ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

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• Fossil of ancient multicellular life sets evolutionary timeline back 60 million years
• Biochar alters water flow to improve sand and clay
• Bacterial 'communication system' could be used to stop, kill cancer cells, study finds
• New insights into flow and incision in bedrock-rivers
• New dinosaur from New Mexico has relatives in Alberta
• Colorado's Front Range fire severity not much different than past
• Evolution of snake courtship and combat behavior
• Eyeless Mexican cavefish eliminate circadian rhythm to save energy
• Skin coloring of rhesus macaque monkeys linked to breeding success, new study shows
• New analysis of human genetic history reveals female dominance
• Natural gas usage will have little effect on carbon dioxide emissions, researchers find
• Enzyme discovery paves way to tackling deadly parasite diseases
• 'Fracking' wastewater that is treated for drinking downstream produces potentially harmful compounds
• Flying doctor bees to prevent cherry disease
• New mobile solar unit is designed to save lives when the power goes out
• Imaging studies open a window on how effective antibodies are formed
• New 'designer proteins' in fight against Alzheimer's, cancer
• Choreography of water movements: 'Funnel' attracts bonding partners to biomolecule
• Solar energy-driven process could revolutionize oil sands tailings reclamation
• Being sheepish about climate adaptation
• 'Tissue chip' to screen neurological toxins, researchers report
• Insects' fear limits boost from climate change, study shows
• Facial masculinity not always a telling factor in mate selection

Fossil of ancient multicellular life sets evolutionary timeline back 60 million years Posted: 24 Sep 2014 06:18 PM PDT Geobiologists shed new light on multicellular fossils from a time 60 million years before a vast growth spurt of life known as the Cambrian Explosion occurred on Earth.

Biochar alters water flow to improve sand and clay Posted: 24 Sep 2014 01:05 PM PDT New research could help settle questions about one of biochar's biggest benefits -- the seemingly contradictory ability to make clay soils drain faster and sandy soils drain slower.

Bacterial 'communication system' could be used to stop, kill cancer cells, study finds Posted: 24 Sep 2014 11:50 AM PDT A molecule used as a communication system by bacteria can be manipulated to prevent cancer cells from spreading, a study has demonstrated. "During an infection, bacteria release molecules which allow them to 'talk' to each other," said the lead author of the study. "Depending on the type of molecule released, the signal will tell other bacteria to multiply, escape the immune system or even stop spreading."

New insights into flow and incision in bedrock-rivers Posted: 24 Sep 2014 11:50 AM PDT Scientists studying river flow in bedrock canyons for the first time have discovered that previous conceptions of flow and incision in bedrock-rivers are wrong.

New dinosaur from New Mexico has relatives in Alberta Posted: 24 Sep 2014 11:49 AM PDT A newly discovered armored dinosaur from New Mexico has close ties to the dinosaurs of Alberta, say paleontologists. From 76 to 66 million years ago, Alberta was home to at least five species of ankylosaurid dinosaurs, the group that includes club-tailed giants like Ankylosaurus. But fewer ankylosaurids are known from the southern parts of North America. The new species, Ziapelta sanjuanensis, was discovered in 2011 in the Bisti/De-na-zin Wilderness area of New Mexico by a team from the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science and the State Museum of Pennsylvania.

Colorado's Front Range fire severity not much different than past Posted: 24 Sep 2014 11:49 AM PDT The perception that Colorado's Front Range wildfires are becoming increasingly severe does not hold much water scientifically, according to a massive new study.

Evolution of snake courtship and combat behavior Posted: 24 Sep 2014 11:49 AM PDT A small study suggests snakes may have developed courtship and male-to-male combat behavior, such as moving undulations, neck biting, and spur-poking, over time.

Eyeless Mexican cavefish eliminate circadian rhythm to save energy Posted: 24 Sep 2014 11:49 AM PDT The Mexican tetra fish has two variants, a fully-eyed fish living close to the surface and a blind, deep water, cave-dwelling fish. Scientists in this study used these two fish to study evolutionary adaptation in fish residing in near or total darkness.

Skin coloring of rhesus macaque monkeys linked to breeding success, new study shows Posted: 24 Sep 2014 08:37 AM PDT Skin color displayed amongst one species of monkey provides a key indicator of how successfully they will breed, a new study has shown. The collaborative international research also shows that skin coloration in male and female rhesus macaques is an inherited quality -- the first example of heritability for a sexually-selected trait to be described in any mammal.

New analysis of human genetic history reveals female dominance Posted: 24 Sep 2014 08:37 AM PDT Female populations have been larger than male populations throughout human history, according to new research. The research used a new technique to obtain higher quality paternal genetic information to analyze the demographic history of males and females in worldwide populations.

Natural gas usage will have little effect on carbon dioxide emissions, researchers find Posted: 24 Sep 2014 08:36 AM PDT Abundant supplies of natural gas will do little to reduce harmful U.S. emissions causing climate change, according to researchers. They found that inexpensive gas boosts electricity consumption and hinders expansion of cleaner energy sources, such as wind and solar.

Enzyme discovery paves way to tackling deadly parasite diseases Posted: 24 Sep 2014 08:36 AM PDT An enzyme found in all living things could hold the key to combating deadly diseases such as sleeping sickness, a study suggests. Researchers say this discovery creates an opportunity to design drugs that block activity of the enzyme -- known as pyruvate kinase -- in species that cause infection. Blocking the enzyme would effectively kill the parasite, without affecting the same enzyme in the patient.

'Fracking' wastewater that is treated for drinking downstream produces potentially harmful compounds Posted: 24 Sep 2014 08:35 AM PDT Concerns that fluids from hydraulic fracturing, or 'fracking,' are contaminating drinking water abound. Now, scientists are bringing to light another angle that adds to the controversy. A new study has found that discharge of fracking wastewaters to rivers, even after passage through wastewater treatment plants, could be putting the drinking water supplies of downstream cities at risk.

Flying doctor bees to prevent cherry disease Posted: 24 Sep 2014 08:30 AM PDT A method to use bees to deliver disease control to cherry blossom, preventing brown rot in cherries, is being introduced by researchers. "Brown rot is caused by a fungus that significantly impacts the cherry industry through costs of applying fungicide, yield loss and fruit spoilage," says the project's leader and bee researcher.

New mobile solar unit is designed to save lives when the power goes out Posted: 24 Sep 2014 08:29 AM PDT Brooke Ellison draws her own power from will, but the ventilator that keeps her alive requires uninterrupted electricity. Dr. Ellison is allowing scientists to field-test, at her home, the Nextek Power Systems STAR, a mobile solar generator.

Imaging studies open a window on how effective antibodies are formed Posted: 24 Sep 2014 08:28 AM PDT Sometimes, in order to understand what's happening in the immune system, you just have to watch it. By imaging the immune response, researchers have observed how two types of immune cells, T and B cells, interact with one another during a critical period following infection in order to prepare the best antibodies and establish long-lasting protection.

New 'designer proteins' in fight against Alzheimer's, cancer Posted: 24 Sep 2014 05:51 AM PDT Scientists are lending Mother Nature a helping hand in fight against cancer and Alzheimer's with the development of a new, more effective way to make amino acids. The new 'designer proteins' can be used to make more effective drugs with fewer side effects, they report.

Choreography of water movements: 'Funnel' attracts bonding partners to biomolecule Posted: 24 Sep 2014 05:51 AM PDT New experimental technologies, such as terahertz absorption spectroscopy, pave the way for studies of the dynamics of water molecules surrounding biomolecules. Using this method, the researchers proved some time ago that proteins influence water molecules in their surroundings: they determine the choreography of their movements. This effect occurs not only in the immediate vicinity of the protein, but can also be detected in the remote layers of the surrounding water molecules.

Solar energy-driven process could revolutionize oil sands tailings reclamation Posted: 23 Sep 2014 03:21 PM PDT A civil engineering research team has developed a new way to clean oil sands process affected water and reclaim tailings ponds in Alberta's oil sands industry. Using sunlight as a renewable energy source instead of UV lamps, and adding chlorine to the tailings, oil sands process affected water is decontaminated and detoxified -- immediately.

Being sheepish about climate adaptation Posted: 23 Sep 2014 03:21 PM PDT In a first-of-its kind study that combined molecular and environmental data, researchers performed a search for genes under environmental selection from domesticated sheep breeds. They identified 17 genes that are involved in energy metabolism, endocrine and autoimmune regulation.

'Tissue chip' to screen neurological toxins, researchers report Posted: 23 Sep 2014 01:11 PM PDT A faster, more affordable way to screen for neural toxins is under development, helping flag chemicals that may harm human development. Researchers will collaborate to refine existing 3-D human tissue chips and combine them into an integrated system that can mimic the complex functions of the human body.

Insects' fear limits boost from climate change, study shows Posted: 23 Sep 2014 11:27 AM PDT Scientists often measure the effects of temperature on insects to predict how climate change will affect their distribution and abundance, but a new study shows, for the first time, that insects' fear of their predators, in addition to temperature, ultimately limits how fast they grow.

Facial masculinity not always a telling factor in mate selection Posted: 23 Sep 2014 11:27 AM PDT Women living where rates of infectious disease are high, according to theory, prefer men with faces that shout testosterone when choosing a mate. However, an international study says that may not be true.

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