ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

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• New results from inside the ozone hole
• Liquid to gel to bone: Temperature-sensitive gelling scaffolds made to regenerate craniofacial bone
• Chameleons use colorful language to communicate: Chameleons' body regions are 'billboards' for different types of information
• Arctic cyclones more common than previously thought
• The mystery of lizard breath: One-way air flow may be 270 million years old
• Fire vs. ice: The science of ISON at perihelion
• Clues about protein mechanism critical to plant growth, yield
• Muscular head pumps give long-proboscid fly edge
• More powerful approach to analyze melanoma's genetic causes
• Pine plantations provide optimum conditions for natural forests to develop underneath them
• Alpine glacier, unchanged for thousands of years, now melting: New ice cores suggest Alps have been strongly warming since 1980s
• Rising mountains dried out Central Asia
• Teens publish studies on pest-killing wasps, berry fungus
• Biodegradable or not?
• New evidence for assessing tsunami risk from very large volcanic island landslides
• Carbon capture technology could be vital for climate targets
• Supervolcanoes discovered in Utah: Evidence of some of the largest eruptions in Earth's history
• Key role of protein in segregation of genetic material during cell division
• Egg dumping -- and rearing
• Runaway process drives intermediate-depth earthquakes
• SIRT5 regulation has dramatic effect on mitochondrial metabolism
• The garden microbe with a sense of touch: Common soil dwelling bacterium responds to forces and curvature
• Magpie parents know a baby cuckoo when they see one
• Precise docking sites for cells
• Post-Sandy, Long Island barrier systems appear surprisingly sound
• Urban sprawl threatens water quality, climate protection, and land conservation gains
• Fossil primate shakes up history of tooth-combed primates
• Serengeti's animals under pressure
• New gene therapy proves promising as hemophilia treatment
• Silver Banksia plants excel at phosphate saving
• Earth’s sensitivity to climate change could be 'double' previous estimates, say geologists
• 'Perfect storm' needed for salmonella to spread in post-harvest tomatoes
• Older Dads: Possible links to autism, schizophrenia in offspring

New results from inside the ozone hole Posted: 11 Dec 2013 03:56 PM PST Scientists have revealed the inner workings of the ozone hole that forms annually over Antarctica and found that declining chlorine in the stratosphere has not yet caused a recovery of the ozone hole.

Liquid to gel to bone: Temperature-sensitive gelling scaffolds made to regenerate craniofacial bone Posted: 11 Dec 2013 03:53 PM PST Bioengineers have developed a hydrogel scaffold for craniofacial bone tissue regeneration that starts as a liquid, solidifies into a gel in the body and liquefies again for removal.

Chameleons use colorful language to communicate: Chameleons' body regions are 'billboards' for different types of information Posted: 11 Dec 2013 10:42 AM PST To protect themselves, some animals rapidly change color when their environments change, but chameleons change colors in unusual ways when they interact with other chameleons. Researchers have discovered that these color changes don't happen "out-of-the-blue" -- instead, they convey different types of information during important social interactions.

Arctic cyclones more common than previously thought Posted: 11 Dec 2013 10:42 AM PST From 2000 to 2010, about 1,900 cyclones churned across the top of the world each year, leaving warm water and air in their wakes -- and melting sea ice in the Arctic Ocean. That's about 40 percent more than previously thought, according to a new analysis of these Arctic storms.

The mystery of lizard breath: One-way air flow may be 270 million years old Posted: 11 Dec 2013 10:39 AM PST Air flows mostly in a one-way loop through the lungs of monitor lizards -- a breathing method shared by birds, alligators and presumably dinosaurs, according to a new study that may push the evolution of this trait back to 270 million years ago.

Fire vs. ice: The science of ISON at perihelion Posted: 11 Dec 2013 10:29 AM PST After a year of observations, scientists waited with bated breath on Nov. 28, 2013, as Comet ISON made its closest approach to the sun, known as perihelion. Would the comet disintegrate in the fierce heat and gravity of the sun? Or survive intact to appear as a bright comet in the pre-dawn sky?

Clues about protein mechanism critical to plant growth, yield Posted: 11 Dec 2013 10:28 AM PST Scientists have made several scientific discoveries demonstrating the significant roles Heterotrimeric G proteins play in plant development and yield.

Muscular head pumps give long-proboscid fly edge Posted: 11 Dec 2013 10:27 AM PST A long-proboscid fly with an extra-long, tongue-like proboscis might seem to take extra-long to feed on a flower, but it actually has an advantage over its counterparts with average sized nectar-sipping mouth parts. It can suck up almost all nectar available in a flower in one go, because it has more efficient suction pumps in its head, say researchers.

More powerful approach to analyze melanoma's genetic causes Posted: 11 Dec 2013 10:25 AM PST There may be a better way to analyze the genetic causes of cutaneous melanoma according to a study published. A statistical analysis using the natural and orthogonal interaction model showed increased power over existing approaches for detecting genetic effects and interactions when applied to the genome-wide melanoma dataset.

Pine plantations provide optimum conditions for natural forests to develop underneath them Posted: 11 Dec 2013 10:24 AM PST If there is any native forest in the vicinity, tree, fern and herbaceous species typical of these forests penetrate under the pine plantations without any need for action. That way it is possible, to a certain extent, for native forests to be restored, thanks to the process known as ecological succession.

Alpine glacier, unchanged for thousands of years, now melting: New ice cores suggest Alps have been strongly warming since 1980s Posted: 11 Dec 2013 10:24 AM PST Less than 20 miles from the site where melting ice exposed the 5,000-year-old body of Ötzi the Iceman, scientists have discovered new and compelling evidence that the Italian Alps are warming at an unprecedented rate. Part of that evidence comes in the form of a single dried-out leaf from a larch tree that grew thousands of years ago.

Rising mountains dried out Central Asia Posted: 11 Dec 2013 07:46 AM PST The uplift of two mountain ranges in Central Asia beginning 30 million years ago expanded the Gobi Desert and set Central Asia on its path to extreme aridity, a new study suggests.

Teens publish studies on pest-killing wasps, berry fungus Posted: 11 Dec 2013 07:46 AM PST We know more about wildlife this week, thanks to research by two Canadian teens. Teens from Ottawa and rural British Columbia published their research in this week's issue of a scientific journal.

Biodegradable or not? Posted: 11 Dec 2013 07:46 AM PST In order to improve the evaluation process for the long-term consequences of pesticides, scientists have developed a new detection method and a model that can enable determinations regarding whether and how readily biodegradable the residues of pesticides are.

New evidence for assessing tsunami risk from very large volcanic island landslides Posted: 11 Dec 2013 07:42 AM PST The risk posed by tsunami waves generated by Canary Island landslides may need to be re-evaluated, according to researchers. New findings suggest that these landslides result in smaller tsunami waves than previously thought by some authors, because of the processes involved.

Carbon capture technology could be vital for climate targets Posted: 11 Dec 2013 07:42 AM PST The future availability of carbon capture and storage will be pivotal in reaching ambitious climate targets, according to a new comprehensive study of future energy technologies.

Supervolcanoes discovered in Utah: Evidence of some of the largest eruptions in Earth's history Posted: 11 Dec 2013 06:39 AM PST Evidence of an eruption 5,000 times larger than Mount St. Helens was found in the Utah desert, with traces of ash identified as far away as Nebraska. These supervolcanoes aren't active today, but 30 million years ago more than 5,500 cubic kilometers of magma erupted during a one-week period near a place called Wah Wah Springs. By comparison, this eruption was about 5,000 times larger than the 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption.

Key role of protein in segregation of genetic material during cell division Posted: 11 Dec 2013 06:39 AM PST Researchers have reported the regulator mechanisms of mitosis, a key stage of the cell-cycle for the correct transmission of genetic information from parents to sons.

Egg dumping -- and rearing Posted: 11 Dec 2013 06:38 AM PST Many birds have reason to worry that the eggs in their nest might not be their own: Birds often deposit eggs into other nests and it is not easy for parents to tell their eggs from others. Researchers have discovered that tree sparrows can recognize eggs deposited by other tree sparrows but do not always reject them.

Runaway process drives intermediate-depth earthquakes Posted: 11 Dec 2013 06:38 AM PST Researchers have uncovered a vital clue about the mechanism behind a type of earthquake that originates deep within the Earth and accounts for a quarter of all temblors worldwide, some of which are strong enough to pose a safety hazard.

SIRT5 regulation has dramatic effect on mitochondrial metabolism Posted: 11 Dec 2013 06:38 AM PST The Sirtuin family of protein deacylases has received considerable attention due to its links to longevity, diabetes, cancer, and metabolic regulation. Researchers identified widespread regulation of proteins involved in metabolism by the mitochondrial sirtuin, SIRT5. These and related findings have widespread implications for understanding metabolic function in both normal and disease states.

The garden microbe with a sense of touch: Common soil dwelling bacterium responds to forces and curvature Posted: 11 Dec 2013 06:37 AM PST A common soil dwelling bacterium appears to possess a sense of touch, researchers have shown. A study has found that Bacillus mycoides, which has been known to science since 1842, responds to forces and curvature in the medium on which it's growing.

Magpie parents know a baby cuckoo when they see one Posted: 11 Dec 2013 06:37 AM PST Cuckoos that lay their eggs in the nest of a magpie so that their chicks can be raised by the latter better hope that their young are not raised together with other magpies. The chances of cuckoo fledglings raised in mixed broods being fed by their foster parents are much lower, according to research.

Precise docking sites for cells Posted: 11 Dec 2013 06:37 AM PST The Petri dish is a classical biological laboratory device, but it is no ideal living environment for many types of cells. Studies lose validity, as cell behavior on a flat plastic surface differs from that in branched lung tissue, for example. Researchers have now presented a method to make three-dimensional structures attractive or repellent for certain types of cells.

Post-Sandy, Long Island barrier systems appear surprisingly sound Posted: 11 Dec 2013 04:05 AM PST Results of a rapid response marine geophysical survey off Long Island following Hurricane Sandy show that despite the devastation on land, Sandy did not significantly disrupt the offshore barrier system that protects Long Island from long-term erosion. As a result, residents can rebuild with greater confidence the land will not begin to erode out from under them. The survey also found evidence of pollutants transferred to the offshore waters from Long Island's south shore estuaries.

Urban sprawl threatens water quality, climate protection, and land conservation gains Posted: 11 Dec 2013 04:05 AM PST A groundbreaking study reveals that, if left unchecked, recent trends in the loss of forests to development will undermine significant land conservation gains in Massachusetts, jeopardize water quality, and limit the natural landscape's ability to protect against climate change.

Fossil primate shakes up history of tooth-combed primates Posted: 11 Dec 2013 04:02 AM PST Fossils discovered in Tunisia challenge several hypotheses concerning the origin of tooth-combed primates (Malagasy lemurs, Afro-Asian lorises and African galagos). The fossils are of a small primate called Djebelemur, which lived around 50 million years ago.

Serengeti's animals under pressure Posted: 11 Dec 2013 04:02 AM PST Tanzania has one of the fastest growing human populations in the world, and the number of conflicts between humans and other species is expected to rise as pressure on land areas grows.

New gene therapy proves promising as hemophilia treatment Posted: 10 Dec 2013 12:25 PM PST Researchers have found that a new kind of gene therapy led to a dramatic decline in bleeding events in dogs with naturally occurring hemophilia A, a serious and costly bleeding condition.

Silver Banksia plants excel at phosphate saving Posted: 10 Dec 2013 06:12 AM PST Plants in the leached soils of Western Australia have developed a special strategy for coping with the scarcity of phosphorus. Plants from the Banksia genus of the Proteaceae family make severe cutbacks, in particular to the RNA found in the ribosomes (rRNA). The cell's protein factories are the biggest consumers of phosphorus; in this way, the plants save on both phosphorus and water. As global phosphorous reserves are in severe decline, the strategies of the Proteaceae could be of interest from the perspective of optimizing crop plants through breeding.

Earth’s sensitivity to climate change could be 'double' previous estimates, say geologists Posted: 10 Dec 2013 04:20 AM PST The sensitivity of Earth's climate to carbon dioxide could be double what has been previously estimated, according to geologists.

'Perfect storm' needed for salmonella to spread in post-harvest tomatoes Posted: 09 Dec 2013 10:24 AM PST Researchers say salmonella is more likely to spread on tomatoes only with certain tomato types and drier weather, and that's a key to curbing produce-associated outbreaks.

Older Dads: Possible links to autism, schizophrenia in offspring Posted: 09 Dec 2013 07:53 AM PST Advanced paternal age has been associated with greater risk for psychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia and autism. With an increase in paternal age, there is a greater frequency of certain types of mutations that contribute to these disorders in offspring. Recent research, however, looks beyond the genetic code to "epigenetic effects," which do not involve changes in the genes themselves, but rather in how they are expressed to determine one's characteristics.

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