ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

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• Incisive research links teeth with diet
• New report on the state of polar regions
• Amount of coldest Antarctic water near ocean floor decreasing for decades
• Advanced power-grid research finds low-cost, low-carbon future in Western U.S.
• Algae biofuels: The wave of the future
• U. S. Temperatures hit record highs in March
• 10,000 simulations show warming range of 1.4 to 3 degrees by 2050
• Darwin in the genome: Research on stickleback fish shows how adaptation to new environments involves many genes
• Robosquirrels versus rattlesnakes
• Coral links ice sheet collapse to ancient 'mega flood'
• Plants mimic scent of pollinating beetles
• Is bioenergy expansion harmful to wildlife?
• Photoperiodism may slow the range shift of species northwards
• Pollen can protect mahogany from extinction
• Stomata development in plants unraveled
• New light shone on photosynthesis
• Discovery of the first evidence for Pre-Columbian sources of Maya Blue
• Scientists track radioactive iodine in New Hampshire from Japan nuclear reactor meltdown

Incisive research links teeth with diet Posted: 03 Apr 2012 04:38 PM PDT You are what you eat is truism that has been given new impetus by "cutting edge" research that reveals your teeth are literally shaped by your food.

New report on the state of polar regions Posted: 03 Apr 2012 04:37 PM PDT A new synthesis of reports from thousands of scientists in 60 countries who took part in the International Polar Year (IPY) 2007-08, is the first in over 50 years to offer a benchmark for environmental conditions and new discoveries in the polar regions.

Amount of coldest Antarctic water near ocean floor decreasing for decades Posted: 03 Apr 2012 12:38 PM PDT Scientists have found a large reduction in the amount of the coldest deep ocean water, called Antarctic Bottom Water, all around the Southern Ocean using data collected from 1980 to 2011.

Advanced power-grid research finds low-cost, low-carbon future in Western U.S. Posted: 03 Apr 2012 12:36 PM PDT The least expensive way for the Western US to reduce greenhouse gas emissions enough to help prevent the worst consequences of global warming is to replace coal with renewable and other sources of energy that may include nuclear power, according to a new study.

Algae biofuels: The wave of the future Posted: 03 Apr 2012 12:36 PM PDT Researchers have assembled the draft genome of a marine algae sequence to aid scientists across the US in a project that aims to discover the best algae species for producing biodiesel fuel.

U. S. Temperatures hit record highs in March Posted: 03 Apr 2012 12:35 PM PDT Compared to seasonal norms, March 2012 was the warmest month on record in the 48 contiguous U.S. states. Temperatures over the U.S. averaged 2.82 C (almost 5.1 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than normal in March.

10,000 simulations show warming range of 1.4 to 3 degrees by 2050 Posted: 03 Apr 2012 11:04 AM PDT A project running almost 10,000 climate simulations on volunteers' home computers has found that a global warming of 3 degrees Celsius by 2050 is 'equally plausible' as a rise of 1.4 degrees.

Darwin in the genome: Research on stickleback fish shows how adaptation to new environments involves many genes Posted: 03 Apr 2012 11:00 AM PDT A current controversy raging in evolutionary biology is whether adaptation to new environments is the result of many genes, each of relatively small effect, or just a few genes of large effect. A new study strongly supports the first "many-small" hypothesis.

Robosquirrels versus rattlesnakes Posted: 03 Apr 2012 11:00 AM PDT Robot squirrels are going into rattlesnake country near San Jose, continuing a research project on the interaction between squirrels and rattlesnakes.

Coral links ice sheet collapse to ancient 'mega flood' Posted: 03 Apr 2012 10:55 AM PDT Coral off Tahiti has linked the collapse of massive ice sheets 14,600 years ago to a dramatic and rapid rise in global sea-levels of around 14 meters.

Plants mimic scent of pollinating beetles Posted: 03 Apr 2012 08:18 AM PDT The color and scent of flowers and their perception by pollinator insects are believed to have evolved in the course of mutual adaptation. However, an evolutionary biologist has now demonstrated that this is not the case with the arum family at least, which evolved its scent analogously to the pre-existing scents of scarab beetles and thus adapted to the beetles unilaterally. The mutual adaptation between plants and pollinators therefore does not always take place.

Is bioenergy expansion harmful to wildlife? Posted: 03 Apr 2012 08:18 AM PDT Despite the predicted environmental benefits of biofuels, converting land to grow bioenergy crops may harm native wildlife. Researchers have developed a way to study the effects of increased energy crop cultivation on farmland bird populations.

Photoperiodism may slow the range shift of species northwards Posted: 03 Apr 2012 08:16 AM PDT Climate change is predicted to promote species' range shifts and invasions from southern latitudes northwards. However, climate change does not affect the seasonal variation in day length. The length of the day in northern latitudes still depends on the position of the Earth in relation to the Sun. The photoperiodism of species -- in other words, their ability to adapt to seasonal variation in day length and quality of light -- plays an important role when species attempt to expand their distribution range northwards, experts report.

Pollen can protect mahogany from extinction Posted: 03 Apr 2012 08:14 AM PDT New research could help protect one of the world's most globally threatened tree species - the big leaf mahogany - from extinction.

Stomata development in plants unraveled Posted: 03 Apr 2012 05:57 AM PDT Researchers have unraveled the action mechanism of the main plant hormone that regulates the development of stomata. This breakthrough has important implications for environmental research and for the protection of plants against disease and stress.

New light shone on photosynthesis Posted: 03 Apr 2012 05:52 AM PDT One of the outstanding questions of the early Earth is how ancient organisms made the transition from anoxygenic (no oxygen produced) to oxygenic photosynthesis. Scientists have now moved closer to solving this conundrum.

Discovery of the first evidence for Pre-Columbian sources of Maya Blue Posted: 02 Apr 2012 08:31 AM PDT A team of scientists has established a link between contemporary indigenous knowledge and ancient sources of a mineral in the pigment known as Maya Blue. They have demonstrated that the palygorskite component in some of the pigment came from mines in two locations in Mexico's northern Yucatan Peninsula.

Scientists track radioactive iodine in New Hampshire from Japan nuclear reactor meltdown Posted: 02 Apr 2012 08:29 AM PDT Using a new investigative methodology, researchers have found and tracked radioactive iodine in New Hampshire from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.

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