ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

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• Synthetic fuel could eliminate U.S. need for crude oil, researchers say
• First evidence of fish sensing geomagnetic fields from a Czech Christmas market
• Exercise affects reproductive ability in horses
• Northeast U.S. sees second driest November in more than a century
• Extraverted gorillas enjoy longer lives, research suggests
• Invasive grass fuels increased fire activity in the West
• New genetic fingerprint lives in your gut
• Remote sensing, microbiology used to trace foodborne pathogens
• Reading history through genetics
• New test adds to scientists' understanding of Earth's history, resources
• Fire and ice: Wildfires darkening Greenland snowpack, increasing melting
• See-through 'MitoFish' opens a new window on brain diseases
• Small patches of native plants help boost pollination services in large farms
• Africa's Homo sapiens were the first techies
• Great-earthquake hot spots pinpointed
• Field tests seek new control methods for resistant ragweed in cotton crops
• Wind speeds in southern New England declining inland, remaining steady on coast: Climate change, urbanization among possible causes
• Oceanography student uses crashing waves on shorelines to study Earth's interior
• Hushed hoarders and prying pilferers: Eurasian jays change strategies to prevent others from stealing food
• Scientists find oldest dinosaur -- or closest relative yet
• Discovery of 100-million-year-old regions of DNA shows short cut to crop science advances
• Crag keeps the light 'fantastic' for photoreceptors

Synthetic fuel could eliminate U.S. need for crude oil, researchers say Posted: 05 Dec 2012 05:02 PM PST The United States could eliminate the need for crude oil by using a combination of coal, natural gas and non-food crops to make synthetic fuel, a team of researchers has found. Besides economic and national security benefits, the plan has potential environmental advantages. Because plants absorb carbon dioxide to grow, the United States could cut vehicle greenhouse emissions by as much as 50 percent in the next several decades using non-food crops to create liquid fuels, the researchers said.

First evidence of fish sensing geomagnetic fields from a Czech Christmas market Posted: 05 Dec 2012 05:00 PM PST Carp stored in large tubs at Czech Christmas markets align themselves in the north-south direction, suggesting they possess a previously unknown capacity to perceive geomagnetic fields, according to a new study.

Exercise affects reproductive ability in horses Posted: 05 Dec 2012 12:18 PM PST Results from the study showed that exercise induced greater cortisol concentrations in horses. Cortisol has been shown to have effects on reproduction.

Northeast U.S. sees second driest November in more than a century Posted: 05 Dec 2012 11:23 AM PST Even though Hurricane Sandy helped create wet start, November 2012 went into the record books as the second-driest November since 1895 in the Northeast. With an average of 1.04 inches or precipitation, the region received only 27 percent of its normal level. The record driest November was 1917 when the Northeast received only 0.88 inches of precipitation.

Extraverted gorillas enjoy longer lives, research suggests Posted: 05 Dec 2012 10:24 AM PST Gorillas with an extravert personality live longer than their more introverted peers, a study suggests. Researchers looked at the role of personality by studying 298 gorillas in North American zoos and sanctuaries for over 18 years.

Invasive grass fuels increased fire activity in the West Posted: 05 Dec 2012 10:23 AM PST An invasive grass species may be one reason fires are bigger and more frequent in certain regions of the western United States, according to a team of researchers.

New genetic fingerprint lives in your gut Posted: 05 Dec 2012 10:21 AM PST Our bodies contain far more microbial genes than human genes. And a new study suggests that just as human DNA varies from person to person, so too does the massive collection of microbial DNA in the intestine. The research is the first to catalog the genetic variation of microbes that live in the gut.

Remote sensing, microbiology used to trace foodborne pathogens Posted: 05 Dec 2012 10:06 AM PST In 2011, an outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes in cantaloupe led to almost 150 illnesses and 30 deaths. With a spate of recent outbreaks of such foodborne pathogens as Salmonella, Shiga toxin-producing E. coli and L. monocytogenes, the ability to predict where and how these deadly microbes enter the food supply chain could save lives and prevent disease.

Reading history through genetics Posted: 05 Dec 2012 08:35 AM PST An engineering study demonstrates a new approach used to analyze genetic data to learn more about the history of populations. The authors, the first to develop a method that can describe in detail events in recent history, focused on two populations, the Ashkenazi Jews and the Masai people of Kenya.

New test adds to scientists' understanding of Earth's history, resources Posted: 05 Dec 2012 08:28 AM PST A new study provides the first direct chronological test of sequence stratigraphy, a powerful tool for exploring Earth's natural resources.

Fire and ice: Wildfires darkening Greenland snowpack, increasing melting Posted: 05 Dec 2012 08:28 AM PST Satellite observations have revealed the first direct evidence of smoke from Arctic wildfires drifting over the Greenland ice sheet, tarnishing the ice with soot and making it more likely to melt under the sun.

See-through 'MitoFish' opens a new window on brain diseases Posted: 05 Dec 2012 07:30 AM PST Scientists have demonstrated a new model for investigating mechanisms at work in Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases, which also could prove useful in the search for effective drugs. They turned to the zebrafish, transparent in its embryonic stages, and developed a transgenic variety called the "MitoFish." This new model enables them to see – within individual neurons of living animals – how brain diseases disturb the transport of mitochondria, the power plants of the cell.

Small patches of native plants help boost pollination services in large farms Posted: 05 Dec 2012 07:30 AM PST Isolation from natural habitat can lead to productivity losses due to lack of pollinators. Introducing areas of native vegetation within cropland has been proposed as a way to supplement pollinators, but this measure is perceived by farmers to carry costs that outweigh production-benefits. This study shows that small patches of native flowers, that do not compromise production area, increase mango pollination services in South Africa. Such measure allows increases in production without further expanding cropland.

Africa's Homo sapiens were the first techies Posted: 05 Dec 2012 07:30 AM PST The search for the origin of modern human behavior and technological advancement among our ancestors in southern Africa some 70,000 years ago has taken a step closer to firmly establishing Africa, and especially South Africa, as the primary center for the early development of human behavior.

Great-earthquake hot spots pinpointed Posted: 05 Dec 2012 07:30 AM PST The world's largest earthquakes occur at subduction zones – locations where a tectonic plate slips under another. But where along these extended subduction areas are great earthquakes most likely to happen? Scientists have now found that regions where 'scars' on the seafloor, called fracture zones, meet subduction areas are at higher risk of generating powerful earthquakes.

Field tests seek new control methods for resistant ragweed in cotton crops Posted: 05 Dec 2012 07:26 AM PST Giant ragweed lives up to its name, towering over crops and choking out surrounding plant species. Just one ragweed plant per square meter has been shown to reduce crop yields 45 to 77 percent. Now giant ragweed has evolved resistance to the herbicide glyphosate, which had been effective at controlling the weed.

Wind speeds in southern New England declining inland, remaining steady on coast: Climate change, urbanization among possible causes Posted: 05 Dec 2012 06:10 AM PST Oceanographers have analyzed long-term data from several anemometers in southern New England and found that average wind speeds have declined by about 15 percent at inland sites while speeds have remained steady at an offshore site.

Oceanography student uses crashing waves on shorelines to study Earth's interior Posted: 05 Dec 2012 06:10 AM PST Scientists have long used the speed of seismic waves traveling through the Earth as a means of learning about the geologic structure beneath the Earth's surface, but the seismic waves they use have typically been generated by earthquakes or human-made explosions. A graduate student is using the tiny seismic waves created by ocean waves crashing on shorelines around the world to learn how an underwater plateau was formed 122 million years ago.

Hushed hoarders and prying pilferers: Eurasian jays change strategies to prevent others from stealing food Posted: 05 Dec 2012 05:44 AM PST In order to prevent other birds from stealing the food they are storing for later, Eurasian jays, a type of corvid, minimizes any auditory hints a potential pilferer may use to steal their cache (food that is buried for later use).

Scientists find oldest dinosaur -- or closest relative yet Posted: 05 Dec 2012 05:44 AM PST Researchers have discovered what may be the earliest dinosaur, a creature the size of a Labrador retriever, but with a five foot-long tail, that walked the Earth about 10 million years before more familiar dinosaurs like the small, swift-footed Eoraptor and Herrerasaurus. The findings mean that the dinosaur lineage appeared 10 million to 15 million years earlier than fossils previously showed.

Discovery of 100-million-year-old regions of DNA shows short cut to crop science advances Posted: 05 Dec 2012 05:38 AM PST Scientists have discovered 100-million-year-old regions in the DNA of several plant species which could hold secrets about how specific genes are turned 'on' or 'off'.

Crag keeps the light 'fantastic' for photoreceptors Posted: 04 Dec 2012 04:43 PM PST The ability of the eye of a fruit fly to respond to light depends on a delicate ballet that keeps the supply of light sensors called rhodopsin constant as photoreceptors turn on and off in response to light exposures, say researchers.

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