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Thursday, August 2, 2012

ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

ScienceDaily: Top Environment News


Renewable energy potential in every U.S. state, study shows

Posted: 01 Aug 2012 04:43 PM PDT

A new study of renewable energy's technical potential finds that every state in the United States has the space and resource to generate clean energy.

Biologists discover female spiders produce mating plugs to prevent unwanted sex from males

Posted: 01 Aug 2012 03:51 PM PDT

Scientists have discovered a new mechanism of animal mating plug production. In the giant wood spider Nephila pilipes, a highly sexually dimorphic and polygamous species, many small males compete with one other for access to a few huge females. During copulation these males are known to sever their own genitals in an attempt to plug the female, thereby gaining paternity advantage by preventing other males from mating with her.

Test flight over Peru ruins could revolutionize archaeological mapping

Posted: 01 Aug 2012 01:55 PM PDT

Archaeological sites that currently take years to map could be completed in minutes with a new system that uses an unmanned aerial vehicle that is currently being tested in Peru.

Molecular switch identified that controls key cellular process: Gives insight into cancer

Posted: 01 Aug 2012 01:55 PM PDT

Scientists discovered a critical molecular switch that regulates autophagy. They also studied the links between autophagy and a cellular process called senescence that stops cell growth permanently.

Breaking the barriers for low-cost energy storage: Battery could help transition to renewable energy sources

Posted: 01 Aug 2012 12:48 PM PDT

Scientists have developed an air-breathing battery that uses the chemical energy generated by the oxidation of iron plates that are exposed to the oxygen in the air -- a process similar to rusting.

Slower, longer sperm outcompete faster rivals, surprising finding shows

Posted: 01 Aug 2012 11:37 AM PDT

When it comes to sperm meeting eggs in sexual reproduction, conventional wisdom holds that the fastest swimming sperm are most likely to succeed in their quest to fertilize eggs. That wisdom was turned upside down in a new study of sperm competition in fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster), which found that slower and/or longer sperm outcompete their faster rivals.

In fly DNA, the footprint of a fly virus

Posted: 01 Aug 2012 10:27 AM PDT

In a curious evolutionary twist, several species of a commonly studied fruit fly appear to have incorporated genetic material from a virus into their genomes, according to new research. The discovery could enable research on whether animals hijack viral genes as an anti-viral defense.

More code cracking: Three related studies help uncover the rules governing gene transcription

Posted: 01 Aug 2012 10:27 AM PDT

A trio of groundbreaking publications report important methodological advances that will enable a better understanding of how gene expression is regulated, both in normal cells and in cancer cells. This knowledge could lead to the development of more effective therapeutic agents to treat cancer patients. The three studies focus on nucleosomes, a basic unit of DNA packaging, and may help to uncover the rules governing gene transcription.

Northwest earthquake risk in U.S. looms large: 40% chance of major earthquake within 50 years

Posted: 01 Aug 2012 10:27 AM PDT

A comprehensive analysis of the Cascadia Subduction Zone off the Pacific Northwest coast confirms that the region has had numerous earthquakes over the past 10,000 years, and suggests that the southern Oregon coast may be most vulnerable based on recurrence frequency.

Roots and microbes: Bringing a complex underground ecology into the lab

Posted: 01 Aug 2012 10:24 AM PDT

Beneath the surface of the earth, an influential community of microbes mingles with plant roots. In the first large-scale analysis of those communities, scientists have now cataloged and compared the hundreds of types of bacteria that associate with the roots of the model plant Arabidopsis under various conditions. The work establishes an experimental framework for examining how plants interact with a microbial community that can influence their growth and development, productivity, and impact on the environment.

Earth's oceans and other ecosystems still absorbing about half the greenhouse gases emitted by people

Posted: 01 Aug 2012 10:24 AM PDT

Earth's oceans, forests and other ecosystems continue to soak up about half the carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere by human activities, even as those emissions have increased, according to a new study. The scientists analyzed 50 years of global carbon dioxide measurements and found that the processes by which the planet's oceans and ecosystems absorb the greenhouse gas are not yet at capacity.

Tropical climate in the Antarctic: Palm trees once thrived on today’s icy coasts 52 million years ago

Posted: 01 Aug 2012 10:23 AM PDT

Given the predicted rise in global temperatures in the coming decades, climate scientists are particularly interested in warm periods that occurred in the geological past. Knowledge of past episodes of global warmth can be used to better understand the relationship between climate change, variations in atmospheric carbon dioxide and the reaction of Earth's biosphere. Scientists have discovered an intense warming phase around 52 million years ago in drill cores obtained from the seafloor near Antarctica — a region that is especially important in climate research.

Air pollution worsening worldwide: Cut emissions further, experts urge

Posted: 01 Aug 2012 08:26 AM PDT

Most of the world's population will be subject to degraded air quality in 2050 if human-made emissions continue as usual. In this 'business-as-usual' scenario, the average world citizen 40 years from now will experience similar air pollution to that of today's average East Asian citizen. Air pollution is a major health risk that may worsen with increasing industrial activity. Currently, urban outdoor air pollution causes 1.3 million estimated deaths per year worldwide.

Fruit flies on methamphetamine die largely as a result of anorexia

Posted: 01 Aug 2012 06:38 AM PDT

A new study finds that, like humans, fruit flies exposed to methamphetamine drastically reduce their food intake and increase their physical activity. The study, which tracked metabolic and behavioral changes in fruit flies on meth, indicates that starvation is a primary driver of methamphetamine-related death in the insects.

Gene technology helps deceive greedy pest insects

Posted: 01 Aug 2012 06:38 AM PDT

Worldwide cabbage farmers have vast problems with the diamond-back moth. It lays its eggs on the cabbage plants and the voracious appetite of the larvae ruins the yield. However scientists have developed a method to deceive the greedy insects.

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