ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

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• Hitchhiking virus confirms saga of ancient human migration
• Grazers, pollinators shape plant evolution
• Risk of Amazon rainforest dieback is higher than IPCC projects, study suggests
• No known hominin is common ancestor of Neanderthals and modern humans, study suggests
• Economic assessment of mountain pine beetle timber salvage
• Poorly camouflaged insects can kick off a cascade of ecological impacts
• Tuberculosis and the social lives of badgers
• West African bats: No safe haven for malaria parasites
• New native shrubs show promise for landscape, nursery industries
• 0.3% of GPD would protect East Asia from climate change
• Yangtze finless porpoise: Highly endangered mammal trying to cope with constant shipping, dredging and underwater construction
• Footwear recycling gets a kick-start
• Cleaner and greener cities with integrated transparent solar cells
• In Nepal, villagers' land uses help people and tigers
• Straw could supply energy to millions of households
• Clean living is a luxury wild animals can't afford

Hitchhiking virus confirms saga of ancient human migration Posted: 21 Oct 2013 01:26 PM PDT A study of the full genetic code of a common human virus offers a dramatic confirmation of the "out-of-Africa" pattern of human migration, which had previously been documented by anthropologists and studies of the human genome.

Grazers, pollinators shape plant evolution Posted: 21 Oct 2013 12:32 PM PDT It has long been known that the characteristics of many plants with wide ranges can vary geographically, depending on differences in climate. But changes in grazing pressure and pollination can also affect the genetic composition of natural plant populations, according to a new study.

Risk of Amazon rainforest dieback is higher than IPCC projects, study suggests Posted: 21 Oct 2013 12:32 PM PDT A new study suggests the southern portion of the Amazon rainforest is at a much higher risk of dieback due to stronger seasonal drying than projections made by the climate models used in the latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

No known hominin is common ancestor of Neanderthals and modern humans, study suggests Posted: 21 Oct 2013 12:32 PM PDT The search for a common ancestor linking modern humans with the Neanderthals who lived in Europe thousands of years ago has been a compelling subject for research. But a new study suggests the quest isn't nearly complete. The researchers, using quantitative methods focused on the shape of dental fossils, find that none of the usual suspects fits the expected profile of an ancestor of Neanderthals and modern humans.

Economic assessment of mountain pine beetle timber salvage Posted: 21 Oct 2013 11:33 AM PDT A recently published study shows that while positive net revenues could be produced in West Coast and Northern Rockies states with active timber markets, the central Rocky Mountain states of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming -- which have the largest volume of standing dead timber -- would not generate positive net revenues by salvaging beetle-killed timber.

Poorly camouflaged insects can kick off a cascade of ecological impacts Posted: 21 Oct 2013 11:33 AM PDT A California walking stick insect that has evolved to produce individuals with two distinct appearances -- an all-green form that camouflages well with broader leaves and a form with a white stripe running down its back that blends better with needle-like leaves -- can markedly affect its broader ecological community when the appearance of the bug is mismatched with the plant it's living on.

Tuberculosis and the social lives of badgers Posted: 21 Oct 2013 10:10 AM PDT Badgers are an important wildlife reservoir for tuberculosis infection, a disease that leads thousands of cattle to slaughter each year. Now, researchers have found that the spread of the disease is influenced in surprising ways by infected badgers, and especially by the details of their social lives.

West African bats: No safe haven for malaria parasites Posted: 21 Oct 2013 10:07 AM PDT In Europe, bats are normally discussed in the context of endangered species threatened by loss of their habitats. However, in recent years, bats have caught the eye of infection biologists. The animals are namely hosts to a surprising number of pathogens, many of which could be dangerous to humans. Scientists have been able to identify in West African bats four genera of parasites that are closely related to the malaria pathogen.

New native shrubs show promise for landscape, nursery industries Posted: 21 Oct 2013 08:57 AM PDT Scientists studied softwood stem cutting propagation of four underused shrub species native to the northeastern United States. The results indicated that two of these could be propagated for consideration as commercial crops for wholesale nurseries looking for new native shrubs, and that all four of the species have the potential to be viable commercial crops for nurseries that specialize in native plants.

0.3% of GPD would protect East Asia from climate change Posted: 21 Oct 2013 08:54 AM PDT About 12 million people in 23 East Asian cities are at risk from rising sea levels, severe storms, and more intense drought caused by climate change that could jeopardize $864 billion in assets, a new report warns.

Yangtze finless porpoise: Highly endangered mammal trying to cope with constant shipping, dredging and underwater construction Posted: 21 Oct 2013 07:42 AM PDT The Yangtze finless porpoise, which inhabits the high-traffic waters near the Three Gorges Dam in China, is highly endangered, with only about 1,000 animals alive today. Scientists are using medical technology to shed new light on this species' critical sense of hearing in a waterway punctuated by constant shipping, dredging, and underwater construction.

Footwear recycling gets a kick-start Posted: 21 Oct 2013 07:37 AM PDT A newly developed recycling process could make landfill sites filled with old shoes a thing of the past.

Cleaner and greener cities with integrated transparent solar cells Posted: 21 Oct 2013 06:51 AM PDT Imagine buildings in which the windows allow the sun's light to enter, and at the same time capture the energy from the sun needed to meet all their energy needs. In this seemingly futuristic scenario, the windows become productive solar cells that help us decrease our reliance on fossil fuels and advance towards a greener and cleaner environment. Researchers have now fabricated an optimal organic solar cell with a high level of transparency and a high power conversion efficiency, a promising step forward towards affordable, clean, more widely utilized and urban integrated renewable energies.

In Nepal, villagers' land uses help people and tigers Posted: 21 Oct 2013 06:51 AM PDT Hopeful signs that humans and critically endangered tigers can coexist are emerging in rural Nepal, where a new study shows that when Nepalese villagers are empowered to make local land management decisions, the results benefit both people and tigers.

Straw could supply energy to millions of households Posted: 21 Oct 2013 06:46 AM PDT Straw from agriculture could play an important role in the future energy mix for Germany.  Up until now it has been underutilized as a biomass residue and waste material. Research shows that a total of 30 million tons of cereal straw is produced annually in Germany and between 8 and 13 million tons of it could be used sustainably for energy or fuel production. This potential could for example provide 1.7 to 2.8 million average households with electricity and at the same time 2.8 to 4.5 million households with heating.

Clean living is a luxury wild animals can't afford Posted: 20 Oct 2013 05:30 PM PDT Domestic animals will choose to steer clear of dirt -- but their wild cousins can't be so picky and may be at increased risk of disease as a result.

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