ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

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• Bats not bothered by forest fires, study finds
• Siberian fossil revealed to be one of the oldest known domestic dogs
• Hidden layer of genome unveils how plants may adapt to environments throughout the world
• Deadly fungus detected in Southeast Asia's amphibian trade
• New solution proposed to ensure biofuel plants don't become noxious weeds
• Females butterflies can smell if a male butterfly is inbred
• Handedness in marsupials is dependent on gender, research shows
• Lizards facing mass extinction from climate change
• How cells optimize the functioning of their power plants

Bats not bothered by forest fires, study finds Posted: 06 Mar 2013 07:11 PM PST A survey of bat activity in burned and unburned areas after a major wildfire in the southern Sierra Nevada mountains found no evidence of detrimental effects on bats one year after the fire. The findings suggest that bats are resilient to high-severity fire, and some species may even benefit from the effects of fire on the landscape.

Siberian fossil revealed to be one of the oldest known domestic dogs Posted: 06 Mar 2013 07:11 PM PST Analysis of DNA extracted from a fossil tooth recovered in southern Siberia confirms that the tooth belonged to one of the oldest known ancestors of the modern dog.

Hidden layer of genome unveils how plants may adapt to environments throughout the world Posted: 06 Mar 2013 10:43 AM PST Scientists have identified patterns of epigenomic diversity that not only allow plants to adapt to various environments, but could also benefit crop production and the study of human diseases.

Deadly fungus detected in Southeast Asia's amphibian trade Posted: 06 Mar 2013 10:38 AM PST Scientists have revealed in a new study, for the first time, the presence of the pathogenic chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis) in amphibians sampled in Singapore. And the American bullfrog may be a central player in the spread of the disease.

New solution proposed to ensure biofuel plants don't become noxious weeds Posted: 06 Mar 2013 05:42 AM PST Scientist propose innovative solution to ensure lucrative biofuel plants such as arundo donax do not become invasive weeds that can destroy fragile ecosystems.

Females butterflies can smell if a male butterfly is inbred Posted: 05 Mar 2013 05:04 PM PST The mating success of male butterflies is often lower if they are inbred. But how do female butterflies know which males to avoid? New research reveals that inbred male butterflies produce significantly less sex pheromones, making them less attractive to females.

Handedness in marsupials is dependent on gender, research shows Posted: 05 Mar 2013 05:03 PM PST Boys are right-handed, girls are left ... Well at least this is true for sugar gliders (Petaurus breviceps) and grey short-tailed opossums (Monodelphis domestica). New research shows that handedness in marsupials is dependent on gender. This preference of one hand over another has developed despite the absence of a corpus collosum, the part of the brain which in placental mammals allows one half of the brain to communicate with the other.

Lizards facing mass extinction from climate change Posted: 05 Mar 2013 05:03 PM PST Climate change could see dozens of lizard species becoming extinct within the next 50 years, according to new research. The often one-directional evolutionary adaptation of certain lizard species' reproductive modes could see multiple extinctions as the global temperature increases.

How cells optimize the functioning of their power plants Posted: 05 Mar 2013 10:10 AM PST Mitochondria, which are probably derived from distant bacterial ancestors incorporated into our cells, have their own DNA. However, we know little about how these organelles, which convert oxygen and consumed nutrients into energy, regulate the expression of their own genes.

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