ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

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• Mother of pearl tells a tale of ocean temperature, depth
• 'Mini-cellulose' molecule unlocks biofuel chemistry
• Light shed on how body fends off bacteria
• To understand chromosome reshuffling, look to the genome's 3-D structure
• Preventing the Tasmanian devil's downfall: Genome of contagious cancer sheds light on disease origin and spread
• The splice of life: Proteins cooperate to regulate gene splicing
• Quest for sugars involved in origin of life
• Can cold-water corals adapt to climate change?
• Why do dinosaur skeletons look so weird?
• Microbial oasis discovered beneath the Atacama Desert
• Low-carbon technologies 'no quick-fix': May not lessen global warming until late this century
• Climate change threatens tropical birds: Global warming, extreme weather aggravate habitat loss, review finds

Mother of pearl tells a tale of ocean temperature, depth Posted: 16 Feb 2012 03:54 PM PST Produced by a multitude of mollusk species, nacre is widely used in jewelry and art. It is inlaid into musical instruments, furniture and decorative boxes. Fashioned into buttons, beads and a host of functional objects from pens to flatware, mother of pearl lends a lustrous iridescence to everyday objects.

'Mini-cellulose' molecule unlocks biofuel chemistry Posted: 16 Feb 2012 01:57 PM PST Chemical engineers have discovered a small molecule that behaves the same as cellulose when it is converted to biofuel. Studying this "mini-cellulose" molecule reveals for the first time the chemical reactions that take place in wood and prairie grasses during high-temperature conversion to biofuel.

Light shed on how body fends off bacteria Posted: 16 Feb 2012 11:39 AM PST Scientists have developed the first 3D look at the interaction between an immune sensor and a protein that helps bacteria move.

To understand chromosome reshuffling, look to the genome's 3-D structure Posted: 16 Feb 2012 10:43 AM PST That our chromosomes can break and reshuffle pieces of themselves is nothing new; scientists have recognized this for decades, especially in cancer cells. The rules for where chromosomes are likely to break and how the broken pieces come together are only just now starting to come into view. Researchers have brought those rules into clearer focus by discovering that where each of the genome's thousands of genes lie within the cell's nucleus -- essentially, the genome's three-dimensional organization -- holds great influence over where broken chromosome ends rejoin. This knowledge could shed light on fundamental processes related to cancer and normal cellular functions -- for example, in immunity.

Preventing the Tasmanian devil's downfall: Genome of contagious cancer sheds light on disease origin and spread Posted: 16 Feb 2012 10:34 AM PST Researchers have sequenced the genome of a contagious cancer that is threatening the Tasmanian devil, the world's largest carnivorous marsupial, with extinction. Cataloguing the mutations present in the cancer has led to clues about where the cancer came from and how it became contagious.

The splice of life: Proteins cooperate to regulate gene splicing Posted: 16 Feb 2012 10:32 AM PST In a step toward deciphering the "splicing code" of the human genome, researchers have comprehensively analyzed six of the more highly expressed RNA binding proteins collectively known as heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoparticle (hnRNP) proteins.

Quest for sugars involved in origin of life Posted: 16 Feb 2012 08:15 AM PST Researchers have managed to isolate a sugar – a ribose –  in gas phase and to characterize a number of its structures. Sugars give rise to enormous biochemical interest given the importance and diversity of the functions they carry out: they act as an energy storage system and serve as fuel for a number of biological systems; they form part of DNA and of ribonucleic acid (RNA) and, moreover, play a key role in cell processes. Recently interest in sugars has also been increasingly attracting the attention of cosmochemistry, more concretely, in the search for the fundamental matter of the origin of life in interstellar space.

Can cold-water corals adapt to climate change? Posted: 16 Feb 2012 08:15 AM PST By absorbing about a third of human-made carbon dioxide, the ocean decelerates global warming. However, when dissolved in seawater, carbon dioxide reacts to produce carbonic acid, causing seawater pH to decrease. It also diminishes the concentration of carbonate ions, thereby putting organisms forming their shells and skeletons from calcium carbonate at risk. Apart from plankton, algae, mussels and snails, stony corals are among those particularly endangered: Their skeletons consist of aragonite, the most soluble form of calcium carbonate.

Why do dinosaur skeletons look so weird? Posted: 16 Feb 2012 08:12 AM PST Many fossilized dinosaurs have been found in a twisted posture. Scientists have long interpreted this as a sign of death spasms. Researchers have now come to the conclusion that these bizarre deformations occurred only during decomposition of dead dinosaurs.

Microbial oasis discovered beneath the Atacama Desert Posted: 16 Feb 2012 08:04 AM PST Two meters below the surface of the Atacama Desert there is an 'oasis' of microorganisms. Researchers have found it in hypersaline substrates thanks to SOLID, a detector for signs of life which could be used in environments similar to subsoil on Mars.

Low-carbon technologies 'no quick-fix': May not lessen global warming until late this century Posted: 16 Feb 2012 06:48 AM PST A drastic switch to low carbon-emitting technologies, such as wind and hydroelectric power, may not yield a reduction in global warming until the latter part of this century, new research suggests. Furthermore, it states that technologies that offer only modest reductions in greenhouse gases, such as the use of natural gas and perhaps carbon capture and storage, cannot substantially reduce climate risk in the next 100 years.

Climate change threatens tropical birds: Global warming, extreme weather aggravate habitat loss, review finds Posted: 16 Feb 2012 06:47 AM PST Climate change spells trouble for many tropical birds -- especially those living in mountains, coastal forests and relatively small areas -- and the damage will be compounded by other threats like habitat loss, disease and competition among species, according to a new review.

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