ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

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• Starving orangutans might help to better understand obesity and eating disorders in humans
• Findings on biochar, greenhouse gas emissions and ethylene
• Elephant seal travels 18,000 miles
• Tiny protein helps bacteria 'talk' and triggers defensive response in plants
• Spring's rising soil temperatures see hormones wake seeds from their winter slumber
• Seabirds: Climate differences have less impact on transmission of blood parasites than expected
• Tree species maps for European forests
• Fauna of an entire lake in a shot glass
• Model shows how façade pollutants make it into the environment
• Step forward in foot-and-mouth disease understanding
• Changing the locks: HIV discovery could allow scientists to block virus's entry into cell nucleus

Starving orangutans might help to better understand obesity and eating disorders in humans Posted: 13 Dec 2011 05:33 PM PST New research examining how endangered Indonesian orangutans – considered a close relative to humans -- survive during times of extreme food scarcity might help scientists better understand eating disorders and obesity in humans.

Findings on biochar, greenhouse gas emissions and ethylene Posted: 13 Dec 2011 08:47 AM PST Adding a charred biomass material called biochar to glacial soils can help reduce emissions of the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide, according to scientists.

Elephant seal travels 18,000 miles Posted: 13 Dec 2011 08:05 AM PST Scientists tracked a southern elephant seal for an astonishing 18,000 miles -- the equivalent of New York to Sydney and back again.

Tiny protein helps bacteria 'talk' and triggers defensive response in plants Posted: 12 Dec 2011 07:09 PM PST Scientists have discovered a new signal that helps invading bacteria communicate but also helps targeted rice plants coordinate defensive attacks on the disease-causing invaders, a finding that could lead to new methods of combating infection not just in plants, but in humans.

Spring's rising soil temperatures see hormones wake seeds from their winter slumber Posted: 12 Dec 2011 09:45 AM PST Dormant seeds in the soil detect and respond to seasonal changes in soil temperature by changing their sensitivity to plant hormones, new research has found.

Seabirds: Climate differences have less impact on transmission of blood parasites than expected Posted: 12 Dec 2011 06:26 AM PST Seabirds often live in large colonies in very confined spaces. Parasites, such as fleas and ticks, take advantage of this ideal habitat with its rich supply of nutrition. As a result, they can transmit blood parasites like avian malaria to the birds. Scientists have investigated whether this affects all seabirds equally, and whether climate conditions, the habitat or particular living conditions influence infection with avian malaria. They discovered that most seabirds are free of malaria parasites; however, some groups, especially frigatebirds, are particularly common hosts to malaria parasites.

Tree species maps for European forests Posted: 12 Dec 2011 06:26 AM PST Researchers have released a set of 1x1 km tree species maps showing the distribution of 20 tree species over Europe.

Fauna of an entire lake in a shot glass Posted: 11 Dec 2011 10:40 AM PST Danish researchers are leading the way for future biodiversity monitoring using DNA traces in the environment to keep track of threatened wildlife: a lake water sample the size of a shot glass can contain evidence of an entire lake fauna.

Model shows how façade pollutants make it into the environment Posted: 09 Dec 2011 12:01 PM PST Anti-fungal and anti-bacterial additives in house paint are present in dangerous quantities in the Vauchère river basin in the city of Lausanne, says a new study. Chemicals engineered to kill microorganisms, called biocides, are added to exterior paints in order to prevent molding and plant growth and are washed off of building facades during heavy rains.

Step forward in foot-and-mouth disease understanding Posted: 09 Dec 2011 07:56 AM PST Scientists have discovered a mechanism they believe may play a key role in the spread of foot-and-mouth disease in animals.

Changing the locks: HIV discovery could allow scientists to block virus's entry into cell nucleus Posted: 08 Dec 2011 02:36 PM PST Scientists have found the 'key' that HIV uses to enter our cells' nuclei, allowing it to disable the immune system and cause AIDS. The finding provides a potential new target for anti-AIDS drugs that could be more effective against drug-resistant strains of the virus.

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