ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

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• Causes of 2011 Arctic ozone hole determined
• Strategies for possible survival on Mars: Scientists found differences in core proteins from a microorganism that lives in a salty lake in Antarctica
• Study predicts lag in summer rains over parts of US and Mexico
• Hope for threatened Tasmanian devils
• How one insect got its wings
• Remote clouds responsible for climate models' glitch in tropical rainfall
• Indian origins of pumpkins and cucumbers confirmed
• Monsoon failure key to long droughts in Southwest
• Tiny piece of RNA keeps 'clock' running in earliest stages of life
• Discovery may explain how prion diseases spread between different types of animals
• Pittsburgh's leaky faucet: How aging sewers are impacting urban watersheds
• Untangling life's origins
• Ozone layer above North Pole expected to recover by end of century
• Protected areas successfully prevent deforestation in Amazon rainforest

Causes of 2011 Arctic ozone hole determined Posted: 11 Mar 2013 02:39 PM PDT A combination of extreme cold temperatures, human-made chemicals and a stagnant atmosphere were behind what became known as the Arctic ozone hole of 2011, a new study finds.

Strategies for possible survival on Mars: Scientists found differences in core proteins from a microorganism that lives in a salty lake in Antarctica Posted: 11 Mar 2013 02:39 PM PDT Research has revealed key features in proteins needed for life to function on Mars and other extreme environments. Scientists studied organisms that survive in the extreme conditions of Antarctica. They found differences between the core proteins in ordinary organisms and Haloarchaea, organisms that tolerate severe conditions such as high salinity, desiccation, and extreme temperatures. The research provides a window into how life could adapt to exist on Mars.

Study predicts lag in summer rains over parts of US and Mexico Posted: 11 Mar 2013 02:39 PM PDT A delay in the summer monsoon rains that fall over the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico is expected in the coming decades according to a new study. The North American monsoon delivers as much as 70 percent of the region's annual rainfall, watering crops and rangelands for an estimated 20 million people.

Hope for threatened Tasmanian devils Posted: 11 Mar 2013 02:36 PM PDT New research paves the way for the development of a vaccine for the Tasmanian devil, currently on the brink of extinction because of a contagious cancer.

How one insect got its wings Posted: 11 Mar 2013 02:36 PM PDT Scientists have delved deeper into the evolutionary history of the fruit fly than ever before to reveal the genetic activity that led to the development of wings – a key to the insect's ability to survive.

Remote clouds responsible for climate models' glitch in tropical rainfall Posted: 11 Mar 2013 12:13 PM PDT New research shows that cloud biases over the Southern Ocean are the primary contributor to the double-rain band problem that exists in most modern climate models.

Indian origins of pumpkins and cucumbers confirmed Posted: 11 Mar 2013 12:11 PM PDT More than 30 years since the last study was conducted, German and Indian botanists cataloged the important plant family Cucurbitaceae, among which are vital parts of our diet such as pumpkins, melon, cucumber and watermelon. A checklist of the Cucurbitaceae of India has been produced on the basis of both genetic and taxonomic information to expand our knowledge on these important plants.

Monsoon failure key to long droughts in Southwest Posted: 11 Mar 2013 12:11 PM PDT Long-term droughts in the Southwestern North America often mean failure of both summer and winter rains, according to new tree-ring research. For the severe, multi-decadal droughts that occurred from 1539 to 2008, both winter and summer rains were sparse year after year. The finding contradicts the commonly held belief that a dry winter rainy season is generally followed by a wet monsoon season, and vice versa.

Tiny piece of RNA keeps 'clock' running in earliest stages of life Posted: 11 Mar 2013 12:08 PM PDT New research shows that a tiny piece of RNA has an essential role in ensuring that embryonic tissue segments form properly.

Discovery may explain how prion diseases spread between different types of animals Posted: 11 Mar 2013 09:42 AM PDT Medical researchers have made a discovery that may explain how prion diseases, like chronic wasting disease and mad cow disease, adapt in order to spread between various types of animals.

Pittsburgh's leaky faucet: How aging sewers are impacting urban watersheds Posted: 11 Mar 2013 09:42 AM PDT Aging sewer systems are spilling a considerable amount of nitrogen into urban watersheds, diminishing both the quality of water and ecosystems' habitats. However, many studies documenting the impacts of nitrogen on urban environs have not properly estimated the contribution of leaky sewer systems -- until now.

Untangling life's origins Posted: 11 Mar 2013 07:16 AM PDT Researchers have been using bioinformatics techniques to probe the world of proteins for answers to questions about the origins of life.

Ozone layer above North Pole expected to recover by end of century Posted: 11 Mar 2013 06:13 AM PDT Good news for the ozone layer above the Arctic. The Montreal Protocol is showing effects: according to recent measurements, the ozone layer over the North Pole should recover by the end of the century.

Protected areas successfully prevent deforestation in Amazon rainforest Posted: 08 Mar 2013 03:37 PM PST Strictly protected areas such as national parks and biological reserves have been more effective at reducing deforestation in the Amazon rainforest than so-called sustainable-use areas that allow for controlled resource extraction, researchers have found.

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