ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

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• Planting the seeds of defense: Stress triggers widespread epigenetic changes that aid in disease resistance
• Can nature parks save biodiversity?
• Shedding new light on how jaws evolve
• Control of devastating cassava virus in Africa demonstrated
• Diseased trees new source of climate gas
• New pathway for invasive species -- science teachers
• Chemists advance clear conductive thin films
• California's hydropower stations to generate less electricity in summer as climate warms
• Division of labor offers insight into the evolution of multicellular life
• The economic cost of increased temperatures: Warming episodes hurt poor countries and limit long-term growth
• Preserving an icon: Impact of historical domestic cattle hybridization with American bison revealed
• Study finds with vacant lots greened, residents feel safer
• Birds do better in 'agroforests' than on farms
• Paddlefish's doubled genome may question theories on limb evolution
• Holy bat detector! Ecologists develop first Europe-wide bat ID tool
• Eco-computer with a natural wood look
• Using wastewater as fertilizer
• 2012 the hottest year on record for Northeast, US
• Broadening researcher access to protein simulation
• 'Green biased' yellow fever swept through Irish Immigrants in 19th century US
• Cattle vaccine works to reduce E. coli O157:H7
• Understanding the biological and ecological implications of safe nanotechnology
• Genetic cause of a severe skeletal disease in Brazilian Terrier puppies revealed
• Out of Europe: Researchers look at the spread of dysentery from Europe to industrializing countries

Planting the seeds of defense: Stress triggers widespread epigenetic changes that aid in disease resistance Posted: 07 Aug 2012 04:40 PM PDT It was long thought that methylation, a crucial part of normal organism development, was a static modification of DNA that could not be altered by environmental conditions. New findings, however, suggest that the DNA of organisms exposed to stress undergo changes in DNA methylation patterns that alter how genes are regulated.

Can nature parks save biodiversity? Posted: 07 Aug 2012 01:10 PM PDT As human activities put increasing pressures on natural systems and wildlife to survive, 200 scientists around the world carved up pieces of the puzzle to present a clearer picture of reality and find ways to mitigate the destructive forces at work.

Shedding new light on how jaws evolve Posted: 07 Aug 2012 12:13 PM PDT If you're looking for information on the evolution and function of jaws, a new integrative research program has some answers. Scientists are investigating major adaptive and morphological transformations in the mammalian musculoskeletal system during development and across higher-level groups.

Control of devastating cassava virus in Africa demonstrated Posted: 07 Aug 2012 12:13 PM PDT Scientists recently demonstrated progress in protecting cassava against cassava brown streak disease (CBSD), a serious virus disease, in a confined field trial in Uganda using an RNA interference technology.

Diseased trees new source of climate gas Posted: 07 Aug 2012 12:13 PM PDT Diseased trees in forests may be a significant new source of methane that causes climate change, according to researchers.

New pathway for invasive species -- science teachers Posted: 07 Aug 2012 12:13 PM PDT A survey of teachers from the United States and Canada found that one out of four educators who used live animals as part of their science curriculum released the organisms into the wild after they were done using them in the classroom.

Chemists advance clear conductive thin films Posted: 07 Aug 2012 10:23 AM PDT Thin, conductive films are useful in displays and solar cells. A new solution-based chemistry for making indium tin oxide films could allow engineers to employ a much simpler and cheaper manufacturing process.

California's hydropower stations to generate less electricity in summer as climate warms Posted: 07 Aug 2012 10:23 AM PDT California's hydropower is vulnerable to climate change, a scientist has advised policymakers. According to the scientist, if California loses snowpack under climate warming, high-elevation hydropower-plant reservoirs may not be able to store enough water for hydropower generation in summer months when the demand is much higher and hydropower is priced higher.

Division of labor offers insight into the evolution of multicellular life Posted: 07 Aug 2012 10:22 AM PDT Dividing tasks among different individuals is a more efficient way to get things done, whether you are an ant, a honeybee or a human. A new study suggests that this efficiency may also explain a key transition in evolutionary history, from single-celled to multi-celled organisms.

The economic cost of increased temperatures: Warming episodes hurt poor countries and limit long-term growth Posted: 07 Aug 2012 08:33 AM PDT Even temporary rises in local temperatures significantly damage long-term economic growth in the world's developing nations, according to a new study.

Preserving an icon: Impact of historical domestic cattle hybridization with American bison revealed Posted: 07 Aug 2012 07:48 AM PDT Plains bison are an iconic symbol of America on everything from coins to state flags. Now scientists are exploring how the cross-breeding of bison with domestic cattle in the late 1800s may still have unwanted effects on modern populations of the species.

Study finds with vacant lots greened, residents feel safer Posted: 07 Aug 2012 07:47 AM PDT Greening vacant lots may make neighborhood residents feel safer and may be associated with reductions in certain gun crimes, according to a new study. Results show that residents living near greened vacant lots feel safer than those near non-greened sites.

Birds do better in 'agroforests' than on farms Posted: 07 Aug 2012 07:13 AM PDT Compared with open farmland, wooded "shade" plantations that produce coffee and chocolate promote greater bird diversity, although a new study says forests remain the best habitat for tropical birds. The findings suggest that as open farmland replaces forests and "agroforests" -- where crops are grown under trees – reduced number of bird species and shifts in the populations of various types of birds may hurt "ecosystem services" that birds provide to people, such as eating insect pests, spreading seeds and pollinating crops.

Paddlefish's doubled genome may question theories on limb evolution Posted: 07 Aug 2012 07:13 AM PDT The American paddlefish -- known for its bizarre, protruding snout and eggs harvested for caviar -- duplicated its entire genome about 42 million years ago, according to a new study. This finding may add a new twist to the way scientists study how fins evolved into limbs since the paddlefish is often used as a proxy for a more representative ancestor shared by humans and fishes.

Holy bat detector! Ecologists develop first Europe-wide bat ID tool Posted: 07 Aug 2012 07:12 AM PDT Just as differences in song can be used to distinguish one bird species from another, the pips and squeaks bats use to find prey can be used to identify different species of bat. Now, for the first time, ecologists have developed a Europe-wide tool capable of identifying bats from their echolocation calls.

Eco-computer with a natural wood look Posted: 07 Aug 2012 07:12 AM PDT Surfing for hours on the Internet consumes a lot of electricity and is harmful to the environment. However, a new ecological PC saves energy as it operates: It produces about 70 percent less CO2 than conventional computers.

Using wastewater as fertilizer Posted: 07 Aug 2012 07:12 AM PDT Sewage sludge, wastewater and liquid manure are valuable sources of fertilizer for food production. Researchers have now developed a chemical-free, eco-friendly process that enables the recovered salts to be converted directly into organic food for crop plants.

2012 the hottest year on record for Northeast, US Posted: 07 Aug 2012 06:57 AM PDT The Northeast's seven-month average (January through July) of 49.9 degrees was the warmest such period since 1895, the year such record keeping began.

Broadening researcher access to protein simulation Posted: 06 Aug 2012 10:51 AM PDT Using just an upgraded desktop computer equipped with a relatively inexpensive graphics processing card, a team of computer scientists and biochemists has developed advanced GPU accelerated software and demonstrated for the first time that this approach can sample biological events that occur on the millisecond timescale.

'Green biased' yellow fever swept through Irish Immigrants in 19th century US Posted: 06 Aug 2012 10:12 AM PDT New research has found why yellow fever had a green bias in 19th century fever outbreaks in the southern states of the US. Almost half of the 650 people killed by yellow fever in Savannah Georgia in 1854 were Irish immigrants.

Cattle vaccine works to reduce E. coli O157:H7 Posted: 06 Aug 2012 09:59 AM PDT A commercial vaccine for cattle can effectively reduce levels of E. coli O157:H7 by more than 50 percent, a new study has found. The vaccine is also effective using two doses instead of the recommended three doses, which can help cut costs for the beef industry.

Understanding the biological and ecological implications of safe nanotechnology Posted: 06 Aug 2012 07:22 AM PDT New research shows how the soft nanomaterial dendrimer can be used to remediate the environment from potentially toxic nanomaterials.

Genetic cause of a severe skeletal disease in Brazilian Terrier puppies revealed Posted: 06 Aug 2012 05:51 AM PDT Scientists have discovered the cause of a life-threatening skeletal disorder affecting Brazilian Terriers. The disease is caused by a mutation in the GUSB gene. Malfunction of the GUSB gene has previously been linked to a severe skeletal disorder in humans, called type VII mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS VII).

Out of Europe: Researchers look at the spread of dysentery from Europe to industrializing countries Posted: 05 Aug 2012 11:48 AM PDT Researchers have found that a bacterium that emerged centuries ago in Europe has now been spreading globally into countries undergoing rapid development and industrialization. Unlike other diarrheal diseases, this one is unlikely to be resolved by providing access to clean water. As developing countries become more industrialized the numbers of infections with dysentery-causing Shigella flexneri are known to decline, associated with improved health, lifestyle and perhaps most importantly access to clean water, but the incidence of another form of the dysentery-causing bacterium, Shigella sonnei, actually increases.

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