ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

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• Boosting global corn yields depends on improving nutrient balance
• Healthy humans make nice homes for viruses
• Impact that doomed the dinosaurs helped the forests bloom
• Meteorite that doomed dinosaurs remade forests
• Study on global carbon cycle may require reappraisal of climate events in Earth's history
• Tornadoes occurring earlier in 'Tornado Alley'
• From sea to shining sea, politics divide coastal residents' views of environment
• Camera sheds light on mate choice of swordtail fish
• Reducing pesticides, adding sound vibrations and boosting harvests
• Ebola outbreak 'out of all proportion' and severity cannot be predicated, expert says
• Forgotten ghost ships off Golden Gate revealed
• Human faces are so variable because we evolved to look unique
• Scottish people most sceptical on fracking, survey shows
• Gene variant that dramatically reduces 'bad' lipids: Role of rare APOC3 variant in reducing triglyceride levels identified
• The benefits and dangers of supplements
• Bacterial communication: And so they beat on, flagella against the cantilever
• A heart-felt need for dairy food: Small serving beneficial, large not necessary
• Each tree species has unique bacterial identity, microbiome research shows
• Unraveling cell division: Process of mitosis more clear, thanks to new research
• Proteins: Good networkers make prime targets
• Judging a fish by its color: For female bluefin killifish, love is a yellow mate
• Exxon Valdez 2014: Does media coverage of humanmade disasters contribute to consumer complacency?
• Cats lend a helping paw in search for anti-HIV drugs
• New drug formulations to boost fight against respiratory illnesses, antibiotic-resistant superbugs
• More cheese, please! News study shows dairy is good for your metabolic health
• What's for dinner? Rapidly identifying undescribed species in a commercial fungi packet
• Replacing plastic and mineral wool insulation with wood fiber
• The Gulf Stream kept going during the last Ice Age
• Dental, nutrition experts call for radical rethink on free sugars intake
• Wastewater injection is culprit for most earthquakes in southern Colorado and northern New Mexico, study finds
• Mega-quake possible for subduction zones along 'Ring of Fire,' new study suggests
• 3-D printing of rocks and fossils
• Tropical tree microbiome discovered in Panama
• How bacteria ward off viruses: New molecular machinery discovered
• New producer of crucial vitamin B12 discovered
• X-rays unlock a protein's SWEET side
• Cells simply avoid chromosome confusion
• 'Femme fatale' emerald ash borer decoy lures, kills males
• Specialized species critical for reefs
• The quick and the dead among tropical reptiles
• Decoding virus-host interactions in the oxygen-starved ocean
• If hippopotamuses can't swim, how can some be living on islands?
• Think big! Bacteria breach cell division size limit
• Warming Atlantic temperatures could increase range of invasive species
• Master regulator of cells' heat shock response found, pointing to new potential targets for neurodegenerative diseases and cancer
• Manuka honey does not decrease pain of radiation-induced esophagitis for lung cancer patients
• Common variable immunodeficiency: Gut bacteria tire out T-cells

Boosting global corn yields depends on improving nutrient balance Posted: 16 Sep 2014 03:22 PM PDT Ensuring that corn absorbs the right balance of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium is crucial to increasing global yields, a study finds. A review of data from more than 150 studies from the U.S. and other regions showed that high yields were linked to production systems in which corn plants took up key nutrients at specific ratios -- nitrogen and phosphorus at a ratio of 5-to-1 and nitrogen and potassium at a ratio of 1-to-1. These nutrient uptake ratios were associated with high yields regardless of the region where the corn was grown.

Healthy humans make nice homes for viruses Posted: 16 Sep 2014 01:24 PM PDT The same viruses that make us sick can take up residence in and on the human body without provoking a sneeze, cough or other troublesome symptom, according to new research. On average, healthy individuals carry about five types of viruses on their bodies, the researchers report. The study is the first comprehensive analysis to describe the diversity of viruses in healthy people.

Impact that doomed the dinosaurs helped the forests bloom Posted: 16 Sep 2014 11:15 AM PDT Some 66 million years ago, a 10-km diameter chunk of rock hit the Yucatan peninsula with the force of 100 teratons of TNT. It left a crater more than 150 km across, and the resulting megatsunami, wildfires, global earthquakes and volcanism are widely accepted to have wiped out the dinosaurs and made way for the rise of the mammals. But what happened to the plants on which the dinosaurs fed?

Meteorite that doomed dinosaurs remade forests Posted: 16 Sep 2014 11:15 AM PDT The impact decimated slow-growing evergreens and made way for fast-growing, deciduous plants, according to a study applying biomechanical analyses to fossilized leaves. The study provides much-needed evidence for how the extinction event unfolded in the plant communities at the time.

Study on global carbon cycle may require reappraisal of climate events in Earth's history Posted: 16 Sep 2014 10:25 AM PDT A recent study of the global carbon cycle offers a new perspective of Earth's climate records through time. Scientists suggest that one of the current methods for interpreting ancient changes in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and oceans may need to be re-evaluated.

Tornadoes occurring earlier in 'Tornado Alley' Posted: 16 Sep 2014 10:25 AM PDT Peak tornado activity in the central and southern Great Plains is occurring up to two weeks earlier than it did half a century ago.

From sea to shining sea, politics divide coastal residents' views of environment Posted: 16 Sep 2014 09:37 AM PDT From the salmon-rich waters of Southeast Alaska to the white sand beaches of Florida's Gulf Coast to Downeast Maine's lobster, lumber and tourist towns, coastal residents around the US share a common characteristic: their views about coastal environments divide along political lines.

Camera sheds light on mate choice of swordtail fish Posted: 16 Sep 2014 09:36 AM PDT We have all seen a peacock show its extravagant, colorful tail feathers in courtship of a peahen. Now, a group of researchers has used a special camera to discover that female northern swordtail fish choose their mates based on a similar display.

Reducing pesticides, adding sound vibrations and boosting harvests Posted: 16 Sep 2014 09:29 AM PDT Scientists are experimenting with sound vibrations to replace pesticides. Adapting different eco-friendly methods they are able to boost harvests and open up a new chapter in sustainable farming.

Ebola outbreak 'out of all proportion' and severity cannot be predicated, expert says Posted: 16 Sep 2014 09:29 AM PDT A mathematical model that replicates Ebola outbreaks can no longer be used to ascertain the eventual scale of the current epidemic, finds new research.

Forgotten ghost ships off Golden Gate revealed Posted: 16 Sep 2014 08:22 AM PDT Researchers confirmed the discovery just outside San Francisco's Golden Gate strait of the 1910 shipwreck SS Selja and an unidentified early steam tugboat wreck tagged the 'mystery wreck.' The researchers also located the 1863 wreck of the clipper ship Noonday, currently obscured by mud and silt on the ocean floor.

Human faces are so variable because we evolved to look unique Posted: 16 Sep 2014 08:22 AM PDT Why are human faces so variable compared to other animals, from lizards and penguins to dogs and monkeys? Scientists analyzed human faces and the genes that code for facial features and found a high variability that could only be explained by selection for variable faces, probably because of the importance of social interactions in human relationships and the need for humans to be recognizable.

Scottish people most sceptical on fracking, survey shows Posted: 16 Sep 2014 08:20 AM PDT If Scotland votes for independence later this week, its Government could face an uphill challenge in persuading the Scottish people that fracking is necessary, research has revealed.

Gene variant that dramatically reduces 'bad' lipids: Role of rare APOC3 variant in reducing triglyceride levels identified Posted: 16 Sep 2014 08:18 AM PDT A rare genetic variant that dramatically reduces levels of certain types of lipids in the blood has been identified in through a study that used data collected from around 4,000 healthy people in the UK. The study is the first to emerge from the UK10K Project's cohort of samples from the general public and demonstrates the power of whole genome sequencing at scale.

The benefits and dangers of supplements Posted: 16 Sep 2014 08:17 AM PDT From multivitamins to supplements that pledge to help with everything from depression to treating athlete's foot, whole stores are filled with these alternative medications. With so many options out there it can be difficult for patients to know what is beneficial or even where to start.

Bacterial communication: And so they beat on, flagella against the cantilever Posted: 16 Sep 2014 08:17 AM PDT Researchers have developed a new model to study the motion patterns of bacteria in real time and to determine how these motions relate to communication within a bacterial colony. They chemically attached colonies of E. coli bacteria to a microcantilever, coupling its motion to that of the bacteria. As the cantilever itself isn't doesn't generate any vibrations, or 'noise,' this allowed the researchers to monitor the colony's reactions to various stimuli in real time.

A heart-felt need for dairy food: Small serving beneficial, large not necessary Posted: 16 Sep 2014 07:22 AM PDT A daily small serve of dairy food may reduce the risk of heart disease or stroke, even in communities where such foods have not traditionally formed part of the diet according to new research.

Each tree species has unique bacterial identity, microbiome research shows Posted: 16 Sep 2014 07:22 AM PDT Each tree species has its own bacterial identity. That's the conclusion of researchers who studied the genetic fingerprints of bacteria on 57 species of trees growing on a Panamanian island.

Unraveling cell division: Process of mitosis more clear, thanks to new research Posted: 16 Sep 2014 07:19 AM PDT The process of mitosis has made more clear, thanks to recent research. A new study describes how Topo 2, an enzyme that disentangles DNA molecules and is essential for proper cell division.

Proteins: Good networkers make prime targets Posted: 16 Sep 2014 07:19 AM PDT Proteins form either small or large networks to perform their functions. How these protein networks are subverted by pathogens has been investigated on a plant model by a research team who found that distinct pathogens like fungi and bacteria use the same tactic: launching targeted attacks on highly networked proteins that have multiple functions.

Judging a fish by its color: For female bluefin killifish, love is a yellow mate Posted: 16 Sep 2014 07:19 AM PDT Researchers used male replicas of bluefin killifish and controlled their movement with robotic arms to improve repeatability in experiments designed to determine how fertile female fish would respond to male courtship. The surprising result: The females preferred males with yellow fins, contrary to existing research that indicated a preference to blue and red.

Exxon Valdez 2014: Does media coverage of humanmade disasters contribute to consumer complacency? Posted: 16 Sep 2014 07:18 AM PDT Twenty-five years ago, the Exxon Valdez spilled 11 million gallons of oil into Alaska's Prince William Sound. Americans found themselves cleaning up another giant oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. According to a new study, news coverage of environmental disasters serves to calm our immediate anxieties instead of catalyzing changes in the way fossil fuels are used.

Cats lend a helping paw in search for anti-HIV drugs Posted: 16 Sep 2014 07:18 AM PDT A protein found in both the feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) -- which causes AIDS in cats -- and the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) might inspire new anti-HIV drugs, researchers report. They offer up a detailed, 3-D molecular map of FIV integrase that could help scientists also understand how this protein works in HIV.

New drug formulations to boost fight against respiratory illnesses, antibiotic-resistant superbugs Posted: 16 Sep 2014 06:48 AM PDT Antibiotic resistance is a challenge in the treatment of diseases today as bacteria continuously mutate and develop resistance against multiple drugs designed to kill them, turning them into superbugs. New ways to enhance the efficacy of drugs used to treat respiratory system infections and antibiotic-resistant superbugs have now been uncovered by researchers.

More cheese, please! News study shows dairy is good for your metabolic health Posted: 16 Sep 2014 06:27 AM PDT Researchers studied the dairy-eating habits of healthy French-Canadians' and monitored how dairy consumption may have an effect on their overall metabolic health. It's well known that dairy products contain calcium and minerals good for bones, but new research has shown that dairy consumption may also have beneficial effects on metabolic health and can reduce risk of metabolic diseases such as obesity and type 2 diabetes.

What's for dinner? Rapidly identifying undescribed species in a commercial fungi packet Posted: 16 Sep 2014 05:49 AM PDT For lovers of wild foods, autumn harks a season of bounty. Fungi of dizzying variety erupt from wood and soil, luring intrepid collectors to woodlands in search of elusive but delectable wild mushrooms. Part of their appeal lies in the allure of the treasure hunt, and their mysterious not-quite-meat, not-quite-vegetable qualities that belie an almost otherworldly existence. But are the mushrooms which you are eating known to science?

Replacing plastic and mineral wool insulation with wood fiber Posted: 16 Sep 2014 05:48 AM PDT Researchers are developing wood fiber-based insulation materials and sprayable insulation foams with enhanced product features. The new materials will enable mass production of high-quality insulation products, which will replace products made of non-renewable or poorly recyclable raw materials. Use of wood-based material will lower energy consumption at the production stage, as well as reducing the products' carbon footprint.

The Gulf Stream kept going during the last Ice Age Posted: 16 Sep 2014 05:48 AM PDT The warm Atlantic water continued to flow into the icy Nordic seas during the coldest periods of the last Ice Age. An ice age may sound as a stable period of cold weather, but the name deceives. In the high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere, the period was characterized by significant climate changes. Cold periods (stadials) switched abruptly to warmer periods (interstadials) and back.

Dental, nutrition experts call for radical rethink on free sugars intake Posted: 15 Sep 2014 05:29 PM PDT Sugars in the diet should make up no more than 3 percent of total energy intake to reduce the significant financial and social burdens of tooth decay, finds new research. Free sugars are defined by the World Health Organization Nutrition Guidance Adivisory Group as follows: "Free sugars include monosaccharides and disaccharides added to foods by the manufacturer, cook or consumer, and sugars naturally present in honey, syrups, fruit juices and fruit concentrates."

Wastewater injection is culprit for most earthquakes in southern Colorado and northern New Mexico, study finds Posted: 15 Sep 2014 05:29 PM PDT The deep injection of wastewater underground is responsible for the dramatic rise in the number of earthquakes in Colorado and New Mexico since 2001, according to a new study. The Raton Basin, which stretches from southern Colorado into northern New Mexico, was seismically quiet until shortly after major fluid injection began in 1999.

Mega-quake possible for subduction zones along 'Ring of Fire,' new study suggests Posted: 15 Sep 2014 05:29 PM PDT The magnitude of the 2011 Tohoku quake (M 9.0) caught many seismologists by surprise, prompting some to revisit the question of calculating the maximum magnitude earthquake possible for a particular fault. New research offers an alternate view that uses the concept of probable maximum magnitude events over a given period, providing the magnitude and the recurrence rate of extreme events in subduction zones for that period. Most circum Pacific subduction zones can produce earthquakes of magnitude greater than 9.0, suggests the study.

3-D printing of rocks and fossils Posted: 15 Sep 2014 05:28 PM PDT Geologists are using 3-D printing to study the pores within limestone reservoir rocks. A better understanding of the pore networks within the rocks could help industry get at more oil.

Tropical tree microbiome discovered in Panama Posted: 15 Sep 2014 01:53 PM PDT Despite the fact that tropical forests are the most biodiverse terrestrial ecosystems on the planet, more is known about belly-button bacteria than bacteria on trees in the tropics. Scientists working on Panama's Barro Colorado Island discovered that small leaf samples from a single tree were home to more than 400 different kinds of bacteria. The combined sample from 57 tree species contained more than 7,000 different kinds.

How bacteria ward off viruses: New molecular machinery discovered Posted: 15 Sep 2014 01:52 PM PDT Researchers have provided the first blueprint of a bacterium's "molecular machinery," showing how bacterial immune systems fight off the viruses that infect them. By tracking down how bacterial defense systems work, the scientists can potentially fight infectious diseases and genetic disorders. The key is a repetitive piece of DNA in the bacterial genome called a CRISPR, for Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats.

New producer of crucial vitamin B12 discovered Posted: 15 Sep 2014 01:52 PM PDT A single group of microorganisms may be responsible for much of the world's vitamin B12 production in the oceans, with implications for the global carbon cycle and climate change, researchers have discovered. Thaumarchaeota, they say, are likely dominant vitamin B12 producers.

X-rays unlock a protein's SWEET side Posted: 15 Sep 2014 01:49 PM PDT Understanding just how sugar makes its way into the cell could lead to the design of better drugs for diabetes patients and an increase in the amount of fruits and vegetables farmers are able to grow. Researchers have recently uncovered one of these "pathways" into the cell by piecing together proteins slightly wider than the diameter of a strand of spider silk.

Cells simply avoid chromosome confusion Posted: 15 Sep 2014 12:41 PM PDT Reproductive cell division has evolved a simple, mechanical solution to avoid chromosome sorting errors. This natural safeguard prevents incorrect chromosome counts and misalignments that lead to infertility, miscarriage, or congenital conditions, researchers report.

'Femme fatale' emerald ash borer decoy lures, kills males Posted: 15 Sep 2014 12:38 PM PDT An international team of researchers has designed decoys that mimic female emerald ash borer beetles and successfully entice male emerald ash borers to land on them in an attempt to mate, only to be electrocuted and killed by high-voltage current. "Our new decoy and electrocution process may be useful in managing what the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service claims to be the most destructive forest pest ever seen in North America," said one expert.

Specialized species critical for reefs Posted: 15 Sep 2014 12:38 PM PDT Coral reef ecologists fear that reef biodiversity may not provide the level of insurance for ecosystem survival that we once thought. This study found that even in high-diversity systems, such as tropical reefs, functional biodiversity remains highly vulnerable to species loss.

The quick and the dead among tropical reptiles Posted: 15 Sep 2014 12:38 PM PDT Some tropical reptiles may be able to adapt quickly to climate change rather than go extinct as widely expected, a study finds. The research is the first direct measurement of climate-driven natural selection on the thermal physiology of a wildlife species -- in other words, survival of the fittest in an increasingly warm world.

Decoding virus-host interactions in the oxygen-starved ocean Posted: 15 Sep 2014 11:09 AM PDT In certain coastal areas, severe reductions in oxygen levels in the water destroy food web structure. Over the past 50 years, such oxygen minimum zones have expanded due to climate change and increased waste run-off. Researchers studied how viral infection influences a microbial community in one such OMZ.

If hippopotamuses can't swim, how can some be living on islands? Posted: 15 Sep 2014 09:07 AM PDT There is no published account where hippopotamuses are demonstrably shown swimming or floating at the surface of any body of water. But if they can't swim, how did they reach and colonize islands?

Think big! Bacteria breach cell division size limit Posted: 15 Sep 2014 08:44 AM PDT The life of a cell is straightforward: it doubles, divides in the middle and originates two identical daughter cells. Therefore, it has been long assumed that cells of the same kind are similarly sized and big cells cannot divide symmetrically. Recently, researchers revealed that two non-model bacteria divide regularly despite growing so long to be perceivable by the naked eye.

Warming Atlantic temperatures could increase range of invasive species Posted: 15 Sep 2014 08:44 AM PDT Warming water temperatures due to climate change could expand the range of many native species of tropical fish, including the invasive and poisonous lionfish, according to a study of 40 species along rocky and artificial reefs off North Carolina.

Master regulator of cells' heat shock response found, pointing to new potential targets for neurodegenerative diseases and cancer Posted: 15 Sep 2014 08:42 AM PDT Heat shock proteins protect the molecules in all human and animal cells with factors that regulate their production and work as thermostats. In new research, scientists report for the first time that a protein called translation elongation factor eEF1A1 orchestrates the entire process of the heart shock response.

Manuka honey does not decrease pain of radiation-induced esophagitis for lung cancer patients Posted: 15 Sep 2014 06:57 AM PDT Patient-reported data indicates that when Manuka honey is prescribed for esophagitis pain during radiation therapy (RT), it is not more effective than standard medical care, according to new research.

Common variable immunodeficiency: Gut bacteria tire out T-cells Posted: 15 Sep 2014 06:56 AM PDT Leaky intestines may cripple bacteria-fighting immune cells in patients with common variable immunodeficiency (CVID), a rare hereditary disease. The study may explain why these patients suffer from recurrent bacterial infections.

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