ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

---

• Scientists find extensive glacial retreat in Mount Everest region
• Satellites see double jeopardy for Southern California fire season
• Oldest fossil hominin ear bones ever recovered: Discovery could yield important clues on human origins
• Seabird bones reveal changes in open-ocean food chain
• Using earthquake sensors to track endangered whales
• New non-GM technology platform for genetic improvement of sunflower oilseed crop
• Global warming trends contribute to spread of West Nile virus to new regions in Europe
• Bird flu in live poultry markets are the source of viruses causing human infections
• Molecular basis of strawberry aroma
• Western Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami hazard potential greater than previously thought
• Not all cytokine-producing cells start out the same way
• Less oxygen triggers grasshopper molting, farmers could benefit
• Land management options outlined to address cheatgrass invasion
• As Canada takes Arctic Council helm, experts stress north's vulnerability to spills, emergencies
• Oxygen consumption of individual cells measured: Scanning electrochemical microscopy decisively optimized
• Family trees for yeast cells

Scientists find extensive glacial retreat in Mount Everest region Posted: 13 May 2013 02:48 PM PDT Researchers taking a new look at the snow and ice covering Mount Everest and the national park that surrounds it are finding abundant evidence that the world's tallest peak is shedding its frozen cloak. The scientists have also been studying temperature and precipitation trends in the area and found that the Everest region has been warming while snowfall has been declining since the early 1990s.

Satellites see double jeopardy for Southern California fire season Posted: 13 May 2013 02:45 PM PDT New insights into two factors that are creating a potentially volatile Southern California wildfire season come from an ongoing project using NASA and Indian satellite data by scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.; and Chapman University, Orange, Calif.

Oldest fossil hominin ear bones ever recovered: Discovery could yield important clues on human origins Posted: 13 May 2013 02:43 PM PDT Anthropologists could shed new light on the earliest existence of humans. The study analyzed the tiny ear bones, the malleus, incus and stapes, from two species of early human ancestor in South Africa.

Seabird bones reveal changes in open-ocean food chain Posted: 13 May 2013 02:43 PM PDT Remains of endangered Hawaiian petrels -- both ancient and modern -- show how drastically today's open seas fish menu has changed. Scientists analyzed the bones of Hawaiian petrels -- birds that spend the majority of their lives foraging the open waters of the Pacific. They found that the substantial change in petrels' eating habits, eating prey that are lower rather than higher in the food chain, coincides with the growth of industrialized fishing.

Using earthquake sensors to track endangered whales Posted: 13 May 2013 12:24 PM PDT Oceanographers used data from seafloor seismometers to analyze more than 300,000 fin-whale calls. By triangulating the position they created more than 150 tracks off the Pacific Northwest coast.

New non-GM technology platform for genetic improvement of sunflower oilseed crop Posted: 13 May 2013 09:32 AM PDT Scientists have developed techniques for the genetic improvement of sunflowers using a non-GMO based approach. The new technology platform can harness the plant's own genes to improve characteristics of sunflower, develop genetic traits, which will improve its role as an important oilseed crop.

Global warming trends contribute to spread of West Nile virus to new regions in Europe Posted: 13 May 2013 08:52 AM PDT Global warming trends have a significant influence on the spread of West Nile Virus to new regions in Europe and neighboring countries, where the disease wasn't present before, according to a new study. The study found that rising temperatures have a more considerable contribution than humidity, to the spread of the disease, while the effect of rain was inconclusive.

Bird flu in live poultry markets are the source of viruses causing human infections Posted: 13 May 2013 08:09 AM PDT On 31 March 2013, the Chinese National Health and Family Planning Commission announced human cases of novel H7N9 influenza virus infections. Scientists have now investigated the origins of this novel H7N9 influenza virus.

Molecular basis of strawberry aroma Posted: 13 May 2013 08:09 AM PDT You know that summer is here when juicy red strawberries start to appear on the shelves. In Germany, this seasonal fruit has never been more popular: on average 3.5 kilos per head were consumed in 2012 -- a full kilogram more than ten years ago. Scientists decided to find out what gives strawberries their characteristic flavor.

Western Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami hazard potential greater than previously thought Posted: 13 May 2013 07:37 AM PDT Earthquakes similar in magnitude to the 2004 Sumatra earthquake could occur in an area beneath the Arabian Sea at the Makran subduction zone, according to recent research.

Not all cytokine-producing cells start out the same way Posted: 13 May 2013 06:57 AM PDT Not all IL17-producing cells are the same, and the rules regarding how particular cell types are instructed to produce this important mediator differ. Understanding the rules that govern IL17 cell development and function will suggest ways to specifically modulate one population or the other.

Less oxygen triggers grasshopper molting, farmers could benefit Posted: 13 May 2013 06:50 AM PDT Less oxygen means shorter time between molts, which means shorter life-span, which means fewer hungry grasshoppers. And for farmers, that's very good news. A recent study offers insight into the relationship between respiratory function and molting that could help farmers save more of their crops.

Land management options outlined to address cheatgrass invasion Posted: 13 May 2013 05:33 AM PDT A new study suggests that overgrazing and other factors increase the severity of cheatgrass invasion in sagebrush steppe, one of North America's most endangered ecosystems. Researchers said one of the most effective restoration approaches would be to minimize the cumulative impact of grazing, by better managing the timing, frequency of grazing and number of animals.

As Canada takes Arctic Council helm, experts stress north's vulnerability to spills, emergencies Posted: 13 May 2013 05:33 AM PDT It is crucial that northern nations strengthen response capabilities to shipping-related accidents foreseen in newly-opened northern waters, as well as to more-common local emergencies such as floods, forest fires and rescue situations, experts say.

Oxygen consumption of individual cells measured: Scanning electrochemical microscopy decisively optimized Posted: 13 May 2013 05:30 AM PDT How active a living cell is can be seen by its oxygen consumption. The method for determining this consumption has now been significantly improved. The problem up to now was that the measuring electrode altered the oxygen consumption in the cell's environment much more than the cell itself.

Family trees for yeast cells Posted: 13 May 2013 05:30 AM PDT Researchers have developed a revolutionary method to analyze the genomes of yeast families.

You are subscribed to email updates from ScienceDaily: Top Environment News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610