ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

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• Cities support more native biodiversity than previously thought
• San Francisco's big 1906 earthquake was third of a series on San Andreas Fault
• Genome of American Clovis skeleton mapped: Ancestor of most present-day Native American populations
• Jaw dropping: Scientists reveal how vertebrates came to have a face
• Revision to rules for color in dinosaurs suggests connection between color and physiology
• Link between zebra mussels, risk of algae blooms
• From surf to turf: Archaeologists and chemists trace ancient British diets
• Continued decline of African forest elephants, study shows
• Genetic find might lead to cattle that are more resistant to TB
• Great tit can remember other birds' food hideaways for up to 24 hours
• Poaching threatens savannah ecosystems
• Bees fight to a stalemate in the battle of the sexes
• Atlantic Ocean risk zones for leatherback turtles identified
• Tibetan mastiffs equally adapted to high altitudes of Tibet
• Promise for castor crop planting in Florida
• Macro-portrait of future bird and wetland scenarios under climate change
• Antibody treatment used by researchers to protect humanized mice from HIV
• Dark chocolate, red wine will keep your honey heart-healthy this Valentine's day, expert says
• First observation of a human HAT, key proteins in numerous pathologies
• Recent decades likely wettest in four millennia in Tibet
• Biodiversity in production forests can be improved without large costs
• Fossils abound: 'Epic' new Burgess Shale site in Canada's Kootenay National Park
• Weakness exposed in most common cancer gene
• Wasps use ancient aggression genes to create social groups

Cities support more native biodiversity than previously thought Posted: 12 Feb 2014 10:29 AM PST The rapid conversion of natural lands to cement-dominated urban centers is causing great losses in biodiversity. Yet, according to a new study involving 147 cities worldwide, surprisingly high numbers of plant and animal species persist and even flourish in urban environments -- to the tune of hundreds of bird species and thousands of plant species in a single city.

San Francisco's big 1906 earthquake was third of a series on San Andreas Fault Posted: 12 Feb 2014 10:29 AM PST Geologists have uncovered geologic evidence that supports historical narratives for two earthquakes in the 68 years prior to San Francisco's devastating 1906 disaster.

Genome of American Clovis skeleton mapped: Ancestor of most present-day Native American populations Posted: 12 Feb 2014 10:28 AM PST The Clovis people were not the first humans in America, but they represent the first humans with a wide expansion on the North American continent -- until the culture mysteriously disappeared only a few hundred years after its origin. Now genome mapping shows that some 80 percent of all present-day Native American populations on the two American continents are direct descendants of the Clovis boy's family.

Jaw dropping: Scientists reveal how vertebrates came to have a face Posted: 12 Feb 2014 10:27 AM PST Scientists present new fossil evidence for the origin of one of the most important and emotionally significant parts of our anatomy: the face. Scientists show how a series of fossils, with a 410 million year old armored fish called Romundina at its center, documents the step-by-step assembly of the face during the evolutionary transition from jawless to jawed vertebrates.

Revision to rules for color in dinosaurs suggests connection between color and physiology Posted: 12 Feb 2014 10:27 AM PST New research revising rules on deciphering color in dinosaurs may provide a tool for understanding the evolutionary emergence of flight and changes in dinosaur physiology. While surveying melanosome shape in fossil and extant specimens, a research team unexpectedly discovered that ancient maniraptoran dinosaurs, paravians, and living mammals and birds uniquely shared the evolutionary development of diverse melanosome shapes related to color. The similarity could relate to a key shift in dinosaurian physiology.

Link between zebra mussels, risk of algae blooms Posted: 12 Feb 2014 08:27 AM PST Researchers are learning more about the impact invasive zebra mussels and native aquatic insect larvae have on the risk of algae blooms in two West Michigan lakes.

From surf to turf: Archaeologists and chemists trace ancient British diets Posted: 12 Feb 2014 08:27 AM PST Studies of old rubbish dumps and dirty dishes have revealed that, 6,000 years ago, ancient Britons gave up their passion for fish to begin a love affair with milk.

Continued decline of African forest elephants, study shows Posted: 12 Feb 2014 06:33 AM PST New data from the field in Central Africa shows that between 2002 and 2013, 65 percent of forest elephants were killed. They are being poached, for their ivory, at a shocking 9 percent per year.

Genetic find might lead to cattle that are more resistant to TB Posted: 12 Feb 2014 06:33 AM PST Scientists have identified genetic traits in cattle that might allow farmers to breed livestock with increased resistance to bovine tuberculosis.

Great tit can remember other birds' food hideaways for up to 24 hours Posted: 12 Feb 2014 06:33 AM PST Birds that hoard food for a rainy day better be sure that there are no great tits around to spy on where they hide their reserve of seeds and nuts. Biologists found that great tits can remember the position of such hideaways up to 24 hours after seeing it cached. Interestingly, even though great tits share this mental ability with well-known hoarders such as crows and jays, they do not store up food themselves.

Poaching threatens savannah ecosystems Posted: 12 Feb 2014 05:20 AM PST White rhinoceros may be extinct in twenty years with the current poaching rates. The loss of this megaherbivore is in itself a tragedy, but it may also have tremendous effects on the ecosystems they now live in.

Bees fight to a stalemate in the battle of the sexes Posted: 12 Feb 2014 04:49 AM PST Just like humans, whether or not some genes are switched on in bumblebees is a result of a battle of the sexes between genes inherited from their mother and genes inherited from their father.

Atlantic Ocean risk zones for leatherback turtles identified Posted: 11 Feb 2014 06:13 PM PST Researchers used data from satellite transmitters attached to the turtles to track their movements across the Atlantic Ocean. These movements were then overlapped with information on high pressure fishing areas to identify where the turtles are most susceptible to becoming entangled and where they may drown.

Tibetan mastiffs equally adapted to high altitudes of Tibet Posted: 11 Feb 2014 02:48 PM PST In a new study published in the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution, author Dong-Dong Wu, et. al., explored the genetic basis of high-altitude adaptation of Tibetan Mastiffs, which were originally domesticated from the Chinese native dogs of the plains. Overall, they identified more than 120,000 SNPs, and in their analysis, narrowed these down to 16 genes that have undergone positive selection in mastiffs, with 12 of these relevant to high altitude adaption.

Promise for castor crop planting in Florida Posted: 11 Feb 2014 12:35 PM PST Castor hasn't been grown in the U.S. since 1972. Now, a study shows that, using proper techniques, the crop that's used for many industrial applications, can be grown in Florida.

Macro-portrait of future bird and wetland scenarios under climate change Posted: 11 Feb 2014 12:35 PM PST Macrosystems ecology is a new and emerging science using large amounts of information that are analyzed by faster and smarter computers to not only create greater understanding of how habitats interact, but also make better predictions about how these systems may react in the face of global climate change.

Antibody treatment used by researchers to protect humanized mice from HIV Posted: 11 Feb 2014 11:11 AM PST Scientists have shown that boosting the production of certain broadly neutralizing antibodies can protect humanized mice from both intravenous and vaginal infection with HIV. Humanized mice have immune systems genetically modified to resemble those of humans, making it possible for them to become HIV-infected.

Dark chocolate, red wine will keep your honey heart-healthy this Valentine's day, expert says Posted: 11 Feb 2014 09:17 AM PST Forget the oysters and the champagne this Valentine's Day. If you want to keep your true love's heart beating strong, the real foods of love are dark chocolate and red wine, said Loyola University Health System preventive heart specialist Sara Sirna, MD.

First observation of a human HAT, key proteins in numerous pathologies Posted: 11 Feb 2014 08:38 AM PST A study published this week has revealed the first structure of one of the eight human HATs. HAT amino acid transporters are involved in pathologies such as aminoacidurias, cancer, viral infections and cocaine addiction. This breakthrough paves the way for further research into the functions of the other seven HATs and the resolution of their structures. Moreover, it provides the first sufficiently detailed structural data to tackle their inhibition through drugs.

Recent decades likely wettest in four millennia in Tibet Posted: 11 Feb 2014 06:42 AM PST Recent decades may have been the wettest in 3,500 years in North East Tibet -- according to climate researchers. Researchers looked at 3,500-year-long tree ring records from North East Tibet to estimate annual precipitation. They found that recent decades have likely been the wettest on record in this semi-arid region.

Biodiversity in production forests can be improved without large costs Posted: 11 Feb 2014 05:40 AM PST Forest management is based on recommendations that are supposed to maximize economic revenues. However, in 40% of cases a better economic result would be achieved by neglecting some of the recommendations. This would also greatly benefit biodiversity.

Fossils abound: 'Epic' new Burgess Shale site in Canada's Kootenay National Park Posted: 11 Feb 2014 05:38 AM PST Yoho National Park's 505-million-year-old Burgess Shale – home to some of the planet's earliest animals, including a very primitive human relative – is one of the world's most important fossil sites. Now, more than a century after its discovery, a compelling sequel has been unearthed: 42 kilometers away in Kootenay National Park, a new Burgess Shale fossil bed has been located that appears to equal the importance of the original discovery, and may one day even surpass it.

Weakness exposed in most common cancer gene Posted: 10 Feb 2014 10:58 AM PST Researchers have found a biological weakness in the workings of the most commonly mutated gene involved in human cancers, known as mutant K-Ras, which they say can be exploited by drug chemotherapies to thwart tumor growth.

Wasps use ancient aggression genes to create social groups Posted: 10 Feb 2014 07:21 AM PST Aggression-causing genes appeared early in animal evolution and have maintained their roles for millions of years and across many species, even though animal aggression today varies widely from territorial fighting to setting up social hierarchies, according to researchers.

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