ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

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• Bats inspire 'micro air vehicle' designs: Small flying vehicles, complete with flapping wings, may now be designed
• New light shed on habitat of early apes
• New light shed on the genetic history of the European beaver
• Do Guam mantas plan moon parties? Mantas congregate when surgeonfish spawn
• Asian elephants reassure others in distress: First empirical evidence of consolation in elephants
• Infected Tasmanian devils reveal how cancer cells evolve in response to humans
• Solar-induced hybrid fuel cell produces electricity directly from biomass
• Global warming: Warning against abrupt stop to geoengineering method (if started)
• It’s alive! Bacteria-filled liquid crystals could improve biosensing
• Theory on origin of animals challenged: Some animals need extremely little oxygen
• How evolution shapes the geometries of life
• NASA completes first ATTREX science mission
• Finding common ground fosters understanding of climate change
• Outsmarting nature during disasters: Instead of winging it, planners need to think carefully about costs and benefits
• Urgent need to recycle rare metals
• Water samples taken from the Upper Ganges River shed light on the spread of potential 'superbugs'
• Hormone released after exercise can 'predict' biological age
• Chemist gets U.S. patent for solution to antibiotic resistance problem
• Small non-coding RNAs could be warning signs of cancer
• Bacterial superbug protein structure solved
• Uncovering the secrets of tularemia, 'rabbit fever'
• Potential options for attacking stem cells in triple-negative breast cancer
• Study on flu evolution may change textbooks, history books
• Epigenetic regulation required to ensure correct number of chromosomes
• Discovery may help to explain mystery of 'missing' genetic risk, susceptibility to common diseases
• Efficient treatment a step closer in fight against cancer-causing herpes
• Genomic sequencing used to help identify new therapies for bile duct cancer
• Amidst bitter cold, rising energy costs, new concerns about energy insecurity
• Indigenous response to natural disaster illuminated by study

Bats inspire 'micro air vehicle' designs: Small flying vehicles, complete with flapping wings, may now be designed Posted: 18 Feb 2014 08:42 AM PST By exploring how creatures in nature are able to fly by flapping their wings, researchers hope to apply that knowledge toward designing small flying vehicles known as "micro air vehicles" with flapping wings.

New light shed on habitat of early apes Posted: 18 Feb 2014 08:40 AM PST An international team of anthropologists has discovered definitive evidence of the environment inhabited by the early ape Proconsul on Rusinga Island, Kenya. The findings provide new insights into understanding and interpreting the connection between habitat preferences and the early diversification of the ape-human lineage.

New light shed on the genetic history of the European beaver Posted: 18 Feb 2014 08:09 AM PST An international team of scientists has used detailed analysis of ancient and modern DNA to show that the distribution and lack of genetic diversity among modern European beavers is due largely to human hunting.

Do Guam mantas plan moon parties? Mantas congregate when surgeonfish spawn Posted: 18 Feb 2014 07:13 AM PST Guam mantas have been documented eating fish spawn. Researchers heard of mantas congregating purposefully in an area where surgeonfish were spawning.

Asian elephants reassure others in distress: First empirical evidence of consolation in elephants Posted: 18 Feb 2014 07:10 AM PST Asian elephants console others who are in distress, using physical touches and vocalizations, new research shows. The findings are the first empirical evidence of consolation in elephants. Consolation behavior is rare in the animal kingdom, with empirical evidence previously provided only for the great apes, canines and certain corvids.

Infected Tasmanian devils reveal how cancer cells evolve in response to humans Posted: 18 Feb 2014 07:07 AM PST Tasmanian Devil Facial Tumor Disease (DFTD) has ravaged the world's largest carnivorous marsupial since it emerged in 1996, resulting in a population decline of over 90%. Conservation work to defeat the disease has including removing infected individuals from the population and new research explains how this gives us a unique opportunity to understand how human selection alters the evolution of cancerous cells. DFTD is an asexually reproducing clonal cell line, which during the last 16 years has been exposed to negative effects as infected devils, approximately 33% of the population, have been removed from one site, the Forestier Peninsula, in Tasmania between 2006 and 2010.

Solar-induced hybrid fuel cell produces electricity directly from biomass Posted: 18 Feb 2014 07:00 AM PST Researchers have developed a new type of low-temperature fuel cell that directly converts biomass to electricity with assistance from a catalyst activated by solar or thermal energy.

Global warming: Warning against abrupt stop to geoengineering method (if started) Posted: 17 Feb 2014 05:08 PM PST As a range of climate change mitigation scenarios are discussed, researchers have found that the injection of sulfate particles into the atmosphere to reflect sunlight and curb the effects of global warming could pose a severe threat if not maintained indefinitely and supported by strict reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

It’s alive! Bacteria-filled liquid crystals could improve biosensing Posted: 17 Feb 2014 05:07 PM PST Plop living, swimming bacteria into a novel water-based, nontoxic liquid crystal and a new physics takes over. The dynamic interaction of the bacteria with the liquid crystal creates a novel form of soft matter: living liquid crystal. This new type of active material holds promise for improving the early detection of diseases.

Theory on origin of animals challenged: Some animals need extremely little oxygen Posted: 17 Feb 2014 01:11 PM PST One of science's strongest dogmas is that complex life on Earth could only evolve when oxygen levels in the atmosphere rose to close to modern levels. But now studies of a small sea sponge fished out of a Danish fjord shows that complex life does not need high levels of oxygen in order to live and grow.

How evolution shapes the geometries of life Posted: 17 Feb 2014 01:11 PM PST An interdisciplinary team re-examined Kleiber's Law, a famous 80-year-old equation that accurately describes many biological phenomena, although scientists don't agree on why it works. The team shows that Kleiber's Law captures the physics and mathematics underlying the evolution of plants' and animals' different, but equally efficient forms.

NASA completes first ATTREX science mission Posted: 17 Feb 2014 01:02 PM PST NASA's Global Hawk No. 872 completed a 17.5-hour science flight Feb. 14, it's first for the 2014 Airborne Tropical Tropopause Experiment (ATTREX) mission. Objectives were to sample vertical distribution of the Western Pacific tropical tropopause layer trace gases, water vapor and clouds.

Finding common ground fosters understanding of climate change Posted: 17 Feb 2014 09:24 AM PST Grasping the concept of climate change and its impact on the environment can be difficult. Establishing common ground and using models, however, can break down barriers and present the concept in an easily understood manner, says an ecologist and modeler.

Outsmarting nature during disasters: Instead of winging it, planners need to think carefully about costs and benefits Posted: 17 Feb 2014 09:24 AM PST The dramatic images of natural disasters, including hurricanes Katrina and Sandy and the Tohoku, Japan, earthquake and tsunami, show that nature, not the people preparing for hazards, often wins the high-stakes game of chance. In a recent presentation, a geophysicist uses general principles and case studies to explore how communities can do better by taking an integrated view of natural hazards issues, rather than treating the relevant geoscience, engineering, economics and policy formulation separately.

Urgent need to recycle rare metals Posted: 17 Feb 2014 07:25 AM PST Rare earth metals are important components in green energy products such as wind turbines and eco-cars. But the scarcity of these metals is worrying the European Union.

Water samples taken from the Upper Ganges River shed light on the spread of potential 'superbugs' Posted: 17 Feb 2014 05:56 AM PST Experts reveal the spread of antibiotic-resistance to one of the most pristine locations in Asia is linked to the annual human pilgrimages to the region.  The research team are now calling on governments around the world to recognize the importance of clean drinking water in our fight against antibiotic resistance.

Hormone released after exercise can 'predict' biological age Posted: 17 Feb 2014 05:56 AM PST Scientists have discovered a potential molecular link between Irisin, a recently identified hormone released from muscle after bouts of exercise, and the aging process. Irisin, which is naturally present in humans, is capable of reprograming the body's fat cells to burn energy instead of storing it. This increases the metabolic rate and is thought to have potential anti-obesity effects. The finding provides a potential molecular link between keeping active and healthy aging with those having higher Irisin levels more 'biological young' than those with lower levels of the hormone.

Chemist gets U.S. patent for solution to antibiotic resistance problem Posted: 17 Feb 2014 05:52 AM PST A chemist in Copenhagen has just taken out a patent for a drug that can make previously multidrug-resistant bacteria once again responsive to antibiotics.

Small non-coding RNAs could be warning signs of cancer Posted: 17 Feb 2014 05:52 AM PST Small non-coding RNAs can be used to predict if individuals have breast cancer conclude researchers who contribute to The Cancer Genome Atlas project. The results indicate that differences in the levels of specific types of non-coding RNAs can be used to distinguish between cancerous and non-cancerous tissues. These RNAs can also be used to classify cancer patients into subgroups of individuals that have different survival outcomes.

Bacterial superbug protein structure solved Posted: 17 Feb 2014 05:48 AM PST Scientists have deciphered the 3-D structure of a protein that confers antibiotic resistance from one of the most worrisome disease agents: a strain of bacteria called methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), which can cause skin and other infections. The team's findings may be an important step in combating the MRSA public health threat over the next 5 to 10 years.

Uncovering the secrets of tularemia, 'rabbit fever' Posted: 17 Feb 2014 05:48 AM PST Tularemia, aka "rabbit fever," is endemic in the northeastern United States, and is considered to be a significant risk to biosecurity -- much like anthrax or smallpox -- because it has already been weaponized in various regions of the world. Biologists are working to uncover the secrets of the bacterium Francisella tularensis, which causes tularemia.

Potential options for attacking stem cells in triple-negative breast cancer Posted: 17 Feb 2014 05:48 AM PST A protein that fuels an inflammatory pathway does not turn off in breast cancer, new research shows, resulting in an increase in cancer stem cells. This provides a potential target for treating triple negative breast cancer, the most aggressive form of the disease. The researchers identified a protein that is highly expressed in normal cells but undetectable in triple-negative breast cancer. They showed that this protein is degraded in cancers, blocking the cellular off-switch of a feedback loop involving an inflammatory protein. When the switch does not get turned off, it enables cancer stem cells to grow.

Study on flu evolution may change textbooks, history books Posted: 16 Feb 2014 12:17 PM PST A new study reconstructing the evolutionary tree of flu viruses challenges conventional wisdom and solves some of the mysteries surrounding flu outbreaks of historical significance. The study challenges several tenets of conventional wisdom -- for example, the notion that the virus moves largely unidirectionally from wild birds to domestic birds rather than with spillover in the other direction. It also helps resolve the origin of the virus that caused the unprecedentedly severe influenza pandemic of 1918.

Epigenetic regulation required to ensure correct number of chromosomes Posted: 16 Feb 2014 12:17 PM PST Abnormal number of chromosomes is often associated with cancer development. Researchers have shown that a subtle epigenetic change plays an important role in the correct segregation of chromosomes. Normally when a cell divides, the chromosomes are segregated equally to two daughter cells. However, tumor cells frequently have either too few or too many chromosomes, leading to the incorrect expression of a number of genes. When a cell is about to divide, the cell division machinery takes hold of chromosomes by the centromere so that they may be pulled apart and one copy of each given to the daughter cells.

Discovery may help to explain mystery of 'missing' genetic risk, susceptibility to common diseases Posted: 13 Feb 2014 03:49 PM PST A new study could help to answer an important riddle in our understanding of genetics: why research to look for the genetic causes of common diseases has failed to explain more than a fraction of the heritable risk of developing them.

Efficient treatment a step closer in fight against cancer-causing herpes Posted: 13 Feb 2014 03:47 PM PST Herpes virus proteins are more 'spaghetti-like' than previously thought, which provides a vital clue in the search for an efficient treatment against a type of herpes which causes a form of cancer known as Kaposi's sarcoma. That's according to researchers who have discovered that the virus protein uses its flexible arms to pass on viral building blocks to the proteins of cells that it hijacks.

Genomic sequencing used to help identify new therapies for bile duct cancer Posted: 13 Feb 2014 03:46 PM PST Physicians have personalized drug treatments for patients with cholangiocarcinoma using genomic sequencing technologies. Potential new treatment approaches are being validated to develop new tests that physicians can use to guide therapy for this aggressive cancer of the bile ducts that progresses quickly and is difficult to treat.

Amidst bitter cold, rising energy costs, new concerns about energy insecurity Posted: 13 Feb 2014 12:35 PM PST With many regions of the country braced by an unrelenting cold snap, the problem of energy insecurity continues to go unreported despite its toll on the most vulnerable. In a new brief, researchers paint a picture of the families most impacted by this problem and suggest recommendations to alleviate its chokehold on millions of struggling Americans.

Indigenous response to natural disaster illuminated by study Posted: 13 Feb 2014 11:23 AM PST When a tsunami struck American Samoa in 2009, indigenous institutions on the islands provided effective disaster relief that could help federal emergency managers in similar communities nationwide, according to a study.

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