ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

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• Sharks worth more in the ocean than on the menu
• Biologists take snapshot of fleeting protein process
• Climate change threatens extinction for 82 percent of California native fish
• Innovative new nanotechnology stops bed bugs in their tracks - literally
• Croaking chorus of Cuban frogs make noisy new neighbors
• New maps show how shipping noise spans the globe
• Ultrasound ‘Making Waves’ for Enhancing Biofuel Production
• Why animals compare the present with the past
• Human activity echoes through Brazilian rainforest
• Global warming caused by CFCs, not carbon dioxide, researcher claims in controversial study
• Rainforests take the heat, paleontologists show
• How turtles got their shells: Fossil of extinct South African reptile provides clues
• Why female loggerhead sea turtles always return to their place of birth
• Land-based carbon offsets: False hope? Forest and soil carbon is important, but does not offset fossil fuel emissions
• Small dams on Chinese river harm environment more than expected, study finds
• Ancient Egyptians accessorized with meteorites
• Particulate matter emissions: Trimmers and chainsaws are worse than highway traffic
• Scientists find chemical that causes 'kidney' failure in mosquitoes

Sharks worth more in the ocean than on the menu Posted: 30 May 2013 04:24 PM PDT Sharks are worth more in the ocean than in a bowl of soup, according to researchers.

Biologists take snapshot of fleeting protein process Posted: 30 May 2013 02:00 PM PDT Structural biologists have captured the first three-dimensional crystalline snapshot of a critical but fleeting process that takes place thousands of times per second in every human cell. The research sheds new light on a protein that was discovered more than 120 years ago and could prove useful in the study of cancer and other diseases.

Climate change threatens extinction for 82 percent of California native fish Posted: 30 May 2013 02:00 PM PDT Of 121 native fish species in California, researchers predict 82 percent are likely to be driven to extinction or very low numbers as climate change speeds the decline of already depleted populations.

Innovative new nanotechnology stops bed bugs in their tracks - literally Posted: 30 May 2013 01:58 PM PDT Bed bugs now need to watch their step. Researchers have developed a safe, non-chemical resource that literally stops bed bugs in their tracks. This innovative new technology acts as a human-made web consisting of microfibers 50 times thinner than a human hair which entangle and trap bed bugs and other insects.

Croaking chorus of Cuban frogs make noisy new neighbors Posted: 30 May 2013 01:58 PM PDT Scientists have shown the adverse impact of invasive frog species' songs.

New maps show how shipping noise spans the globe Posted: 30 May 2013 12:28 PM PDT Scientists have modeled shipping noise on a global scale.

Ultrasound ‘Making Waves’ for Enhancing Biofuel Production Posted: 30 May 2013 12:28 PM PDT Engineers are using high-frequency sound waves to break down plant materials in order to cook up a better batch of biofuel.

Why animals compare the present with the past Posted: 30 May 2013 11:20 AM PDT Humans, like other animals, compare things. We care not only how well off we are, but whether we are better or worse off than others around us, or than we were last year. New research shows that such comparisons can give individuals an evolutionary advantage.

Human activity echoes through Brazilian rainforest Posted: 30 May 2013 11:19 AM PDT The disappearance of large, fruit-eating birds from tropical forests in Brazil has caused the region's forest palms to produce smaller, less successful seeds over the past century, researchers say. The findings provide evidence that human activity can trigger fast-paced evolutionary changes in natural populations.

Global warming caused by CFCs, not carbon dioxide, researcher claims in controversial study Posted: 30 May 2013 10:24 AM PDT Chlorofluorocarbons are to blame for global warming since the 1970s and not carbon dioxide, a researcher claims in a controversial new study. CFCs are already known to deplete ozone, but in-depth statistical analysis now suggests that CFCs are also the key driver in global climate change, rather than carbon dioxide emissions, the researcher argues.

Rainforests take the heat, paleontologists show Posted: 30 May 2013 10:24 AM PDT Rainforests thrived during previous global warming events, say paleontologists.

How turtles got their shells: Fossil of extinct South African reptile provides clues Posted: 30 May 2013 10:24 AM PDT Through careful study of an ancient ancestor of modern turtles, researchers now have a clearer picture of how the turtles' most unusual shell came to be. The findings help to fill a 30- to 55-million-year gap in the turtle fossil record through study of an extinct South African reptile known as Eunotosaurus.

Why female loggerhead sea turtles always return to their place of birth Posted: 30 May 2013 08:11 AM PDT For a better protection of marine turtles, scientists are trying to understand why they return to their birthplace in order to reproduce after rather long distance migrations. Using molecular tools applied to turtles from the Cape Verde islands, scientists found females from different islands have different immune genes, suggesting that returning home to reproduce is linked to advantages in parasite resistance.

Land-based carbon offsets: False hope? Forest and soil carbon is important, but does not offset fossil fuel emissions Posted: 30 May 2013 06:50 AM PDT Leading world climate change experts have thrown cold water on the idea that planting trees can offset carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels. Land carbon sinks cannot solve the problem of atmospheric carbon emissions but they legitimize the ongoing use of fossil fuels.

Small dams on Chinese river harm environment more than expected, study finds Posted: 30 May 2013 06:50 AM PDT A fresh look at the environmental impacts of dams on an ecologically diverse and partially protected river in China found that small dams can pose a greater threat to ecosystems and natural landscape than large dams. The research team's surveys of habitat loss and damage at several dam sites on the Nu River and its tributaries in Yunnan Province revealed that, watt-for-watt, the environmental harm from small dams was often greater than from large dams.

Ancient Egyptians accessorized with meteorites Posted: 30 May 2013 06:46 AM PDT Researchers have found conclusive proof that Ancient Egyptians used meteorites to make symbolic accessories for their dead.

Particulate matter emissions: Trimmers and chainsaws are worse than highway traffic Posted: 30 May 2013 06:46 AM PDT Highway maintenance workers are exposed to various harmful emissions. Surprisingly, motorized hand-held tools such as strimmers (string trimmers) and chainsaws, rather than highway traffic, are responsible for the highest emissions of particulate matter.

Scientists find chemical that causes 'kidney' failure in mosquitoes Posted: 29 May 2013 04:09 PM PDT Scientists have discovered a chemical that causes "kidney" failure in mosquitoes, which may pave the way to the development of new insecticides to fight deadly mosquito-transmitted diseases such as malaria and dengue fever.

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