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Thursday, January 19, 2012

ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

ScienceDaily: Top Environment News


Impact of land use activity in the Amazon basin evaluated

Posted: 18 Jan 2012 02:37 PM PST

Portions of the Amazon basin are experiencing a transition in energy and water cycles. Evidence suggests that the Amazon may also be transitioning from a net carbon sink to a net source. This research shows that although the Amazon is resilient to individual disturbances, such as drought, multiple disturbances override this, increasing the vulnerability of forest ecosystems to degradation. This review provides a framework for understanding the associations between natural variability and drivers of change.

Unusual 'tulip' creature discovered

Posted: 18 Jan 2012 02:36 PM PST

A bizarre creature that lived in the ocean more than 500 million years ago has emerged from the famous Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale in the Canadian Rockies. Officially named Siphusauctum gregarium, fossils reveal a tulip-shaped creature that is about the length of a dinner knife (approximately 20 centimeters or eight inches) and has a unique filter feeding system.

Inventory lists 19,232 newly discovered species during latest count

Posted: 18 Jan 2012 02:32 PM PST

More than half of the 19,232 species newly known to science in 2009, the most recent calendar year of compilation, were insects – 9,738 or 50.6 percent – according to the 2011 State of Observed Species.

Saving dogs with spinal cord injuries

Posted: 18 Jan 2012 12:53 PM PST

Dogs with spinal cord injuries may soon benefit from an experimental drug currently being tested by researchers — work that they hope will one day help people with similar injuries.

Ancient popcorn discovered in Peru

Posted: 18 Jan 2012 11:36 AM PST

People living along the coast of Peru were eating popcorn 1,000 years earlier than previously reported and before ceramic pottery was used there, according to a new article.

Climate balancing: Sea-level rise vs. surface temperature change rates

Posted: 18 Jan 2012 09:30 AM PST

Engineering our way out of global climate warming may not be as easy as simply reducing the incoming solar energy, according to a climate scientists. Designing the approach to control both sea level rise and rates of surface air temperature changes requires a balancing act to accommodate the diverging needs of different locations.

'Miracle tree' substance produces clean drinking water inexpensively and sustainably

Posted: 18 Jan 2012 08:20 AM PST

A natural substance obtained from seeds of the "miracle tree" could purify and clarify water inexpensively and sustainably in the developing world, where more than 1 billion people lack access to clean drinking water, scientists report.

First link between potentially toxic PFCs in office air and in office workers' blood

Posted: 18 Jan 2012 08:20 AM PST

In a first-of-its-kind study, scientists are reporting that the indoor air in offices is an important source of worker exposure to potentially toxic substances released by carpeting, furniture, paint and other items. Their report documents a link between levels of these so-called polyfluorinated compounds in office air and in the blood of workers.

Ulcer-causing bacteria baffled by mucus: Researchers discover impact of viscoelasticity on collective behavior of swimming microorganisms

Posted: 18 Jan 2012 08:17 AM PST

A new study demonstrates how introducing certain polymers—like those found in human mucus and saliva—into an aquatic environment makes it significantly more difficult for ulcer-causing bacteria and other microorganisms to coordinate.

Extremely rare turtle is released into the wild

Posted: 18 Jan 2012 08:17 AM PST

Biologists have successfully released a Southern River terrapin (Batagur affinis) – one of the most endangered turtles on Earth – into the Sre Ambel River in Cambodia.

Polar growth at the bacterial scale reveals potential new targets for antibiotic therapy

Posted: 17 Jan 2012 04:14 PM PST

Microbiologists have identified a new bacterial growth process -- one that occurs at a single end or pole of the cell instead of uniform, dispersed growth along the long axis of the cell -- that could have implications in the development of new antibacterial strategies.

Arctic plants face an uncertain future

Posted: 17 Jan 2012 11:37 AM PST

New research shows that a warmer climate will have quite different consequences for plant species in the Arctic. While most species are expected to lose part of their current habitat, the genetic consequences will differ markedly among species. The research results will have major impact on future conservation efforts.

Good parents are predictable, at least when it comes to corn

Posted: 15 Jan 2012 10:59 AM PST

According to a relatively new insight in plant research, there is no single gene strongly controlling growth. Nevertheless, in order to breed new varieties of corn with a higher yield faster than ever before, researchers are relying on a trick: early selection of the most promising parent plants based on their chemical and genetic makeup, as well as on new statistical analysis procedures.

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