ScienceDaily Environment Headlines
for Friday, December 10, 2010
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Cloud 'feedback' affects global climate and warming (December 10, 2010) -- Changes in clouds will amplify the warming of the planet due to human activities, according to a breakthrough study that shows that warming due to increases in greenhouse gases will cause clouds to trap more heat, which will lead to additional warming. ... > full story
Genome of barley disease reveals surprises (December 10, 2010) -- Scientists have sequenced the genome of a major fungal disease that affects barley and other cereal crops, a breakthrough that could lead to significant advances in our understanding of how plant diseases evolve. The research suggests that parasites within the genome of the fungus help the disease to adapt and overcome the plant's defenses. ... > full story
New insights into formation of Earth, the Moon, and Mars (December 10, 2010) -- New research reveals that the abundance of so-called highly siderophile, or metal-loving, elements like gold and platinum found in the mantles of Earth, the moon and Mars were delivered by massive impactors during the final phase of planet formation over 4.5 billion years ago. The predicted sizes of the projectiles, which hit within tens of millions of years of the giant impact that produced our moon, are consistent with current planet formation models. They predict that the largest of the late impactors on Earth -- at 1,500 to 2,000 miles in diameter -- potentially modified Earth's obliquity by approximately 10 degrees, while those for the Moon, at approximately 150-200 miles, may have delivered water to its mantle. ... > full story
Gene hunters tackle crop diseases (December 10, 2010) -- Scientists are on the trail of some of the most economically damaging organisms that infect crops worldwide. Their latest targets are the parasitic water fungus that causes powdery mildew and the water molds that cause late blight in potatoes and tomatoes and downy mildew in cruciferous vegetables and other crops. ... > full story
Stricter testing for federal ground beef program may not lead to safer meat (December 9, 2010) -- A new National Research Council report finds no scientific basis that more stringent testing of meat purchased through the government's ground beef purchase program and distributed to various federal food and nutrition programs -- including the National School Lunch Program -- would lead to safer meat. ... > full story
Double-edged sword of dominance: Top chimps tend to suffer from more parasites (December 9, 2010) -- A study of chimpanzees has revealed that dominant animals with higher testosterone levels tend to suffer from an increased burden of parasites. Researchers observed the primates' behavior and studied their droppings to draw the link between dominance and infection status. ... > full story
Viable female and male mice from two fathers produced using stem cell technology (December 9, 2010) -- Researchers report that they have used stem cell technology to produce mice from two fathers, an achievement that may open new opportunities in reproductive science, including the intriguing possibility of same-sex couples having their own genetic offspring. ... > full story
Greenland ice sheet flow driven by short-term weather extremes, not gradual warming, research reveals (December 9, 2010) -- Sudden changes in the volume of meltwater contribute more to the acceleration -- and eventual loss -- of the Greenland ice sheet than the gradual increase of temperature, according to a new study. ... > full story
Influenza virus strains show increasing drug resistance and ability to spread (December 9, 2010) -- Two new studies raise public health concerns about increasing antiviral resistance among certain influenza viruses, their ability to spread, and a lack of alternative antiviral treatment options. ... > full story
Fleshing out the life histories of dead whales (December 9, 2010) -- Dead whales that sink down to the seafloor provide a feast for deep-sea animals that can last for years. Previous research suggested that such "whale falls" hosted unique animals that lived nowhere else. However, after sinking five whale carcasses in Monterey Canyon, researchers found that most of the animals at these sites were not unique to whale falls, but were common in other deep-sea environments as well. ... > full story
Children who attend group child care centers get more infections then, but fewer during school years (December 9, 2010) -- Children who attend large group child care facilities before age 2 and a half appear to develop more respiratory and ear infections at that age, but fewer such illnesses during elementary school years, according to a new study. ... > full story
Redrawing the map of Great Britain based on human interaction (December 9, 2010) -- A group of researchers have used one of the world's largest databases of telecommunications records to redraw the map of Great Britain. The research is based on the analysis of 12 billion anonymized records representing more than 95% of Great Britain's residential and business landlines. ... > full story
Mastermind steroid found in plants (December 9, 2010) -- Scientists have known how important plant steroids called brassinosteroids are for regulating plant growth and development. But until now, they did not know how extensive their reach is. Now researchers have identified about a thousand brassinosteroid target genes showing links between the steroid and numerous cellular functions and other hormonal chain reactions. The study is the first comprehensive action map for a plant hormone and will help accelerate basic plant science and crop research. ... > full story
Eutrophication makes toxic cyanobacteria more toxic (December 9, 2010) -- Continued eutrophication of the Baltic Sea, combined with an ever thinner ozone layer, is favouing the toxic cyanobacterium Nodularia spumigena, reveals new research. ... > full story
Study assesses nuclear power assumptions (December 9, 2010) -- A broad review of current research on nuclear power economics has been published. The report concludes that nuclear power will continue to be a viable power source but that the current fuel cycle is not sustainable. ... > full story
'Greener' climate prediction shows plants slow warming (December 9, 2010) -- A new NASA computer modeling effort has found that additional growth of plants and trees in a world with doubled atmospheric carbon dioxide levels would create a new negative feedback -- a cooling effect -- in the Earth's climate system that could work to reduce future global warming. ... > full story
How do DNA components resist damaging UV exposure? (December 9, 2010) -- The genetic material of DNA contains shielding mechanisms to protect itself from the exposure to the UV light emitted by the sun. This is of crucial importance, since without photostability – i.e. without "programmed" defense mechanisms against UV irradiation – there would be a rapid degradation of DNA and RNA. ... > full story
Fledgling ecosystem in former open-pit coal mine in Germany lets scientists observe how soil, flora and fauna develop (December 9, 2010) -- How do ecosystems develop? A unique project could provide answers. In a former open-pit coal mining area in Brandenburg, Germany, a surface of six hectares was partitioned off and then left to its own resources. Scientists are studying the development of soil, flora, and fauna there. With this research they aim to establish the factors that have a particularly strong influence on developing ecosystems. ... > full story
Cranberry juice not effective against urinary tract infections, study suggests (December 8, 2010) -- Drinking cranberry juice has been recommended to decrease the incidence of urinary tract infections, based on observational studies and a few small clinical trials. However, a new study suggests otherwise. ... > full story
Parents' influence on children's eating habits is limited (December 8, 2010) -- Parents are often believed to have a strong influence on children's eating behaviors. However, previous findings on parent-child resemblance in dietary intakes are mixed. ... > full story
Extending the life of oil reserves: Greener, cheaper more efficient oil extraction made possible (December 8, 2010) -- Scientists have come up with a new way to treat carbon dioxide, so that it can be used in efficient and environmentally friendly methods for extracting oil. These new CO2 soluble additives can also be used to reduce the environmental damage caused by every day industrial processes such as food processing and the manufacture of electronics. ... > full story
'Logic gates' made to program bacteria as computers (December 8, 2010) -- Researchers have engineered E. coli with the key molecular circuitry that will enable genetic engineers to program cells to communicate and perform computations. ... > full story
Lost civilization under Persian Gulf? (December 8, 2010) -- A once fertile landmass now submerged beneath the Persian Gulf may have been home to some of the earliest human populations outside Africa, according to a new article. ... > full story
Soaring is better than flapping for birds big and small (December 8, 2010) -- Small migrating birds save energy as they fly. Large birds, such as storks, save energy on the flight to their wintering grounds by soaring through the air on thermal currents. Until now, however, we knew nothing about the flight patterns of small migrating songbirds, such as whether they flap their wings or soar and whether these styles of flight allow them to save energy. ... > full story
Blueberries and other purple fruits to ward off Alzheimer's, Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson's (December 8, 2010) -- Eating purple fruits such as blueberries and drinking green tea can help ward off diseases including Alzheimer's, Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson's, a report claims. ... > full story
Duelling dipoles: In search of a new theory of photosynthetic energy transfer (December 8, 2010) -- Chemists have refuted a basic postulate of Förster theory, which describes energy transfers between pigment molecules, such as those that underlie photosynthesis. A revised version of the theory could have an impact on the design of optical computers and improve the efficiency of solar cells. ... > full story
How flowering time of plants can be controlled (December 8, 2010) -- Researchers have discovered a previously unknown gene in sugar beets that blocks flowering. Only with the cold of winter is the gene shut off, allowing the sugar beet to blossom in its second year. The discovery of this new gene function makes it possible to control when sugar beets bloom. ... > full story
Vitamin supplements reduce deaths caused by measles and diarrhea, study finds (December 8, 2010) -- Vitamin A supplements are still an effective way to reduce childhood death and disease. A new study strongly endorses the continuation of vitamin A supplementation programs, which reduce the incidence of measles and diarrhea and ultimately save lives. ... > full story
Nanoparticle gives antimicrobial ability to fight Listeria longer (December 8, 2010) -- Scientists have developed a nanoparticle that can hold and release an antimicrobial agent as needed for extending the shelf life of foods susceptible to Listeria monocytogenes. ... > full story
Social relationships in animals have a genetic basis, new research reveals (December 8, 2010) -- The ability to tolerate aggression is partly genetic, life scientists report in the first study to demonstrate a genetic component to a social network trait in a non-human population. ... > full story
Creating 'Living' Buildings (December 8, 2010) -- Researchers are poised to use ethical synthetic biology to create 'living' materials that could be used to clad buildings and help combat the effects of climate change. ... > full story
Using chaos to model geophysical phenomena (December 8, 2010) -- Researchers have developed the first direct approach for identifying packets of air or water, called "coherent sets," that are transported in the atmosphere and ocean and have far-reaching effects on weather and climate. The new methodology has tested significantly better than existing technologies. ... > full story
Ginseng just got better -- not as bitter (December 8, 2010) -- Scientists have learned to mask the bitterness of ginseng, a common ingredient of energy drinks. While experimenting with five possible solutions to ginseng's bitterness problem, they discovered that cyclodextrins -- hydrophobic compounds made of glucose molecules that occur in a ring form -- were able to capture the bitter flavor compounds and reduce bitterness by more than half. ... > full story
Soil needs decades to recover from a spill (December 8, 2010) -- Twelve years after the spillage at Aznalcóllar (Spain), scientists say that the soil affected has recovered "reasonably well". Their study of nematodes (microscopic soil worms that are indicators of the biological state of soil) confirmed the "enormous" impact of heavy metals and is useful for predicting the effect of the red mud spillage in Hungary. ... > full story
Climate scientist warns world of widespread suffering if further climate change is not forestalled (December 8, 2010) -- One of the world's foremost experts on climate change is warning that if humans don't moderate their use of fossil fuels, there is a real possibility that we will face the environmental, societal and economic consequences of climate change faster than we can adapt to them. Lonnie Thompson at Ohio State University posed that possibility in a just-released special climate-change edition of the journal The Behavior Analyst. ... > full story
MOTIVE case studies look for the best adaptive management options (December 8, 2010) -- What do North Karelian forests in Finland have in common with the Montafon Valley in Austria? Both areas are increasingly affected by increasingly strong winds causing serious damage. Wind, drought and fire are main threats of climate change to forests on various locations in Europe. In order to help the forest owners in the regions to find the best adaptive management options, the MOTIVE project (Models for Adaptive Forest Management), is testing different options e.g. in thinning regimes, rotation length and species composition in ten case study areas. ... > full story
Plants 'remember' winter to bloom in spring with help of special molecule (December 7, 2010) -- The role a key molecule plays in a plant's ability to remember winter, and therefore bloom in the spring, has been identified. ... > full story
Scientists map changes in genetic networks caused by DNA damage (December 7, 2010) -- Using a new technology called "differential epistasis maps," scientists have documented for the first time how a cellular genetic network completely rewires itself in response to stress by DNA-damaging agents. ... > full story
Pacific sperm whales exposed to PAHs, pesticides, other pollutants (December 7, 2010) -- Whale researchers found evidence of exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and persistent organic pollutants, including the pesticide DDT, in Pacific Ocean-dwelling sperm whales. ... > full story
Milestone in fight against deadly disease: 500 protein structures mapped and solved (December 7, 2010) -- Scientists have reached a major milestone in the effort to wipe out some of the most lethal diseases on the planet. They've experimentally determined 500 three-dimensional protein structures from a number of bacterial and protozoan pathogens, which could potentially lead to new drugs, vaccines and diagnostics to combat deadly infectious diseases. ... > full story
Teens get more ear infections when someone smokes at home (December 7, 2010) -- Family members who smoke are more apt to feel it is OK to smoke indoors as their children get older. But in households with secondhand smoke, children between 12 and 17 are 1.67 times more prone to have recurrent ear infections compared to adolescents who live in a smoke-free environment, a large new study reveals. ... > full story
Life found thriving in porous rock deep beneath the seafloor (December 7, 2010) -- Researchers have found compelling evidence for an extensive biological community living in porous rock deep beneath the seafloor. The microbes in this hidden world appear to be an important source of dissolved organic matter in deep ocean water, a finding that could dramatically change ideas about the ocean carbon cycle. ... > full story
Butter contaminated by PBDE flame retardant (December 7, 2010) -- A new study reports what scientists believe is the worst documented U.S. case of food contamination with polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) flame retardants. The incident also marks the first time food contamination has been thought to result from PBDEs in a food's packaging. ... > full story
Drugs can pass through human body almost intact: New concerns for antibiotic resistance, pollution identified (December 7, 2010) -- When an antibiotic is consumed, researchers have learned that up to 90 percent passes through a body without metabolizing. This means the drugs can leave the body almost intact through normal bodily functions. ... > full story
Flu vaccine grown in bacteria works like vaccine grown in chicken eggs (December 7, 2010) -- Only the fragile chicken egg stands between Americans and a flu pandemic that would claim tens of thousands more lives than are usually lost to the flu each year. Now scientists have taken an important step toward ending the dominance of the oval, showing that an experimental flu vaccine grown entirely in bacteria triggers in people an immune response that would protect them against the flu. ... > full story
Warring Greeks found peace in ancient Egypt: Researcher uncovers origins of Greek trade city in Egypt's Nile delta region (December 7, 2010) -- Naukrtis, a Greek trade city in Egypt's Nile Delta region, has long fascinated archaeologists and historians. Now, archaeologists have found that instead of settling in Naukrtis of their own free will as previously believed, the community consisted of a select group of Greeks commissioned by the empire of Lydia to set up a trade emporium. ... > full story
Shy trout size it up (December 7, 2010) -- Personality is not just a feature unique to humans and pets. Scientists have revealed that also brown trout have individual characters and show different personalities. ... > full story
Power grid of the future saves energy (December 7, 2010) -- Green energy too comes out of the electricity socket, but to get there it has to travel a long journey -- from wind turbines in the North Sea or regional solar, wind and biogas power plants. On the way to the consumer lots of energy is lost. New electronic components will change things in future. ... > full story
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