ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

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• Space station investigation to test fresh food experience
• Viral alliances overcoming plant defenses
• Ice sheet retreat controlled by the landscape
• Fruit fly's 'sweet tooth' short-lived, research finds
• Tree of life branches out online
• Long-term observations in the tropics linked to global climate change
• Scientists identify likely origins of vertebrate air breathing
• Scale of volcanic eruptions appears to hinge on first 10 seconds of bubble growth in magma
• Boreal forest bends to development, but there is a breaking point
• Green leaf volatiles increase plant fitness via biocontrol
• Starvation hormone markedly extends mouse life span, without need for calorie restriction
• Genomic hitchhikers in birds shed light on evolution of viruses
• Great apes, small numbers: Genetic study reveals recent decline in endangered orangutan population, but offers hope for the future
• Genetic protection against arsenic
• Ice age polarity reversal was global event: Extremely brief reversal of geomagnetic field, climate variability, and super volcano
• Giant harvestman yet to be named: Arachnologist discovers another giant of the animal world in Laos

Space station investigation to test fresh food experience Posted: 16 Oct 2012 04:02 PM PDT With all the prepackaged gardening kits on the market, an exceptionally green thumb isn't necessary to grow your own tasty fresh vegetables here on Earth. The same may hold true for U.S. astronauts living and working aboard the International Space Station when they receive a newly developed Vegetable Production System, called VEGGIE for short, set to launch aboard SpaceX's Dragon capsule on NASA's third Commercial Resupply Services mission next year.

Viral alliances overcoming plant defenses Posted: 16 Oct 2012 02:31 PM PDT Researchers have found that viruses will join forces to overcome a plant's defenses and cause more severe infections.

Ice sheet retreat controlled by the landscape Posted: 16 Oct 2012 02:31 PM PDT Ice-sheet retreat can halt temporarily during long phases of climate warming, according to scientists.

Fruit fly's 'sweet tooth' short-lived, research finds Posted: 16 Oct 2012 02:31 PM PDT While flies initially prefer food with a sweet flavor, they quickly learn to opt for less sweet food sources that offer more calories and nutritional value, according to new research by zoologists. The findings are the first to measure the shift in food preference over time, and the first to find that flies opt for nutritious food more quickly when they're hungry.

Tree of life branches out online Posted: 16 Oct 2012 02:31 PM PDT Exploring the evolutionary tree of life is now as easy as navigating an online map, thanks to a new interactive website called OneZoom.

Long-term observations in the tropics linked to global climate change Posted: 16 Oct 2012 02:30 PM PDT Reports of declining ice coverage and drowning polar bears in the Arctic illustrate dramatic ecosystem responses to global climate change in Earth's polar regions. But in a first-ever account of a long-term project in the southern Caribbean, researchers report that tropical ecosystems are also affected by global climatic trends -- and with accompanying economic impacts.

Scientists identify likely origins of vertebrate air breathing Posted: 16 Oct 2012 11:17 AM PDT Scientists have identified what they think is the ancestral trait that allowed for the evolution of air breathing in vertebrates.

Scale of volcanic eruptions appears to hinge on first 10 seconds of bubble growth in magma Posted: 16 Oct 2012 09:56 AM PDT New research suggests the difference between a small or large volcanic eruption depends on the first 10 seconds of bubble growth in molten rocks. The findings point to a need to develop volcanic monitoring systems that can measure rapid changes in gas flux and composition during those brief, crucial moments.

Boreal forest bends to development, but there is a breaking point Posted: 16 Oct 2012 09:56 AM PDT Northern Alberta's boreal forest shows a surprising resiliency to human intrusion, but University of Alberta researchers warn the landscape has a definite breaking point.

Green leaf volatiles increase plant fitness via biocontrol Posted: 16 Oct 2012 07:39 AM PDT To secure food resources, sustainability of agriculture must be increased. Such efforts also depend on insights from plant ecology. Based on field studies on tobacco plants, researchers demonstrated that the release of volatiles which attract enemies of herbivores not only controls insect pests, but also increases the reproduction of infested plants. Transferred to the goals of biocontrol, this means that natural plant defenses can improve agricultural yields in an environmentally friendly manner.

Starvation hormone markedly extends mouse life span, without need for calorie restriction Posted: 16 Oct 2012 07:34 AM PDT A starvation hormone markedly extends life span in mice without the need for calorie restriction.

Genomic hitchhikers in birds shed light on evolution of viruses Posted: 16 Oct 2012 05:51 AM PDT The genomes of birds are riddled with DNA sequences from viruses, according to a new study. Analysis of these viral sequences, known as endogenous retroviruses, can provide insights into how both hosts and viruses have evolved over the eons.

Great apes, small numbers: Genetic study reveals recent decline in endangered orangutan population, but offers hope for the future Posted: 16 Oct 2012 05:51 AM PDT Sumatran orangutans have undergone a substantial recent population decline, according to a new genetic study, but the same research revealed the existence of critical corridors for dispersal migrations that, if protected, can help maintain genetic diversity and aid in the species' conservation.

Genetic protection against arsenic Posted: 16 Oct 2012 05:50 AM PDT Evolution has not only controlled human development over millions of years, it also has an impact on modern humans. This is one of the conclusions of a study of Argentinian villagers in the Andes, where the water contains high levels of arsenic. A gene variant that produces efficient and less toxic metabolism of arsenic in the body was much more common among the villagers than among other indigenous groups in South or Central America.

Ice age polarity reversal was global event: Extremely brief reversal of geomagnetic field, climate variability, and super volcano Posted: 16 Oct 2012 05:49 AM PDT Some 41,000 years ago, a complete and rapid reversal of the geomagnetic field occured. Magnetic studies on sediment cores from the Black Sea show that during this period, during the last ice age, a compass at the Black Sea would have pointed to the south instead of north. Moreover, data obtained by the research team, together with additional data from other studies in the North Atlantic, the South Pacific and Hawaii, prove that this polarity reversal was a global event.

Giant harvestman yet to be named: Arachnologist discovers another giant of the animal world in Laos Posted: 16 Oct 2012 05:49 AM PDT A scientist has discovered a harvestman with a leg span of more than 33 centimetres. The creature found during a research trip to Laos is one of the largest representatives of the entire order worldwide. Experts have so far failed to properly identify it to species level.

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