ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

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• Delayed gratification hurts climate change cooperation
• Neuron 'claws' in the brain enable flies to distinguish one scent from another
• Large-scale deep re-sequencing reveals cucumber's evolutionary enigma
• Global ocean currents explain why Northern Hemisphere is the soggier one
• Cells' 'molecular muscles' help them sense and respond to their environments
• 'Random' cell movement is directed from within
• Disaster management expert warns Australian bush fires will be amongst worst ever seen
• A new look at air pollution sources and atmosphere-warming particles in South Asia
• Evolution is not a one-way road towards complexity
• Lots of oxygen does not necessarily lead to the evolution of advanced life
• Tiny sea creatures are heading for extinction, and could take local fisheries with them
• Habitat research methods give a new peek at tiger life
• Deer-like species: Extinct cervid species remains discovered in Barcelona
• Key genes for increasing oil content in plant leaves identified
• Freshwater biodiversity put on the map for planners and policymakers

Delayed gratification hurts climate change cooperation Posted: 20 Oct 2013 01:07 PM PDT Time is a huge impediment when it comes to working together to halt the effects of climate change, new research suggests.

Neuron 'claws' in the brain enable flies to distinguish one scent from another Posted: 20 Oct 2013 01:07 PM PDT Researchers are using the fruit fly to discover how the brain integrates multiple signals to identify one unique smell. It's work that has broader implication for how flies -- and ultimately, people -- learn.

Large-scale deep re-sequencing reveals cucumber's evolutionary enigma Posted: 20 Oct 2013 01:07 PM PDT Scientists have created a cucumber genomic variation map that includes about 3.6 million variants revealed by deep resequencing of 115 cucumbers worldwide. This work provides new insights for understanding the genetic basis of domestication and diversity of this important crop, and provides guidance for breeders to harness genetic variation for crop improvement.

Global ocean currents explain why Northern Hemisphere is the soggier one Posted: 20 Oct 2013 01:06 PM PDT The Northern Hemisphere gets more tropical rain because of ocean currents that originate in the icy waters near Greenland.

Cells' 'molecular muscles' help them sense and respond to their environments Posted: 20 Oct 2013 01:05 PM PDT Researchers used suction to learn that individual "molecular muscles" within cells respond to different types of force, a finding that may explain how cells "feel" the environment and appropriately adapt their shapes and activities.

'Random' cell movement is directed from within Posted: 20 Oct 2013 01:05 PM PDT Cell biologists have discovered that message-relaying proteins inside cells always initiate the cellular projections that act as hands to help cells "crawl." The messenger protein network was known to be required for directional movement but scientists now know that it can self-activate spontaneously to direct random movement as well.

Disaster management expert warns Australian bush fires will be amongst worst ever seen Posted: 19 Oct 2013 07:47 PM PDT New South Wales firefighters could not possibly have done any more to tackle the bushfires engulfing the area around Sydney and are now ultimately at the mercy of the elements, according to a senior academic.

A new look at air pollution sources and atmosphere-warming particles in South Asia Posted: 18 Oct 2013 10:23 AM PDT New research provides most thorough analysis yet of outdoor cremation ritual emissions in South Asia. While past studies identify black carbon aerosols emitted from combustion of fossil fuels and residential biofuels as the dominant light-absorbing aerosol in the region; new research shows funeral pyre emissions contain sunlight-absorbing organic carbon aerosols known as brown carbon, and underscores the importance of quantifying and characterizing region-specific, cultural combustion activities to enhance existing aerosol emission budgets and climate models.

Evolution is not a one-way road towards complexity Posted: 18 Oct 2013 10:22 AM PDT The larvae of the Wirenia argentea hold a much more complex muscular architecture than their adults -- they remodel during their metamorphosis. So evolution is not a one-way road towards complexity.

Lots of oxygen does not necessarily lead to the evolution of advanced life Posted: 18 Oct 2013 10:22 AM PDT Any textbook will tell you that oxygen is essential for advanced life to evolve. But why did life not explode when oxygen levels rose dramatically 2.1 billion years ago? This became a big question after scientists showed the oxygen content 2.1 billion years ago was probably the same as when life exploded 500 million years ago.

Tiny sea creatures are heading for extinction, and could take local fisheries with them Posted: 18 Oct 2013 10:21 AM PDT A species of cold water plankton in the North Atlantic, that is a vital food source for fish such as cod and hake, is in decline as the oceans warm. This will put pressure on the fisheries that rely on abundant supplies of these fish.

Habitat research methods give a new peek at tiger life Posted: 18 Oct 2013 10:21 AM PDT From a tiger's point of view, yesterday's thoughtful conservation plans might be today's reason to branch out. An international team of researchers has found a useful way to better understand the tiger's take on policy.

Deer-like species: Extinct cervid species remains discovered in Barcelona Posted: 18 Oct 2013 10:20 AM PDT Scientists have discovered the remains of an extinct cervid species first recorded in the Iberian Peninsula. The animal lived in the Pleistocene about 90,000 years ago.

Key genes for increasing oil content in plant leaves identified Posted: 18 Oct 2013 10:20 AM PDT Scientists have identified the key genes required for oil production and accumulation in plant leaves and other vegetative plant tissues. Enhancing expression of these genes resulted in vastly increased oil content in leaves, the most abundant sources of plant biomass -- a finding that could have important implications for increasing the energy content of plant-based foods and renewable biofuel feedstocks.

Freshwater biodiversity put on the map for planners and policymakers Posted: 16 Oct 2013 06:25 PM PDT When it comes to economic growth and environmental impacts, it can seem like Newton's third law of motion is the rule — for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction — and that in most cases, the economy prospers and the environment suffers.

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