ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

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• New plant and fungus species discovered
• Latin American and Asian cities lead way in planning for global warming
• Keeping up with embryogenesis: New microscope tracks cells as they move and divide
• Air pollution linked to chronic heart disease
• How estrogens persist in dairy wastewater
• Divided public: Climate survey shows skepticism and alarm rising over the past decade
• Bigger refuges needed to delay pest resistance to biotech corn
• Protein knots gain new evolutionary significance
• Exceptional rise in ancient sea levels revealed
• Retreating glaciers are a threat to biodiversity
• Rattlesnakes strike again, bites more toxic
• Understanding Atlantic and Pacific jet stream fluctuations
• Energy-dense biofuel from cellulose close to being economical

New plant and fungus species discovered Posted: 05 Jun 2012 02:20 PM PDT In a single year, scientists at The New York Botanical Garden have discovered and described 81 new species of plants and fungi from around the world. Combining work in the field, laboratory research, and painstaking study in plant collections, scientists in 2011 correctly identified the palm species that Vietnamese villagers weave into hats, discovered more than a dozen new lichen species in America's most visited national park, and identified new species in a wide variety of plant families.

Latin American and Asian cities lead way in planning for global warming Posted: 05 Jun 2012 10:07 AM PDT The cities that are most active in preparing for climate change are not necessarily the biggest or wealthiest. Instead, they are often places buffeted by natural disasters and increasing changes in temperature or rainfall.

Keeping up with embryogenesis: New microscope tracks cells as they move and divide Posted: 05 Jun 2012 09:17 AM PDT The transformation of a fertilized egg into a functioning animal requires thousands of cell divisions and intricate rearrangements of those cells. That process is captured with unprecedented speed and precision by a new imaging technology that lets users track each cell in an embryo as it takes shape over hours or days.

Air pollution linked to chronic heart disease Posted: 05 Jun 2012 09:17 AM PDT Cardiac patients living in high pollution areas were found to be over 40 percent more likely to have a second heart attack when compared to patients living in low pollution areas, according to a new study.

How estrogens persist in dairy wastewater Posted: 05 Jun 2012 08:37 AM PDT Wastewater from large dairy farms contains significant concentrations of estrogenic hormones that can persist for months or even years, researchers report in a new study. In the absence of oxygen, the estrogens rapidly convert from one form to another; This stalls their biodegradation and complicates efforts to detect them, the researchers found.

Divided public: Climate survey shows skepticism and alarm rising over the past decade Posted: 05 Jun 2012 08:36 AM PDT Two analyses highlight the growing polarization of public attitudes toward climate change, as well as the role "psychological distance" plays in levels of concern.

Bigger refuges needed to delay pest resistance to biotech corn Posted: 05 Jun 2012 07:28 AM PDT To slow resistance of western corn rootworm beetles to genetically protected crops, much larger "refuge" acreages of conventional crops have to be planted, two experts – including one from the University of Arizona – warn in a paper published in the Journal of Economic Ecology.

Protein knots gain new evolutionary significance Posted: 05 Jun 2012 07:28 AM PDT A new study suggests that protein knots, a structure whose formation remains a mystery, may have specific functional advantages that depend on the nature of the protein's architecture.

Exceptional rise in ancient sea levels revealed Posted: 05 Jun 2012 07:28 AM PDT Since the end of the last ice age 21,000 years ago, our planet has seen ocean levels rise by 120 meters to reach their current levels. This increase has not been constant, rather punctuated by rapid accelerations, linked to massive outburst floods from the ice caps. The largest increase, known by paleoclimatologists as 'Melt-Water Pulse 1A', proved to be enigmatic in many respects. A study recently revealed the mysteries of this event, without doubt one of the most important in the last deglaciation.

Retreating glaciers are a threat to biodiversity Posted: 05 Jun 2012 07:27 AM PDT The projected disappearance of small glaciers worldwide threatens to eliminate the water supply for numerous towns in valleys, such as the Ecuadorian capital Quito, fed by the rivers that flow down from the surrounding mountains. But retreating ice is also a threat to freshwater fauna. According to a new study the local and regional diversity of mountain aquatic fauna will be reduced considerably if predictions are realized.

Rattlesnakes strike again, bites more toxic Posted: 05 Jun 2012 07:26 AM PDT Each year, approximately 8,000 Americans are bitten by venomous snakes. On average, 800 or so bites occur annually in California, home to an abundance of snake species, but only one family is native and venomous: rattlesnakes. In San Diego County, the number of rattlesnake bites is increasing as well as the toxicity of the attack.

Understanding Atlantic and Pacific jet stream fluctuations Posted: 05 Jun 2012 04:52 AM PDT A recent study demonstrates the link between observed fluctuations of atmospheric jet streams and the theoretical concepts that describe why jet streams exist. Atmospheric jet streams are fast-flowing currents of air found approximately 10 km above sea level in the extratropical regions of both hemispheres. Because these jets influence regional weather patterns, there is great interest in understanding the factors that control their path, their strength and variations in both.

Energy-dense biofuel from cellulose close to being economical Posted: 04 Jun 2012 03:19 PM PDT A new process for creating biofuels has shown potential to be cost-effective for production scale, opening the door for moving beyond the laboratory setting.

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