ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

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• Turtles more closely related to birds than lizards and snakes, genetic evidence shows
• Bark beetle may impact air quality, climate
• Fukushima's radiation effects: World experts to assess impacts from Japanese power plant
• RNA: From messenger to guardian of genome integrity
• Hacking code of leaf vein architecture solves mysteries, allows predictions of past climate
• Factors behind past lemur species extinctions put surviving species in 'ecological retreat'
• An introduced bird competitor tips the balance against Hawaiian species
• How immune cells change wiring of developing mouse brain
• A whale of a discovery: New sensory organ found in rorqual whales
• Geological record shows air up there came from below
• New ways sleep-wake patterns are like clockwork
• New species top 10 list: Underworld worm, walking cactus creature, blue tarantula, sneezing monkey, and more
• Seagrasses can store as much carbon as forests
• Rapid coral death by a deadly chain reaction
• Fire beetles may revolutionize early-warning systems for forest fires
• Genetic study sheds light on evolution and may help prevent extinction of the Myanmar snub-nosed monkey
• Artificial leaf device produces hydrogen in water using only sunlight
• Non-invasive intracellullar 'thermometer' with fluorescent proteins developed
• Light pollution transforming insect communities
• Not a one-way street: Evolution shapes environment of Connecticut lakes
• Human-like spine morphology found in aquatic eel fossil

Turtles more closely related to birds than lizards and snakes, genetic evidence shows Posted: 23 May 2012 05:03 PM PDT Having recently looked at more than a thousand of the least-changed regions in the genomes of turtles and their closest relatives, biologists have confirmed that turtles are most closely related to crocodilians and birds rather than to lizards, snakes, and tuataras.

Bark beetle may impact air quality, climate Posted: 23 May 2012 05:02 PM PDT If you've traveled to a forested national park out West in recent years, you may have noticed two things. First, a growing number of lodgepole pine trees are dying, victims of the bark beetle. And secondly, atmospheric haze, caused in part by tiny solid particles suspended in the air, is becoming a problem. A new study shows these two phenomena may be related, tied together by chemistry and climate change factors.

Fukushima's radiation effects: World experts to assess impacts from Japanese power plant Posted: 23 May 2012 02:05 PM PDT World experts on the effects of atomic radiation have agreed to start an assessment of the radiological impact of the events at the TEPCO (Fukushima-Daiichi) nuclear power plant following the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

RNA: From messenger to guardian of genome integrity Posted: 23 May 2012 01:13 PM PDT A new and unexpected role for RNA is identified: the defence of genome integrity and stability. New research shows that an until now unknown class of RNA -- the newly christened DDRNA -- plays a key role in activation of the molecular alarms necessary to safeguard our genome when DNA damage from internal or external factors occurs.

Hacking code of leaf vein architecture solves mysteries, allows predictions of past climate Posted: 23 May 2012 11:57 AM PDT Life scientists have discovered new laws leaves follow as they grow and evolve. These easy-to-apply mathematical rules can be used to better predict the climates of the past, as determined from the fossil record. This research has a range of fundamental implications in global ecology, and can improve prediction and interpretation of climate in the deep past from leaf fossils.

Factors behind past lemur species extinctions put surviving species in 'ecological retreat' Posted: 23 May 2012 11:57 AM PDT At least 17 species of lemurs have vanished on Madagascar over the last 2,000 years, with human activity likely a central factor. New research examined eight of those extinctions, and findings suggest that surviving species don't necessarily benefit when competitors die out.

An introduced bird competitor tips the balance against Hawaiian species Posted: 23 May 2012 10:55 AM PDT Tens of thousands of birds native to Hawaii have been lost in the Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge, when the Japanese white-eye, a small perching bird originally introduced to Hawaii in 1929 to control insects, increased in numbers. The increase was initiated in a restoration area on the refuge.

How immune cells change wiring of developing mouse brain Posted: 23 May 2012 10:55 AM PDT Researchers have shown in mice how immune cells in the brain target and remove unused connections between brain cells during normal development. This research sheds light on how brain activity influences brain development, and highlights the newly found importance of the immune system in how the brain is wired, as well as how the brain forms new connections throughout life in response to change.

A whale of a discovery: New sensory organ found in rorqual whales Posted: 23 May 2012 10:32 AM PDT Scientists have discovered a sensory organ in rorqual whales that coordinates its signature lunge-feeding behavior -- and may help explain their enormous size. Rorquals are a subgroup of baleen whales -- including blue, fin, minke and humpback whales. They are characterized by a special, accordion-like blubber layer that goes from the snout to the navel. The blubber expands up to several times its resting length to allow the whales to engulf large quantities of prey-laden water, which is then expelled through the baleen to filter krill and fish. The study details the discovery of an organ at the tip of the whale's chin, lodged in the ligamentous tissue that connects their two jaws.

Geological record shows air up there came from below Posted: 23 May 2012 10:32 AM PDT The influence of the ground beneath us on the air around us could be greater than scientists had previously thought, according to new research that links the long-ago proliferation of oxygen in Earth's atmosphere to a sudden change in the inner workings of our planet.

New ways sleep-wake patterns are like clockwork Posted: 23 May 2012 10:30 AM PDT Researchers have discovered new ways neurons work together to ease the transition between sleep and wakefulness. Their findings provide additional insights into sleep-wake patterns and offer methods to explore what may disrupt them.

New species top 10 list: Underworld worm, walking cactus creature, blue tarantula, sneezing monkey, and more Posted: 23 May 2012 10:30 AM PDT The top 10 new species list has just been released. It includes a teensy attack wasp, night-blooming orchid, underworld worm, ancient "walking cactus" creature, blue tarantula, Nepalese poppy, giant millipede, sneezing monkey, fungus named for cartoon character and beautiful jellyfish.

Seagrasses can store as much carbon as forests Posted: 23 May 2012 08:48 AM PDT Seagrasses are a vital part of the solution to climate change and, per unit area, seagrass meadows can store up to twice as much carbon as the world's temperate and tropical forests.

Rapid coral death by a deadly chain reaction Posted: 23 May 2012 08:47 AM PDT Most people are fascinated by the colorful and exotic coral reefs, which form habitats with probably the largest biodiversity. But human civilization is the top danger to these fragile ecosystems through climate change, oxygen depletion and ocean acidification. Industrialization, deforestation and intensive farming in coastal areas are changing dramatically the conditions for life in the oceans. Now scientists have investigated how and why the corals die when exposed to sedimentation. According to their findings, oxygen depletion, together with an acidification of the environment, creates a chain reaction that leads to coral death.

Fire beetles may revolutionize early-warning systems for forest fires Posted: 23 May 2012 07:21 AM PDT Black fire beetles of the genus Melanophila possess unusual infrared sensors. It seems that they use these to detect forest fires, even from great distances, since their wood-eating larvae can only develop in freshly burned trees. Scientists have been wondering for a long time how sensitive these biological IR sensors really are. Researchers have concluded that the beetles' sensors might even be more sensitive that uncooled infrared sensors designed by humans. Having this natural model opens up new perspectives, such as for early warning systems for forest fires.

Genetic study sheds light on evolution and may help prevent extinction of the Myanmar snub-nosed monkey Posted: 23 May 2012 07:20 AM PDT Biologists have completed genetic studies on all five snub-nosed monkey species, providing crucial information for the conservation of these rare primates.

Artificial leaf device produces hydrogen in water using only sunlight Posted: 23 May 2012 07:20 AM PDT Scientists have developed, using nanotechnology, a device with semiconductor materials which generate hydrogen independently in water using only sunlight.  This technology, which has been named artificial photosynthesis, was inspired by photosynthesis which occurs naturally. The device is submerged in an aqueous solution which, when illuminated with a light source, forms hydrogen gas bubbles.

Non-invasive intracellullar 'thermometer' with fluorescent proteins developed Posted: 23 May 2012 07:20 AM PDT Biologists have developed a technique to measure internal cell temperatures without altering their metabolism. This finding could be useful when distinguishing healthy cells from cancerous ones, as well as learning more about cellular processes.

Light pollution transforming insect communities Posted: 22 May 2012 05:08 PM PDT Street lighting is transforming communities of insects and other invertebrates, according to new research. The study shows for the first time that the balance of different species living together is being radically altered as a result of light pollution in our towns and cities. Believed to be increasing by six percent a year globally, artificial lighting is already known to affect individual organisms, but this is the first time that its impact on whole communities has been investigated.

Not a one-way street: Evolution shapes environment of Connecticut lakes Posted: 22 May 2012 05:08 PM PDT Environmental change is the selective force that preserves adaptive traits in organisms and is a primary driver of evolution. However, it is less well known that evolutionary change in organisms also trigger fundamental changes in the environment. Researchers found a prime example of this evolutionary feedback loop in a few lakes in Connecticut, where dams built 300 years ago in Colonial times trapped a fish called the alewife.

Human-like spine morphology found in aquatic eel fossil Posted: 22 May 2012 05:08 PM PDT For decades, scientists believed that a spine with multiple segments was an exclusive feature of land-dwelling animals. But the discovery of the same anatomical feature in a 345-million-year-old eel suggests that this complex anatomy arose separately from -- and perhaps before -- the first species to walk on land.

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