ScienceDaily: Top Environment News |
- 'Dark oxidants' form away from sunlight in lake and ocean depths, underground soils
- New dinosaur fossil discovered in China: Meat-eating dinosaur from late Jurassic period was less than a year old
- Monkey math: Baboons show brain's ability to understand numbers
- Flight behavior of hungry malaria mosquitoes analyzed
- Hearing the Russian meteor, in America: Sound arrived in 10 hours, lasted 10 more
- Sahara olive tree: Genetic heritage to be preserved
- Malaria: A vector infecting both apes and humans
- Boom in jellyfish: Overfishing called into question
- How to clean seaweed from beaches: Dry it and use the biomass for energy
- New mechanism discovered in meiosis: How modification of an enzyme governs critical processes in sexual reproduction
- Potential of best practice to reduce impacts from oil and gas projects in the Amazon
- Killer entrance suspected in mystery of unusually large group of carnivores in ancient cave
- Tone-deaf female cowbirds change flock behavior, disrupt social networks
- It slices, it dices, it silences: ADAR1 as gene-silencing modular RNA multitool
- Traditional ranching practices enhance African savanna
| 'Dark oxidants' form away from sunlight in lake and ocean depths, underground soils Posted: 03 May 2013 10:29 AM PDT All forms of life that breathe oxygen -- even ones that can't be seen with the naked eye, such as bacteria -- must fight oxidants to live. But neutralizing environmental oxidants such as superoxide was a worry only for organisms that dwell in sunlight -- in habitats that cover a mere 5 percent of the planet. That was the only place where such environmental oxidants were thought to exist. Now researchers have discovered the first light-independent source of superoxide. The key is bacteria common in the depths of the oceans and other dark places.  |
| Posted: 03 May 2013 10:27 AM PDT Fossil remains in northwestern China have been identified as a new species of small theropod, or meat-eating, dinosaur.  |
| Monkey math: Baboons show brain's ability to understand numbers Posted: 03 May 2013 10:27 AM PDT Opposing thumbs, expressive faces, complex social systems: it's hard to miss the similarities between apes and humans. Now a new study with a troop of zoo baboons and lots of peanuts shows that a less obvious trait -- the ability to understand numbers -- also is shared by humans and their primate cousins.  |
| Flight behavior of hungry malaria mosquitoes analyzed Posted: 03 May 2013 07:51 AM PDT Malaria mosquitoes go to work cautiously before landing on human skin and biting. Just before a mosquito lands, it reacts to both odors and heat given off by the human body. Researchers came to this conclusion after studying images made with infrared-sensitive cameras.  |
| Hearing the Russian meteor, in America: Sound arrived in 10 hours, lasted 10 more Posted: 03 May 2013 07:50 AM PDT How powerful was February's meteor that crashed into Russia? Strong enough that its explosive entry into our atmosphere was detected almost 6,000 miles away in Lilburn, Ga., by infrasound sensors -- a full 10 hours after the meteor's explosion. A researcher has modified the signals and made them audible, allowing audiences to "hear" what the meteor's waves sounded like as they moved around the globe on February 15.  |
| Sahara olive tree: Genetic heritage to be preserved Posted: 03 May 2013 06:47 AM PDT The Saharan cousin of Mediterranean olive trees remains largely unknown. However, this subspecies (called the Laperinne's olive tree) is of great interest for several reasons. Researchers have shown that its longevity is ensured by its original vegetative reproduction. Extremely drought-resistant, this "relict" tree could act as a genetic resource to improve its domestic counterparts, provided conservation actions are implemented to prevent its disappearance.  |
| Malaria: A vector infecting both apes and humans Posted: 03 May 2013 06:47 AM PDT In 2010, a study revealed that the main agent of malaria in humans, called Plasmodium falciparum, arose from the gorilla. Today, the vector which transmitted the parasite from apes to humans has just been identified. Scientists have determined which species of anopheles mosquitoes transfer the disease to apes. Among them is Anopheles moucheti, known for biting humans. Therefore, it appears to be the species which originally infected us through our 'cousins'. And it could do it again today.  |
| Boom in jellyfish: Overfishing called into question Posted: 03 May 2013 06:47 AM PDT Will we soon be forced to eat jellyfish? Since the beginning of the 2000s, these gelatinous creatures have invaded many of the world's seas, like the Japan Sea, the Black Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, etc. Is it a cyclic phenomenon, caused by changes in marine currents or even global warming? Until now, the causes remained unknown. A new study exposes overfishing as the main factor.  |
| How to clean seaweed from beaches: Dry it and use the biomass for energy Posted: 03 May 2013 06:41 AM PDT Scientists have developed an algae removal and treatment system that turns this underused residue into a renewable source of energy: biomass. The process involves several stages of washing, drying and compacting without leaving the beach. The system is cheaper, more efficient and more environmentally friendly than the procedure commonly followed now.  |
| Posted: 03 May 2013 06:41 AM PDT Scientists have made an important discovery in meiosis research. They have identified a new mechanism that plays an important role in meiosis.  |
| Potential of best practice to reduce impacts from oil and gas projects in the Amazon Posted: 01 May 2013 04:31 PM PDT Hydrocarbon exploration and production continues to press into the most remote corners of the western Amazon, one of the most biologically and culturally diverse zones on Earth. A new best practice framework that combines technical engineering criteria with ecological and social concerns could reduce the negative environmental impacts of such development, according to new research.  |
| Killer entrance suspected in mystery of unusually large group of carnivores in ancient cave Posted: 01 May 2013 04:31 PM PDT An assortment of saber-toothed cats, hyenas, an extinct 'bear-dog', ancestors of the red panda and several other carnivores died under unusual circumstances in a Spanish cave near Madrid approximately 9-10 million years ago. It now appears that the animals may have entered the cave intentionally and been trapped there, according to new research.  |
| Tone-deaf female cowbirds change flock behavior, disrupt social networks Posted: 01 May 2013 04:31 PM PDT Female cowbirds incapable of recognizing high-quality male songs can alter the behavior of flock-mates of either sex and disrupt overall social structure, according to new research.  |
| It slices, it dices, it silences: ADAR1 as gene-silencing modular RNA multitool Posted: 01 May 2013 10:20 AM PDT RNA, once considered a bit player in the grand scheme by which genes encode protein, is increasingly seen to have a major role in human genetics. Researchers now report how the RNA-editing protein, ADAR1, also combines with the protein called Dicer to create microRNA and small interfering. These varieties of RNA, in turn, play a crucial role in gene regulation -- silencing or "switching off" the production of specific proteins.  |
| Traditional ranching practices enhance African savanna Posted: 01 May 2013 10:20 AM PDT That human land use destroys natural ecosystems is an oft-cited assumption in conservation, but ecologists have discovered that instead, traditional ranching techniques in the African savanna enhance the local abundance of wild, native animals. These results offer a new perspective on the roles humans play in natural systems, and inform ongoing discussions about land management and biodiversity conservation.  |
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