ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

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• Climate scientists put predictions to the test
• Arctic sea ice hits smallest extent in satellite era
• Ancient tooth may provide evidence of early human dentistry
• Climate change to fuel northern spread of avian malaria: Malaria already found in birds in Alaska
• Genetic mutation may have allowed early humans to migrate throughout Africa
• The 'slippery slope to slime': Overgrown algae causing coral reef declines
• How organisms evolve new functions: Evolution is as complicated as 1-2-3
• Odorant shape and vibration likely lead to olfaction satisfaction
• Oyster genome uncover the stress adaptation and complexity of shell formation
• New way proposed to save Africa's beleaguered soils
• Thermoelectric material is the best at converting heat waste to electricity
• CT scan and 3-D print help scientists reconstruct an ancient mollusk
• Carbon dioxide from water pollution, as well as air pollution, may adversely impact oceans
• Major changes needed to protect Australia's species and ecosystems
• Did a 'forgotten' meteor have a deadly, icy double-punch?
• Warming ocean could start big shift of Antarctic ice
• Nanomaterials appearing in water run-off from surface treatments
• Self-forming biological scaffolding: A model system that can interpret the role of cross-linking proteins
• Modern DNA techniques applied to nineteenth-century potatoes
• Evolutionary history of lizards and snakes reconstructed using massive molecular dataset

Climate scientists put predictions to the test Posted: 19 Sep 2012 04:12 PM PDT A study has found that climate-prediction models are good at forecasting long-term climate patterns on a global scale but lose their edge when applied to time frames shorter than three decades and on smaller geographic scales. The goal of the research was to bridge the communities of climate scientists and weather forecasters, who sometimes disagree with respect to climate change.

Arctic sea ice hits smallest extent in satellite era Posted: 19 Sep 2012 04:12 PM PDT The frozen cap of the Arctic Ocean appears to have reached its annual summertime minimum extent and broken a new record low on Sept. 16, the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) has reported. Analysis of satellite data showed that the sea ice extent shrunk to 1.32 million square miles (3.41 million square kilometers).

Ancient tooth may provide evidence of early human dentistry Posted: 19 Sep 2012 04:09 PM PDT Researchers may have uncovered new evidence of ancient dentistry in the form of a 6,500-year-old human jaw bone with a tooth showing traces of beeswax filling.

Climate change to fuel northern spread of avian malaria: Malaria already found in birds in Alaska Posted: 19 Sep 2012 04:06 PM PDT Malaria has been found in birds in parts of Alaska, and global climate change will drive it even farther north, according to a new study. The spread could prove devastating to arctic bird species that have no resistance to the disease, and may also help scientists understand the effects of climate change on the spread of human malaria.

Genetic mutation may have allowed early humans to migrate throughout Africa Posted: 19 Sep 2012 04:01 PM PDT A genetic mutation that occurred thousands of years ago might be the answer to how early humans were able to move from central Africa and across the continent in what has been called "the great expansion," according to new research.

The 'slippery slope to slime': Overgrown algae causing coral reef declines Posted: 19 Sep 2012 10:54 AM PDT Researchers for the first time have confirmed some of the mechanisms by which overfishing and nitrate pollution can help destroy coral reefs -- it appears they allow an overgrowth of algae that can bring with it unwanted pathogens, choke off oxygen and disrupt helpful bacteria.

How organisms evolve new functions: Evolution is as complicated as 1-2-3 Posted: 19 Sep 2012 10:54 AM PDT Biologists have documented the step-by-step process in which organisms evolve new functions. The results are revealed through an in-depth, genomics-based analysis that decodes how E. coli bacteria figured out how to supplement a traditional diet of glucose with an extra course of citrate.

Odorant shape and vibration likely lead to olfaction satisfaction Posted: 19 Sep 2012 10:53 AM PDT A new study lends support to a controversial theory of olfaction: Our noses can distinguish both the shape and the vibrational characteristics of odorant molecules. The study demonstrates the feasibility of the theory – first proposed decades ago – that the vibration of an odorant molecule's chemical bonds – the wagging, stretching and rocking of the links between atoms – contributes to our ability to distinguish one smelly thing from another.

Oyster genome uncover the stress adaptation and complexity of shell formation Posted: 19 Sep 2012 10:53 AM PDT An international research team has completed the sequencing, assembly and analysis of Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) genome -- the first mollusk genome to be sequenced -- that will help to fill a void in our understanding of the species-rich but poorly explored mollusc family. The study reveals the unique adaptations of oysters to highly stressful environment and the complexity mechanism of shell formation.

New way proposed to save Africa's beleaguered soils Posted: 19 Sep 2012 10:53 AM PDT Researchers have made a case for a new type of agriculture that could restore the beleaguered soils of Africa and help the continent feed itself in the coming decades. Their system, which they call "perenniation," mixes food crops with trees and perennial plants, which live for two years or more.

Thermoelectric material is the best at converting heat waste to electricity Posted: 19 Sep 2012 10:53 AM PDT Scientists have developed a thermoelectric material that is the best in the world at converting waste heat to electricity. This is very good news once you realize nearly two-thirds of energy input is lost as waste heat. The material could signify a paradigm shift. With a very environmentally stable material that is expected to convert 15 to 20 percent of waste heat to useful electricity, thermoelectrics now could see more widespread adoption by industry.

CT scan and 3-D print help scientists reconstruct an ancient mollusk Posted: 19 Sep 2012 09:57 AM PDT Using a combination of traditional and innovative model-building techniques, scientists have created a lifelike reconstruction of an ancient mollusk, a multiplacophoran, offering a vivid portrait of a creature that lived about 390 million years ago, and answering questions about its place in the tree of life.

Carbon dioxide from water pollution, as well as air pollution, may adversely impact oceans Posted: 19 Sep 2012 09:56 AM PDT Carbon dioxide (CO2) released into the oceans as a result of water pollution by nutrients -- a major source of this greenhouse gas that gets little public attention -- is enhancing the unwanted changes in ocean acidity due to atmospheric increases in CO2. The changes may already be impacting commercial fish and shellfish populations, according to new data and model predictions.

Major changes needed to protect Australia's species and ecosystems Posted: 19 Sep 2012 07:36 AM PDT Climate change is likely to have a major impact on Australia's plants, animals and ecosystems that will present significant challenges to the conservation of Australia's biodiversity, experts say.

Did a 'forgotten' meteor have a deadly, icy double-punch? Posted: 19 Sep 2012 07:36 AM PDT When a huge meteor collided with Earth about 2.5 million years ago and fell into the southern Pacific Ocean it not only could have generated a massive tsunami but also may have plunged the world into the Ice Ages, a new study suggests.

Warming ocean could start big shift of Antarctic ice Posted: 19 Sep 2012 07:36 AM PDT Fast-flowing and narrow glaciers have the potential to trigger massive changes in the Antarctic ice sheet and contribute to rapid ice-sheet decay and sea-level rise, a new study has found.

Nanomaterials appearing in water run-off from surface treatments Posted: 19 Sep 2012 07:33 AM PDT Researchers reveal the emission of nanomaterials caused by water runoff on surfaces containing nanomaterials. These surface treatments are employed in numerous consumption and construction products, so evidences of the presence of engineered nanomaterials are beginning to appear in the environment. Concerns about their toxicity for human or the environment rose in the last years, so further studies are required. The results indicate that all the surface treatments analyzed in this work suffered from a loss of nanomaterials and properties in the surface treatments.

Self-forming biological scaffolding: A model system that can interpret the role of cross-linking proteins Posted: 19 Sep 2012 07:33 AM PDT A new model system of the cellular skeletons of living cells is akin to a mini-laboratory designed to explore how the cells' functional structures assemble. A new article presents one hypothesis concerning self-organization. It hinges on the findings that a homogeneous protein network, once subjected to stresses generated by molecular motors, compacts into highly condensed fibers.

Modern DNA techniques applied to nineteenth-century potatoes Posted: 19 Sep 2012 05:34 AM PDT Researchers have used modern DNA techniques on late nineteenth-century potatoes to show how the potato blight may have survived between cropping seasons after the Irish potato famine of the 1840s.

Evolutionary history of lizards and snakes reconstructed using massive molecular dataset Posted: 19 Sep 2012 05:18 AM PDT A new study has utilized a massive molecular dataset to reconstruct the evolutionary history of lizards and snakes. The results reveal a surprising finding about the evolution of snakes: that most snakes we see living on the surface today arose from ancestors that lived underground.

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