ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

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• First look at diverse life below rare tallgrass prairies
• Molecule that orients neurons for high definition sensing identified
• Is global heating hiding out in the oceans? Parts of Pacific warming 15 times faster than in past 10,000 years
• Incomplete protein digestion is useful for some bacteria
• Underwater robots influence complex swimming behaviors of schooling fish
• Gaming technology unravels one of the most complex entities in nature: Computational research unveils secrets in the human carbohydrate bar-code
• Dogs know a left-sided wag from a right
• Butterflies show origin of species as an evolutionary process, not a single event
• Geoengineering the climate could reduce vital rains
• 'Witch Head' Brews Baby Stars
• Simple plants aren't always easy: Revision of the liverwort Radula buccinifera complex
• Pronghorn warming to safe passages: Scientists observe as pronghorn use overpass without hesitation
• Animal personalities are more like humans than first thought
• Tagging aquatic animals can disrupt natural behavior
• Sex determiner gene of honey bee more complicated than thought
• Chickens to benefit from biofuels bonanza
• Scent marking - the mammalian equivalent of showy plumage
• New experiments reveal the types of bacteria involved in human decomposition
• Listen up: Oysters may use sound to select a home

First look at diverse life below rare tallgrass prairies Posted: 31 Oct 2013 11:27 AM PDT For the first time, biologists have gotten a peek at a vitally important community that once called the tallgrass prairie home: The diverse assortment of microbes that thrived in the dark, rich soils beneath the grass.

Molecule that orients neurons for high definition sensing identified Posted: 31 Oct 2013 11:27 AM PDT Many animals have highly developed senses, such as vision in carnivores, touch in mice, and hearing in bats. New research has uncovered a brain molecule that can explain the existence of such finely-tuned sensory capabilities, revealing how brain cells responsible for specific senses are positioned to receive incoming sensory information.

Is global heating hiding out in the oceans? Parts of Pacific warming 15 times faster than in past 10,000 years Posted: 31 Oct 2013 11:27 AM PDT In a reconstruction of Pacific Ocean temperatures in the last 10,000 years, researchers have found that its middle depths have warmed 15 times faster in the last 60 years than they did during apparent natural warming cycles in the previous 10,000.

Incomplete protein digestion is useful for some bacteria Posted: 31 Oct 2013 09:53 AM PDT Protein degradation by energy-dependent proteases normally results in the complete destruction of target proteins. However, under particularly harsh artificial conditions in the test tube, these proteases can stall on certain targets. But until recent experiments, such an effect had never been seen inside a living bacterial cell.

Underwater robots influence complex swimming behaviors of schooling fish Posted: 31 Oct 2013 09:52 AM PDT Scientists have demonstrated how underwater robots can be used to understand and influence the complex swimming behaviors of schooling fish. Robotic fish have an impact on collective animal behavior.

Gaming technology unravels one of the most complex entities in nature: Computational research unveils secrets in the human carbohydrate bar-code Posted: 31 Oct 2013 09:52 AM PDT Scientists have used the power of off-the-shelf computer gaming technology to capture previously unobservable atomic movements. The research is helping to chart one of nature's most complex entities known as "glycomes" -- the entire complement of carbohydrates within a cell.

Dogs know a left-sided wag from a right Posted: 31 Oct 2013 09:49 AM PDT You might think a wagging tail is a wagging tail, but for dogs there is more to it than that. Dogs recognize and respond differently when their fellow canines wag to the right than they do when they wag to the left. The findings show that dogs, like humans, have asymmetrically organized brains, with the left and right sides playing different roles.

Butterflies show origin of species as an evolutionary process, not a single event Posted: 31 Oct 2013 09:49 AM PDT The evolution of new species might not be as hard as it seems, even when diverging populations remain in contact and continue to produce offspring. That's the conclusion of studies that examine the full genome sequences of 32 Heliconius butterflies from the Central American rain forest, representing five different species.

Geoengineering the climate could reduce vital rains Posted: 31 Oct 2013 09:46 AM PDT Although a significant build-up in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere would alter worldwide precipitation patterns, geoengineering would also interfere with rainfall and snowfall. An international study finds that "geoengineering" could result in monsoonal rains in North America, East Asia, and other regions dropping by 5-7 percent compared to preindustrial conditions because of less evaporation and reduced plant emissions of water.

'Witch Head' Brews Baby Stars Posted: 31 Oct 2013 08:02 AM PDT A witch appears to be screaming out into space in this new image from NASA's Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE. The infrared portrait shows the Witch Head nebula, named after its resemblance to the profile of a wicked witch. Astronomers say the billowy clouds of the nebula, where baby stars are brewing, are being lit up by massive stars

Simple plants aren't always easy: Revision of the liverwort Radula buccinifera complex Posted: 31 Oct 2013 07:33 AM PDT Simple plants aren't always easy, proves the Radula buccinifera complex, formed of "primitive," small, moss-like plants called liverwort. Molecular and morphological evidence show that what was thought to be one species of leafy liverwort from Australia and New Zealand is in fact eight different species, and five of these are new to science.

Pronghorn warming to safe passages: Scientists observe as pronghorn use overpass without hesitation Posted: 31 Oct 2013 07:30 AM PDT Scientists observing the fall migration of pronghorn from Grand Teton National Park to the Upper Green River Basin announced that for the second year, the animals have successfully used the newly constructed overpasses that provide safe passage over U.S. Highway 191 in Trapper's Point, Wyoming. More telling, the scientists report that unlike the first year, the pronghorn showed no hesitation in using the overpass and have apparently adapted to the structure.

Animal personalities are more like humans than first thought Posted: 31 Oct 2013 06:23 AM PDT A study has found for the first time that, just like humans, unpredictability is also a consistent behavioral trait in the animal world.

Tagging aquatic animals can disrupt natural behavior Posted: 31 Oct 2013 06:04 AM PDT American and Canadian researchers have for the first time quantified the energy cost to aquatic animals when they carry satellite tags, video cameras and other research instruments.

Sex determiner gene of honey bee more complicated than thought Posted: 31 Oct 2013 06:03 AM PDT Bee colonies consist of a queen bee, lots of female worker bees and some male drones. The gene that determines the sex of the bees is much more complex than has been assumed up until now and has developed over the course of evolution very quickly.

Chickens to benefit from biofuels bonanza Posted: 31 Oct 2013 06:03 AM PDT Chickens could be the unexpected beneficiaries of the growing biofuels industry, feeding on proteins retrieved from the fermenters used to brew bioethanol, thanks to new research.

Scent marking - the mammalian equivalent of showy plumage Posted: 31 Oct 2013 06:03 AM PDT The smell of urine may not strike people as pleasant, but female mice find it as attractive as cologne. Researchers have confirmed that male house mice that excel at scent-marking their territory also have more offspring. This is likely because mouse females are able to infer mate quality from the males' scent mark deposits.

New experiments reveal the types of bacteria involved in human decomposition Posted: 30 Oct 2013 03:59 PM PDT The type of bacteria involved in human decomposition can change over time, according to new research.

Listen up: Oysters may use sound to select a home Posted: 30 Oct 2013 03:51 PM PDT Oysters begin their lives as tiny drifters, but when they mature they settle on reefs. New research shows that the sounds of the reef may attract the young oysters, helping them locate their permanent home.

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