ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

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• Paleontologists discover new fossil organism
• Citrus greening affects roots before leaves
• Toxicologists outline key health and environmental concerns associated with hydraulic fracturing
• Study validates air sampling techniques to fight bioterrorism
• Catalytic upgrade: Better and cheaper renewable biofuels
• The promise of purple for enhanced bioimaging
• Can plants provide petroleum-derived chemicals?
• New species of metal-eating plant discovered in the Philippines
• Role of middle predators in reef systems: Marine research on oyster reefs
• Coyote predation on deer in Eastern U.S. manageable, research suggests
• Colonization of Brazil by the cattle egret
• Link between insecticides and collapse of honey bee colonies strengthened
• New ways for understanding the link between the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau and species diversity
• Aircraft noise in U.S. national parks
• Life on cheese: Scientists explore the cheese rind microbiome
• Back to the future to determine if sea level rise is accelerating
• Hurricanes Katrina, Rita may have caused up to half of recorded stillbirths in worst hit areas
• Lethal parasite evolved from pond scum

Paleontologists discover new fossil organism Posted: 09 May 2014 02:29 PM PDT Paleontologists have discovered a fossil of a newly discovered organism from the Ediacara Biota. Plexus ricei was a broadly curving tube that resided on the seafloor. Individuals range in size from 5 to 80 cm long and 5 to 20 mm wide, and comprise a rigid median tubular structure and a fragile outer tubular wall. Plexus ricei evolved around 575 million years ago, disappearing from the fossil record around 540 million years ago.

Citrus greening affects roots before leaves Posted: 09 May 2014 02:25 PM PDT Although citrus greening enters trees through their leaves, researchers have discovered that the deadly disease attacks roots long before the leaves show signs of damage -- a finding that may help growers better care for trees while scientists work to find a cure.

Toxicologists outline key health and environmental concerns associated with hydraulic fracturing Posted: 09 May 2014 02:25 PM PDT Since the rise in the use of hydraulic fracturing of shale to produce natural gas and oil, many have debated the merits and detractions of the practice. Scientists outline how toxicological sciences can be used to determine what risks may or may not be associated with fracking.

Study validates air sampling techniques to fight bioterrorism Posted: 09 May 2014 10:16 AM PDT Air and surface sampling techniques currently used by the US government are effective in fighting bioterrorism and potentially saving lives, a former Department of Homeland Security medical officer finds. Air sampling has been readily accepted for similar uses such as measuring for particulate matter, however using it to detect bacteria in biological terrorism was a new concept instituted after the 9/11 attacks.

Catalytic upgrade: Better and cheaper renewable biofuels Posted: 09 May 2014 10:16 AM PDT New catalysts to remove oxygenated compounds from bio-derived oils may lead to better and cheaper renewable biofuels. Dwindling crude oil reserves, accompanied by rising prices and environmental concerns, have led to increased interest in the use of renewable fuels. Biofuels produced from waste agricultural or forestry material are particularly desirable because they avoid diverting resources from the production of food crops.

The promise of purple for enhanced bioimaging Posted: 09 May 2014 10:16 AM PDT Newly detected 'energy-clustering' structures inside rare-earth nanoparticles generate intense violet light, which is ideal for studying photon-induced transformations. Labeling biomolecules with light-emitting nanoparticles is a powerful technique for observing cell movement and signaling under realistic, in vivo conditions. The small size of these probes, however, often limits their optical capabilities. In particular, many nanoparticles have trouble producing high-energy light with wavelengths in the violet to ultraviolet range, which can trigger critical biological reactions.

Can plants provide petroleum-derived chemicals? Posted: 09 May 2014 10:00 AM PDT Plant scientists find fatty acid desaturating enzymes link up to pass intermediate products from one enzyme to another. Getting plants to accumulate high levels of more healthful polyunsaturated fatty acids, or unusual fatty acids that could be used as raw materials in place of petroleum-derived chemicals in industrial processes, are a few possible outcomes.

New species of metal-eating plant discovered in the Philippines Posted: 09 May 2014 10:00 AM PDT Scientists have discovered a new plant species with an unusual lifestyle -- it eats nickel for a living -- accumulating up to 18,000 ppm of the metal in its leaves without itself being poisoned, says the lead author of a new report. Such an amount is a hundred to a thousand times higher than in most other plants.

Role of middle predators in reef systems: Marine research on oyster reefs Posted: 09 May 2014 08:07 AM PDT The behavior of the 'middle child' in the predator-prey food chain plays a strong role in deter­mining how the reef as a whole will fare, new marine science research shows. Research with oyster reefs complicates the evolution of a long-held ecology paradigm, namely that the species at the top of the food web dic­tate the wel­fare of the entire system simply by eating.

Coyote predation on deer in Eastern U.S. manageable, research suggests Posted: 09 May 2014 08:07 AM PDT Coyotes are a major predator of white-tailed deer across the East, especially fawns born each spring, but wildlife managers nonetheless are able to stabilize and even grow deer herds, according to researchers. Coyotes -- Canis latrans -- are a relatively recent arrival to eastern North America, appearing first in the region in noticeable numbers in the 1970s. They are a significant source of deer mortality and most often prey on whitetails in the earliest months of their lives. Coyotes have long inhabited the American West.

Colonization of Brazil by the cattle egret Posted: 09 May 2014 08:07 AM PDT A new study of the colonization patterns of the cattle egret in Brazil offers a new take on the study of alien species. It aims to present how the invasive species colonized this great new area, to compare the Brazilian population genetic composition to the native species in Africa and to detect genetic signs of demographic expansion in these two areas.

Link between insecticides and collapse of honey bee colonies strengthened Posted: 09 May 2014 08:07 AM PDT Two widely used neonicotinoids -- a class of insecticide -- appear to significantly harm honey bee colonies over the winter, particularly during colder winters, according to researchers. The study replicated a 2012 finding from the same research group that found a link between imidacloprid and Colony Collapse Disorder, in which bees abandon their hives over the winter and eventually die. The new study found low doses of a second neonicotinoid, clothianidin, had the same negative effect.

New ways for understanding the link between the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau and species diversity Posted: 09 May 2014 08:03 AM PDT Scientists have summarized the current state of knowledge on the diversification of Tibetan plants and animals. The study focuses in particular on how the geological processes that led to the rise of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and Himalayas affected diversification and speciation directly, and indirectly, e.g. by changing climatic conditions.

Aircraft noise in U.S. national parks Posted: 09 May 2014 08:00 AM PDT Visitors to the country's National Parks may be seeking tranquil communion with nature, but what they sometimes encounter is the noise of airplanes and helicopter tours. Researchers have assessed potential effects of such flights on the experience of park visitors.

Life on cheese: Scientists explore the cheese rind microbiome Posted: 09 May 2014 04:41 AM PDT The rind is the boundary layer between a cheese and its environment. It hosts a variety of microorganisms that comprise the microbiome: a symbiotic community whose members perform different tasks. Some break down proteins and fats on the rind, for example, creating volatile sulphur and ammonia compounds that are responsible for the intensive odour of some types of cheese.

Back to the future to determine if sea level rise is accelerating Posted: 09 May 2014 04:41 AM PDT Scientists have developed a new method for revealing how sea levels might rise around the world throughout the 21st century to address the controversial topic of whether the rate of sea level rise is currently increasing. Scientists analyszd data from 10 long-term sea level monitoring stations located around the world.

Hurricanes Katrina, Rita may have caused up to half of recorded stillbirths in worst hit areas Posted: 08 May 2014 04:25 PM PDT Hurricanes Katrina and Rita may have been responsible for up to half of all recorded stillbirths in the worst hit areas, suggests research. Calculations indicate that the risk of a pregnancy ending in a stillbirth was 40% higher in parishes where 10-50% of housing stock had been damaged, and more than twice as high in areas where over 50% of the housing stock had taken a hit. After taking account of known risk factors, every 1% increase in the extent of damage to housing stock was associated with a corresponding 7% rise in the number of stillbirths.

Lethal parasite evolved from pond scum Posted: 08 May 2014 02:23 PM PDT A genomic investigation has revealed that a lethal parasite infecting a wide range of insects actually originated from pond scum, but has completely shed its green past on its evolutionary journey. The research team sequenced the genome of Helicosporidium -- an intracellular parasite that can kill juvenile blackflies, caterpillars, beetles and mosquitoes -- and found it evolved from algae like another notorious pathogen: malaria.

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