ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

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• Scientists develop tools to make more complex biological machines from yeast
• Warm weather puts trees on fast forward
• One solution to global overfishing found
• New antibiotic could make food safer and cows healthier
• Beer and bling in Iron Age Europe
• Focus on technology overlooks human behavior when addressing climate change
• Genetic variation in human gut viruses could be raw material for inner evolution
• Global sea level likely to rise as much as 70 feet for future generations
• A new tool to reveal structure of proteins
• How monarch butterflies recolonize northern breeding range
• Reintroducing the American chestnut tree
• Tracking Lake Erie water snake in fight against invasive fish
• Marine Protected Areas are keeping turtles safe
• First complete full genetic map of promising energy crop
• The Viking journey of mice and men
• No fear of the 'big bad wolf:' Feeding habits of German wolves investigated
• Hazy shades of life on early Earth

Scientists develop tools to make more complex biological machines from yeast Posted: 19 Mar 2012 04:43 PM PDT Scientists are one step closer to making more complex microscopic biological machines, following improvements in the way that they can "re-wire" DNA in yeast, according to new research.

Warm weather puts trees on fast forward Posted: 19 Mar 2012 04:40 PM PDT Flowers are popping open and pollen is flying, driven by higher-than-normal temperatures across the eastern United States.

One solution to global overfishing found Posted: 19 Mar 2012 01:38 PM PDT A new study indicates that "co-management" -- a collaborative arrangement between local communities, conservation groups, and governments -- provides one solution to a vexing global problem: overfishing.

New antibiotic could make food safer and cows healthier Posted: 19 Mar 2012 01:38 PM PDT Food-borne diseases might soon have another warrior to contend with, thanks to a new molecule discovered by chemists. The new antibiotic, an analog of the widely used food preservative nisin, also has potential to be a boon to the dairy industry as a treatment for bovine mastitis.

Beer and bling in Iron Age Europe Posted: 19 Mar 2012 01:37 PM PDT Celtic burial mounds in southwest Germany, offer a glimpse of how Iron Age people lived in a time before written records were kept. Using both old-school archaeology and new technology, the researchers were able to reconstruct elements of dress and ornamentation and also social behavior of those aspiring status.

Focus on technology overlooks human behavior when addressing climate change Posted: 19 Mar 2012 10:52 AM PDT Technology alone won't help the world turn away from fossil fuel-based energy sources, says a sociologist. A shift in political and economic policies to is needed to embrace the concept that continued growth in energy consumption is not sustainable, experts say.

Genetic variation in human gut viruses could be raw material for inner evolution Posted: 19 Mar 2012 10:42 AM PDT A growing body of evidence underscores the importance of human gut bacteria in modulating human health, metabolism, and disease. Yet bacteria are only part of the story. Viruses that infect those bacteria also shape who we are. A new study sequenced the DNA of viruses -- the virome -- present in the gut of healthy people.

Global sea level likely to rise as much as 70 feet for future generations Posted: 19 Mar 2012 10:42 AM PDT Even if humankind manages to limit global warming to 2 degrees C (3.6 degrees F), as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recommends, future generations will have to deal with sea levels 12 to 22 meters (40 to 70 feet) higher than at present, according to new research.

A new tool to reveal structure of proteins Posted: 19 Mar 2012 08:18 AM PDT A new method to reveal the structure of proteins could help researchers understand biological molecules -- both those involved in causing disease and those performing critical functions in healthy cells. For roughly a decade, a technique called solid state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy has allowed researchers to detect the arrangements of atoms in proteins that defy study by traditional laboratory tools such as X-ray crystallography.

How monarch butterflies recolonize northern breeding range Posted: 19 Mar 2012 08:18 AM PDT New research reveals how monarchs recolonize the northern reaches of their breeding grounds -- information that will help preserve this migratory species threatened by loss of critical food and habitat.

Reintroducing the American chestnut tree Posted: 19 Mar 2012 08:18 AM PDT Reintroduction of the American chestnut tree after billions died due to blight could be accomplished more effectively thanks to a software tool.

Tracking Lake Erie water snake in fight against invasive fish Posted: 19 Mar 2012 08:18 AM PDT Researchers have used a surgically implanted device to record the habits of snakes in their natural environment for the first time. This particular study holds promise in "keeping score" as Ohio's Lake Erie water snake defends its native habitat against an invasive fish species.

Marine Protected Areas are keeping turtles safe Posted: 19 Mar 2012 06:50 AM PDT Marine Protected Areas are providing sea turtles with an ideal habitat for foraging and may be keeping them safe from the threats of fishing. A new study shows that 35 percent of the world's green turtles are found within MPAs. This is much higher that would be expected as only a small proportion of shallow oceans are designated as MPAs.

First complete full genetic map of promising energy crop Posted: 19 Mar 2012 06:50 AM PDT The first high-resolution, comprehensive genetic map of a promising energy crop called miscanthus has been completed.

The Viking journey of mice and men Posted: 19 Mar 2012 06:48 AM PDT House mice happily live wherever there are humans. When populations of humans migrate the mice often travel with them. New research has used evolutionary techniques on modern day and ancestral mouse mitochondrial DNA to show that the timeline of mouse colonization matches that of Viking invasion. During the Viking age (late 8th to mid 10th century) Vikings from Norway established colonies across Scotland, the Scottish islands, Ireland, and Isle of Man. They also explored the north Atlantic, settling in the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Newfoundland and Greenland. While they intentionally took with them domestic animals such as horses, sheep, goats and chickens they also inadvertently carried pest species, including mice.

No fear of the 'big bad wolf:' Feeding habits of German wolves investigated Posted: 19 Mar 2012 06:45 AM PDT Scientists have been investigating the feeding habits of wolves in the first eight years since their appearance in Germany. The results are reassuring: The proportion of livestock on the menu lies at less than one percent.

Hazy shades of life on early Earth Posted: 18 Mar 2012 11:39 AM PDT When microbes ruled the world -- new research provides evidence of the key role played by microorganisms in the creation of our atmosphere and the development of complex life on Earth.

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