ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

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• Chemical warfare of stealthy silverfish: Parasites hide by covering themselves in ants' scent
• Magnetic pole reversal happens all the (geologic) time
• Using radiation to sterilize insect pests may protect California fruits and vegetables
• Texas drought visible in new national groundwater maps
• Trail of 'stone breadcrumbs' reveals the identity of one of the first human groups to leave Africa
• Stronger corn? Take it off steroids, make it all female
• Abrupt permafrost thaw increases climate threat, experts say
• Earthquakes: Water as a lubricant
• Timing is everything: Bacterial attachment mimics just-in-time industrial model
• Setting the stage for life: Scientists make key discovery about the atmosphere of early Earth
• Earthquake friction effect demonstrated at the nanoscale
• Petroleum-eating mushrooms
• Gone with the wind: Why the fast jet stream winds cannot contribute much renewable energy after all
• British butterfly is evolving to respond to climate change
• Body rebuilding: Researchers regenerate muscle in mice
• New insight into climate change in the Pacific

Chemical warfare of stealthy silverfish: Parasites hide by covering themselves in ants' scent Posted: 30 Nov 2011 05:25 PM PST A co-evolutionary arms race exists between social insects and their parasites. Army ants share their nests with several parasites such as beetles, snails and spiders. They also share their food with the kleptoparasitic silverfish. New research shows that the silverfish manage to hide amongst the ants by covering themselves in the ant's chemical scent.

Magnetic pole reversal happens all the (geologic) time Posted: 30 Nov 2011 02:11 PM PST Scientists understand that Earth's magnetic field has flipped its polarity many times over the millennia. The answer, from the geologic and fossil records we have from hundreds of past magnetic polarity reversals, seems to be "no."

Using radiation to sterilize insect pests may protect California fruits and vegetables Posted: 30 Nov 2011 02:11 PM PST A new study shows that radiation can be used to effectively sterilize the light brown apple moth, an invasive pest to the California wine industry, as well as fruit and vegetable growers.

Texas drought visible in new national groundwater maps Posted: 30 Nov 2011 02:11 PM PST The record-breaking drought in Texas that has fueled wildfires, decimated crops and forced cattle sales has also reduced levels of groundwater in much of the state to the lowest levels seen in more than 60 years, according to new national maps.

Trail of 'stone breadcrumbs' reveals the identity of one of the first human groups to leave Africa Posted: 30 Nov 2011 02:10 PM PST A series of new archaeological discoveries in the Sultanate of Oman, nestled in the southeastern corner of the Arabian Peninsula, reveals the timing and identity of one of the first modern human groups to migrate out of Africa, according to new research.

Stronger corn? Take it off steroids, make it all female Posted: 30 Nov 2011 01:15 PM PST Researchers have taken corn off steroids and found that the results might lead to improvements in that and other crops.

Abrupt permafrost thaw increases climate threat, experts say Posted: 30 Nov 2011 01:15 PM PST As the Arctic warms, greenhouse gases will be released from thawing permafrost faster and at significantly higher levels than previous estimates, according to a survey of international experts. Permafrost thaw will release approximately the same amount of carbon as deforestation. However, the effect of thawing permafrost on climate will be 2.5 times greater because emissions include methane, a more powerful greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.

Earthquakes: Water as a lubricant Posted: 30 Nov 2011 11:22 AM PST Geophysicists have established a mode of action that can explain the irregular distribution of strong earthquakes at the San Andreas Fault in California. The scientists examined the electrical conductivity of the rocks at great depths, which is closely related to the water content within the rocks. From the pattern of electrical conductivity and seismic activity they were able to deduce that rock water acts as a lubricant.

Timing is everything: Bacterial attachment mimics just-in-time industrial model Posted: 30 Nov 2011 11:22 AM PST Biologists and physicists have shown that certain bacteria wait until the last minute to synthesize the glue that allows them to attach permanently to surfaces.

Setting the stage for life: Scientists make key discovery about the atmosphere of early Earth Posted: 30 Nov 2011 11:18 AM PST Scientists have used the oldest minerals on Earth to reconstruct the atmospheric conditions present on Earth very soon after its birth. The findings are the first direct evidence of what the ancient atmosphere of the planet was like soon after its formation and directly challenge years of research on the type of atmosphere out of which life arose on the planet.

Earthquake friction effect demonstrated at the nanoscale Posted: 30 Nov 2011 11:18 AM PST Earthquakes are some of the most daunting natural disasters that scientists try to analyze. Though Earth's major fault lines are well known, there is little scientists can do to predict when an earthquake will occur or how strong it will be. And, though earthquakes involve millions of tons of rock, a team of researchers has helped discover an aspect of friction on the nanoscale that may lead to a better understanding of the disasters.

Petroleum-eating mushrooms Posted: 30 Nov 2011 09:54 AM PST Take a Petri dish containing crude petroleum and it will release a strong odor distinctive of the toxins that make up the fossil fuel. Sprinkle mushroom spores over the Petri dish and let it sit for two weeks in an incubator, and surprise, the petroleum and its smell will disappear.

Gone with the wind: Why the fast jet stream winds cannot contribute much renewable energy after all Posted: 30 Nov 2011 07:00 AM PST The assumption that high jet steam wind speeds in the upper atmosphere correspond to high wind power has now been challenged by new research. Taking into account that the high wind speeds result from the near absence of friction and not from a strong power source, scientists found that the maximum extractable energy from jet streams is approximately 200 times less than reported previously.

British butterfly is evolving to respond to climate change Posted: 30 Nov 2011 06:53 AM PST As global temperatures rise and climatic zones move polewards, species will need to find different environments to prevent extinction. New research has revealed that climate change is causing certain species to move and adapt to a range of new habitats.

Body rebuilding: Researchers regenerate muscle in mice Posted: 29 Nov 2011 08:23 AM PST Scientists have regenerated functional muscle tissue in mice, opening the door for a new clinical therapy for major muscle trauma. The team used a novel protocol to coax human muscle cells into a stem cell-like state and grew the reprogrammed cells on biopolymer microthreads. Surprisingly, the microthreads seemed to accelerate the regeneration process by recruiting progenitor mouse muscle cells, suggesting that they alone could become a therapeutic tool.

New insight into climate change in the Pacific Posted: 29 Nov 2011 07:33 AM PST A new report presents the most comprehensive scientific analysis to date of climate change in the Pacific region.

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