show how the bacterium that causes the disease manages to survive inside the body’s macrophage cells in order eventually to blow them up and spread their infection. ... > full story
Seedlings thrive with distant relatives, seeds with close family (March 15, 2011) -- A variety of angiosperm seedlings suffered from competition when planted with near relatives in home soils and fared best with distant relatives. But, seeds did just the opposite in a new study. And seedlings in potting soil also grew best with near relatives, raising the question of why soils affect competition outcomes. ... > full story
Potentially pathogenic microbes growing on at least half of all orthodontic retainers, study suggests (March 15, 2011) -- Insufficient cleaning could allow build-up of microbes on orthodontic retainers, researchers have found. Researchers looked at the types of microbes which live on retainers. This study found potentially pathogenic microbes growing on at least 50% of the retainers. ... > full story
How pathogenic E. coli bacterium causes illness (March 15, 2011) -- Scientists have shown how the O157:H7 strain of Escherichia coli causes infection and thrives by manipulating the host immune response. The bacterium secretes a protein called NleH1 that directs the host immune enzyme IKK-beta to alter specific immune responses. This process not only helps the bacterium evade elimination by the immune system, it also works to prolong the survival of the infected host, enabling the bacterium to persist and ultimately spread to unaffected individuals. ... > full story
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