ScienceDaily Environment Headlines -- for Monday, March 7, 2011

ScienceDaily Environment Headlines

for Monday, March 7, 2011

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Human activity displaces predators more than prey (March 7, 2011) -- Prey species have an advantage over predators in wilderness areas subject to human disturbance related to recreation and resource development, according to a study conducted in the Rocky Mountain foothills near Calgary. ... > full story

Hawaiian volcano crater floor collapse followed by eruption in fissue along Kilauea's east rift zone (March 7, 2011) -- A fissure that opened on Kilauea's east rift zone after the March 5 collapse of the Pu'u 'O'o crater floor continues to erupt lava. Activity along the fissure was sporadic overnight and throughout the following day, with periods of quiet punctuated by episodes of lava spattering up to 25 meters (80 feet) high. ... > full story

Life-saving blood test for fungal meningitis, a leading cause of AIDS-related deaths in developing countries (March 7, 2011) -- A new, rapid blood test that could lead to early diagnosis and potentially save the lives of hundreds of thousands of people stricken with fungal meningitis, a leading cause of AIDS-related deaths in developing countries, is getting closer to market with a recent collaboration of researchers. ... > full story

Large forest animals contribute to plant diversity (March 7, 2011) -- Over several decades, the growth in deer, roe deer and wild boar populations has spread to all of France. Researchers have shown that in spite of the damage caused, notably to bushes and young trees in forests and to crops, these animals also help in increasing plant diversity. ... > full story

No such thing as a dormant volcano? Magma chambers awake sooner than thought (March 6, 2011) -- Until now it was thought that once a volcano's magma chamber had cooled down it remained dormant for centuries before it could be remobilized by fresh magma. A theoretical model was tested on two major eruptions and completely overturned this hypothesis: the reawakening of a chamber could take place in just a few months. This research should lead to a reassessment of the dangerousness of some dormant volcanoes. ... > full story

Does Guinness beer taste better in Ireland? (March 6, 2011) -- Does Guinness beer taste better in Ireland than other parts of the world? Over a period of one year, four researchers traveled to 14 countries and visited 71 Guinness serving establishments in 33 cities to collect data for 103 tastings. ... > full story

New microscope produces dazzling 3-D movies of live cells (March 6, 2011) -- Scientists have invented a new microscope that uses an exquisitely thin sheet of light -- similar to that used in supermarket bar-code scanners -- to peer inside single living cells. The images they obtained reveal the three-dimensional shapes of cellular landmarks in unprecedented detail. ... > full story

Novel mechanism for control of gene expression revealed (March 6, 2011) -- Scientists have recently discovered a novel, evolutionarily conserved mechanism for the regulation of gene expression. Normal cell growth, embryonic development, and responses to stress, require proper spatial and temporal control of gene expression. Studies on control of transcription (RNA biosynthesis) are typically centered on understanding how the RNA polymerase is recruited to the promoter, the control region of a gene. However, new work has revealed the existence of a second level of control in a yeast model system. ... > full story

Environmental impact of animal waste: Disposal of animal waste in large-scale swine production examined (March 6, 2011) -- Scientists examined a series of commercial, anaerobic, swine wastewater lagoons in North and South Carolina for genes involved in the nitrogen cycling process. ... > full story

Has Earth's sixth mass extinction already arrived? (March 5, 2011) -- Researchers have delved into the fossil record to compare past animal extinctions, in particular the five "mass extinctions" that occurred within the past 540 million years, with today's extinctions. They find that, while the rate of extinctions today is higher than during past mass extinctions, we haven't yet lost too many animal species. Efforts to conserve threatened species could avoid the tipping point toward a sixth mass extinction. ... > full story

Jekyll and Hyde: Cells' executioner can also stave off death (March 5, 2011) -- An enzyme viewed as an executioner, because it can push cells to commit suicide, may actually short circuit a second form of cell death, researchers have discovered. The finding could shift drug discovery efforts, by leading scientists to rethink how proposed anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory drugs that target the enzyme, called caspase 8, are supposed to work. ... > full story

Reviving 100-year-old resting spores of diatoms (March 5, 2011) -- Diatoms account for a large proportion of the phytoplankton found in the water, and live both in the open sea and in freshwater lakes. By reviving 100-year-old spores that had laid buried and inactive in bottom sediment, researchers have shown that diatoms are also genetically stable and survival artists. ... > full story

Invasive species widespread, but not more than at home range (March 5, 2011) -- Invasive plant species have long had a reputation as being bad for a new ecosystem when they are introduced. As it turns out, they aren't any more abundant away from home than they are at home. ... > full story

Clean fuel worsens climate impacts for some vehicle engines (March 5, 2011) -- A pioneering program by one of the world's largest cities to switch its vehicle fleet to clean fuel has not significantly improved harmful vehicle emissions in more than 5,000 vehicles -- and worsened some vehicles' climate impacts -- a new study finds. ... > full story

Simulating breaking waves (March 5, 2011) -- The SWAN (Simulating WAves Nearshore) wave prediction model predicts the distribution of wave heights close to the shore. It was recently expanded to include the SWASH (Simulating WAves till SHore) model, which enables the modeling of wave behavior right up to the shore, including how they break and overflow. ... > full story

Fossils of horse teeth indicate 'you are what you eat' (March 4, 2011) -- Fossil records verify a long-standing theory that horses evolved through natural selection. Scientists arrived at the conclusion after examining the teeth of 6,500 fossil horses representing 222 different populations of more than 70 extinct horse species. ... > full story

Observing Arctic ice-edge plankton blooms from space (March 4, 2011) -- Ongoing climate-driven changes to the Arctic sea-ice could have a significant impact on the blooming of tiny planktonic plants (phytoplankton) with important implications for the Arctic ecosystem, according to new research, ... > full story

Rising carbon dioxide is causing plants to have fewer pores, releasing less water to the atmosphere (March 4, 2011) -- As carbon dioxide levels have risen during the last 150 years, the density of pores that allow plants to breathe has dwindled by 34 percent, restricting the amount of water vapor the plants release to the atmosphere, report scientists. ... > full story

New system can warn of tsunamis within minutes (March 4, 2011) -- Seismologists have developed a new system that could be used to warn future populations of an impending tsunami only minutes after the initial earthquake. The system, known as RTerg, could help reduce the death toll by giving local residents valuable time to move to safer ground. ... > full story

New light-sensing mechanism found in neurons (March 4, 2011) -- Scientists have discovered a second form of phototransduction light sensing in cells that is derived from vitamin B2. This discovery may reveal new information about cellular processes controlled by light. ... > full story

Worms strike see-saw balance in disease resistance (March 4, 2011) -- New research has shown that nematode worms have to trade-off resistance to different diseases, gaining resistance to one microbe at the expense of becoming more vulnerable to another. This finding reveals that the worms, called C. elegans, have a much more complex immune system than was previously thought and shows how important such trade-offs are across the animal kingdom. ... > full story

Scientists create cell assembly line: New technology synthesizes cellular structures from simple starting materials (March 4, 2011) -- Borrowing a page from modern manufacturing, scientists have built a microscopic assembly line that mass produces synthetic cell-like compartments. ... > full story

NASA's Glory satellite fails to reach orbit (March 4, 2011) -- NASA's Glory spacecraft launched aboard a Taurus XL rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California March 4, 2011 at 5:09:45 a.m. EST failed to reach orbit. Telemetry indicated the fairing, the protective shell atop the Taurus XL rocket, did not separate as expected about three minutes after launch. ... > full story

Risks of chemical exposure: Scientists call for 'swifter and sounder' testing of chemicals (March 4, 2011) -- Scientific societies representing 40,000 researchers and clinicians are asking that federal regulators tap a broader range of expertise when evaluating the risks of chemicals to which Americans are being increasingly exposed. ... > full story

Some Antarctic ice is forming from bottom (March 4, 2011) -- Scientists working in the remotest part of Antarctica have discovered that liquid water locked deep under the continent's coat of ice regularly thaws and refreezes to the bottom, creating as much as half the thickness of the ice in places, and actively modifying its structure. The finding, which turns common perceptions of glacial formation upside down, could reshape scientists' understanding of how the ice sheet expands and moves, and how it might react to warming climate, they say. ... > full story

Sex differences in male and female learning revealed by gibbons (March 4, 2011) -- Differences in the way male and female learning has evolved have been revealed by new research into gibbons. ... > full story

Ecological adaptation likely to influence impacts of climate change (March 4, 2011) -- Animals' capacity to adapt is a factor in how they are likely to respond to changing climate conditions. ... > full story

Flood-tolerant rice plants can also survive drought (March 4, 2011) -- Sensitive to drought due to its high water requirement, rice is particularly vulnerable to how global climate change is altering the frequency and magnitude of floods and droughts. Now plant scientists have made a discovery that can greatly benefit rice growers and consumers everywhere. The researchers have demonstrated in the lab and greenhouse that rice that is flood tolerant is also better able to recover from a drought. ... > full story

California islands give up evidence of early seafaring: Numerous artifacts found at late Pleistocene sites on the Channel Islands (March 4, 2011) -- Evidence for a diversified sea-based economy among North American inhabitants dating from 12,200 to 11,400 years ago is emerging from three sites on California's Channel Islands. ... > full story

New clue to controlling skin regeneration, as well as skin cancer (March 4, 2011) -- Researchers have now found a regulator of gene activity that tells epidermal stem cells when it's time to grow more skin, as well as a "crowd control" molecule that can sense cell crowding and turn the growth off. ... > full story

New findings on drug tolerance in TB suggest ideas for shorter cures (March 4, 2011) -- A study of host-pathogen responses in tuberculosis elucidates molecular mechanisms of antibiotic tolerance in tuberculosis and further suggests a strategy for shortening curative therapy (currently six months) using a class of drugs -- efflux pump inhibitors -- that are already approved for treating high blood pressure and angina, and available for use in people. ... > full story

Oldest objects in solar system indicate a turbulent beginning (March 3, 2011) -- Scientists have found that calcium, aluminum-rich inclusions (CAIs), some of the oldest objects in the solar system, formed far away from our sun and then later fell back into the mid-plane of the solar system. The findings may lead to a greater understanding of how our solar system and possibly other solar systems formed and evolved. ... > full story

Solving the puzzle of Henry VIII (March 3, 2011) -- The numerous miscarriages suffered by the wives of Henry VIII could be explained if the king's blood carried the Kell antigen. If Henry also suffered from McLeod syndrome, a genetic disorder specific to the Kell blood group, it would finally provide an explanation for his dramatic mid-life shift in both physical form and personality. ... > full story

Mapping human vulnerability to climate change (March 3, 2011) -- Researchers already study how various species of plants and animals migrate in response to climate change. Now, a researcher has taken the innovative step of using the same analytic tools to measure the impact of climate change on human populations. They found that if populations continue to increase at the expected rates, those who are likely to be the most vulnerable to climate change are the people living in low-latitude, hot regions of the world. ... > full story

Human ancestors lived on shaky ground (March 3, 2011) -- Our earliest ancestors preferred to settle in locations that have something in common with cities such as San Francisco, Naples and Istanbul -- they are often on active tectonic faults in areas that have an earthquake risk or volcanoes, or both. An international team of scientists has established a link between the shape of the landscape and the habitats preferred by our earliest ancestors. ... > full story

New findings challenge view of key part of immune defense (March 3, 2011) -- The natural killer cells of our immune defense are activated for an extended period after the acute infection, which challenges the prevailing view that the elevation and activation of cells quickly pass. This is shown in a study regarding vole fever. ... > full story

Using artificial, cell-like 'honey pots' to entrap deadly viruses (March 3, 2011) -- Researchers have designed artificial "protocells" that can lure, entrap and inactivate a class of deadly human viruses -- think decoys with teeth. ... > full story

Turning bacteria into butanol biofuel factories: Transplanted enzyme pathway makes E. coli churn out n-butanol (March 3, 2011) -- While ethanol is today's major biofuel, researchers aim to produce fuels more like gasoline. Butanol is the primary candidate, now produced primarily by Clostridium bacteria. Chemists have now transplanted the enzyme pathway from Clostridium into E. coli, replaced two of five genes with enzymes from other microbes, and gotten the bacteria to churn out 10 times more n-butanol than competing microbes, close to the level needed for industrial scale production. ... > full story

Shrinking tundra, advancing forests: how the Arctic will look by century's end (March 3, 2011) -- A shifting of climate types in the Arctic will mean tundra in Alaska, Canada, Scandinavia and Asia giving way to trees and plants typical of more southerly climates, according to climatologists. ... > full story

Four new species of Zombie ant fungi discovered in Brazilian rainforest (March 3, 2011) -- Four new Brazilian species in the genus Ophiocordyceps have been discovered. The fungi belong to a group of "zombifying" fungi that infect ants and then manipulate their behavior, eventually killing the ants after securing a prime location for spore dispersal. ... > full story

Solving the riddle of nature’s perfect spring (March 3, 2011) -- Scientists have unravelled the shape of the protein that gives human tissues their elastic properties in what could lead to the development of new synthetic elastic polymers. ... > full story

Cannabis use precedes the onset of psychotic symptoms in young people, study finds (March 3, 2011) -- Cannabis use during adolescence and young adulthood increases the risk of psychotic symptoms, while continued cannabis use may increase the risk for psychotic disorder in later life, concludes a new study. ... > full story

Eastern cougar is extinct, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service concludes (March 3, 2011) -- Although the eastern cougar has been on the endangered species list since 1973, its existence has long been questioned. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service conducted a formal review of the available information and, in a new report, concludes the eastern cougar is extinct and recommends the subspecies be removed from the endangered species list. ... > full story

'A little off the top' helps map cells with submicrometer resolution (March 3, 2011) -- In an effort to identify the early-onset, subtle chemical changes occurring in a cell heading toward malignancy, researchers have developed a technique that slices off the top of a cell and makes the structures accessible to spectroscopic examination of their chemical "signatures." ... > full story

Clouds amplify ecological light pollution (March 3, 2011) -- The brightness of the nightly sky glow over major cities has been shown to depend strongly on cloud cover. In natural environments, clouds make the night sky darker by blocking the light of the stars but around urban centers, this effect is completely reversed, according to a new study. ... > full story

Arctic blooms occurring earlier: Phytoplankton peak arising 50 days early, with unknown impacts on marine food chain and carbon cycling (March 3, 2011) -- Warming temperatures and melting ice in the Arctic may be behind a progressively earlier bloom of a crucial annual marine event, and the shift could hold consequences for the entire food chain and carbon cycling in the region. ... > full story

What wasps can tell us about sex (March 3, 2011) -- Whether an individual parasitoid wasp reproduces sexually or asexually is determined by a single gene, researchers have discovered. This new finding could help to answer a central question of evolutionary biology – and could also be of interest for biological pest control. ... > full story

How much can a cell uptake? (March 3, 2011) -- Immunological research has revealed a critical component in the "decision-making" process of white blood cells that play a role in the healing process from bacterial inflammation. ... > full story