ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

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• Predator-producing bacteria may be battling in human intestines
• Was the sauropod dinosaurs' large size due to plant food? Scientists argue old idea still has legs
• Rare fossil related to crabs, lobsters, shrimp: Exceptionally well preserved, including shell and soft parts
• Fish have enormous nutrient impacts on marine ecosystems, study finds
• Roman settlement and possible prehistoric site uncovered in northern Italy
• Mussel goo inspires blood vessel glue
• New forecast system helps transoceanic flights avoid storms
• New components of epigenetic 'code' for honey bee development discovered
• Termites strike gold: Ant and termite colonies unearth gold in Australia
• Report compares greenhouse gas and black carbon emissions tracking across North America
• International trade in live corals could help preserve wild corals and coral reefs ecosystems, study suggests
• Why do so many women leave biology?
• New coronavirus has many potential hosts, could pass from animals to humans repeatedly
• Sexual and social behavior modified by serotonin system drugs
• Most ancient evidence of insect camouflage: 110 million years ago

Predator-producing bacteria may be battling in human intestines Posted: 11 Dec 2012 04:35 PM PST Researchers have found that a bacteriophage unique to the Enterococcus faecalis strain V583 acts as a predator, infecting and harming similar, competing bacteria. They believe these lab results suggest what goes on in the human intestine.

Was the sauropod dinosaurs' large size due to plant food? Scientists argue old idea still has legs Posted: 11 Dec 2012 04:31 PM PST The long-necked sauropod dinosaurs were the largest land animals ever to walk the Earth -- but why were they so large? A decade ago, a team of plant ecologists from South Africa suggested that this was due to the nature of the plant food they ate. However, these ideas have fallen out of favor with many dinosaur researchers. Now experts argue that this idea still has legs.

Rare fossil related to crabs, lobsters, shrimp: Exceptionally well preserved, including shell and soft parts Posted: 11 Dec 2012 04:31 PM PST Scientists have made an extremely rare discovery of a species of animal -- related to crabs, lobsters and shrimps -- that is new to science. The discovered species, which is up to 10 millimetres long, is special because it is exceptionally well preserved, complete with not only the shell but also the soft parts -- its body, limbs, eyes, gills and alimentary system. Such discoveries are extremely rare in the fossil record.

Fish have enormous nutrient impacts on marine ecosystems, study finds Posted: 11 Dec 2012 01:35 PM PST Fish play a far more important role as contributors of nutrients to marine ecosystems than previously thought. In a pair of articles, they show that fish contribute more nutrients to their local ecosystems than any other source -- enough to cause changes in the growth rates of the organisms at the base of the food web.

Roman settlement and possible prehistoric site uncovered in northern Italy Posted: 11 Dec 2012 01:35 PM PST Using archaeological expertise and modern technology, archeologists recently discovered a Roman settlement and possible prehistoric site in northern Italy.

Mussel goo inspires blood vessel glue Posted: 11 Dec 2012 12:44 PM PST A researcher has helped create a gel -- based on the mussel's knack for clinging to rocks, piers and boat hulls -- that can be painted onto the walls of blood vessels and stay put, forming a protective barrier with potentially life-saving implications.

New forecast system helps transoceanic flights avoid storms Posted: 11 Dec 2012 09:52 AM PST A new NASA-funded prototype system developed by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) of Boulder, Colo., now is providing weather forecasts that can help flights avoid major storms as they travel over remote ocean regions. The eight-hour forecasts of potentially dangerous atmospheric conditions are designed for pilots, air traffic controllers and others involved in transoceanic flights.

New components of epigenetic 'code' for honey bee development discovered Posted: 11 Dec 2012 07:19 AM PST Researchers have uncovered a new element of the honeybee's genetic makeup, which may help to explain why bees are so sensitive to environmental changes.

Termites strike gold: Ant and termite colonies unearth gold in Australia Posted: 11 Dec 2012 06:50 AM PST Ant and termite nests could lead to hidden treasure, according to researchers in Australia. Scientists have found that at a test site in the West Australian goldfields termite mounds contained high concentrations of gold. This gold indicates there is a larger deposit underneath.

Report compares greenhouse gas and black carbon emissions tracking across North America Posted: 11 Dec 2012 06:50 AM PST Scientists in North America have taken an important first step in looking at the state of comparability of emissions data at national and subnational levels with the completion of a background report: Assessment of the Comparability of Greenhouse Gas and Black Carbon Emissions Inventories in North America.

International trade in live corals could help preserve wild corals and coral reefs ecosystems, study suggests Posted: 11 Dec 2012 06:49 AM PST Researchers have published findings about a unique trade and its long-term implications.

Why do so many women leave biology? Posted: 11 Dec 2012 05:32 AM PST The retention rate of women in the biological sciences, both in the United States and Canada, is lower than would be expected from the number of female doctoral students who graduated within the last decade, and lower than it is in medicine. Early-career competition for positions in biology is the likely explanation, as it is especially unattractive for women with children. Training fewer biologists would alleviate this pressure and may lead to relatively more women staying in scientific careers.

New coronavirus has many potential hosts, could pass from animals to humans repeatedly Posted: 11 Dec 2012 05:32 AM PST The SARS epidemic of 2002-2003 was short-lived, but a novel type of human coronavirus that is alarming public health authorities can infect cells from humans and bats alike, a fact that could make the animals a continuing source of infection, according to a new study.

Sexual and social behavior modified by serotonin system drugs Posted: 11 Dec 2012 05:30 AM PST Drugs that bind to specific serotonin receptors in the brain can both improve and impair female sexual function in non-human primates.

Most ancient evidence of insect camouflage: 110 million years ago Posted: 11 Dec 2012 05:29 AM PST An insect larva covered by plant remains that lived in the Early Cretaceous, about 110 million years ago, evidences the most ancient known insect camouflage, according to a new article.

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