ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

---

• As chimpanzees grow, so does yawn contagion
• For celebrated frog hops, scientists look to Calaveras pros
• Barley crops affected by disease found on common wild grass
• Chimpanzees: Alarm calls with intent?
• Flower research shows gardens can be a feast for the eyes – and the bees
• Sun's magnetic field going to flip soon: 11-year solar cycle wimpy, but peaking
• Avian influenza virus detection using smell
• Without plants, Earth would cook under billions of tons of additional carbon
• Drones open way to new world of coral research
• New soil testing kit for third world countries
• Curiosity confirms origins of Martian meteorites
• Extinct 'mega claw' creature had spider-like brain
• Sinking teeth into the evolutionary origin of our skeleton
• Tracking viral DNA in the cell
• Wari, predecessors of the Inca, used restraint to reshape human landscape
• Carbon cycle models underestimate indirect role of animals
• Birds on repeat: Do birdwatchers playbacks hurt fowl?
• Maximizing broccoli's cancer-fighting potential
• Ancient Syrians favored buying local to outsourcing production
• Cuckoos impersonate hawks by matching their 'outfits'
• Just ask the animals: Fishers with GPS sensors show animal movements
• Genetic fingerprinting of pearls developed
• New heat-resistant materials could vastly improve solar cell efficiency
• I'm singing in the rainforest: Researchers find striking similarities between bird song and human music
• Computer models of tornadoes show possible sheltering region behind hills

As chimpanzees grow, so does yawn contagion Posted: 16 Oct 2013 06:32 PM PDT As sanctuary-kept chimpanzees grow from infant to juvenile, they develop increased susceptibility to human yawn contagion, possibility due to their increasing ability to empathize.

For celebrated frog hops, scientists look to Calaveras pros Posted: 16 Oct 2013 06:30 PM PDT The Calaveras County Jumping Frog Jubilee has entered the scientific record via a new article. Experienced bullfrog "jockeys" at the event routinely get their frogs to jump much farther than researchers had ever measured in the lab. How? Decades of refined technique, uncommonly motivated humans and herps, and good old-fashioned large sample size.

Barley crops affected by disease found on common wild grass Posted: 16 Oct 2013 06:26 PM PDT A major fungal pathogen which affects barley crops is also present on a common wild grass according to a new study.

Chimpanzees: Alarm calls with intent? Posted: 16 Oct 2013 06:26 PM PDT Major research led by University of York scientists has discovered remarkable similarities between the production of vocalisations of wild chimpanzees and human language.

Flower research shows gardens can be a feast for the eyes – and the bees Posted: 16 Oct 2013 06:26 PM PDT Are our favorite garden flowers attractive to hungry visitors such as bees and butterflies to feed on?

Sun's magnetic field going to flip soon: 11-year solar cycle wimpy, but peaking Posted: 16 Oct 2013 06:24 PM PDT In a 3-meter diameter hollow aluminum sphere, a physics professor is stirring and heating plasmas to 500,000 degrees Fahrenheit to experimentally mimic the magnetic field-inducing cosmic dynamos at the heart of planets, stars and other celestial bodies.

Avian influenza virus detection using smell Posted: 16 Oct 2013 06:24 PM PDT New research reveals that avian influenza, which typically is asymptomatic, can be detected based on odor changes in infected birds. The results suggest a rapid and simple detection method to help prevent the spread of influenzas in avian populations.

Without plants, Earth would cook under billions of tons of additional carbon Posted: 16 Oct 2013 11:56 AM PDT Researchers found that Earth's terrestrial ecosystems have absorbed 186 billion to 192 billion tons of carbon since the mid-20th century, which has significantly contained the global temperature and levels of carbon in the atmosphere.

Drones open way to new world of coral research Posted: 16 Oct 2013 11:56 AM PDT Camera-equipped flying robots promise new insights into climate change effects on important ecosystems.

New soil testing kit for third world countries Posted: 16 Oct 2013 11:53 AM PDT Researchers have developed a new soil testing kit designed to help farmers in third world countries. On-the-spot soil testing could have major impact in improving crop yields due to poor soils, and can test for the availability of nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, and potassium, as well as active organic matter, and certain soil physical limitations. The raw results of the tests are sent by cell phone to a central website where calculations are made and recommendations are delivered back to the extension agent.

Curiosity confirms origins of Martian meteorites Posted: 16 Oct 2013 10:40 AM PDT Earth's most eminent emissary to Mars has just proven that those rare Martian visitors that sometimes drop in on Earth -- a.k.a. Martian meteorites -- really are from the Red Planet. A key new measurement of Mars' atmosphere by NASA's Curiosity rover provides the most definitive evidence yet of the origins of Mars meteorites while at the same time providing a way to rule out Martian origins of other meteorites.

Extinct 'mega claw' creature had spider-like brain Posted: 16 Oct 2013 10:22 AM PDT Scientists have discovered the earliest known complete nervous system exquisitely preserved in the fossilized remains of a never-before described creature that crawled or swam in the ocean 520 million years ago. The find solves a long-standing debate as to when the ancestors of chelicerates -- spiders and their kin -- made their first appearance and provides evidence that their biting mouthparts evolved from the claw-like appendages of a long-extinct group known as megacheirans.

Sinking teeth into the evolutionary origin of our skeleton Posted: 16 Oct 2013 10:22 AM PDT Did our skeletons evolve for protection or for violence? The earliest vestiges of our skeleton are encountered in 500-million-year-old fossil fishes, some of which were armor-plated filter feeders, while others were naked predators with a face full of gruesome, vicious teeth.

Tracking viral DNA in the cell Posted: 16 Oct 2013 10:21 AM PDT Cell biologists and chemists reveal how viral DNA traffics in human cells. They have developed a new method to generate virus particles containing labeled viral DNA genomes. This allowed them to visualize, for the first time, single viral genomes in the cytoplasm and the nucleus by using fluorescence microscopy in regular or superresolution mode. The new findings enhance our understanding of how viral disease occurs, and how cells respond to infections.

Wari, predecessors of the Inca, used restraint to reshape human landscape Posted: 16 Oct 2013 09:30 AM PDT The Wari, a complex civilization that preceded the Inca empire in pre-Columbia America, didn't rule solely by pillage, plunder and iron-fisted bureaucracy, a new study finds. Instead, they started out by creating loosely administered colonies to expand trade, provide land for settlers and tap natural resources across much of the central Andes.

Carbon cycle models underestimate indirect role of animals Posted: 16 Oct 2013 08:28 AM PDT While models typically take into account how plants and microbes affect the carbon cycle, they often underestimate how much animals can indirectly alter the absorption, release, or transport of carbon within an ecosystem.

Birds on repeat: Do birdwatchers playbacks hurt fowl? Posted: 16 Oct 2013 08:28 AM PDT Using the emphatic sounds of two bird species in Ecuador, a researcher has -- for the first time in peer-reviewed research -- examined the effects of birdwatchers' "playbacks" in the wild. He shows that playbacks do have potentially negative consequences, especially in terms of birds' energies.

Maximizing broccoli's cancer-fighting potential Posted: 16 Oct 2013 08:28 AM PDT Spraying a plant hormone on broccoli -- already one of the planet's most nutritious foods -- boosts its cancer-fighting potential, and researchers say they have new insights on how that works.

Ancient Syrians favored buying local to outsourcing production Posted: 16 Oct 2013 08:27 AM PDT Archaeologists have found evidence that, contrary to a widely held theory, ancient Syrians made their stone tools locally instead of importing finished tools from Turkey.

Cuckoos impersonate hawks by matching their 'outfits' Posted: 16 Oct 2013 08:27 AM PDT An evolutionary trick allows cuckoos to 'mimic' the plumage of birds of prey, and may be used to scare mothers from their nests -- allowing cuckoos to lay eggs. Parasitism in cuckoos may be more much more widespread than previously thought.

Just ask the animals: Fishers with GPS sensors show animal movements Posted: 16 Oct 2013 08:26 AM PDT Many animals are adapting to human encroachment of their natural habitats. Carnivores in particular require territories of sufficient size and so are often forced to move between numerous small habitat patches. To date, scientists often use mathematical models to predict these important routes, but fishers fitted with GPS sensors are now showing that their calculations may be missing the mark if they ignore animal behavior.

Genetic fingerprinting of pearls developed Posted: 16 Oct 2013 07:04 AM PDT For the first time, a group of researchers has succeeded in isolating DNA from pearls and used their genetic material to identify the specific species of oyster that produced the pearl. In a parallel project, researchers used radiocarbon dating to analyze the age of pearls, opening up new avenues for determining the origin and age of pearl jewellery.

New heat-resistant materials could vastly improve solar cell efficiency Posted: 16 Oct 2013 07:04 AM PDT Scientists have created a heat-resistant thermal emitter that could significantly improve solar cell efficiency. The novel component is designed to convert heat from the sun into infrared light that can be absorbed by solar cells to make electricity -- a technology known as thermophotovoltaics.

I'm singing in the rainforest: Researchers find striking similarities between bird song and human music Posted: 16 Oct 2013 07:03 AM PDT The musician wren is aptly-named, because these birds use the same intervals in their songs that are heard as consonant in many human cultures. This is a what composer and musicologist and a biologist found out in their zoomusicological study. Consonant intervals are perceived to fit well together. They sound calm and stable, and are the basis for keys in Western Music. It is because Musician Wrens preferentially produce successive perfect octaves, fifths, and fourths that their songs sound musical to human listeners.

Computer models of tornadoes show possible sheltering region behind hills Posted: 16 Oct 2013 06:57 AM PDT Three-dimensional computer models of the interaction between tornadoes and hills shows that wind velocities are significantly reduced on the leeward side of hills. The finding applied to hills whose height was equal to or greater than the radius of the tornado vortex.

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