ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

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• Permafrost thawing could accelerate global warming
• Missing piece of air particle equation hiding in the walls
• Well-known cancer gene NRAS produces 5 variants, study finds
• Trees go high-tech: Process turns cellulose into energy storage devices
• Southwestern bird and reptile distributions to shift as climate changes
• Daily serving of beans, peas, chickpeas or lentils can significantly reduce bad cholesterol
• Longer catch-and-release time leaves largemouth bass nests more vulnerable to predators
• 'I can haz blood?' The surprising world of pet blood transfusions
• Putting a price on ecological restoration
• Slowdown of global warming fleeting
• Experience helps restaurant managers stick with local foods
• Disruption of VISTA plays an important role in regulating immune response
• U.S. school children exposed to arsenic in well water have lower IQ scores
• Hi-tech innovation gauges science learning in preschoolers
• The tiniest greenhouse gas emitters: Climate feedbacks from decomposition by soil microbes less dire than previously thought
• Green tea extract boosts your brain power, especially the working memory, new research shows
• Health benefits of 'green exercise' for kids shown in new study
• Fatty acid composition in blood reflects quality of dietary carbohydrates in children
• Cleft palate discovery in dogs to aid in understanding human birth defect
• Ancient shrimp-like animals had 'modern' hearts and blood vessels
• Drink milk? Women who do may delay knee osteoarthritis
• Freshwater turtle crosses the Aegean Sea
• Caffeine against Alzheimer's disease? Positive effect on tau deposits demonstrated
• Risk of dengue fever epidemic in Europe
• Plant biotechnology approach for sustainable production of pharmaceutical compounds
• Long-fingered bat goes fishing
• New findings to help extend high efficiency solar cells' lifetime
• Reducing greenhouse gas emissions: Focus on urban transport solutions distracts from poor planning
• Energizing sick mitochondria with vitamin B3: Effective treatment for mitochondrial disease
• Bleach vs. bacteria: Development of new drugs to breach microbial defenses
• Scaffolding protein promotes growth, metastases of epithelial ovarian cancer
• Renal cancer cells thrive when put in right environment, supported by specific enzyme
• Smoking visibility mapped for the first time
• Food quality will suffer with rising carbon dioxide, field study shows
• Amino acid fingerprints revealed in new study
• 3-D structure for malaria parasite genome constructed
• Undocked working dogs at greatest risk of tail injuries in Scotland
• New species of horseshoe worm discovered in Japan after a 62 year gap
• New risk factors for avalanche trigger revealed

Permafrost thawing could accelerate global warming Posted: 07 Apr 2014 12:39 PM PDT Researchers have found new evidence that permafrost thawing is releasing large quantities of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere via plants, which could accelerate warming trends. Permafrost is soil that is frozen year round and is typically located in polar regions. As the world has gotten slightly warmer, that permafrost is thawing and decomposing, which is producing increased amounts of methane.

Missing piece of air particle equation hiding in the walls Posted: 07 Apr 2014 12:39 PM PDT A new study showed that vapor losses to the walls of laboratory chambers can suppress the formation of secondary organic aerosol, which in turn has contributed to the underprediction of SOA in climate and air quality models.

Well-known cancer gene NRAS produces 5 variants, study finds Posted: 07 Apr 2014 11:37 AM PDT The NRAS gene, known to play a fundamental role in cancer development, produces five gene variants, or isoforms, rather than just one form, as thought, new research shows. The study identified four previously unknown variants that the NRAS gene produces. The finding might help improve drugs for cancers in which NRAS plays a crucial role. It also suggests that NRAS might affect additional target molecules in cells.

Trees go high-tech: Process turns cellulose into energy storage devices Posted: 07 Apr 2014 10:10 AM PDT A fundamental chemical discovery should allow tress to soon play a major role in making high-tech energy storage devices. A method has been discovered to turn cellulose -- the most abundant organic polymer on Earth and a key component of trees –- into the building blocks for supercapacitors.

Southwestern bird and reptile distributions to shift as climate changes Posted: 07 Apr 2014 10:10 AM PDT Dramatic distribution losses and a few major distribution gains are forecasted for southwestern bird and reptile species as the climate changes, according to new research. Overall, the study forecasted species distribution losses -- that is, where species are able to live -- of nearly half for all but one of the 5 reptile species they examined, including for the iconic chuckwalla.

Daily serving of beans, peas, chickpeas or lentils can significantly reduce bad cholesterol Posted: 07 Apr 2014 09:27 AM PDT Eating one serving a day of beans, peas, chickpeas or lentils can significantly reduce 'bad cholesterol' and therefore the risk of cardiovascular disease, a new study has found. North Americans on average currently eat less than half a serving a day.

Longer catch-and-release time leaves largemouth bass nests more vulnerable to predators Posted: 07 Apr 2014 09:25 AM PDT During spawning season, a largemouth bass male attentively guards its nest. Recent research found that catch-and-release angling could give bass predators the perfect opportunity to consume the young. In fact, the time spent away from the nest during a catch-and-release event and the subsequent exhaustion it creates for the male are critical to the survival of the embryos, particularly in lakes with high densities of brood predators.

'I can haz blood?' The surprising world of pet blood transfusions Posted: 07 Apr 2014 09:25 AM PDT Don Juan, Napoleon, Gucci, Azur, and Marissa are very friendly and will rush to welcome anyone who enters their room, and that's what makes them good blood donors. "I chose them for their hematological characteristics, but also for their good disposition. We didn't want cats that would be stressed when handled or that needed excessive sedation," said Dr. Marie-Claude Blais, Professor at the University of Montreal's Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. Where they are housed, the five cats (four males and one female) can climb to the top of their trapeze and out into the yard through a cat flap. They can lounge on a hammock all day long or play cat and mouse. What is more, the door to their room is never locked, so they can get their daily dose of hugs, a benefit not necessarily stipulated in their contract.

Putting a price on ecological restoration Posted: 07 Apr 2014 09:25 AM PDT Putting a price on clean water and soil fertility helps the UN set ecological restoration targets for degraded and deforested land. Forests provide essential ecosystem services for people, including timber, food and water. For those struggling with the after-effects of deforestation, the main hope lies in rebuilding forest resources through ecological restoration.

Slowdown of global warming fleeting Posted: 07 Apr 2014 08:33 AM PDT The recent slowdown in the warming rate of the Northern Hemisphere may be a result of internal variability of the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation -- a natural phenomenon related to sea surface temperatures, according to researchers.

Experience helps restaurant managers stick with local foods Posted: 07 Apr 2014 08:33 AM PDT Restaurant chefs and food purchasing managers who have bought local foods in the past are more likely to continue adding them to menus and store shelves, according to a team of researchers. Food purchasers also indicated that they would not stock local food just because it is local. Local foods must have a unique selling point, according to the researchers.

Disruption of VISTA plays an important role in regulating immune response Posted: 07 Apr 2014 08:31 AM PDT The body's immune system response was enhanced in a study when researchers disrupted VISTA, a protein that prevents the immune system from overreacting. Understanding how checkpoint regulators like VISTA function is important to cancer researchers, who hope to use the immune system to attack tumors.

U.S. school children exposed to arsenic in well water have lower IQ scores Posted: 07 Apr 2014 07:17 AM PDT A study from three school districts in Maine exposed to arsenic in drinking water experienced declines in child intelligence. While earlier studies conducted by the researchers in South Asia, and Bangladesh in particular, showed that exposure to arsenic in drinking water is negatively associated with child intelligence, this is the first study to examine intelligence against individual water arsenic exposures in the U.S.

Hi-tech innovation gauges science learning in preschoolers Posted: 07 Apr 2014 07:17 AM PDT An iPad app is the first of its kind to examine how preschoolers can learn about science by getting back to nature. The iPad application is being used to streamline a research technique known as behavior mapping. The researchers say this form of data collection has been used for 40 years to assist environmental psychologists and landscape architects in studying the connection between behaviors and physical characteristics of space.

The tiniest greenhouse gas emitters: Climate feedbacks from decomposition by soil microbes less dire than previously thought Posted: 07 Apr 2014 07:17 AM PDT Climate feedbacks from decomposition by soil microbes are one of the biggest uncertainties facing climate modelers. A new study shows that these feedbacks may be less dire than previously thought.

Green tea extract boosts your brain power, especially the working memory, new research shows Posted: 07 Apr 2014 07:15 AM PDT Green tea is said to have many putative positive effects on health. Now, researchers are reporting first evidence that green tea extract enhances the cognitive functions, in particular the working memory. The findings suggest promising clinical implications for the treatment of cognitive impairments in psychiatric disorders such as dementia.

Health benefits of 'green exercise' for kids shown in new study Posted: 07 Apr 2014 07:15 AM PDT Children who are exposed to scenes of nature while exercising are more likely to experience health-enhancing effects after activity, according to a study. The researchers found that after the 'green exercise' the children's post-activity blood pressure was significantly lower than it was without the simulated forest environment, indicating that the nature scenes promoted positive health effects.

Fatty acid composition in blood reflects quality of dietary carbohydrates in children Posted: 07 Apr 2014 07:15 AM PDT Fatty acid composition in blood is not only a biomarker for the quality of dietary fat, but also reflects the quality of dietary carbohydrates, new research shows. This study showed that a higher consumption of candy and a lower consumption of high-fibre grain products were associated with a higher proportion of oleic acid in blood.

Cleft palate discovery in dogs to aid in understanding human birth defect Posted: 07 Apr 2014 06:07 AM PDT Discovery of a genetic mutation that causes a form of cleft palate in a retriever breed provides the first dog model for this craniofacial defect and offers a tool for better understanding cleft palate in humans. Although cleft palate is one of the most common birth defects in children, affecting approximately one in 1,500 live human births in the United States, it is not completely understood.

Ancient shrimp-like animals had 'modern' hearts and blood vessels Posted: 07 Apr 2014 06:07 AM PDT In 520 million-year-old fossil deposits resembling an 'invertebrate version of Pompeii,' researchers have found an ancestor of modern crustaceans revealing the first-known cardiovascular system in exquisitely preserved detail. The organ system is surprisingly complex and adds to the notion that sophisticated body plans had already evolved more than half a billion years ago.

Drink milk? Women who do may delay knee osteoarthritis Posted: 07 Apr 2014 06:07 AM PDT Women who frequently consume fat-free or low-fat milk may delay the progression of osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee. Results show that women who ate cheese saw an increase in knee OA progression. Yogurt did not impact OA progression in men or women. OA is a common, degenerative joint disease that causes pain and swelling of joints in the hand, hips, or knee.

Freshwater turtle crosses the Aegean Sea Posted: 07 Apr 2014 06:06 AM PDT Scientists have studied the widely distributed freshwater turtle, Mauremys rivulata. In spite of geographical barriers, the turtles are genetically very similar throughout their vast  distribution range. This would indicate that that animals cross hundreds of kilometers of sea.

Caffeine against Alzheimer's disease? Positive effect on tau deposits demonstrated Posted: 07 Apr 2014 06:05 AM PDT Caffeine has a positive effect on tau deposits in Alzheimer's disease, researchers have demonstrated for the first time. Tau deposits, along with beta-amyloid plaques, are among the characteristic features of Alzheimer's disease. These protein deposits disrupt the communication of the nerve cells in the brain and contribute to their degeneration. Despite intensive research there is no drug available that can prevent this detrimental process.

Risk of dengue fever epidemic in Europe Posted: 07 Apr 2014 06:05 AM PDT The risk of dengue fever beginning to spread in Europe is imminent. According to researchers, this is no longer just an issue for the scientific community but also for politicians and policy makers, who need to be prepared and develop preventive measures.

Plant biotechnology approach for sustainable production of pharmaceutical compounds Posted: 07 Apr 2014 06:05 AM PDT Ground-breaking discoveries for improving the efficiency of the production of pharmaceuticals through plant biotechnology have been made through recent research. Biotechnological production offers a cost-effective and environmentally friendly alternative to the chemical synthesis of rare and complex pharmaceutical compounds currently isolated from plants.

Long-fingered bat goes fishing Posted: 07 Apr 2014 06:05 AM PDT The long-fingered bat is on the verge of extinction; the recent work of biologists has been crucial in getting to know it better, in order to protect it. The long-fingered bat has now been shown to feed on fish as well as insects. What is more, it knows how to fish.

New findings to help extend high efficiency solar cells' lifetime Posted: 07 Apr 2014 06:05 AM PDT Scientists have made a surprising discovery about the degradation of solar cells that could help pave the way to creating a longer lifetime for these cells.  Key factors for creating cost-efficient solar cells to compete with conventional energy sources like fossil fuels include fabrication cost, efficiency and lifetime of the cells.

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions: Focus on urban transport solutions distracts from poor planning Posted: 07 Apr 2014 06:04 AM PDT If you think transportation solutions are essential for reducing greenhouse emissions and growing economic opportunity in rapidly-expanding cities, think again. Scientists now say we're looking at the problem the wrong way.

Energizing sick mitochondria with vitamin B3: Effective treatment for mitochondrial disease Posted: 07 Apr 2014 06:04 AM PDT Vitamin B3 form nicotinamide riboside can slow down the progression of mitochondrial disease, suggesting its potential as a novel therapy approach to adult-onset mitochondrial muscle diseases, new research suggests. Vitamins B have recently been turned out to be potent modifiers of energy metabolism, especially the function of mitochondria. Vitamin B3, (niacin) has been found to delay the signs of aging in animal models.

Bleach vs. bacteria: Development of new drugs to breach microbial defenses Posted: 07 Apr 2014 06:02 AM PDT Chlorine bleach has been used as a disinfectant for hundreds of years, but our bodies have been using its active component to help kill invading bacteria for millennia. Details about how bleach kills -- and how bacteria can survive the attack -- may lead to the development of new drugs.

Scaffolding protein promotes growth, metastases of epithelial ovarian cancer Posted: 06 Apr 2014 06:44 PM PDT A scaffolding protein responsible for regulating signaling pathways in the cell promotes the growth and spread of epithelial ovarian cancer, research has determined. The researchers note that even though this study looked at the ovarian cancer in mice, some of the genes that turned up in the gene expression analysis can be further evaluated in human cell lines and tumors. "We want to make sure we're studying something that's not only important in mice but can also give us clues about human cancers."

Renal cancer cells thrive when put in right environment, supported by specific enzyme Posted: 06 Apr 2014 01:24 PM PDT Tumor cells are picky about where they live. In the wrong environment, they fail to reach their potential. But put those same cells on the right bit of real estate, and they grow like mad. Researchers found renal cancer cells planted in a supportive environment proliferate with the help of an enzyme usually only seen in the brain.

Smoking visibility mapped for the first time Posted: 06 Apr 2014 01:24 PM PDT The visibility of smoking in city streets has for the first time anywhere been mapped by scientists. The methods developed through this research will help policymakers demonstrate the visibility of smoking in different areas, and provide scientific evidence for local authorities to advance smokefree outdoor policies.

Food quality will suffer with rising carbon dioxide, field study shows Posted: 06 Apr 2014 01:24 PM PDT Climate change is hitting home -- in the pantry, this time. A field study of wheat demonstrates how the nutritional quality of food crops can be diminished when elevated levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide interfere with a plant's ability to process nitrate into proteins. "Several explanations for this decline have been put forward, but this is the first study to demonstrate that elevated carbon dioxide inhibits the conversion of nitrate into protein in a field-grown crop," the lead researcher said.

Amino acid fingerprints revealed in new study Posted: 06 Apr 2014 01:24 PM PDT A major step has been taken toward the sequencing of proteins, demonstrating the accurate identification of amino acids, by briefly pinning each in a narrow junction between a pair of flanking electrodes and measuring a characteristic chain of current spikes passing through successive amino acid molecules.

3-D structure for malaria parasite genome constructed Posted: 04 Apr 2014 07:19 PM PDT A 3-D model of the human malaria parasite genome at three different stages in the parasite's life cycle has been generated -- the first time such 3-D architecture has been generated during the progression of the life cycle of a parasite. The team found that genes that need to be highly expressed in the parasite tend to cluster in the same area of the cell nucleus.

Undocked working dogs at greatest risk of tail injuries in Scotland Posted: 04 Apr 2014 07:18 PM PDT Undocked working dogs in Scotland are at greatest risk of tail injuries, indicates a survey of their owners. Of 2860 working dogs, 13.5% sustained at least one tail injury during the 2010/11 shooting season. But undocked spaniels (56.6%) and hunt point retrievers (38.5%) were at greatest risk.

New species of horseshoe worm discovered in Japan after a 62 year gap Posted: 04 Apr 2014 06:29 AM PDT A team of scientists recently described a new species of horseshoe worm Phoronis emigi from sandy bottom at 33 m depth in Amakusa, Japan. This is the first new horseshoe worm species since the discovery of Phoronis pallida by Silén in 1952, 62 years ago.

New risk factors for avalanche trigger revealed Posted: 04 Apr 2014 05:58 AM PDT The amount of snow needed to trigger an avalanche in the Himalayans can be up to four times smaller than in the Alps, according to a new model from a materials scientist.

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