ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

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• New way to look at dawn of life: Focus shifts from 'hardware' to 'software'
• Lethal stings from the Australian box jellyfish could be treated with zinc
• Dead guts spill history of extinct microbes: Fecal samples from archeological sites reveal evolution of human gut microbes
• Prickly holly reveals ability to adapt genetics to environmental change
• Nature nurtures creativity after four days of hiking
• Study probes impact of climate change on cold-blooded animals
• Australian multicellular fossils point to life on land, not at sea, geologist proposes
• More ice loss through snowfall on Antarctica
• Chemical analysis reveals first cheese-making in Northern Europe 7,000 years ago
• Emerging virus in raccoons may provide cancer clues
• Cane toads can be stopped
• Relocating elephants fails to decrease human–wildlife conflict: Technique meant to keep animals and humans safe has opposite effects
• New twist on using biomass for perfume, cosmetic, personal care products
• Frog-in-bucket-of-milk folklore leads to potential new antibiotics
• Scientists train honey bees to stick out their tongues
• Was life inevitable? New paper pieces together metabolism's beginnings
• Climate modelers predict warmer, wetter Northeast U.S. winters by 2070
• Advance in chromosomal evolution in sea cradles
• Injured tiger saved by village
• Scary news for corals -- from the Ice Age
• Violence in Mali threatening survival of endangered elephants
• Ancient tsunami caused long-term ecosystem change in the Caribbean
• Photosynthesis: Mysterious enzyme structure solved
• Resurrection of extinct enzymes reveals evolutionary strategy for the invention of new functions
• Algal ancestor is key to how deadly pathogens proliferate, researchers find
• Virus-host co-evolution: How specialized should a strain of a multi-host virus be?
• New method to directly sequence small genomes without library preparation

New way to look at dawn of life: Focus shifts from 'hardware' to 'software' Posted: 12 Dec 2012 05:59 PM PST One of the great mysteries of life is how it began. What physical process transformed a nonliving mix of chemicals into something as complex as a living cell? A novel approach to the question of life's origin attempts to dramatically redefine the problem by shifting attention from the "hardware" -- the chemical basis of life -- to the "software" -- its information content.

Lethal stings from the Australian box jellyfish could be treated with zinc Posted: 12 Dec 2012 05:56 PM PST Box jellyfish of the Chironex species are among the most venomous animals in the world, capable of killing humans with their sting. Their venom, though, which kills by rapidly punching holes in human red blood cells, can be slowed down by administering zinc, according to new research.

Dead guts spill history of extinct microbes: Fecal samples from archeological sites reveal evolution of human gut microbes Posted: 12 Dec 2012 05:56 PM PST Extinct microbes in fecal samples from archaeological sites across the world resemble those found in present-day rural African communities more than they resemble the microbes found in the gut of cosmopolitan US adults, according to new research.

Prickly holly reveals ability to adapt genetics to environmental change Posted: 12 Dec 2012 05:54 PM PST Prickly holly leaves are a traditional Christmas decoration, from wreaths adorning homes, to greeting card scenes. Yet, look closer at a holly tree and while some leaves are prickly, others are not. Scientists believe variations within a single tree are the combined result of herbivore activity and molecular responses to environmental change.

Nature nurtures creativity after four days of hiking Posted: 12 Dec 2012 05:48 PM PST Backpackers scored 50 percent better on a creativity test after spending four days in nature disconnected from electronic devices, according to a new study by psychologists.

Study probes impact of climate change on cold-blooded animals Posted: 12 Dec 2012 01:27 PM PST Biologists are examining the influence of climate change, particularly warmer winters, on the survival and potential fecundity of cold-blooded animals.

Australian multicellular fossils point to life on land, not at sea, geologist proposes Posted: 12 Dec 2012 10:40 AM PST Ancient multicellular fossils long thought to be ancestors of early marine life are remnants of land-dwelling lichen or other microbial colonies, says a University of Oregon scientist who has been studying fossil soils of South Australia.

More ice loss through snowfall on Antarctica Posted: 12 Dec 2012 10:40 AM PST Stronger snowfall increases future ice discharge from Antarctica. Global warming leads to more precipitation as warmer air holds more moisture -- hence earlier research suggested the Antarctic ice sheet might grow under climate change. Now a new study shows that a lot of the ice gain due to increased snowfall is countered by an acceleration of ice-flow to the ocean.

Chemical analysis reveals first cheese-making in Northern Europe 7,000 years ago Posted: 12 Dec 2012 10:40 AM PST Archeologists have the first unequivocal evidence that humans in prehistoric Northern Europe made cheese more than 7,000 years ago.

Emerging virus in raccoons may provide cancer clues Posted: 12 Dec 2012 10:09 AM PST Rare brain tumors emerging among raccoons in Northern California and Oregon may be linked to a previously unidentified virus.

Cane toads can be stopped Posted: 12 Dec 2012 10:09 AM PST It may be possible to stop the spread of can toads into new areas of Australia, according to new research.

Relocating elephants fails to decrease human–wildlife conflict: Technique meant to keep animals and humans safe has opposite effects Posted: 12 Dec 2012 10:09 AM PST Human–elephant conflict in Sri Lanka kills more than 70 humans and 200 Asian elephants every year. One of the most common tools in combating these conflicts is moving the elephants into ranges away from humans, often into national parks. This is done in hopes of avoiding problems that include elephants raiding crops, breaking into homes and injuring or killing people.

New twist on using biomass for perfume, cosmetic, personal care products Posted: 12 Dec 2012 10:09 AM PST In a new approach for tapping biomass as a sustainable raw material, scientists are reporting use of a Nobel-Prize-winning technology to transform plant "essential oils" -- substances with the characteristic fragrance of the plant -- into high-value ingredients for sunscreens, perfumes and other personal care products. The approach could open up new economic opportunities for tropical countries that grow such plants.

Frog-in-bucket-of-milk folklore leads to potential new antibiotics Posted: 12 Dec 2012 10:08 AM PST Following up on an ancient Russian way of keeping milk from going sour -- by putting a frog in the bucket of milk -- scientists have identified a wealth of new antibiotic substances in the skin of the Russian Brown frog.

Scientists train honey bees to stick out their tongues Posted: 12 Dec 2012 10:07 AM PST A new video-article illustrates a novel tactile conditioning experiment using honey bees. The technique trains honey bees to stick out their tongues when their antennae touch an object. This procedure allows researchers to analyze how changes in antennal movement correspond to tactile pattern recognition and learning.

Was life inevitable? New paper pieces together metabolism's beginnings Posted: 12 Dec 2012 10:07 AM PST A new synthesis by two researchers offers a coherent picture of how metabolism, and thus all life, arose. The study offers new insights into how the complex chemistry of metabolism cobbled itself together, the likelihood of life emerging and evolving as it did on Earth, and the chances of finding life elsewhere.

Climate modelers predict warmer, wetter Northeast U.S. winters by 2070 Posted: 12 Dec 2012 08:13 AM PST A new high-resolution climate study, the first to apply regional climate models to examine likely near-term changes in temperature and precipitation across the Northeast United States, suggests temperatures are going to be significantly warmer in all seasons in the next 30 years, especially in winter. Also, they project that winters will be wetter, with more rain likely than snow.

Advance in chromosomal evolution in sea cradles Posted: 12 Dec 2012 08:13 AM PST A chromosomal study performed in a common Mediterranean chiton (sea cradle) provides information, relevant to systematic relationships of the species; furthermore the comparison of its karyotype with ones in literature allows the authors to put forward a hypothesis on chromosome evolution of this group of mollusks.

Injured tiger saved by village Posted: 12 Dec 2012 08:09 AM PST The village of Nidugumba in Karnataka State in southwest India acted swiftly to save an injured tiger that had become caught in a barbed wire fence last week.

Scary news for corals -- from the Ice Age Posted: 12 Dec 2012 06:32 AM PST There is growing scientific concern that corals could retreat from equatorial seas and oceans as the Earth continues to warm, marine researchers have warned. Working on clues in the fossil coral record from the last major episode of global warming, the period between the last two ice ages about 125,000 years ago, the researchers found evidence of a sharp decline in coral diversity near the equator.

Violence in Mali threatening survival of endangered elephants Posted: 12 Dec 2012 06:32 AM PST Researchers have revealed the secrets of survival of an endangered population of African elephant in the unforgiving Sahara desert. The elephants have the biggest range in the world, the study showed, but recent violence in Mali may now be putting the animals at risk.

Ancient tsunami caused long-term ecosystem change in the Caribbean Posted: 12 Dec 2012 06:28 AM PST Overwash deposits point to major wave event more than 3,000 years ago. A detailed analysis of sediments from the island of Bonaire in the Caribbean presents convincing evidence for an extraordinary wave impact dating back some 3,300 years, even though no historical records of tsunamis exist for this island. Of particular interest are the consequences this large wave impact had on the island's ecosystem. The sediments studied by the scientists suggested that this tsunami entirely changed the coastal ecosystem and sedimentation patterns in the area.

Photosynthesis: Mysterious enzyme structure solved Posted: 12 Dec 2012 06:28 AM PST Scientists have solved a long-standing puzzle in photosynthesis research. With the aid of quantum chemistry they were able to provide unexpected insight into the properties of the oxygen evolving complex (OEC). The OEC is the catalyst in plants that splits water using sunlight in order to build carbohydrates, thus powering all life on earth. Its precise structure, which was showing enigmatic spectroscopic behavior, could now finally be solved with the aid of quantum chemistry.

Resurrection of extinct enzymes reveals evolutionary strategy for the invention of new functions Posted: 11 Dec 2012 04:33 PM PST How does evolution innovate? By reconstructing DNA and proteins from prehistoric yeast cells, scientists have been able to directly examine the evolutionary forces that have acted over the last 100 million years to shape modern-day enzymes -- biological catalysts that enable organisms to manipulate molecules to their will.

Algal ancestor is key to how deadly pathogens proliferate, researchers find Posted: 11 Dec 2012 04:32 PM PST Long ago, when life on our planet was in its infancy, a group of small single-celled algae floating in the vast prehistoric ocean swam freely by beating whip-like tails, called flagella. The organisms are called Apicomplexa, but are better known as the parasites that cause malaria and toxoplasmosis. Now, researchers have discovered how an important structure inside these parasitic cells, which evolved from the algal ancestor millions of years ago, allows the cells to replicate and spread inside their hosts. Their research may lead to new therapies to halt these deadly pathogens before they cause disease.

Virus-host co-evolution: How specialized should a strain of a multi-host virus be? Posted: 11 Dec 2012 04:31 PM PST A new study of canine distemper virus (CDV) provides the first evidence that the virus occurs as specialist strains that emerge in response to strong evolutionary selection in the large global domestic dog population, and as generalist strains adapted to infect a broad range of carnivore species that occur as smaller host populations. The study not only unraveled one key mechanism which led to the evolution of specialist and generalist strains, it also showed that specializing on one host species comes at the cost of a reduced ability to infect other host species.

New method to directly sequence small genomes without library preparation Posted: 11 Dec 2012 07:18 AM PST For the first time, researchers sequenced DNA molecules without the need for the standard pre-sequencing workflow known as library preparation.

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