ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

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• Spinning CDs to clean sewage water
• Global warming is likely to increase severe thunderstorm conditions in U.S., research finds
• Wind and rain belts to shift north as planet warms: Redistribution of rainfall could make Middle East, Western US and Amazonia drier
• Whale earwax used to determine contaminant exposure in whales
• Pesticide regulation in California is flawed
• Fossil record shows crustaceans vulnerable as modern coral reefs decline
• Modifying rice crops to resist herbicide prompts weedy neighbors' growth spurt
• First look at complete sorghum genome may usher in new uses for food and fuel
• More archeological treasures found in Southern Turkey: Statue head of goddess Aphrodite, mosaic temple floor, more evidence of Roman influence
• The fish and the egg: Towards a new strategy for fattening up red drum in Texas
• It takes a(n academic) village to determine an enzyme's function
• A fast fish with a huge impact
• Eagle vs. deer: Camera trap shows golden eagle capturing sika deer
• Chasing the 'black holes' of the ocean
• How aboriginal Australians coped with the last ice age
• Researchers discover the smallest aquatic bacterium ever described
• Improving salmon's success in the wild and aquaculture

Spinning CDs to clean sewage water Posted: 23 Sep 2013 02:59 PM PDT Audio CDs, all the rage in the '90s, seem increasingly obsolete in a world of MP3 files and iPods, leaving many music lovers with the question of what to do with their extensive compact disk collections. While you could turn your old disks into a work of avant-garde art, researchers in Taiwan have come up with a more practical application: breaking down sewage.

Global warming is likely to increase severe thunderstorm conditions in U.S., research finds Posted: 23 Sep 2013 12:55 PM PDT Severe thunderstorms, often exhibiting destructive rainfall, hail and tornadoes, are one of the primary causes of catastrophic losses in the United States. New climate models suggest a robust increase in these types of storms across the country.

Wind and rain belts to shift north as planet warms: Redistribution of rainfall could make Middle East, Western US and Amazonia drier Posted: 23 Sep 2013 12:55 PM PDT As humans continue to heat the planet, a northward shift of Earth's wind and rain belts could make a broad swath of regions drier, including the Middle East, American West and Amazonia, while making Monsoon Asia and equatorial Africa wetter, says a new study.

Whale earwax used to determine contaminant exposure in whales Posted: 23 Sep 2013 11:36 AM PDT A novel technique has been developed for reconstructing contaminant and hormone profiles using whale earplugs to determine, for the first time, lifetime chemical exposures and hormone profiles, from birth to death, for an individual whale. This information has not been previously attainable.

Pesticide regulation in California is flawed Posted: 23 Sep 2013 11:36 AM PDT In at least one case, the California system for approving a pesticide for use on crops failed by approving a chemical called methyl iodide for use on strawberries. Methyl iodide is a neurotoxicant and is carcinogenic. It is also a developmental toxicant, impairing fetal development and causing fetal death, at low doses.

Fossil record shows crustaceans vulnerable as modern coral reefs decline Posted: 23 Sep 2013 11:35 AM PDT Many ancient crustaceans went extinct following a massive collapse of reefs across the planet, and new research suggests modern species living in rapidly declining reef habitats may now be at risk.

Modifying rice crops to resist herbicide prompts weedy neighbors' growth spurt Posted: 23 Sep 2013 11:35 AM PDT Rice containing an overactive gene that makes it resistant to a common herbicide can pass that genetic trait to weedy rice, prompting powerful growth even without a weed-killer to trigger the modification benefit, new research shows.

First look at complete sorghum genome may usher in new uses for food and fuel Posted: 23 Sep 2013 09:39 AM PDT Although sorghum lines underwent adaptation to be grown in temperate climates decades ago, a researcher said he and his team have completed the first comprehensive genomic analysis of the molecular changes behind that adaptation.

More archeological treasures found in Southern Turkey: Statue head of goddess Aphrodite, mosaic temple floor, more evidence of Roman influence Posted: 23 Sep 2013 09:38 AM PDT Shoveling and sweeping to expose still-hidden portions of a 1,600-square-foot marble mosaic that dates to Roman times, an archeological team this past summer unearthed a new treasure in southern Turkey. Lying face down in more than a millennium of soil was a life-size marble head, the remnant of a sculpture of the goddess Aphrodite – still beautiful, though scarred by chips on its nose and face.

The fish and the egg: Towards a new strategy for fattening up red drum in Texas Posted: 23 Sep 2013 08:41 AM PDT Are red drum fish "capital" or "income" breeders? The answer has significant economic and environmental consequences for how the state of Texas manages its breeding of the popular game fish.

It takes a(n academic) village to determine an enzyme's function Posted: 23 Sep 2013 08:41 AM PDT Scientists have sequenced the genomes of nearly 6,900 organisms, but they know the functions of only about half of the protein-coding genes thus far discovered. Now a multidisciplinary effort involving 15 scientists from three institutions has begun chipping away at this mystery -- in a big way. Their work to identify the function of one bacterial protein and the biochemical pathway in which it operates will also help identify the functions of hundreds of other proteins.

A fast fish with a huge impact Posted: 23 Sep 2013 08:41 AM PDT Globalization is breaking down barriers -- also for plants and animals on the lookout for new homes. Rivers are also changing, in particular through the introduction of non-native species, often brought in by passing ships. In the Danube River, scientists have been observing a fish species conquering a new habitat and creating a totally new ecosystem in the process.

Eagle vs. deer: Camera trap shows golden eagle capturing sika deer Posted: 23 Sep 2013 08:41 AM PDT A camera trap set out for endangered Siberian (Amur) tigers in the Russian Far East photographed something far more rare: a golden eagle capturing a young sika deer.

Chasing the 'black holes' of the ocean Posted: 23 Sep 2013 08:41 AM PDT Some of the largest ocean eddies on Earth are mathematically equivalent to the mysterious black holes of space. These eddies are so tightly shielded by circular water paths that nothing caught up in them escapes. The mild winters experienced in Northern Europe are thanks to the Gulf Stream, which makes up part of those ocean currents spanning the globe that impact on the climate. However, our climate is also influenced by huge eddies of over 150 kilometres in diameter that rotate and drift across the ocean. Their number is reportedly on the rise in the Southern Ocean, increasing the northward transport of warm and salty water. Intriguingly, this could moderate the negative impact of melting sea ice in a warming climate.

How aboriginal Australians coped with the last ice age Posted: 23 Sep 2013 06:31 AM PDT While we grapple with the impact of climate change, archaeologists suggest we spare a thought for Aboriginal Australians who had to cope with the last ice age.

Researchers discover the smallest aquatic bacterium ever described Posted: 23 Sep 2013 06:29 AM PDT Researchers have discovered the smallest aquatic bacterium ever described worldwide.

Improving salmon's success in the wild and aquaculture Posted: 23 Sep 2013 06:29 AM PDT Have you ever been stressed and forgot what you were doing? Chronic mild stress may explain why many salmon don´t return to our rivers and why 20% of salmon production is lost every year.

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