ScienceDaily Environment Headlines
for Tuesday, December 29, 2009
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Scientists isolate new antifreeze molecule in Alaska beetle (December 29, 2009) -- Scientists have identified a novel antifreeze molecule in a freeze-tolerant Alaska beetle able to survive temperatures below minus 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Unlike all previously described biological antifreezes that contain protein, this new molecule, called xylomannan, has little or no protein. It is composed of a sugar and a fatty acid and may exist in new places within the cells of organisms. ... > full story
Deep sea anchors for offshore installations (December 29, 2009) -- A 13 meter-long, 80-ton anchor is currently being tested as a new mooring concept for offshore installations. ... > full story
Seeing how evolutionary mechanisms yield biological diversity (December 28, 2009) -- A international team of scientists has discovered how changes in both gene expression and gene sequence led to the diversity of visual systems in African cichlid fish. ... > full story
Adjusting acidity with impunity (December 28, 2009) -- How do individual cells or proteins react to changing pH levels? Researchers have now developed a technique for ‘gently’ adjusting pH: in other words, without damaging biomolecules. This should soon allow them to measure the activity of a single enzyme as a function of pH. ... > full story
Ladder-walking locusts use vision to climb, show big brains aren't always best (December 28, 2009) -- Scientists have shown for the first time that insects, like mammals, use vision rather than touch to find footholds. They made the discovery thanks to high-speed video cameras that they used to film desert locusts stepping along the rungs of a miniature ladder. The study sheds new light on insects' ability to perform complex tasks, such as visually guided limb control, usually associated with mammals. ... > full story
Microbes help mothers protect kids from allergies (December 28, 2009) -- A pregnant woman's exposure to microbes may protect her child from developing allergies later in life. Researchers in Germany find that exposure to environmental bacteria triggers a mild inflammatory response in pregnant mice that renders their offspring resistant to allergies. ... > full story
As the world churns: Earth's liquid outer core is slowly 'stirred' in a series of decades-long waves (December 28, 2009) -- A new study confirms theories that Earth's liquid outer core is slowly "stirred" in a series of regularly occurring waves of motion that last for decades. Measurements of Earth's magnetic field from observatory stations on land and ships at sea were combined with satellite data to determine common patterns of movement within Earth's core. The findings give scientists new insights into Earth's internal structure, the mechanisms that generate its magnetic field, and its geology. ... >&nb sp;full story
Whiteflies sabotage alarm system of plant in distress (December 28, 2009) -- When spider mites attack a bean plant, the plant produces odors attracting predatory mites. These mites then exterminate the spider mite population, thus acting as a type of "bodyguard" for the plant. However, if the plant is simultaneously attacked by whiteflies, insects that are related to aphids, the plant becomes less attractive to the mites and therefore more vulnerable to spider mites, say entomologists. ... > full story
Some birds listen, instead of look, for mates (December 28, 2009) -- Looks can be deceiving, but certain bird species have figured out that a voice can tell them most of what they need to know to find the right mate. Researchers found that the higher the pitch of a male bird's song, the more genetic diversity that bird has, making him a better mate for breeding. ... > full story
Scientists argue for a new type of climate target (December 28, 2009) -- In order to avoid dangerous consequences for the earth's ecosystems, global emissions must peak around 2015, and they need to be cut by half between the peak and 2030, according to new findings. ... > full story
Spider Mite Predators Serve As Biological Control (December 28, 2009) -- The control of spider mites, which damage tree leaves, reduce fruit quality and cost growers millions of dollars in the use of pesticide and oil spraying, is being biologically controlled in Pennsylvania apple orchards with two tiny insects known to be natural predators. ... > full story
How can evolutionary responses to climate change be measured? (December 28, 2009) -- As global temperatures continue to rise, scientists are presented with the complex challenge of understanding how species respond and adapt. ... > full story
Orchids' sexual trickery explained: Leads to more efficient pollinating system (December 28, 2009) -- A new study reveals the reason why orchids use sexual trickery to lure insect pollinators. The study finds that sexual deception in orchids leads to a more efficient pollinating system. ... > full story
Phragmites partners with microbes to plot native plants' demise (December 28, 2009) -- Researchers have uncovered a novel means of conquest employed by the common reed, Phragmites australis, which ranks as one of the world's most invasive plants. ... > full story
Wet Ethanol Production Process Yields More Ethanol And More Co-products (December 28, 2009) -- Using a wet ethanol production method that begins by soaking corn kernels rather than grinding them, results in more gallons of ethanol and more usable co-products, giving ethanol producers a bigger bang for their buck -- by about 20 percent. ... > full story
Helping vegetable plants make a less stressful transition from the greenhouse to the field (December 27, 2009) -- Plant physiologists have been investigating ways to help vegetable plants make a less stressful transition from the greenhouse to the field. ... > full story
Happy Flies Look For A Place Like Home (December 27, 2009) -- A happy youth can influence where a fruit fly chooses to live as an adult, according to new research. The study provides new insight into how animals choose places to live and raise their young. ... > full story
Glacier melt adds ancient edibles to marine buffet (December 27, 2009) -- Glaciers along the Gulf of Alaska are enriching stream and near shore marine ecosystems from a surprising source -- ancient carbon contained in glacial runoff. ... > full story
Milk thistle herb protects cancer patients from chemotherapy-associated liver toxicity (December 27, 2009) -- A new study finds that the herb milk thistle may help treat liver inflammation in cancer patients who receive chemotherapy. The study indicates that the herb could allow patients to take potent doses of chemotherapy without damaging their liver. ... > full story
Exposure to young triggers new neuron creation in females exhibiting maternal behavior (December 27, 2009) -- Maternal behavior itself can trigger the development of new neurons in the maternal brain independent of whether the female was pregnant or has nursed, according to a new study. The study was performed in adult, virgin rats. ... > full story
Flowering powers genetic understanding (December 27, 2009) -- New research on how plants adapt their flowering to climate is also helping to unravel some of the mysteries of how genes are controlled. Studies on a gene in Arabidopsis that controls flowering time are providing potential roles for non-coding RNA. ... > full story
Iranian Scholars Share Avicenna's Medieval Medical Wisdom (December 27, 2009) -- For pulmonary ailments, certain medieval physicians had a useful medical textbook on hand offering detailed information remarkably similar to those a modern doctor might use today. ... > full story
Further progress toward AIDS vaccine: Rabies-virus vaccine protects monkeys (December 26, 2009) -- Researchers are one step closer to developing a vaccine against the AIDS disease. They have found that a rabies virus-based vaccine administered to monkeys protected against the simian equivalent of the HIV virus (SIV). ... > full story
How the daisy got its spot: Insect mimicry (December 26, 2009) -- Dark spots on flower petals are common across many angiosperm plant families and occur on flowers such as some lilies, orchids, and daisies. Much research has been done on the physiological and behavioral mechanisms for how these spots attract pollinators. But have you ever wondered what these spots are composed of, how they develop, or how they only appear on some but not all of the ray florets? ... > full story
Tourists in Antarctica cause of major concern (December 26, 2009) -- The 40,000 'eco-tourists' who visit the South Pole every year cause enormous greenhouse gas emissions. The visitors to the snow-covered landmass are endangering not just the Antarctic region by their actions, but also the rest of the world. Scientists have investigated the impacts of increased tourism on Antarctica and how this impact could be curbed. ... > full story
Certain genes boost chances for distributing variety of traits, drive evolution (December 26, 2009) -- Genes that don't themselves directly affect the inherited characteristics of an organism but leave them increasingly open to variation may be a significant driving force of evolution, say scientists. ... > full story
The past matters to plants (December 26, 2009) -- It's commonly known that plants interact with each other on an everyday basis: they shade each other out or take up nutrients from the soil before neighboring plants can get them. Now, researchers have learned that plants also respond to the past. ... > full story
Low-cost temperature sensors: Tennis balls to monitor mountain snowpack (December 26, 2009) -- Dime-sized temperature sensors, first built for the refrigerated food industry, have been adapted to sense mountain microclimates. ... > full story
Sun and moon trigger deep tremors on San Andreas Fault (December 25, 2009) -- When the sun and moon are aligned with the San Andreas Fault they tug on it enough to increase the tremor rate deep underground, according to a new study. While these tremors have not yet been linked to earthquakes, the tremors are associated with increased stress on the fault and may increase the risk of future quakes. The ease with which the deep rock slips indicates it is lubricated by high-pressure water. ... > full story
Microscopic flower petal ridges flash to attract pollinating insects; scientists now know how ridges form (December 25, 2009) -- Microscopic ridges contouring the surface of flower petals might play a role in flashing that come-hither look pollinating insects can't resist. Scientists now have figured out how those form. The result could help researchers learn to enhance plants' pollination success and even could lead to high-grip nanomaterials and "green chemical" feedstocks. ... > full story
Ski runs are not created equal (December 25, 2009) -- Building a new ski run by bulldozing a mountainside, rather than only cutting its shrubs and trees, is far more damaging ecologically, yet might offer only a week's earlier start to the downhill season, says a new study. ... > full story
Hatchery-raised salmon too crowded (December 25, 2009) -- Every year, large numbers of hatchery-raised young salmonids are released into Swedish rivers and streams to compensate for losses in natural production. Butthese fish generally survive poorly in the wild. Researchers have discovered why: the young fish are too crowded at the hatchery. ... > full story
Fungal footage yields insight into plant, animal disease (December 25, 2009) -- Mold and mildew may be doomed. Researchers are closer to understanding how these and other fungi grow. That's important because some 70 percent of the major disease-causing organisms are fungi. Understanding how fungi grow can help scientists find ways to stop them. ... > full story
Genetic study reveals the origins of cavity-causing bacteria (December 24, 2009) -- Researchers have uncovered the complete genetic make-up of the cavity-causing bacterium Bifidobacterium dentium Bd1, revealing the genetic adaptations that allow this microorganism to live and cause decay in the human oral cavity. ... > full story
Canopy giants and miniature fungi among 250 new species discovered in Kew's 250th anniversary year (December 24, 2009) -- Kew botanists announce more than 250 new plant and fungi species discovered in 250th anniversary year. ... > full story
New insights into mushroom-derived drug promising for cancer treatment (December 24, 2009) -- A promising cancer drug, first discovered in a mushroom commonly used in Chinese medicine, could be made more effective thanks to researchers who have discovered how the drug works. ... > full story
Fight infection by disturbing how bacteria communicate (December 24, 2009) -- Researchers have clarified the structure of an enzyme that disturbs the communication processes between bacteria. By doing so they have laid the foundations for a new method of tackling bacterial infections such as cystic fibrosis. ... > full story
Soil studies reveal rise in antibiotic resistance (December 24, 2009) -- An unexpected rise in environmental levels of antibiotic resistance poses a potential threat to people's health. ... > full story
Santa Claus at risk? Unhealthy lifestyle, unreasonable working conditions, and stress (December 24, 2009) -- An unhealthy lifestyle, unreasonable working conditions, and then the stress of having to deliver 152 million Christmas gifts in 24 hours. The extreme accomplishments of Santa Claus are making researchers in Sweden doubt his very existence. ... > full story
How flu succeeds (December 24, 2009) -- Investigators have identified 295 human cell factors that influenza A strains must harness to infect a cell, including the currently circulating swine-origin H1N1. ... > full story
Dental delight: Tooth of sea urchin shows formation of biominerals (December 24, 2009) -- Some of the most common minerals in biology, including those in bones and shells, have a mysterious structure: Their crystals are positioned in the same orientation, making them behave as one giant crystal, even though they do not look like a faceted crystal. ... > full story
Conservation areas threatened nationally by housing developments (December 24, 2009) -- Conservationists have long known that lines on a map are not sufficient to protect nature because what happens outside those boundaries can affect what happens within. Now, scientists have measured the threat of housing development around protected areas in the United States. ... > full story
Scientists map speed of climate change for different ecosystems (December 24, 2009) -- From beetles to barnacles, pikas to pine warblers, many species are already on the move in response to shifting climate regimes. But how fast will they -- and their habitats -- have to move to keep pace with global climate change over the next century? Scientists have calculated that on average, ecosystems will need to shift about 0.42 kilometers per year to keep pace with changing temperatures across the globe. ... > full story
New warbler discovered in Laos (December 24, 2009) -- A diminutive, colorful bird living in the rocky forests of Laos and Vietnam has been discovered. ... > full story
Consumers 'Key Part Of Solution' To Global Warming (December 24, 2009) -- Consumers can have a major impact on the world's efforts to reduce global warming, a major report has concluded. The research estimates that if consumers are responsible for 75% of emissions and in the developed world reduce their emissions in line with government targets, their action could leverage major a 50% reductions in emissions within a few years by 2050. ... > full story
Disproportionate effects of global warming and pollution on disadvantaged communities (December 24, 2009) -- Global warming, pollution, and the environmental consequences of energy production impose a greater burden on low-income, disadvantaged communities, and strategies to prevent these inequities are urgently needed. A provocative collection of articles on climate justice presents the global implications of climate change and its effects on human health and the environment in a special issue of Environmental Justice. ... > full story
Opening new frontiers: First volume of microbial encyclopedia published (December 24, 2009) -- The Earth is estimated to have about a nonillion (1030) microbes in, on, around, and under it, comprised of an unknown but very large number of distinct species. Despite the widespread availability of microbial genome data -- close to 2,000 microbes have been and are being decoded to date -- a vast unknown realm awaits scientists intent on exploring microorganisms that inhabit this "undiscovered country." ... > full story
Marine Research Is Key To 'Super Foods' Market (December 24, 2009) -- Milk drinks that lower blood pressure, meat products that reduce the risk of heart disease, chocolate that calms you down and a new range of foods that can fight obesity can be created from marine animals and plants. Japan already has several product ranges on the shelves and research programs are underway all over the world to create more. And now Ireland is well on the way to becoming a player in this worldwide multi-billion euro industry, according to recently presented research results. ... > full story
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