ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

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• Glaciers cracking in the presence of carbon dioxide
• Suomi NPP satellite sees auroras over North America
• Singing mice show signs of learning
• Skin hair skims heat off elephants
• Single spider dads caring for eggs suffer no disadvantages despite parenting costs
• New fossils suggest ancient origins of modern-day deep-sea animals
• Eliminating sagebrush may hurt rather than help wildlife
• Small fish can play a big role in coastal carbon cycle
• Cambrian fossil pushes back evolution of complex brains
• New mechanism for molecular interactions: 'Molecular sled' carries viral enzyme along DNA to find and interact with targets
• Sitting on top of the world: Mountain marvels of French Polynesia
• New species: Looks like turtle weed, but it's not
• Halving food losses would feed an additional billion people, Finnish study finds
• Spanish researchers find the exact spot where Julius Caesar was stabbed
• Climate change to lengthen growing season
• Drought, climate change impact salamander survival rates

Glaciers cracking in the presence of carbon dioxide Posted: 10 Oct 2012 04:17 PM PDT The well-documented presence of excessive levels of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere is causing global temperatures to rise and glaciers and ice caps to melt. New research has shown that carbon dioxide molecules may be also having a more direct impact on the ice that covers our planet.

Suomi NPP satellite sees auroras over North America Posted: 10 Oct 2012 02:22 PM PDT Overnight on October 4-5, 2012, a mass of energetic particles from the atmosphere of the Sun were flung out into space, a phenomenon known as a coronal mass ejection. Three days later, the storm from the Sun stirred up the magnetic field around Earth and produced gorgeous displays of northern lights. NASA satellites track such storms from their origin to their crossing of interplanetary space to their arrival in the atmosphere of Earth.

Singing mice show signs of learning Posted: 10 Oct 2012 02:21 PM PDT Guys who imitate Luciano Pavarotti or Justin Bieber to get the girls aren't alone. Male mice may do a similar trick, matching the pitch of other males' ultrasonic serenades. The mice also have certain brain features, somewhat similar to humans and song-learning birds, which they may use to change their sounds, according to a new study.

Skin hair skims heat off elephants Posted: 10 Oct 2012 02:21 PM PDT Body hair in mammals is typically thought to have evolved to keep us warm in colder prehistoric times, but a new study suggests that it may do the opposite, at least in elephants. Epidermal hair may have evolved to help the animals keep cool in the hot regions they live in, according to new research.

Single spider dads caring for eggs suffer no disadvantages despite parenting costs Posted: 10 Oct 2012 02:21 PM PDT Exclusive paternal care associated with mating benefits and lower mortality risk in harvestman spiders.

New fossils suggest ancient origins of modern-day deep-sea animals Posted: 10 Oct 2012 02:21 PM PDT Fossils discovered in North Atlantic Ocean reveal ancestry of sea urchins and related species.

Eliminating sagebrush may hurt rather than help wildlife Posted: 10 Oct 2012 01:18 PM PDT Efforts to enhance wildlife habitat by controlling vegetation could actually cause more harm than good. Wyoming big sagebrush is often manipulated to decrease its density and encourage the growth of herbaceous plants. However, this may bring about declines in the population of birds, elk, and other animals.

Small fish can play a big role in coastal carbon cycle Posted: 10 Oct 2012 10:15 AM PDT Research shows that small forage fish like anchovies can transport carbon into the deep sea through their fecal pellets -- where it contributes nothing to current global warming.

Cambrian fossil pushes back evolution of complex brains Posted: 10 Oct 2012 10:14 AM PDT Complex brains evolved much earlier than previously thought, as evidenced by a 520-million-year-old fossilized arthropod with remarkably well-preserved brain structures. Representing the earliest specimen to show a brain, the fossil provides a "missing link" that sheds light on the evolutionary history of arthropods, the taxonomic group that comprises crustaceans, arachnids and insects.

New mechanism for molecular interactions: 'Molecular sled' carries viral enzyme along DNA to find and interact with targets Posted: 10 Oct 2012 08:25 AM PDT Scientists have discovered a new mechanism that may alter principle understandings of molecular interactions within a cell's nucleus. Scientists describe the details of how particular proteins use a "molecular sled" to slide along DNA -- much like a train running along its tracks -- to find and interact with other proteins. The findings suggest this mechanism may be universal.

Sitting on top of the world: Mountain marvels of French Polynesia Posted: 10 Oct 2012 08:25 AM PDT In two papers, an American entomologist has described 14 new species of predatory beetle, seven each from two isolated mountains in Moorea and Tahiti, Society Islands. Each of the species is restricted to a single mountain, demonstrating the importance of focusing conservation efforts on individual mountains for the preservation of tropical island biodiversity.

New species: Looks like turtle weed, but it's not Posted: 10 Oct 2012 07:22 AM PDT Newly described species points to richer marine biodiversity in Guam waters than previously understood.

Halving food losses would feed an additional billion people, Finnish study finds Posted: 10 Oct 2012 07:22 AM PDT More efficient use of the food production chain and a decrease in the amount of food losses will dramatically help maintaining the planet's natural resources and improve people's lives. Researchers in Finland have proved a valid estimation, for the first time, for how many people could be fed with reducing food losses. An additional one billion people can be fed, if the food losses could be halved.

Spanish researchers find the exact spot where Julius Caesar was stabbed Posted: 10 Oct 2012 07:21 AM PDT Several ancient Roman texts describe the assassination of Julius Caesar in Rome, at the Curia of Pompey in 44 BC, which was the result of a plot among a group of senators to eliminate the General. This fact led to the formation of the second triumvirate and to the final outbreak of civil wars. Now, 2,056 years later, a team of researchers from the Spanish National Research Council has found the exact plot where the military man was stabbed.

Climate change to lengthen growing season Posted: 10 Oct 2012 05:41 AM PDT Across much of Norway, the agricultural growing season could become up to two months longer due to climate change. A research project has been studying the potential and challenges inherent in such a scenario.

Drought, climate change impact salamander survival rates Posted: 10 Oct 2012 05:39 AM PDT On the heels of one the worst U.S. droughts in more than half a century, a new study raises questions about the future of one of the most integral members of stream ecosystems throughout the Southeast – the salamander. Research from Wake Forest University shows how salamanders react to drought, shedding light on the impact of climate change and increased urbanization.

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