ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

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• Two new species of horned dinosaur named
• Early evolution of life: Study of ribosome evolution challenges 'RNA World' hypothesis
• Mathematical methods predicts movement of oil and ash following environmental disasters
• Extensive taste loss found in mammals: Feeding preferences shaped by taste receptors
• First consumption of abundant life form, Archaea, discovered
• Medical imaging technology used to better understand fish senses
• Epstein Barr-like virus infects and may cause cancer in dogs
• Statue, chapels and animal mummies found in Egypt
• Ancestor of biggest dinosaurs: First dinosaur discovered in Spain dates back 15 million years earlier than thought
• Nitrous oxide emissions are no laughing matter
• California's snow not disappearing despite drought
• Sending out an SOS: How telomeres incriminate cells that can't divide
• Greenland ice sheet may melt completely with 1.6 degrees of global warming
• Global warming threat to coral reefs: Can some species adapt?

Two new species of horned dinosaur named Posted: 12 Mar 2012 04:28 PM PDT Two new horned dinosaurs have been named based on fossils collected from Alberta, Canada. The new species, Unescopceratops koppelhusae and Gryphoceratops morrisoni, are from the Leptoceratopsidae family of horned dinosaurs. The herbivores lived during the Late Cretaceous period between 75 to 83 million years ago.

Early evolution of life: Study of ribosome evolution challenges 'RNA World' hypothesis Posted: 12 Mar 2012 04:28 PM PDT In the beginning -- of the ribosome, the cell's protein-building workbench -- there were ribonucleic acids, the molecules we call RNA that today perform a host of vital functions in cells. And according to a new analysis, even before the ribosome's many working parts were recruited for protein synthesis, proteins also were on the scene and interacting with RNA. This finding challenges a long-held hypothesis about the early evolution of life.

Mathematical methods predicts movement of oil and ash following environmental disasters Posted: 12 Mar 2012 12:28 PM PDT For those involved in managing the fallout from environmental disasters like the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, it is essential to have tools that predict how the oil will move, so that they make the best possible use of resources to control the spill. Such tools now appear to be within reach.

Extensive taste loss found in mammals: Feeding preferences shaped by taste receptors Posted: 12 Mar 2012 12:26 PM PDT Scientists report frequent loss of sweet taste in mammalian species that are exclusive meat eaters. Further, two sea-dwelling mammals that swallow their food whole have extensive taste loss. Many sweet-blind species eat only meat, demonstrating that a liking for sweets is frequently lost during the evolution of diet specialization.

First consumption of abundant life form, Archaea, discovered Posted: 12 Mar 2012 11:03 AM PDT Scientists have documented for the first time that animals can and do consume Archaea – a type of single-celled microorganism thought to be among the most abundant life forms on Earth. Archaea that consume the greenhouse gas methane were in turn eaten by worms living at deep-sea cold seeps off Costa Rica and the West Coast of the United States.

Medical imaging technology used to better understand fish senses Posted: 12 Mar 2012 11:03 AM PDT A marine biologist gets an occasional strange look when she brings fish to Rhode Island Hospital. While the facility's microCT scanner is typically used to study bone density and diseases like osteoporosis, it is also providing new insights into the skull structure and sensory systems of fish.

Epstein Barr-like virus infects and may cause cancer in dogs Posted: 12 Mar 2012 11:02 AM PDT Best known for causing mononucleosis, or "the kissing disease," the Epstein Barr virus has also been implicated in more serious conditions, including Hodgkin's, non-Hodgkin's and Burkitt's lymphomas. Now a team of researchers has the first evidence that an Epstein Barr-like virus can infect and may also be responsible for causing lymphomas in man's best friend.

Statue, chapels and animal mummies found in Egypt Posted: 12 Mar 2012 11:02 AM PDT A wooden statue of a king, a private offering chapel, a monumental building and remains of over 80 animal mummies found in Abydos, Egypt, reveal intriguing information about ritual activity associated with the great gods.

Ancestor of biggest dinosaurs: First dinosaur discovered in Spain dates back 15 million years earlier than thought Posted: 12 Mar 2012 07:20 AM PDT The dinosaur Aragosaurus ischiaticus, discovered 25 years ago in Teruel, is from 15 million years earlier than originally thought. Its new dating means that it was the ancestor of the Titanosauriforms, which includes the biggest dinosaurs.

Nitrous oxide emissions are no laughing matter Posted: 12 Mar 2012 07:19 AM PDT While many are acquainted with the problems caused by CO­­2 emissions, the harmful effects of the release of nitrous oxide into the atmosphere have been far less well known. Only in recent years has the international scientific community begun to understand the scope of the threat posed by N­­2O emissions.

California's snow not disappearing despite drought Posted: 12 Mar 2012 07:14 AM PDT During some winters a significant amount of snow falls on parts of California. During other winters — like this one (so far) — there is much less snow. But more than 130 years of snow data show that over time snowfall in California is neither increasing nor decreasing.

Sending out an SOS: How telomeres incriminate cells that can't divide Posted: 12 Mar 2012 07:14 AM PDT The well-being of living cells requires specialized squads of proteins that maintain order. Degraders chew up worn-out proteins, recyclers wrap up damaged organelles, and-most importantly-DNA repair crews restitch anything that resembles a broken chromosome. If repair is impossible, the crew foreman calls in executioners to annihilate a cell. As unsavory as this last bunch sounds, failure to summon them is one aspect of what makes a cancer cell a cancer cell.

Greenland ice sheet may melt completely with 1.6 degrees of global warming Posted: 11 Mar 2012 09:32 PM PDT The Greenland ice sheet is likely to be more vulnerable to global warming than previously thought. The temperature threshold for melting the ice sheet completely is in the range of 0.8 to 3.2 degrees Celsius of global warming, with a best estimate of 1.6 degrees above pre-industrial levels, shows a new study.

Global warming threat to coral reefs: Can some species adapt? Posted: 10 Mar 2012 11:59 AM PST Coral reefs are among the ecosystems most severely threatened by global warming, but hopeful new evidence has emerged that some coral species may be able to adapt to warmer oceans. Researchers now report on coral populations which unexpectedly survived a massive bleaching event in 2010 in Southeast Asian waters and had previously experienced severe bleaching during an event in 1998.

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