ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

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• NASA views our perpetual ocean
• Farmers of 800-years-ago could teach us how to protect the Amazon -- with raised farming beds
• Nanotechnology used to hunt for hidden pathogens
• Immune cells, 'macrophages' become activated by body temperature
• Social stress changes immune system gene expression in primates
• Identical DNA codes discovered in different plant species
• Rough terrain can channel a tornado's damaging winds, new research suggests
• Forest insects and diseases arrive in US via imported plants
• Loss of predators in Northern Hemisphere affecting ecosystem health
• Head and body lice appear to be the same species, genetic study finds
• Black flies may have a purpose after all
• A bit touchy: Plants' insect defenses activated by touch
• Higher altitude of islands increases their number of exclusive species
• Cells on the move: Why some cells stay on track and others don't
• Bright future for alternative energy with greener solar cells

NASA views our perpetual ocean Posted: 09 Apr 2012 05:44 PM PDT The swirling flows of tens of thousands of ocean currents were captured in a scientific visualization created by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.

Farmers of 800-years-ago could teach us how to protect the Amazon -- with raised farming beds Posted: 09 Apr 2012 02:59 PM PDT In the face of mass deforestation of the Amazon, recent findings indicate that we could learn from its earliest inhabitants who managed their farmland sustainably. Research shows for the first time that indigenous people, living in the savannas around the Amazonian forest, farmed without using fire. Instead early inhabitants practiced 'raised-field' farming, which involved constructing small agricultural mounds with wooden tools. These raised fields provided better drainage, soil aeration and moisture retention: ideal for an environment that experiences both drought and flooding.

Nanotechnology used to hunt for hidden pathogens Posted: 09 Apr 2012 02:59 PM PDT Researchers have developed a novel technique that may give doctors a faster and more sensitive tool to detect pathogens associated with inflammatory bowel disease, including Crohn's disease. The new nanoparticle-based technique also may be used for detection of other microbes that have challenged scientists for centuries because they hide deep in human tissue and are able to reprogram cells to successfully evade the immune system.

Immune cells, 'macrophages' become activated by body temperature Posted: 09 Apr 2012 01:45 PM PDT Scientists have identified the mechanism through which TRPM2 is activated by body temperature with hydrogen peroxide produced by immune reactions.

Social stress changes immune system gene expression in primates Posted: 09 Apr 2012 01:45 PM PDT The ranking of a monkey within her social environment and the stress accompanying that status dramatically alters the expression of nearly 1,000 genes, a new scientific study reports. The research is the first to demonstrate a link between social status and genetic regulation in primates on a genome-wide scale, revealing a strong, plastic link between social environment and biology.

Identical DNA codes discovered in different plant species Posted: 09 Apr 2012 01:44 PM PDT Researchers solved a major biological question by using a groundbreaking computer algorithm to find identical DNA sequences in different plant and animal species.

Rough terrain can channel a tornado's damaging winds, new research suggests Posted: 09 Apr 2012 01:41 PM PDT A doctoral student noticed storm damage far from the path a tornado took through hilly Alabama terrain. He's using a tornado simulator to confirm rough terrain can channel a tornado's damaging winds.

Forest insects and diseases arrive in US via imported plants Posted: 09 Apr 2012 10:39 AM PDT The importation of plants from around the world has become a major industry in the United States, valued at more than $500 billion. According to a new study that economic boon has also had devastating effects on the environment. Researchers found that almost 70 percent of the most damaging non-native forest insects and diseases currently afflicting US forests arrived via imported live plants.

Loss of predators in Northern Hemisphere affecting ecosystem health Posted: 09 Apr 2012 10:39 AM PDT A survey done on the loss in the Northern Hemisphere of large predators, particularly wolves, concludes that current populations of moose, deer, and other large herbivores far exceed their historic levels and are contributing to disrupted ecosystems. They are crippling the growth of young trees and reducing biodiversity. This also contributes to deforestation and results in less carbon sequestration, a potential concern with climate change.

Head and body lice appear to be the same species, genetic study finds Posted: 09 Apr 2012 10:39 AM PDT A new study offers compelling genetic evidence that head and body lice are the same species. The finding is of special interest because body lice can transmit deadly bacterial diseases, while head lice do not.

Black flies may have a purpose after all Posted: 09 Apr 2012 10:38 AM PDT Black flies drink blood and spread disease such as river blindness -- creating misery with their presence. A new study, however, demonstrates that the pesky insects can be useful.

A bit touchy: Plants' insect defenses activated by touch Posted: 09 Apr 2012 10:38 AM PDT Plants can use the sense of touch to fight off fungal infections and insects, new research shows. The study finds the first evidence that plant resistance -- activated by the plant hormone jasmonate -- is triggered by touch. In a study of Arabidopsis thaliana, biochemists found that touched plants had increased levels of jasmonate and increased resistance to insects and fungal disease.

Higher altitude of islands increases their number of exclusive species Posted: 09 Apr 2012 10:37 AM PDT In the ecosystems of islands with high mountains, endemic animal and vegetation species are twice as isolated, making them even more exclusive. This finding adds the factor of altitude to wider biodiversity.

Cells on the move: Why some cells stay on track and others don't Posted: 09 Apr 2012 07:32 AM PDT Cells on the move reach forward with lamellipodia and filopodia, cytoplasmic sheets and rods supported by branched networks or tight bundles of actin filaments. Cells without functional lamellipodia are still highly motile but lose their ability to stay on track, report researchers.

Bright future for alternative energy with greener solar cells Posted: 09 Apr 2012 07:32 AM PDT Research to green alternative energy technologies has led to a dye-sensitized solar cell that uses a bacteria and dye to generate energy. It is also friendlier to the environment and living organisms.

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