ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

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• Computer simulations indicate calcium carbonate has a dense liquid phase
• Morphing manganese: New discovery alters understanding of chemistry that moves elements through natural world
• New risk model sheds light on arsenic risk in China's groundwater
• The 'whole' problem with recycling
• Unraveling the mystery of Saharan dust migration
• How SARS virus hijacks host cells
• Wolves howl because they care: Social relationship can explain variation in vocal production
• How hormones and microbes drive the gender bias in autoimmune diseases
• Potential for successful climate predictions: Hindcast experiments capture long-term climate fluctuations
• Old concrete can protect lakes and streams from phosphorus-laden run-off
• Relating animals to humans could help conservation projects
• Beetles modify emissions of greenhouse gases from cow pats
• Simple mix of rock and organic waste is powerful fertilizer
• Food source for whales, seals and penguins at risk: Warming Antarctic seas likely to impact on krill habitats
• A virus changes its stripes: Human outbreak of eastern equine encephalitis
• Red delicious or wolf apple? Brazilian savanna fruits high in antioxidants
• Hunter-gatherers' taste for spice revealed
• Pre-war insect hunters help to save our pollinators
• Ecologists get first bumblebees' eye view of the landscape
• Quick test kit detects phenolic compounds in drinking water
• More efficient and economical capture of power plant carbon dioxide emissions

Computer simulations indicate calcium carbonate has a dense liquid phase Posted: 22 Aug 2013 12:22 PM PDT Computer simulations could help scientists make sense of a recently observed and puzzling wrinkle in one of nature's most important chemical processes. It turns out that calcium carbonate -- the ubiquitous compound that is a major component of seashells, limestone, concrete, antacids and myriad other substances -- may momentarily exist in liquid form as it crystallizes from solution. Calcium carbonate is a huge player in the planet's carbon cycle, so any new insight into how it behaves is potentially big news.

Morphing manganese: New discovery alters understanding of chemistry that moves elements through natural world Posted: 22 Aug 2013 11:22 AM PDT An often-overlooked form of manganese, an element critical to many life processes, is far more prevalent in ocean environments than previously known, according to a new study. The discovery alters understanding of the chemistry that moves manganese and other elements, like oxygen and carbon, through the natural world. Manganese is an essential nutrient for most organisms and helps plants produce oxygen during photosynthesis.

New risk model sheds light on arsenic risk in China's groundwater Posted: 22 Aug 2013 11:20 AM PDT Arsenic-laden groundwater used for cooking and drinking could pose a risk to the health of almost 20 million people across China. The estimates are based on a risk model incorporating geological and hydrological data, as well as measurements of arsenic in wells.

The 'whole' problem with recycling Posted: 22 Aug 2013 10:39 AM PDT People are psychologically hard-wired to believe that products that are damaged or that aren't whole -- such as small or ripped paper or dented cans -- are useless, and this leads users to trash them rather than recycle them. To circumvent overcrowding landfills and environmental problems, researchers say consumers and manufacturers can take steps to override the urge to toss wholly recyclable items.

Unraveling the mystery of Saharan dust migration Posted: 22 Aug 2013 09:28 AM PDT Scientists area studying the impact of Saharan dust on Houston's air quality, and how it might differ from other sources of pollution. The dust is carried across the Atlantic Ocean on trade winds most summers, and research has shown it can be differentiated from other sources of pollution.

How SARS virus hijacks host cells Posted: 22 Aug 2013 09:28 AM PDT Infectious disease researchers have uncovered components of the SARS coronavirus -- which triggered a major outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome in 2002-03 -- that allow it to take over host cells in order to replicate.

Wolves howl because they care: Social relationship can explain variation in vocal production Posted: 22 Aug 2013 09:28 AM PDT When a member of the wolf pack leaves the group, the howling by those left behind isn't a reflection of stress but of the quality of their relationships. So say researchers based on a study of nine wolves from two packs living at Austria's Wolf Science Center.

How hormones and microbes drive the gender bias in autoimmune diseases Posted: 22 Aug 2013 09:28 AM PDT Females can mount more powerful immune responses than males, but the flip side of this enhanced protection against infections is a greater risk for autoimmune disorders. A new study reveals that certain gut microbes prevalent in males can help protect them against type 1 diabetes. The study demonstrates that these microbes cooperate with sex hormones to cause this gender bias and provides an important framework that could lead to better treatments.

Potential for successful climate predictions: Hindcast experiments capture long-term climate fluctuations Posted: 22 Aug 2013 07:50 AM PDT Marine scientists recently managed to successfully hindcast climate shifts in the Pacific. These shifts also have a profound effect on the average global surface air temperature of the Earth.

Old concrete can protect lakes and streams from phosphorus-laden run-off Posted: 22 Aug 2013 07:50 AM PDT Lakes and streams are often receiving so much phosphorus that it could pose a threat to the local aquatic environment. Now, research shows that there is an easy and inexpensive way to prevent phosphorus from being discharged to aquatic environments. The solution is crushed concrete from demolition sites.

Relating animals to humans could help conservation projects Posted: 22 Aug 2013 07:50 AM PDT New research suggests that people's tendency to relate more to animals that bear a resemblance to humans (anthropomorphism) could help improve public engagement with conservation projects.

Beetles modify emissions of greenhouse gases from cow pats Posted: 22 Aug 2013 07:50 AM PDT Cattle contribute to global warming by burping and farting large amounts of greenhouse gases. Some of the same gases are also emitted from cow pats on pastures. But now researchers have found that beetles living in cow pats may reduce emissions of the key greenhouse gas -- methane.

Simple mix of rock and organic waste is powerful fertilizer Posted: 22 Aug 2013 06:10 AM PDT A simple mixture of organic waste, such as chicken manure, and zeolite, a porous volcanic rock, has been developed into a powerful fertilizer which can also reclaim desert or contaminated land.

Food source for whales, seals and penguins at risk: Warming Antarctic seas likely to impact on krill habitats Posted: 22 Aug 2013 06:10 AM PDT Antarctic krill are usually less than 6 cm in length but their size belies the major role they play in sustaining much of the life in the Southern Ocean. They are the primary food source for many species of whales, seals, penguins and fish.

A virus changes its stripes: Human outbreak of eastern equine encephalitis Posted: 22 Aug 2013 06:05 AM PDT In the summer of 2010, the eastern Panamanian province of Darien experienced a phenomenon that had never been seen before in Latin America: a human outbreak of eastern equine encephalitis. Scientists have now investigated the outbreak, testing samples from 174 patients and many horses.

Red delicious or wolf apple? Brazilian savanna fruits high in antioxidants Posted: 22 Aug 2013 06:05 AM PDT Native Brazilian fruits grown in arid climates and poor soil have similar antioxidant activity to conventionally grown red delicious apples, according to new research.

Hunter-gatherers' taste for spice revealed Posted: 22 Aug 2013 06:03 AM PDT Our early ancestors had a taste for spicy food, new research has revealed. Archeologists have found evidence of the use of spices in cuisine at the transition to agriculture. The researchers discovered traces of garlic mustard on the charred remains of pottery dating back nearly 7,000 years.

Pre-war insect hunters help to save our pollinators Posted: 22 Aug 2013 06:00 AM PDT Maps made more than seventy years ago and records collected by amateur naturalists between the World Wars are providing new clues about declining pollinator numbers, ecologists have found. By showing which land use changes have driven pollinator declines over the past 100 years, the research reveals how we could ensure future land use benefits these vital insects.

Ecologists get first bumblebees' eye view of the landscape Posted: 22 Aug 2013 06:00 AM PDT Ecologists have produced the most detailed picture yet of how bumblebees use the landscape thanks to DNA technology and remote sensing. The results – which come from the largest ever study of wild bumblebee nests – could help farmers and policy makers ensure the countryside is better suited to the needs of these vital but declining pollinators.

Quick test kit detects phenolic compounds in drinking water Posted: 22 Aug 2013 06:00 AM PDT Phenolic compounds a problem in industrialised countries. Clean drinking water is a diminishing natural resource in developing nations and in many industrialized countries. Scientists have now developed a simple and inexpensive test kit that detects phenolic compounds in water. Sources of phenolic compounds found in drinking water include industrial wastewaters, drug residues and pipes.

More efficient and economical capture of power plant carbon dioxide emissions Posted: 22 Aug 2013 06:00 AM PDT Scientists have developed a new technology that captures the carbon dioxide emissions of power plants more economically and ecologically. The new technology is based on a combination of traditional circulating fluidized bed combustion and oxyfuel combustion, enabling more extensive use of cheaper fuels and even biomass.

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