ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

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• Green chemistry: Waste from palm oil extraction can be converted into useful sugar
• Nutrients from farmed salmon waste can feed new marine industry
• Drained wetlands give off same amount of greenhouse gases as industry
• Pilot whales use synchronized swimming when they sense danger
• Climate change evident across Europe, confirming urgent need for adaptation
• Norway's oil industry working in extreme conditions
• New insights into virus proteome: Unknown proteins of the herpesvirus discovered
• Electricity from the marshes
• Le Rouge et le Noir: Where the black dahlia gets its color
• Uncovering complexity in simple worm: Sensory input to motor output in one worm neuron
• Simple way to precipitate phosphorus from the wastewater of a pulp mill
• Researchers detail the migrations of the wood wasp Sirex noctilio
• Maple syrup, moose, and the impacts of climate change in the north
• More attention to the soil can boost food production
• New coronavirus related to viruses from bats
• Midges in a heat-based test of endurance: Evolutionary history determines adaptability to high temperatures
• Europe must not lose momentum in marine biodiversity research, experts urge

Green chemistry: Waste from palm oil extraction can be converted into useful sugar Posted: 23 Nov 2012 10:26 AM PST The waste plant materials remaining from palm oil extraction processes can now be converted into a useful sugar.

Nutrients from farmed salmon waste can feed new marine industry Posted: 23 Nov 2012 06:27 AM PST Waste from salmon production is currently being discharged into Norwegian coastal waters. Researchers say this is a resource that should be exploited for new biological production.

Drained wetlands give off same amount of greenhouse gases as industry Posted: 23 Nov 2012 06:27 AM PST Drained wetlands in Sweden account for the same amount of greenhouse gas emissions as Swedish industry.

Pilot whales use synchronized swimming when they sense danger Posted: 23 Nov 2012 06:27 AM PST Scientists have observed the behavior of various groups of cetaceans including long-finned pilot whales in the Strait of Gibraltar and Cape Breton in Canada. These whales were found to use synchronized swimming when they identify the presence of an external threat.

Climate change evident across Europe, confirming urgent need for adaptation Posted: 23 Nov 2012 06:21 AM PST Climate change is affecting all regions in Europe, causing a wide range of impacts on society and the environment. Further impacts are expected in the future, potentially causing high damage costs, according to the latest assessment.

Norway's oil industry working in extreme conditions Posted: 23 Nov 2012 06:21 AM PST The northward shift of Norway's oil industry means it must adjust to temperatures down to -30°C, storms, sleet and snow, and drift ice. And to the blackest night.

New insights into virus proteome: Unknown proteins of the herpesvirus discovered Posted: 23 Nov 2012 06:21 AM PST The genome encodes the complete information needed by an organism, including that required for protein production. Viruses, which are up to a thousand times smaller than human cells, have considerably smaller genomes. Using a type of herpesvirus as a model system scientists have shown that the genome of this virus contains much more information than previously assumed. The researchers identified several hundred novel proteins, many of which were surprisingly small.

Electricity from the marshes Posted: 23 Nov 2012 06:21 AM PST An unexpected source of new, clean energy has been found: the Plant-Microbial Fuel Cell that can generate electricity from the natural interaction between living plant roots and soil bacteria. The technique already works on a small scale and will soon be applied in larger marshland areas throughout the world.

Le Rouge et le Noir: Where the black dahlia gets its color Posted: 22 Nov 2012 04:54 PM PST The molecular mechanisms whereby a spectrum of dahlias, from white to yellow to red to purple, get their color are already well known, but the black dahlia has hitherto remained a mystery. Now, a study reveals for the first time that the distinctive black-red coloring is based on an increased accumulation of anthocyanins as a result of drastically reduced concentrations of flavones.

Uncovering complexity in simple worm: Sensory input to motor output in one worm neuron Posted: 21 Nov 2012 10:08 AM PST C. elegans, with just 302 neurons, has long been considered an ideal model system for the study of the nervous system. New research, however, is suggesting that the worms' "simple" nervous system may be much more complex than originally thought. In a new study of worm locomotion, researchers show that a single type of motor neuron harbors an entire sensorimotor loop.

Simple way to precipitate phosphorus from the wastewater of a pulp mill Posted: 21 Nov 2012 04:57 AM PST Researchers have developed a simple method for reducing the amount of phosphorus in the wastewater of a pulp mill. The method is called simultaneous precipitation using iron sulphate. A separate treatment stage is not required, as the precipitation takes place simultaneously with the actual biological wastewater treatment.

Researchers detail the migrations of the wood wasp Sirex noctilio Posted: 21 Nov 2012 04:57 AM PST The wood wasp is one of the great enemies of the trees in the Pinus family. It originated in Eurasia and from there has spread since the beginning of the 20th century to Australia, South America and South Africa. To control its spread, it is essential to know the routes this insect has followed to carry out its colonization.

Maple syrup, moose, and the impacts of climate change in the north Posted: 20 Nov 2012 09:20 AM PST In the northern hardwood forest, climate change is poised to reduce the viability of the maple syrup industry, spread wildlife diseases and tree pests, and change timber resources. And, according to a new article, without long-term studies at the local scale -- we will be ill-prepared to predict and manage these effects.

More attention to the soil can boost food production Posted: 20 Nov 2012 07:01 AM PST According to FAO, in the last thirty years a quarter of all agricultural land has become less fertile as a result of erosion, silting, soil exhaustion or other forms of land degradation. If these problems were addressed in northern China, food production there could be boosted by 25 per cent.

New coronavirus related to viruses from bats Posted: 20 Nov 2012 05:50 AM PST The virus that is causing alarm among global public health authorities after it killed a man in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia earlier this year and is now linked to two other cases of disease is a novel type of coronavirus most closely related to viruses found in bats, according to a genetic analysis.

Midges in a heat-based test of endurance: Evolutionary history determines adaptability to high temperatures Posted: 20 Nov 2012 05:49 AM PST Whether midges can reproduce successfully at high temperatures depends closely on their evolutionary history. Accordingly, the manner in which they deal with heat stress depends not only on whether a representative of this midge species comes from northern or southern Europe and is therefore more accustomed to higher temperatures.

Europe must not lose momentum in marine biodiversity research, experts urge Posted: 20 Nov 2012 05:49 AM PST Scientists have developed a roadmap for marine biodiversity science in Europe and warn against complacency.

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