ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

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• Nanoparticle opens the door to clean-energy alternatives
• Context crucial when it comes to mutations in genetic evolution
• Warm ocean drives most Antarctic ice shelf loss
• Putting flesh on the bones of ancient fish: Synchrotron X-rays reconstruct soft tissue on 380-million-year-old fish
• Satellite data will be essential to future of groundwater, flood and drought management
• How diving mammals evolved underwater endurance
• Medieval leprosy genomes shed light on disease's history
• Gustatory tug-of-war key to whether salty foods taste good
• Dangerous strains of E. coli may linger longer in water than benign counterparts, study finds
• Black locust tree shows promise for biomass potential
• Oysters could rebound more quickly with limited fishing and improved habitat
• New fluorescent protein from eel improves key clinical assay
• World population could be nearly 11 billion by 2100
• 'Tailing' spiny lobster larvae to protect them
• 'Self-cleaning' pollution-control technology could do more harm than good, study suggests
• New catalyst neutralizes gases responsible for climate change
• Lighter meals for fish in the northern Baltic Sea

Nanoparticle opens the door to clean-energy alternatives Posted: 13 Jun 2013 11:28 AM PDT Cheaper clean-energy technologies could be made possible thanks to a new discovery. An important chemical reaction that generates hydrogen from water is effectively triggered -- or catalyzed -- by a nanoparticle composed of nickel and phosphorus, two inexpensive elements that are abundant on Earth.

Context crucial when it comes to mutations in genetic evolution Posted: 13 Jun 2013 11:28 AM PDT Evolutionary biologists have found that whether a given mutation is good or bad is often determined by other mutations associated with it. In other words, genetic evolution is context-dependent.

Warm ocean drives most Antarctic ice shelf loss Posted: 13 Jun 2013 11:28 AM PDT Ocean waters melting the undersides of Antarctic ice shelves, not icebergs calving into the sea, are responsible for most of the continent's ice loss, a new study has found.

Putting flesh on the bones of ancient fish: Synchrotron X-rays reconstruct soft tissue on 380-million-year-old fish Posted: 13 Jun 2013 11:28 AM PDT Scientists present for the first time miraculously preserved musculature of 380 million year old armored fish discovered in north-west Australia. This research will help scientists to better understand how neck and abdominal muscles evolved during the transition from jawless to jawed vertebrates.

Satellite data will be essential to future of groundwater, flood and drought management Posted: 13 Jun 2013 11:28 AM PDT New satellite imagery reveals that several areas across the US are all but certain to suffer water-related catastrophes, including extreme flooding, drought and groundwater depletion. A new report underscores the urgent need to address these current and rapidly emerging water issues at the national scale in the U.S.

How diving mammals evolved underwater endurance Posted: 13 Jun 2013 11:28 AM PDT Scientists have shed new light on how diving mammals, such as the sperm whale, have evolved to survive for long periods underwater without breathing.

Medieval leprosy genomes shed light on disease's history Posted: 13 Jun 2013 11:26 AM PDT Scientists have reconstructed a dozen medieval and modern leprosy genomes -- suggesting a European origin for the North American leprosy strains found in armadillos and humans, and a common ancestor of all leprosy bacteria within the last 4000 years.

Gustatory tug-of-war key to whether salty foods taste good Posted: 13 Jun 2013 11:26 AM PDT As anyone who's ever mixed up the sugar and salt while baking knows, too much of a good thing can be inedible. What hasn't been clear, though, is how our tongues and brains can tell when the saltiness of our food has crossed the line from yummy to yucky -- or, worse, something dangerous. Now researchers report that in fruit flies, at least, that process is controlled by competing input from two different types of taste-sensing cells: one that attracts flies to salty foods, and one that repels them.

Dangerous strains of E. coli may linger longer in water than benign counterparts, study finds Posted: 13 Jun 2013 10:36 AM PDT A toxin dangerous to humans may help E. coli fend off aquatic predators, enabling strains of E. coli that produce the toxin to survive longer in lake water than benign counterparts, a new study finds. The research may help explain why water quality tests don't always accurately capture health risks for swimmers.

Black locust tree shows promise for biomass potential Posted: 13 Jun 2013 10:36 AM PDT Researchers evaluating the biomass potential of woody crops, are taking a closer look at the black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia), which showed a higher yield and a faster harvest time than other woody plant species that they evaluated, said a crop scientist.

Oysters could rebound more quickly with limited fishing and improved habitat Posted: 13 Jun 2013 09:43 AM PDT A new study shows that combining improved oyster restoration methods with limits on fishing in the upper Chesapeake could bring the oyster population back to the Bay in a much shorter period of time. The study assessed a range of management and restoration options to see which ones would have the most likelihood of success.

New fluorescent protein from eel improves key clinical assay Posted: 13 Jun 2013 09:42 AM PDT Unagi, the sea-going Japanese freshwater eel, harbors a fluorescent protein that could serve as the basis for a new clinical test for bilirubin, a critical indicator of human liver function, hemolysis, and jaundice, according to researchers. The discovery also sheds light on the mysterious and endangered Unagi that could contribute to its conservation.

World population could be nearly 11 billion by 2100 Posted: 13 Jun 2013 08:19 AM PDT A new United Nations analysis shows the world population could reach nearly 11 billion by the end of the century, about 800 million more people than the previous projection issued in 2011.

'Tailing' spiny lobster larvae to protect them Posted: 13 Jun 2013 06:23 AM PDT In a new study of spiny lobsters scientists studied the larval dispersal of this species in the Caribbean. The goal of the study was to describe the sources, sinks, and routes connecting the Caribbean spiny lobster metapopulation. The results led the team to propose marine resource management strategies that incorporate larval connectivity and "larval lobster credits" to sustain and rebuild exploited marine populations.

'Self-cleaning' pollution-control technology could do more harm than good, study suggests Posted: 13 Jun 2013 06:23 AM PDT Environmental scientists shows that air-pollution-removal technology used in "self-cleaning" paints and building surfaces may actually cause more problems than they solve. The study finds that titanium dioxide coatings, seen as promising for their role in breaking down airborne pollutants on contact, are likely in real-world conditions to convert abundant ammonia to nitrogen oxide, the key precursor of harmful ozone pollution.

New catalyst neutralizes gases responsible for climate change Posted: 13 Jun 2013 06:22 AM PDT New technology prevents nitrous oxide decomposing it into nontoxic products. The catalytic system is active, efficient and stable over time and can purify gases emitted by industries related to the production of fertilizers, plastics and coal burning plants to produce electricity or vehicles.

Lighter meals for fish in the northern Baltic Sea Posted: 13 Jun 2013 06:22 AM PDT The nutrition available for fish in the northern Baltic Sea has become lighter during the past 30 years.

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