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Tuesday, December 20, 2011

ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

ScienceDaily: Top Environment News


Hellbender salamander study seeks answers for global amphibian decline

Posted: 19 Dec 2011 05:39 PM PST

A new study on the endangered Ozark Hellbender giant salamander is the first to detail its skin microbes, the bacteria and fungi that defend against pathogens.

A major step forward towards drought tolerance in crops

Posted: 19 Dec 2011 12:25 PM PST

When a plant encounters drought, it does its best to cope with this stress by activating a set of protein molecules called receptors. Plant cell biologists have discovered how to rewire this cellular machinery to heighten the plants' stress response -- a finding that can be used to engineer crops to give them a better shot at surviving and displaying increased yield under drought conditions.

Cockroach hookup signal could benefit endangered woodpecker

Posted: 19 Dec 2011 12:25 PM PST

A discovery of the unique chemical composition of a cockroach signal -- a "Let's hook up" sex pheromone emitted by certain female wood cockroaches to entice potential mates -- could have far-ranging benefits, including improved conservation of an endangered woodpecker.

Tipping plant growth

Posted: 19 Dec 2011 10:50 AM PST

The growth of multicellular organisms is fueled not only by cell division but also by cell growth. Normally cells enlarge all over the surface. However, in many organisms, there are also specialized cells that grow only at their tip. How the necessary materials are delivered to the growing tip, is largely unknown. A new study now suggests that tip growth is not mediated by targeted trafficking to the growing site of the cell surface but rather depends on a specific recycling pathway.

New kind of metal in the deep Earth: Iron oxide undergoes transition under intense pressures and temperatures

Posted: 19 Dec 2011 08:22 AM PST

The intense pressures and temperatures in Earth's deep interior squeeze atoms and electrons so close they interact differently. New experiments and supercomputer computations have revealed that iron oxide undergoes a new kind of transition under deep Earth conditions. It is a component of the second most abundant mineral at Earth's lower mantle, ferropericlase. The finding could alter our understanding of deep Earth dynamics and the behavior of the protective magnetic field, which shields our planet.

Data-driven tools cast geographical patterns of rainfall extremes in new light

Posted: 19 Dec 2011 08:22 AM PST

Using statistical analysis methods to examine rainfall extremes in India, a team of researchers has made a discovery that resolves an ongoing debate and offers new insights.

Living 'neon signs' composed of millions of glowing bacteria

Posted: 19 Dec 2011 07:22 AM PST

In an example of life imitating art, biologists and bioengineers have created a living neon sign composed of millions of bacterial cells that periodically fluoresce in unison like blinking light bulbs.

Chemicals and biofuel from wood biomass

Posted: 19 Dec 2011 07:22 AM PST

A new method makes it possible to use microbes to produce butanol suitable for biofuel and other industrial chemicals from wood biomass. Butanol is particularly suited as a transport fuel because it is not water soluble and has higher energy content than ethanol.

What are the prospects for sustaining high-quality groundwater?

Posted: 19 Dec 2011 07:20 AM PST

New research has looked at nitrate transport from agricultural land to water in the Thames basin in the UK.

Plant-eating dinosaur discovered in Antarctica

Posted: 19 Dec 2011 07:20 AM PST

For the first time, the presence of large bodied herbivorous dinosaurs in Antarctica has been recorded. Until now, remains of sauropoda had been recovered from all continental landmasses, except Antarctica. The identification of the remains of the sauropod dinosaur suggests that advanced titanosaurs achieved a global distribution at least by the Late Cretaceous.

Sensational bird discovery in China

Posted: 19 Dec 2011 07:18 AM PST

In June 2011, a team of Chinese and Swedish researchers rediscovered the breeding area for the poorly known Blackthroat Luscinia obscura, in the Qinling mountains, Shaanxi province, north central China.

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