ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

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• Small, fast, and crowded: Mammal traits amplify tick-borne illness
• A more efficient, lightweight and low-cost organic solar cell: Researchers broke the 'electrode barrier'
• World population to keep growing this century, hit 11 billion by 2100
• Changes in coastal upwelling linked to temporary declines in marine ecosystem
• How pneumonia bacteria can compromise heart health
• Technique to model infections shows why live vaccines may be most effective
• Human sense of fairness evolved to favor long-term cooperation, primate study suggests
• CASIS research set for launch aboard SpaceX mission to space station
• NASA HS3 instrument views two dimensions of clouds
• NASA Ames to launch science experiments to space station on SpaceX rocket
• Everything in moderation: Micro-8 to study regulating pathogens in space
• New high-resolution satellite image analysis: 5 of 6 Syrian World Heritage sites 'exhibit significant damage'
• Gambling with confidence: Are you sure about that?
• Stem cells use 'first aid kits' to repair damage
• NASA's wind-watching ISS-RapidScat ready for launch
• August and June-August global temperatures each reach record high, driven largely by record warm global oceans
• Mysterious volcanic eruption of 1808 described
• Tolerating, not fighting, viruses a viable survival strategy
• Tropical rabbitfish a threat to Mediterranean Sea ecosystems
• Dogs can be pessimists, too
• 'Lost chapel' skeletons found holding hands after 700 years
• Unforeseen dioxin formation in waste incineration
• Carbon dioxide converted into a valuable resource
• Is Sahara Desert several million years older than previously thought?
• Crowdsourcing could lead to better water in rural India
• 'Office life' of bacteria may be their weak spot
• Wild berry extract may strengthen effectiveness of pancreatic cancer drug
• Getting water from fog: Shorebird's beak inspires research on water collection
• Nine fats to include in a healthy diet
• American-made wind turbine blades
• Chemists modify antibiotic to vanquish resistant bacteria
• In mice, vaccine stops urinary tract infections linked to catheters
• Rooting out horse-meat fraud in the wake of a recent food scandal
• Mobility model is closely linked to the city's characteristics
• Plant-based battery: Testing and improving with help of neutrons, simulation
• Being social: Learning from the behavior of birds

Small, fast, and crowded: Mammal traits amplify tick-borne illness Posted: 18 Sep 2014 11:15 AM PDT In the U.S., some 300,000 people are diagnosed with Lyme disease annually. Thousands also suffer from babesiosis and anaplasmosis, tick-borne ailments that can occur alone or as co-infections with Lyme disease. In our struggle to manage the ever-growing list of tick-borne diseases, we need to understand which animals magnify human disease risk. New results suggest when generalist pathogens emerge, small mammals with large populations and a fast pace of life warrant careful monitoring.

A more efficient, lightweight and low-cost organic solar cell: Researchers broke the 'electrode barrier' Posted: 18 Sep 2014 11:14 AM PDT For decades, polymer scientists and synthetic chemists working to improve the power conversion efficiency of organic solar cells were hampered by the inherent drawbacks of commonly used metal electrodes, including their instability and susceptibility to oxidation. Now for the first time, researchers have developed a more efficient, easily processable and lightweight solar cell that can use virtually any metal for the electrode, effectively breaking the 'electrode barrier.'

World population to keep growing this century, hit 11 billion by 2100 Posted: 18 Sep 2014 11:14 AM PDT The chance that world population in 2100 will be between 9.6 billion and 12.3 billion people is 80 percent, according to the first such United Nations forecast to incorporate modern statistical tools.

Changes in coastal upwelling linked to temporary declines in marine ecosystem Posted: 18 Sep 2014 11:14 AM PDT In findings of relevance to both conservationists and the fishing industry, new research links short-term reductions in growth and reproduction of marine animals off the California Coast to increasing variability in the strength of coastal upwelling currents -- currents which historically supply nutrients to the region's diverse ecosystem.

How pneumonia bacteria can compromise heart health Posted: 18 Sep 2014 11:14 AM PDT Bacterial pneumonia in adults carries an elevated risk for adverse cardiac events (such as heart failure, arrhythmias, and heart attacks) that contribute substantially to mortality -- but how the heart is compromised has been unclear. A study now demonstrates that Streptococcus pneumoniae, the bacterium responsible for most cases of bacterial pneumonia, can invade the heart and cause the death of heart muscle cells.

Technique to model infections shows why live vaccines may be most effective Posted: 18 Sep 2014 11:14 AM PDT Vaccines against Salmonella that use a live, but weakened, form of the bacteria are more effective than those that use only dead fragments because of the particular way in which they stimulate the immune system, according to new research.

Human sense of fairness evolved to favor long-term cooperation, primate study suggests Posted: 18 Sep 2014 11:11 AM PDT The human response to unfairness evolved in order to support long-term cooperation, according to a new research. Fairness is a social ideal that cannot be measured, so to understand the evolution of fairness in humans scientists have studied the behavioral responses to equal versus unequal reward division in other primates.

CASIS research set for launch aboard SpaceX mission to space station Posted: 18 Sep 2014 10:05 AM PDT This fall marks another commercial cargo flight to the International Space Station. In September, SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft is scheduled to blast off to the orbital laboratory carrying supplies and investigations as part of the company's fourth contracted mission to the complex.

NASA HS3 instrument views two dimensions of clouds Posted: 18 Sep 2014 10:03 AM PDT NASA's Cloud Physics Lidar (CPL) instrument, flying aboard an unmanned Global Hawk aircraft in this summer's Hurricane and Severe Storm Sentinel, or HS3, mission, is studying the changing profile of the atmosphere in detail to learn more about how hurricanes form and strengthen.

NASA Ames to launch science experiments to space station on SpaceX rocket Posted: 18 Sep 2014 09:28 AM PDT NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California, will launch four life science experiments to the International Space Station aboard NASA's next commercial cargo resupply flight of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. The research missions include a microbiology study of yeast, a fruit fly study designed and built by students, a plant biology investigation and the maiden voyage of NASA's new rodent research system.

Everything in moderation: Micro-8 to study regulating pathogens in space Posted: 18 Sep 2014 09:26 AM PDT Candida albicans, an opportunistic yeast pathogen and model organism for research, is common and usually doesn't damage our healthy personal ecosystem. However, when our immune system is stressed on Earth or in space, such as during long-duration space travel, C. albicans can grow out of control and potentially cause infections. Scientists want to address controlling these outbreaks with the next round of cellular growth experiments on the International Space Station -- Micro-8.

New high-resolution satellite image analysis: 5 of 6 Syrian World Heritage sites 'exhibit significant damage' Posted: 18 Sep 2014 09:14 AM PDT In war-torn Syria, five of six World Heritage sites now 'exhibit significant damage' and some structures have been 'reduced to rubble,' according to new high-resolution satellite image analysis by the nonprofit, nonpartisan American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Gambling with confidence: Are you sure about that? Posted: 18 Sep 2014 09:14 AM PDT Confidence determines much of our path through life, but what is it? Most people would describe it as an emotion or a feeling. In contrast, scientists have found that confidence is actually a measurable quantity, and not reserved just for humans. The team has identified a brain region in rats whose function is required to for the animals to express confidence in their decisions.

Stem cells use 'first aid kits' to repair damage Posted: 18 Sep 2014 09:13 AM PDT Neural stem cells -- master cells that can develop into any type of nerve cell -- are able to generate mini "first aid kits" and transfer them to immune cells, according to a new study.

NASA's wind-watching ISS-RapidScat ready for launch Posted: 18 Sep 2014 09:04 AM PDT The fourth SpaceX cargo mission to the International Space Station (ISS) under NASA's Commercial Resupply Services contract, carrying the ISS-RapidScat scatterometer instrument designed and built by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, is scheduled to launch Saturday, Sept. 20, from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The one-day adjustment in the launch date was made to accommodate preparations of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and was coordinated with the station's partners and managers.

August and June-August global temperatures each reach record high, driven largely by record warm global oceans Posted: 18 Sep 2014 08:19 AM PDT According to NOAA scientists, the globally averaged temperature over land and ocean surfaces for August 2014 was the highest for August since record keeping began in 1880. It also marked the 38th consecutive August with a global temperature above the 20th century average. The last below-average global temperature for August occurred in 1976.

Mysterious volcanic eruption of 1808 described Posted: 18 Sep 2014 08:12 AM PDT New light has been shed on one of the biggest volcanic eruptions in the last 500 years -- the so-called 'Unknown eruption' -- thanks to an unusual collaboration between a historian and a team of earth scientists.

Tolerating, not fighting, viruses a viable survival strategy Posted: 18 Sep 2014 08:12 AM PDT In ecology, disease tolerance is defined as a host strategy not to fight a pathogen tooth and nail, but rather tolerate it to live (and survive) better in the long term. One key feature of tolerance is that the disease only progresses very slowly -- if at all -- even if the host carries a high pathogen load. In some HIV sufferers, this approach is evident. A research team has now determined how strongly patients differ in their tolerance and upon which factors it depends.

Tropical rabbitfish a threat to Mediterranean Sea ecosystems Posted: 18 Sep 2014 07:16 AM PDT The tropical rabbitfish, which have devastated algal forests in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, pose a major threat to the entire Mediterranean basin if their distribution continues to expand as the climate warms, a new study warns. Researchers surveyed more than 1000 kilometers of coastline in Turkey and Greece, where two species of plant-eating rabbitfish have become dominant, and found regions with abundant rabbitfish had become rocky barrens.

Dogs can be pessimists, too Posted: 18 Sep 2014 07:16 AM PDT Dogs generally seem to be cheerful, happy-go-lucky characters, so you might expect that most would have an optimistic outlook on life. In fact some dogs are distinctly more pessimistic than others, new research shows.

'Lost chapel' skeletons found holding hands after 700 years Posted: 18 Sep 2014 06:12 AM PDT Archaeologists have uncovered a trove of relics and remains at Chapel of St Morrell in Leicestershire. Some relationships last a lifetime -- and archaeologists have discovered that they can last even longer after unearthing two skeletons at a lost chapel in Leicestershire that have been holding hands for 700 years.

Unforeseen dioxin formation in waste incineration Posted: 18 Sep 2014 06:10 AM PDT Dioxins forms faster, at lower temperatures and under other conditions than previously thought. This may affect how we in the future construct sampling equipment, flue gas filtering systems for waste incineration and how to treat waste incineration fly ash.

Carbon dioxide converted into a valuable resource Posted: 18 Sep 2014 06:10 AM PDT Researchers have opened a pilot plant that converts carbon dioxide and slag, the by-product of steel manufacturing, into a valuable mineral product. The product, Precipitated Calcium Carbonate (PCC), is used in e.g. plastics, papers, rubbers and paints. The innovative plant represents the next stage prior commercialization of a new process that consumes carbon dioxide in order to convert a low-value by-product into a highly valuable resource for industry.

Is Sahara Desert several million years older than previously thought? Posted: 18 Sep 2014 06:10 AM PDT The Sahara is the world's largest subtropical desert. During the last decades, numerous scientific studies have probed its geological and archeological archives seeking to reveal its history. Despite some important breakthroughs, there are still basic questions that lack satisfactory answers. For example, how old is the Sahara desert? It is widely believed that Sahara desert first appeared during the last 2 to 3 million years, but recent discoveries such as ancient sand dunes and dust records in marine cores push the possible onset of Saharan aridity back in time by several million years.

Crowdsourcing could lead to better water in rural India Posted: 18 Sep 2014 06:07 AM PDT A novel environmental crowdsourcing technique for assessing water quality in India is being evaluated by a three-continent research consortium. The technique relies on 53-cent test kits and the nation's ubiquitous mobile phone service.

'Office life' of bacteria may be their weak spot Posted: 17 Sep 2014 06:19 PM PDT We may be able to drown deadly bacteria in their own paperwork, scientists suggest. For the first time, researchers have shown how the "paper shredder" that keeps the bacteria E. coli on top of its day job works. Now the group is looking for ways to jam the mechanism and leave E. coli and similar bacteria in filing hell. Dr Kenneth McDowall, Associate Professor in Molecular Microbiology, who led the research, said: "If we block the 'shredder' using genetics in the lab, the bacteria drown in a flood of messages. The challenge now is to block it with drugs so that bacterial infections in humans can be killed. Our latest results give us a good idea how this can be done."

Wild berry extract may strengthen effectiveness of pancreatic cancer drug Posted: 17 Sep 2014 06:16 PM PDT A wild berry native to North America may strengthen the effectiveness of a chemotherapy drug commonly used to treat pancreatic cancer, reveals research. The study suggests that adding nutraceuticals to chemotherapy cycles may improve the effectiveness of conventional drugs, particularly in hard to treat cancers, such as pancreatic cancer.

Getting water from fog: Shorebird's beak inspires research on water collection Posted: 17 Sep 2014 02:33 PM PDT An engineering professor and his doctoral student have designed a device based on a shorebird's beak that can accumulate water collected from fog and dew. The device could provide water in drought-stricken areas of the world or deserts around the globe.

Nine fats to include in a healthy diet Posted: 17 Sep 2014 02:30 PM PDT Fats are often considered the enemy of good nutrition, but when included in a healthy diet they can boast several potential health benefits. Fatty acids and nutritional oils may benefit cognition, weight management, heart health, eye and brain development, and even mood.

American-made wind turbine blades Posted: 17 Sep 2014 02:29 PM PDT New research is helping makers of wind turbine blades improve the labor productivity associated with blade fabrication and finishing. This improved productivity makes US blades more cost competitive with blades from countries that pay workers lower wages.

Chemists modify antibiotic to vanquish resistant bacteria Posted: 17 Sep 2014 02:29 PM PDT Scientists have devised a new antibiotic based on vancomycin that is powerfully effective against vancomycin-resistant strains of MRSA and other disease-causing bacteria. The new vancomycin analog appears to have not one but two distinct mechanisms of anti-microbial action, against which bacteria probably cannot evolve resistance quickly.

In mice, vaccine stops urinary tract infections linked to catheters Posted: 17 Sep 2014 02:27 PM PDT The most common type of hospital-associated infection may be preventable with a vaccine, new research in mice suggests. The experimental vaccine prevented urinary tract infections associated with catheters.

Rooting out horse-meat fraud in the wake of a recent food scandal Posted: 17 Sep 2014 09:10 AM PDT As the United Kingdom forms a new crime unit designed to fight food fraud -- in response to an uproar last year over horse meat being passed off as beef -- scientists are reporting a technique for detecting meat adulteration.

Mobility model is closely linked to the city's characteristics Posted: 17 Sep 2014 09:07 AM PDT The massive use of motor vehicles leads to a whole host of problems, such as pollution, noise, accidents, occupation of space and others, which need to be tackled in two ways, according to the authors of new research: by improving the offer of public transport and properly managing the mobility demand.

Plant-based battery: Testing and improving with help of neutrons, simulation Posted: 17 Sep 2014 09:05 AM PDT Lignin, a low-cost byproduct of the pulp, paper and biofuels industries, could be transformed into a cheaper version of highly engineered graphite through a simple and industrially scalable manufacturing process.

Being social: Learning from the behavior of birds Posted: 17 Sep 2014 06:29 AM PDT Science has learned a great deal about complex social behavior by studying nonhuman mammals and primates, but parrots might have something to teach too. A new study -- the first to quantify the social lives of parrots using social network analysis -- provides intriguing new insights into parrot sociality revealing a sophisticated social structure with layers of relationships and complex interactions.

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