ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

---

• Animals' microbial communities linked to their behavior
• Earth sunblock only needed if planet warms easily
• Developmental biologist proposes new theory of early animal evolution that challenges basic assumption of evolution
• Surprising solution to fly eye mystery
• Meteorite delivers Martian secrets
• Researchers ID unique geological 'sombrero' uplift in South America
• How bacteria communicate using quorum sensing: Could bacteria be manipulated to control infections?
• Unusual genetic structure confers major disease resistance trait in soybean
• Arctic and Southern Oceans appear to determine the composition of microbial populations
• Eco-friendly optics: Spider silk's talents harnessed for use in biosensors, lasers, microchips
• Fisheries benefit from 400-year-old tradition
• Yellowstone wolf study reveals how to raise successful offspring
• New cave-dwelling reef coral discovered in the Indo-Pacific
• Soft-shelled turtles urinate through mouth
• Choreography of submerged whale lunges revealed
• Modern neutron techniques analyze Tudor firepower on the battleship Mary Rose
• DNA confirms genetically distinct lion population for Ethiopia
• Traditional courtyards: An example of eco-efficiency for architects
• Wild monkeys watch fights to exploit losers for grooming
• Cold wind makes Norwegian Sea warmer
• Filming bacterial life in multicolor as a new diagnostic and antibiotic discovery tool

Animals' microbial communities linked to their behavior Posted: 11 Oct 2012 01:21 PM PDT New research is revealing surprising connections between animal microbiomes -- the communities of microbes that live inside animals' bodies -- and animal behavior. A new article reviews recent developments in this emerging research area and offers questions for future investigation.

Earth sunblock only needed if planet warms easily Posted: 11 Oct 2012 12:14 PM PDT A new computer analysis of future climate change that considers emissions reductions together with sunlight reduction shows that such drastic steps to cool Earth would only be necessary if the planet heats up easily with added greenhouse gases.

Developmental biologist proposes new theory of early animal evolution that challenges basic assumption of evolution Posted: 11 Oct 2012 11:14 AM PDT A developmental biologist whose life's work has supported the theory of evolution has developed a concept that dramatically alters one of its basic assumptions -- that survival is based on a change's functional advantage if it is to persist.

Surprising solution to fly eye mystery Posted: 11 Oct 2012 11:14 AM PDT Fly eyes have the fastest visual responses in the animal kingdom, but how they achieve this has long been an enigma. A new study shows that their rapid vision may be a result of their photoreceptors -- specialized cells found in the retina -- physically contracting in response to light.

Meteorite delivers Martian secrets Posted: 11 Oct 2012 11:14 AM PDT A meteorite that landed in the Moroccan desert 14 months ago is providing more information about Mars, the planet where it originated.

Researchers ID unique geological 'sombrero' uplift in South America Posted: 11 Oct 2012 11:14 AM PDT Scientists have identified a geological oddity in the central Andes region, home to the largest active magma body in Earth's continental crust. They found that magma is forming a big blob in the middle of the crust, pushing up Earth's surface across an area 100 kilometers wide, while the surrounding area sinks, leading to a unique geological phenomenon the researchers have described as the "sombrero uplift."

How bacteria communicate using quorum sensing: Could bacteria be manipulated to control infections? Posted: 11 Oct 2012 11:14 AM PDT Researchers have examined the relatively new field in microbiology known as quorum sensing, a type of bacterial communication. Scientists say this fundamental research takes them steps closer to a different antibiotic-independent way of managing infections, and could one day lead to the ability to manipulate bacterial conditions in order to cause cell populations of dangerous pathogens to collapse.

Unusual genetic structure confers major disease resistance trait in soybean Posted: 11 Oct 2012 11:08 AM PDT Scientists have identified three neighboring genes that make soybeans resistant to the most damaging disease of soybean. The genes exist side-by-side on a stretch of chromosome, but only give resistance when that stretch is duplicated several times in the plant.

Arctic and Southern Oceans appear to determine the composition of microbial populations Posted: 11 Oct 2012 09:44 AM PDT Differing contributions of freshwater from glaciers and streams to the Arctic and Southern oceans appear to be responsible for the fact that the majority of microbial communities that thrive near the surface at the Poles share few common members, according to an international team of researchers.

Eco-friendly optics: Spider silk's talents harnessed for use in biosensors, lasers, microchips Posted: 11 Oct 2012 09:40 AM PDT Spiders use their silk to catch lunch. Now physicists are using it to catch light. New research shows that natural silk could be an eco-friendly alternative to more traditional ways of manipulating light, such as through glass or plastic fiber optic cables.

Fisheries benefit from 400-year-old tradition Posted: 11 Oct 2012 09:37 AM PDT Coral reefs in Aceh, Indonesia are benefiting from a decidedly low-tech, traditional management system that dates back to the 17th century, new research shows.

Yellowstone wolf study reveals how to raise successful offspring Posted: 11 Oct 2012 07:22 AM PDT What are the key ingredients to raising successful, self-sufficient offspring? A new life sciences study using 14 years of data of wolves in Yellowstone indicates cooperative group behavior is key.

New cave-dwelling reef coral discovered in the Indo-Pacific Posted: 11 Oct 2012 06:06 AM PDT A new species of reef coral is discovered, which lives on the ceilings of dark caves. Its closest relatives are larger, have symbiotic algae in their soft tissue and need sunlight to grow. The new species lacks such algae and its tissue is colorless. When other reef coral species lose their algae, they may die, a recurring disease known as coral bleaching.

Soft-shelled turtles urinate through mouth Posted: 11 Oct 2012 06:06 AM PDT Turtles spend most of their lives in water, but why do these air breathing animals immerse their heads in puddles for hours at a time when their watery homes dry up? Researchers have discovered that the animals have to rinse their mouths with water in order to excrete urea: the animals are effectively urinating through their mouths.

Choreography of submerged whale lunges revealed Posted: 11 Oct 2012 06:06 AM PDT Submerged for tens of minutes at a time, no one knew exactly how foraging whales execute foraging lunges through shoals of krill until a band of pioneers began attaching tags to whales. Now, researchers report how humpback whales throw their jaws wide and continue gliding as they lunge, before filtering away the water and swallowing their prey in one mighty gulp.

Modern neutron techniques analyze Tudor firepower on the battleship Mary Rose Posted: 11 Oct 2012 05:55 AM PDT Scientists and archeologists harnessed modern technology to learn about the weapons and ammunition on board Tudor battleship Mary Rose, dramatically raised back to the surface 30 years ago.

DNA confirms genetically distinct lion population for Ethiopia Posted: 11 Oct 2012 05:53 AM PDT A team of international researchers has provided the first comprehensive DNA evidence that the Addis Ababa lion in Ethiopia is genetically unique and is urging immediate conservation action to preserve this vulnerable lion population.

Traditional courtyards: An example of eco-efficiency for architects Posted: 11 Oct 2012 05:52 AM PDT Researchers in Spain have used mathematical tools to assess what has been known for centuries: the temperature inside the typical Mediterranean courtyard is cooler than that of the street. Though seemingly common sense, understanding such information in detail helps to save energy and money, which is the objective of eco-efficient buildings.

Wild monkeys watch fights to exploit losers for grooming Posted: 11 Oct 2012 05:52 AM PDT Wild macaques who are bystanders to fights within their group exploit the losers for grooming favors, new research has shown. The findings reveal previously unknown details about the important function observing others' aggressive behavior serves in primate society, and may even help to explain why humans often hold a fascination with watching fights.

Cold wind makes Norwegian Sea warmer Posted: 11 Oct 2012 05:52 AM PDT The Gulf Stream and the warm waters it brings are one reason the climate is milder along the Norwegian coastline than other places so far north. Researchers now know that the Gulf Stream is not only driven from the south, but also drawn northward by Arctic winds. Norwegian researchers have discovered a previously unknown climate relationship in the seas off Norway: cold wind from the north makes warm waters from the south flow northward along the Norwegian coastline.

Filming bacterial life in multicolor as a new diagnostic and antibiotic discovery tool Posted: 10 Oct 2012 02:22 PM PDT Scientists have discovered a revolutionary new method for coloring the cell wall of bacterial cells to determine how they grow, in turn providing a new, much-needed tool for the development of new antibiotics.

You are subscribed to email updates from ScienceDaily: Top Environment News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610