ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

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• Isotope patterns in ancient volcanic sulfur tell which global cooling episodes were caused by volcanic eruptions
• Unchecked antibiotic use in animals may affect global human health
• Computerized 'Rosetta Stone' reconstructs ancient languages
• Sunlight stimulates release of climate-warming gas from melting Arctic permafrost
• NASA's Landsat Data Continuity Mission: New Earth observation satellite launched
• Large, ancient landslides delivered preferred upstream habitats for coho salmon
• Visualizing biological networks in 4-D: Unique microscope captures motion of DNA structures
• Tree die-off triggered by hotter temperatures
• Artificial atoms allow for magnetic resonance on individual cells: Technique for MRIs on molecular scale
• Bisphenol A affects sex-specific reproductive behaviors in a monogamous animal species
• 2012 U. S. Shark attacks highest since 2000
• Humans and robots work better together following cross-training; Swapping of roles improves efficiency
• Can simple measures of labile soil organic matter predict corn performance?
• Asian needle ants displacing other aggressive invaders
• Birds evolved ultraviolet vision several times
• Protein 'filmed' while unfolding at atomic resolution
• Dogs may understand human point of view

Isotope patterns in ancient volcanic sulfur tell which global cooling episodes were caused by volcanic eruptions Posted: 11 Feb 2013 01:23 PM PST Volcanoes are well known for cooling the climate. But just how much and when has been a bone of contention among historians, glaciologists and archeologists. Now a team of atmosphere chemists has come up with a way to say for sure which historic episodes of global cooling were caused by volcanic eruptions.

Unchecked antibiotic use in animals may affect global human health Posted: 11 Feb 2013 01:22 PM PST The increasing production and use of antibiotics, about half of which is used in animal production, is mirrored by the growing number of antibiotic resistance genes, or ARGs, effectively reducing antibiotics' ability to fend off diseases -- in animals and humans.

Computerized 'Rosetta Stone' reconstructs ancient languages Posted: 11 Feb 2013 01:22 PM PST Researchers have used a sophisticated new computer system to quickly reconstruct protolanguages -- the rudimentary ancient tongues from which modern languages evolved.

Sunlight stimulates release of climate-warming gas from melting Arctic permafrost Posted: 11 Feb 2013 01:21 PM PST Ancient carbon trapped in Arctic permafrost is extremely sensitive to sunlight and, if exposed to the surface when long-frozen soils melt and collapse, can release climate-warming carbon dioxide gas into the atmosphere much faster than previously thought.

NASA's Landsat Data Continuity Mission: New Earth observation satellite launched Posted: 11 Feb 2013 01:08 PM PST NASA's Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) roared into space at 1:02 p.m. EST (10:02 a.m. PST) Monday aboard an Atlas V rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The spacecraft carries two instruments, the Operational Land Imager (OLI) and Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS). The measurements will be compatible with data from past Landsat satellites, but the LDCM instruments use advanced technology to improve reliability, sensitivity, and data quality.

Large, ancient landslides delivered preferred upstream habitats for coho salmon Posted: 11 Feb 2013 10:50 AM PST A study of the Umpqua River basin in the Oregon Coast Range helps explain natural processes behind the width of valleys and provides potentially useful details for river restoration efforts designed to improve habitats for coho salmon.

Visualizing biological networks in 4-D: Unique microscope captures motion of DNA structures Posted: 11 Feb 2013 10:50 AM PST Every great structure depends on specific mechanical properties to remain strong and reliable. Rigidity is of particular importance for maintaining the robust functionality of everything from colossal edifices to the tiniest of nanoscale structures. In biological nanostructures, like DNA networks, it has been difficult to measure this stiffness, which is essential to their properties and functions. But scientists now have developed techniques for visualizing the behavior of biological nanostructures in both space and time.

Tree die-off triggered by hotter temperatures Posted: 11 Feb 2013 10:50 AM PST Scientists have determined that the recent widespread die-off of Colorado trembling aspen trees is a direct result of decreased precipitation exacerbated by high summer temperatures. The die-off, triggered by the drought from 2000-2003, is estimated to have affected up to 17 percent of Colorado aspen forests.

Artificial atoms allow for magnetic resonance on individual cells: Technique for MRIs on molecular scale Posted: 11 Feb 2013 10:50 AM PST Researchers have developed a technique similar to the MRI but has higher resolution and sensitivity, which has the ability to scan individual cells.

Bisphenol A affects sex-specific reproductive behaviors in a monogamous animal species Posted: 11 Feb 2013 10:49 AM PST A series of experiments studied the effects of prenatal exposure to bisphenol A on later reproductive-associated behaviors using a socially and genetically monogamous rodent, the California mouse, which may better mirror most human societies than other rodents.

2012 U. S. Shark attacks highest since 2000 Posted: 11 Feb 2013 10:47 AM PST Shark attacks in the U.S. reached a decade high in 2012, while worldwide fatalities remained average, according to a new report.

Humans and robots work better together following cross-training; Swapping of roles improves efficiency Posted: 11 Feb 2013 07:45 AM PST Spending a day in someone else's shoes can help us to learn what makes them tick. Now the same approach is being used to develop a better understanding between humans and robots, to enable them to work together as a team.

Can simple measures of labile soil organic matter predict corn performance? Posted: 11 Feb 2013 07:23 AM PST Researchers are characterizing simple, cheap measurements of labile soil organic matter that could predict the performance of corn crops and help farmers optimize their cropping systems.

Asian needle ants displacing other aggressive invaders Posted: 11 Feb 2013 07:23 AM PST Researchers have found that one of the most aggressive invasive ant species in the United States -- the Argentine ant -- appears to have met its match in the Asian needle ant. Specifically, the researchers have found that the Asian needle ant is successfully displacing Argentine ants in an urban environment, indicating that the Asian needle ant -- with its venomous sting -- may be the next invasive species to see a population boom.

Birds evolved ultraviolet vision several times Posted: 11 Feb 2013 06:09 AM PST Ultraviolet vision evolved at least eight times in birds from a common violet sensitive ancestor finds a new study. All of these are due to single nucleotide changes in the DNA.

Protein 'filmed' while unfolding at atomic resolution Posted: 11 Feb 2013 06:09 AM PST Whether Alzheimer's, Parkinson's or Huntington's Chorea – all three diseases have one thing in common: They are caused by misfolded proteins that form insoluble clumps in the brains of affected patients and, finally, destroy their nerve cells. One of the most important questions in the biological sciences and medicine is thus: How do proteins – the tools of living cells – achieve or lose their three-dimensional structure. Because only if their amino acid chains are correctly folded, can proteins perform their tasks properly.

Dogs may understand human point of view Posted: 11 Feb 2013 06:08 AM PST Domestic dogs are much more likely to steal food when they think nobody can see them, suggesting for the first time that dogs are capable of understanding a human's point of view.

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