ScienceDaily: Top Environment News |
- An ancient biosonar sheds new light on the evolution of echolocation in toothed whales
- New measurement of crocodilian nerves could help scientists understand ancient animals
- A 'light switch' in brain illuminates neural networks: Scientists can see cells communicate by flipping a neural light switch
- New insight into photosynthesis: Carotenoids can capture blue/green light and pass energy on to chlorophylls
- Discovery of 1,800-year-old 'Rosetta Stone' for tropical ice cores
- Trade emerging as a key driver of Brazilian deforestation
- Bronze warship ram reveals secrets
- Weapons by which bacteria fight each other revealed: Could lead to new antibacterial drugs
- Asian carp DNA not widespread in the Great Lakes
- A comet, not an asteroid, may have killed the dinosaurs, experts propose
- Origin of life: Power behind primordial soup discovered
- Dwarf whale survived well into Ice Age
- Bumblebees use logic to find the best flowers
- Protein maintains order in the nucleus
- Hepatitis A virus discovered to cloak itself in membranes hijacked from infected cells
- NASA flies radar south on wide-ranging expedition
- Climate change winners: Adélie penguin population expands as ice fields recede
- How rats see things
- Wild mice have natural protection against Lyme borreliosis
- A model predicts that the world's populations will stop growing in 2050
- The equine 'Adam' lived fairly recently: Close relationships among modern stallions
- One extinct turtle less: Turtle species in the Seychelles never existed
| An ancient biosonar sheds new light on the evolution of echolocation in toothed whales Posted: 04 Apr 2013 12:26 PM PDT Some 30 million years ago, Ganges river dolphins diverged from other toothed whales, making them one of the oldest species of aquatic mammals that use echolocation, or biosonar, to navigate and find food. This also makes them ideal subjects for scientists working to understand the evolution of echolocation among toothed whales.  |
| New measurement of crocodilian nerves could help scientists understand ancient animals Posted: 04 Apr 2013 12:26 PM PDT A new study has measured the nerves responsible for the super-sensitive skin on a crocodile's face, which will help biologists understand how today's animals, as well as dinosaurs and crocodiles that lived millions of years ago, interact with the environment around them.  |
| Posted: 04 Apr 2013 11:25 AM PDT Researchers have combined a range of advanced techniques that enable them to identify which neurons communicate with each other at different times in the rat brain, and in doing so, create the animal's sense of location.  |
| Posted: 04 Apr 2013 11:24 AM PDT Pigments found in plants and purple bacteria employed to provide protection from sun damage do more than just that. Researchers have found that they also help to harvest light energy during photosynthesis. Carotenoids, the same pigments which give orange color to carrots and red to tomatoes, are often found together in plants with chlorophyll pigments that harvest solar energy. Their main function is photoprotection when rays of light from the sun are the most intense. However, a new study shows how they capture blue/green light and pass the energy on to chlorophylls, which absorb red light.  |
| Discovery of 1,800-year-old 'Rosetta Stone' for tropical ice cores Posted: 04 Apr 2013 11:24 AM PDT Scientists report a set of ice cores from Quelccaya Ice Cap in Peru which can serve as a "Rosetta Stone" for studying other ice cores from around the world.  |
| Trade emerging as a key driver of Brazilian deforestation Posted: 04 Apr 2013 10:52 AM PDT A new study found that trade and global consumption of Brazilian beef and soybeans is increasingly driving Brazilian deforestation. Consequently, current international efforts to protect rainforests (e.g., REDD) may be undermined by the increased trade and consumption.  |
| Bronze warship ram reveals secrets Posted: 04 Apr 2013 09:24 AM PDT The Belgammel Ram, a 20kg bronze battering ram artifact dating to between 100BC and 100AD has been extensively tested and analyzed to ascertain how it would have been made in ancient times. The development of new techniques and analyses will assist future research on similar artifacts.  |
| Weapons by which bacteria fight each other revealed: Could lead to new antibacterial drugs Posted: 04 Apr 2013 09:24 AM PDT Biologists have discovered that bacteria can degrade the cell membrane of bacterial competitors with enzymes that do not harm their own membrane. This exciting finding opens the way for the development of new antibacterial drugs to fight bacteria using their own weapons.  |
| Asian carp DNA not widespread in the Great Lakes Posted: 04 Apr 2013 09:24 AM PDT Scientists have shown that Asian carp DNA is not widespread in the Great Lakes.  |
| A comet, not an asteroid, may have killed the dinosaurs, experts propose Posted: 04 Apr 2013 09:24 AM PDT In a geological moment about 66 million years ago, something killed off almost all the dinosaurs and some 70 percent of all other species living on Earth. Only those dinosaurs related to birds appear to have survived. Most scientists agree that the culprit in this extinction was extraterrestrial, and the prevailing opinion has been that the party crasher was an asteroid. Not so, say two researchers who favor another explanation, asserting that a high-velocity comet led to the demise of the dinosaurs.  |
| Origin of life: Power behind primordial soup discovered Posted: 04 Apr 2013 09:22 AM PDT Researchers may have solved a key puzzle about how objects from space could have kindled life on Earth.  |
| Dwarf whale survived well into Ice Age Posted: 04 Apr 2013 09:21 AM PDT Research detailing the fossil of a dwarf baleen whale from Northern California reveals that it avoided extinction far longer than previously thought.  |
| Bumblebees use logic to find the best flowers Posted: 04 Apr 2013 09:20 AM PDT Scientists have discovered why bees copy each other when looking for nectar -- and the answer is remarkably simple.  |
| Protein maintains order in the nucleus Posted: 04 Apr 2013 09:19 AM PDT Two meters of DNA are packed into the cell nucleus, presumably based on a strictly defined arrangement. Researchers have now succeeded in explaining a phenomenon, which was first observed 40 years ago. Researchers have identified a protein responsible for the correct arrangement of the chromosome centromeres in the nucleus.  |
| Hepatitis A virus discovered to cloak itself in membranes hijacked from infected cells Posted: 04 Apr 2013 09:18 AM PDT Viruses have historically been classified into one of two types – those with an outer lipid-containing envelope and those without an envelope. For the first time, researchers have discovered that hepatitis A virus, a common cause of enterically-transmitted hepatitis, takes on characteristics of both virus types depending on whether it is in a host or in the environment.  |
| NASA flies radar south on wide-ranging expedition Posted: 04 Apr 2013 07:59 AM PDT A versatile NASA airborne imaging radar system is showcasing its broad scientific prowess for studying our home planet during a month-long expedition over the Americas. The campaign is addressing a broad range of science questions, from the dynamics of Earth's crust and glaciers to the carbon cycle and the lives of ancient Peruvian civilizations. Flights are being conducted over Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Peru.  |
| Climate change winners: Adélie penguin population expands as ice fields recede Posted: 04 Apr 2013 06:28 AM PDT Adelie penguins may actually benefit from warmer global temperatures, the opposite of other polar species, according to a breakthrough study. The study provides key information affirming hypothetical projections about the continuing impact of environmental change.  |
| Posted: 04 Apr 2013 04:29 AM PDT The image of an object, when projected into the eyes, may take on the most diverse shapes depending on the chosen point of view, as this can change its distance, perspective and so on, yet generally we have no difficulty in recognizing said object. Scientists have now shown that also rats possess such a sophisticated visual recognition ability, and that their brain employs complex strategies.  |
| Wild mice have natural protection against Lyme borreliosis Posted: 04 Apr 2013 04:29 AM PDT Like humans, mice can become infected with Borrelia. However, not all mice that come into contact with these bacteria contract the dreaded Lyme disease: Animals with a particular gene variant are immune to the bacteria, as scientists demonstrate. Wild mice are the primary hosts for Borrelia, which are transmitted by ticks.  |
| A model predicts that the world's populations will stop growing in 2050 Posted: 04 Apr 2013 04:29 AM PDT Global population data spanning the years from 1900 to 2010 have enabled a research team to predict that the number of people on Earth will stabilize around the middle of the century.  |
| The equine 'Adam' lived fairly recently: Close relationships among modern stallions Posted: 04 Apr 2013 04:29 AM PDT The analysis of DNA inherited from a single parent has provided valuable insights into the history of human and animal populations. However, until recently we had insufficient information to be able to investigate the paternal lines of the domestic horse. This gap has now been filled with new information on the genetic variability in the horse Y chromosome. Researchers have shown how various breeds of the modern horse are interrelated.  |
| One extinct turtle less: Turtle species in the Seychelles never existed Posted: 04 Apr 2013 04:29 AM PDT The turtle species Pelusios seychellensis regarded hitherto as extinct never existed. Scientists discovered this based on genetic evidence.  |
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