ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

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• Red hair is a sign of oxidative stress in wild boars, but gray is A-OK
• An earthquake in a maze: Highest-resolution observations yet of the complex 2012 Sumatra earthquake
• Scientists read monkeys' inner thoughts: Brain activity decoded while monkeys avoid obstacle to touch target
• Scientists connect seawater chemistry with ancient climate change and evolution
• Virus discovered in Cultus Lake sport fish
• In utero exposure to diesel exhaust a possible risk factor for obesity
• Viruses' copying mechanism demystified, opening the door to new vaccine strategies
• New technique reveals cross-talk between two essential cellular processes
• Locating muscle proteins
• Like a transformer? Protein unfolds and refolds for new function
• Cell division: Puzzling findings relating to centromere structure reconciled
• Global CO₂ emissions continued to increase in 2011, with per capita emissions in China reaching European levels
• Leopard in dramatic photo traced to 2004 camera trap
• 'Caffeinated' coastal waters: Possible sources include sewer overflows, septic tanks
• Could volcanic eruptions in the south-west Pacific save the Great Barrier Reef?
• High dolphin deaths in Gulf of Mexico due to oil spill and other environmental factors, study finds
• Success of pink bacteria in oceans of the world
• Scientists have developed a way to detect superparasites
• Generation X is surprisingly unconcerned about climate change

Red hair is a sign of oxidative stress in wild boars, but gray is A-OK Posted: 19 Jul 2012 12:33 PM PDT A coat of a certain color could be costly for wild boars, according to new research. The research found that boars with more reddish hair tend to have higher levels of oxidative stress -- damage that occurs as toxins from cell respiration build up. The reason for this, the researchers suggest, is that the process of producing reddish pigment eats up a valuable antioxidant that would otherwise be fighting the free radicals that lead to oxidative stress.

An earthquake in a maze: Highest-resolution observations yet of the complex 2012 Sumatra earthquake Posted: 19 Jul 2012 11:18 AM PDT The powerful magnitude-8.6 earthquake that shook Sumatra on April 11, 2012, was the largest strike-slip quake ever recorded. Now, as researchers report on their findings from the first high-resolution observations of the underwater temblor, they point out that the earthquake was also unusually complex -- rupturing along multiple faults that lie at nearly right angles to one another, as though racing through a maze.

Scientists read monkeys' inner thoughts: Brain activity decoded while monkeys avoid obstacle to touch target Posted: 19 Jul 2012 11:18 AM PDT Scientists who were decoding the activity of populations of neurons in the motor cortex discovered that they could tell how a monkey was planning to approach a reaching task. By chance the two monkeys chosen for the study had completely different cognitive styles. One was a hyperactive type, who kept jumping the gun, and the other was a smooth operator, who waited for the entire setup to be revealed before planning his next move.

Scientists connect seawater chemistry with ancient climate change and evolution Posted: 19 Jul 2012 11:18 AM PDT Humans get most of the blame for climate change with little attention paid to the contribution of other natural forces. Now, scientists are shedding light on one potential cause of the cooling trend of the past 45 million years that has everything to do with the chemistry of the world's oceans.

Virus discovered in Cultus Lake sport fish Posted: 19 Jul 2012 10:29 AM PDT A fish-population statistician has uncovered evidence of a potentially deadly virus in a freshwater sport fish in B.C.

In utero exposure to diesel exhaust a possible risk factor for obesity Posted: 19 Jul 2012 10:29 AM PDT Pregnant mice exposed to high levels of air pollution gave birth to offspring with a significantly higher rate of obesity and insulin resistance in adulthood than those that were not exposed to air pollution. This effect seemed especially prevalent in male mice, which were heavier regardless of diet. These findings suggests a link between diesel exhaust exposure in utero and bulging waistlines in adulthood.

Viruses' copying mechanism demystified, opening the door to new vaccine strategies Posted: 19 Jul 2012 10:28 AM PDT Certain kinds of viruses such as those that cause the common cold and hepatitis, copy themselves using a unique mechanism, according to scientists. The discovery sheds light on a never-before-understood region of an enzyme associated with the process of replicating genetic material. The research is an important step toward designing vaccines against viruses that have eluded vaccination strategies in the past, and improving existing vaccines.

New technique reveals cross-talk between two essential cellular processes Posted: 19 Jul 2012 10:28 AM PDT Scientists have simultaneously mapped two of the most important types of protein-modification in cells, revealing their extensive cooperation during an essential cellular process.

Locating muscle proteins Posted: 19 Jul 2012 10:27 AM PDT Scientists are bringing the basis of muscle movement into sharper focus. Muscle contraction and many other movement processes are controlled by the interplay between myosin and actin filaments. Two further proteins, tropomyosin and troponin, regulate how myosin binds to actin. While theoretical models have in fact described exactly how these muscle proteins interact, this interaction has never previously been observed in detail.

Like a transformer? Protein unfolds and refolds for new function Posted: 19 Jul 2012 10:25 AM PDT New research has shown that a protein does something that scientists once thought impossible: It unfolds itself and refolds into a completely new shape. When it refolds, it acquires a new function – another finding researchers would not have predicted.

Cell division: Puzzling findings relating to centromere structure reconciled Posted: 19 Jul 2012 10:25 AM PDT Scientists have developed an innovative method to count the number of fluorescent molecules in a cluster and then applied the novel approach to settle a debate rampant among cell biologists —- namely, how DNA twists into a unique chromosomal structure called the centromere. Knowing this helps explain how cells navigate the hazards of division and avoid the disastrous consequences of ending up with the wrong number of chromosomes.

Global CO<sub>2</sub> emissions continued to increase in 2011, with per capita emissions in China reaching European levels Posted: 19 Jul 2012 08:51 AM PDT Global emissions of carbon dioxide increased by 3% last year, reaching an all-time high of 34 billion tonnes in 2011. In China, the world's most populous country, average emissions of CO2 increased by 9% to 7.2 tonnes per capita. China is now within the range of 6 to 19 tonnes per capita emissions of the major industrialized countries. In the European Union, CO2 emissions dropped by 3% to 7.5 tonnes per capita. The United States remains one of the largest emitters of CO2, with 17.3 tones per capita, despite a decline due to the recession in 2008-2009, high oil prices and an increased share of natural gas.

Leopard in dramatic photo traced to 2004 camera trap Posted: 19 Jul 2012 08:09 AM PDT A dramatic photo of a male leopard dragging a massive gaur (or Indian bison) calf in Karnataka's Bandipur Tiger Reserve turned out to be the same animal photographed by a WCS camera trap nearly eight years ago.

'Caffeinated' coastal waters: Possible sources include sewer overflows, septic tanks Posted: 19 Jul 2012 07:53 AM PDT A new study finds elevated levels of caffeine at several sites in Pacific Ocean waters off the coast of Oregon -- though not necessarily where researchers expected. This study is the first to look at caffeine pollution off the Oregon coast.

Could volcanic eruptions in the south-west Pacific save the Great Barrier Reef? Posted: 19 Jul 2012 07:52 AM PDT Could the pumice that surges into the ocean once a volcano erupts in Tonga or elsewhere in the south-west Pacific save the Great Barrier Reef? New research conducted by Queensland University of Technology geologist Dr Scott Bryan indicates that yes, this is not only possible, but could be how the Great Barrier Reef formed in the first place.

High dolphin deaths in Gulf of Mexico due to oil spill and other environmental factors, study finds Posted: 19 Jul 2012 07:52 AM PDT The largest oil spill on open water to date and other environmental factors led to the historically high number of dolphin deaths in the Gulf of Mexico, concludes a two-year scientific study.

Success of pink bacteria in oceans of the world Posted: 19 Jul 2012 07:50 AM PDT Researchers have now discovered that, through plasmids, representatives of the Roseobacter group may exchange such important genetic characteristics as the capability to perform photosynthesis. This type of horizontal gene transfer across the species boundary might make it possible for bacteria of the Roseobacter clade to quickly and effectively conquer new ecological niches.

Scientists have developed a way to detect superparasites Posted: 19 Jul 2012 07:35 AM PDT Scientists have made a breakthrough in bridging high tech molecular biology research on microbial pathogens and the needs of the poorest of the poor. After sequencing the complete genome of Leishmania donovani (a parasite causing one of the most important tropical diseases after malaria) in hundreds of clinical isolates, they identified a series of mutations specific of 'superparasites' and developed a simple assay that should allow tracking them anywhere.

Generation X is surprisingly unconcerned about climate change Posted: 19 Jul 2012 05:26 AM PDT Generation X is lukewarm about climate change -- uninformed about the causes and unconcerned about the dangers, according to a new report.

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