ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

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• Studying ice cores from West Antarctica for clues as to why the Earth began to emerge from the Ice Age
• Evaluating evolutionary rates could shed light into functions of uncharacterized genes
• Scientists using holiday snaps to identify whale sharks
• New NASA mission to help us better estimate asteroid impact hazard
• To quiver or to shiver: Explaining warning signal diversity in wood tiger moths
• Forensic pathology: Tracing the origin of the Usutu virus in blackbirds
• Predictions of the human cost of climate change
• Putting our heads together: Canines may hold clues to human skull development
• New way to identify which El Niño events will have biggest impact on U.S. winter weather
• Poll: Americans back climate change regulation, not taxes
• Disease spread in ladybugs with sexually transmitted disease
• How a fall in duck hunting is shooting a financial hole into conservation efforts

Studying ice cores from West Antarctica for clues as to why the Earth began to emerge from the Ice Age Posted: 08 Feb 2013 03:26 PM PST Scientists made history this year by retrieving additional ice from the main borehole in West Antarctica. Researchers will now work on a section of ice from 17,500 years ago that offers clues as to why the Earth began to emerge from the Ice Age.

Evaluating evolutionary rates could shed light into functions of uncharacterized genes Posted: 08 Feb 2013 09:47 AM PST Genes that have roles in the same biological pathways change their rate of evolution in parallel, a finding that could be used to discover their functions, said a researcher. Humans have nearly 21,000 genes that make as many proteins, but the functions of most of those genes have not been fully determined.

Scientists using holiday snaps to identify whale sharks Posted: 08 Feb 2013 09:46 AM PST Holidaymakers' photos could help scientists track the movements of giant endangered sharks living in the waters of the Indian Ocean. A new study show that these publicly sourced photographs are suitable for use in conservation work. Tourists scuba diving and snorkeling in the Maldives frequently take underwater pictures of the spectacular and docile whale shark, often called the world's largest fish.

New NASA mission to help us better estimate asteroid impact hazard Posted: 08 Feb 2013 08:20 AM PST Every year, sensors designed to detect nuclear explosions see harmless bursts in Earth's upper atmosphere from the breakup of an asteroid a few yards across. Tiny asteroids are much more numerous than big ones, so destructive hits to Earth are very rare. However, because of their potential for devastation, NASA's Near-Earth Object (NEO) observations program supports surveys which are undertaking sustained searches to find the largest objects and predict their impact threat to Earth.

To quiver or to shiver: Explaining warning signal diversity in wood tiger moths Posted: 08 Feb 2013 07:57 AM PST A central question in evolutionary biology is what causes the diversity of appearance seen in animals of the same species? Diversity is the raw material evolution has to act on, and this is why it is important to study the processes causing diversity. However, organisms that possess warning signals telling that they are unpalatable are not really expected to have very diverse forms of coloration. Such organisms are known as "aposematic," and a similar looking coloration which acts as a warning signal is a way to make sure that potential predators will recognize and avoid them. It is especially interesting to take a look at the cause of diversity in the appearance of aposematic species because it is not predicted.

Forensic pathology: Tracing the origin of the Usutu virus in blackbirds Posted: 08 Feb 2013 07:57 AM PST It is generally a mystery how new diseases arise and how the pathogens that cause them first enter countries.  However, clues may come from examination of specimens from similar outbreaks.  This approach has recently been taken by scientists in order to trace the origin of the virus that caused a sudden decrease in the number of blackbirds in Vienna in 2001.

Predictions of the human cost of climate change Posted: 08 Feb 2013 07:53 AM PST Scientists predict a grim future for billions of people by 2050 if climate change issues are not addressed now.

Putting our heads together: Canines may hold clues to human skull development Posted: 08 Feb 2013 07:53 AM PST Researchers have reviewed research on dog cranium development, suggest future research and how it may inform human skull development.

New way to identify which El Niño events will have biggest impact on U.S. winter weather Posted: 08 Feb 2013 07:49 AM PST Weather forecasters have long known that El Niño events can throw seasonal climate patterns off kilter, particularly during winter months. Now, new research suggests that a different way to detect El Niño could help forecasters predict the unusual weather it causes.

Poll: Americans back climate change regulation, not taxes Posted: 07 Feb 2013 10:16 AM PST Now that President Obama has put climate change back on the table in his second inaugural address, a new national poll finds growing public support for regulating greenhouse gas emissions and requiring utilities to switch to lower-carbon fuel sources.

Disease spread in ladybugs with sexually transmitted disease Posted: 07 Feb 2013 06:31 AM PST A new study into the spread of sexually transmitted infection in ladybugs has shown that disease risk to large populations cannot be predicted without a full understanding of the disease dynamics at small geographical scale.

How a fall in duck hunting is shooting a financial hole into conservation efforts Posted: 07 Feb 2013 04:41 AM PST The annual duck hunting season in the United States is traditionally big business, but while bird numbers are rising faster than they have for decades, the number of hunters continues to fall. Far from being good news for ducks a new study shows how the loss of revenue from 'duck stamps' could result in millions of lost dollars for vital conservation work.

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