ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

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• Three quarters of people with seasonal, pandemic flu have no symptoms
• High-tech materials purify water with sunlight
• Potentially safer, greener alternative to BPA could come from papermaking waste
• Major 'third-hand smoke' compound causes DNA damage and potentially cancer
• Bionic plants: Nanotechnology could turn shrubbery into supercharged energy producers
• Climate change will reduce crop yields sooner than thought
• Small-RNA pathway defends genome against enemy within
• Southern Ocean iron cycle gives new insight into climate change
• Nectar: Sweet reward from plants to attract pollinators
• Reindeer grazing may counteract effects of climate warming on tundra carbon sink
• New gene linked to key heart attack risk factor found by novel gene-finding approach
• Northeast Greenland ice loss accelerating, researchers say
• African dust changes India's rainfall: Dust can affect planet's climate, research shows
• Tequila plant possible sweetener for diabetics, helps reduce blood sugar, weight
• Do elephants call 'human!'? Low rumble alarm call in response to the sound of human voices
• Seizures show scale of pangolin peril
• Advance toward developing an oral pain reliever derived from debilitating snail venom
• Heart cells respond to stiff environments
• Developing countries: School sick days could be reduced with safe drinking water
• In the lab, scientists coax E. coli to resist radiation damage
• Higher exposure to take-out food could double the odds of being obese
• Strange bird, sea turtle hatchlings released on protected Indonesian beach
• Unraveling mystery in 'histone code' shows how gene activity is inherited
• Novel battleground for plant-pathogen interactions
• Preserving large carnivores in ecosystem requires multifaceted approach
• Drug kills cancer cells building blocks

Three quarters of people with seasonal, pandemic flu have no symptoms Posted: 16 Mar 2014 05:32 PM PDT Around 1 in 5 of the population were infected in both recent outbreaks of seasonal flu and the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic, but just 23% of these infections caused symptoms, and only 17% of people were ill enough to consult their doctor. These findings come from a major new community-based study comparing the burden and severity of seasonal and pandemic influenza in England over 5 years.

High-tech materials purify water with sunlight Posted: 16 Mar 2014 05:32 PM PDT Sunlight plus a common titanium pigment might be the secret recipe for ridding pharmaceuticals, pesticides and other potentially harmful pollutants from drinking water. Scientists reported that they have combined several high-tech components to make an easy-to-use water purifier that could work with the world's most basic form of energy, sunlight, in a boon for water purification in rural areas or developing countries.

Potentially safer, greener alternative to BPA could come from papermaking waste Posted: 16 Mar 2014 05:31 PM PDT A waste product from making paper could yield a safer, greener replacement for the potentially harmful chemical BPA, now banned from baby bottles but still used in many plastics. Scientists made the BPA alternative from lignin, which gives wood its strength, and they say it could be ready for the market within five years.

Major 'third-hand smoke' compound causes DNA damage and potentially cancer Posted: 16 Mar 2014 05:31 PM PDT Leftover cigarette smoke that clings to walls and furniture is a smelly nuisance, but now research suggests that it could pose a far more serious threat, especially to young children who put toys and other smoke-affected items into their mouths. Scientists reported that one of the tobacco-specific nitrosamines newly formed in "third-hand smoke" damages DNA and could potentially cause cancer.

Bionic plants: Nanotechnology could turn shrubbery into supercharged energy producers Posted: 16 Mar 2014 12:33 PM PDT Plants have many valuable functions: They provide food and fuel, release the oxygen that we breathe, and add beauty to our surroundings. Now, researchers wants to make plants even more useful by augmenting them with nanomaterials that could enhance their energy production and give them completely new functions, such as monitoring environmental pollutants.

Climate change will reduce crop yields sooner than thought Posted: 16 Mar 2014 12:33 PM PDT Global warming of only 2 degrees Celsius will be detrimental to crops in temperate and tropical regions, researchers have determined, with reduced yields from the 2030s onwards. In the study, the researchers created a new data set by combining and comparing results from 1,700 published assessments of the response that climate change will have on the yields of rice, maize and wheat. Due to increased interest in climate change research, the new study was able to create the largest dataset to date on crop responses.

Small-RNA pathway defends genome against enemy within Posted: 16 Mar 2014 12:33 PM PDT For a plant to create reproductive cells, it must first erase a series of tags attached to DNA across the genome that distinguish active and inactive genes. But the marks also keep a host of damaging 'jumping genes' inactive. As the cell wipes away the marks, it activates transposons, which can cause genetic damage. Researchers have discovered a fail-safe mechanism that helps to keep transposons inactive even when these marks are erased.

Southern Ocean iron cycle gives new insight into climate change Posted: 16 Mar 2014 12:32 PM PDT Unique aspects of iron cycling in the Southern Ocean which will better inform scientists about the effects of climate change, research demonstrates. An international team of researchers analyzed the available data taken from all previous studies of the Southern Ocean, together with satellite images taken of the area, to quantify the amount of iron supplied to the surface waters of the Southern Ocean. They found that deep winter mixing, a seasonal process which carries colder and deeper, nutrient-rich water to the surface, plays the most important role in transporting iron to the surface. The iron is then able to stimulate phytoplankton growth which supports the ocean's carbon cycle and the aquatic food chain

Nectar: Sweet reward from plants to attract pollinators Posted: 16 Mar 2014 12:32 PM PDT To make sure that flying pollinators come to flowers to pick up pollen, plants evolved special organs, the nectaries, to attract the animals. Scientists have now identified the sugar transporter that plays a key role in plants' nectar production. SWEET9 transports sugar into extracellular areas of the nectaries where nectar is secreted. Thus, SWEET9 may have been crucial for the evolution of flowering plants that attract and reward pollinators with nectar.

Reindeer grazing may counteract effects of climate warming on tundra carbon sink Posted: 16 Mar 2014 12:30 PM PDT Local reindeer grazing history is an important determinant in the response of an ecosystem's carbon sink to climate warming, say researchers. The significance of reindeer grazing history to tundra carbon balances has not been previously studied. The present results may modify climate models that predict the effects of global warming on global carbon cycles. The study shows that it is critical to know the grazing history before the responses of tundra carbon balances to climate warming can be understood. Different tundra systems possess highly varying grazing histories as a result of past and present reindeer management practices.

New gene linked to key heart attack risk factor found by novel gene-finding approach Posted: 16 Mar 2014 12:29 PM PDT A previously unrecognized gene variation that makes humans have healthier blood lipid levels and reduced risk of heart attacks has been found by researchers. But even more significant is how they found the gene, which had been hiding in plain sight. This region of DNA where it was found had been implicated as being important in controlling blood lipid levels in a report from several members of the same research team in 2008. But although this DNA region had many genes, none of them had any obvious link to blood lipid levels. The promise of an entirely new lipid-related gene took another six years and a new approach to find.

Northeast Greenland ice loss accelerating, researchers say Posted: 16 Mar 2014 12:29 PM PDT The last remaining stable portion of the Greenland ice sheet is stable no more, an international team of scientists has discovered. The finding will likely boost estimates of expected global sea level rise in the future. The new result focuses on ice loss due to a major retreat of an outlet glacier connected to a long "river" of ice -- known as an ice stream -- that drains ice from the interior of the ice sheet. The Zachariae ice stream retreated about 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) over the last decade, the researchers concluded. For comparison, one of the fastest moving glaciers, the Jakobshavn ice stream in southwest Greenland, has retreated 35 kilometers (21.7 miles) over the last 150 years.

African dust changes India's rainfall: Dust can affect planet's climate, research shows Posted: 16 Mar 2014 12:29 PM PDT Dust in the air in North Africa and West Asia absorbs sunlight west of India, warming the air and strengthening the winds carrying moisture eastward, raining down in India about a week later. The results of this new study explain one way that dust can affect the climate, filling in previously unknown details about Earth's system.

Tequila plant possible sweetener for diabetics, helps reduce blood sugar, weight Posted: 16 Mar 2014 12:29 PM PDT A sweetener created from the plant used to make tequila could lower blood glucose levels for the 26 million Americans and others worldwide who have type 2 diabetes and help them and the obese lose weight, researchers have reported. The main reason it could be valuable, they explained, is that agavins, a natural form of sugar found in the agave plant, are non-digestible and can act as a dietary fiber, so they would not raise blood glucose.

Do elephants call 'human!'? Low rumble alarm call in response to the sound of human voices Posted: 16 Mar 2014 10:37 AM PDT African elephants make a specific alarm call in response to the danger of humans, according to a new study of wild elephants in Kenya. Researchers carried out a series of audio experiments in which recordings of the voices of the Samburu, a local tribe from North Kenya, were played to resting elephants. The elephants quickly reacted, becoming more vigilant and running away from the sound whilst emitting a distinctive low rumble.

Seizures show scale of pangolin peril Posted: 16 Mar 2014 10:33 AM PDT Pangolins, insect-eating mammals that live in tropical parts of Africa and Asia, are under threat from a growing inter-continental illegal trade in the animals and their scales, according to a new report. While poaching of large animals such as elephants and rhinos and the illegal trade in ivory and horn receives widespread attention (in 2012 35,000 elephants were slaughtered for their ivory and 810 rhinos for their horns) the trade in smaller and more common species is often overlooked.

Advance toward developing an oral pain reliever derived from debilitating snail venom Posted: 16 Mar 2014 10:28 AM PDT At least five new experimental substances — based on a tiny protein found in cone snail venom — could someday lead to the development of safe and effective oral medications for the treatment of chronic nerve pain, researchers have reported. They say the substances could potentially be stronger than morphine, with fewer side effects and lower risk of abuse.

Heart cells respond to stiff environments Posted: 16 Mar 2014 10:27 AM PDT Proteins associated with the regulation of organ size and shape have been found to respond to the mechanics of the microenvironment in ways that specifically affect the decision of adult cardiac stem cells to generate muscular or vascular cells.

Developing countries: School sick days could be reduced with safe drinking water Posted: 14 Mar 2014 06:22 PM PDT Providing free drinking water in schools in developing countries could be key to helping people in developing countries lift themselves out of poverty according to research. The new research shows that schools providing clean water report fewer children off sick. It is the first study to investigate whether providing drinking water in schools can reduce absenteeism.

In the lab, scientists coax E. coli to resist radiation damage Posted: 14 Mar 2014 01:41 PM PDT Capitalizing on the ability of an organism to evolve in response to punishment from a hostile environment, scientists have coaxed the model bacterium Escherichia coli to dramatically resist ionizing radiation and, in the process, reveal the genetic mechanisms that make the feat possible. The study provides evidence that just a handful of genetic mutations give E. coli the capacity to withstand doses of radiation that would otherwise doom the microbe. The findings are important because they have implications for better understanding how organisms can resist radiation damage to cells and repair damaged DNA.

Higher exposure to take-out food could double the odds of being obese Posted: 13 Mar 2014 06:28 PM PDT People exposed to take-out food restaurants around their home, at work and on their way to work are more likely to consume more of these foods, as well as being more likely to be obese, suggest a new paper. During the past decade in the UK, consumption of food away from home has risen by 29% while the number of takeaways has increased dramatically. This, the researchers say, could be contributing to rising levels of overweight and obesity. Despite increasing policy focus, identifying the association between exposures to unhealthy neighborhood food outlets, diet and body weight has proved challenging.

Strange bird, sea turtle hatchlings released on protected Indonesian beach Posted: 13 Mar 2014 02:29 PM PDT Working on a remote and protected beach in Indonesia, conservationists recently celebrated the release of rare animal hatchlings into the wild, part of a plan to save the olive ridley sea turtle and an extraordinary bird called the maleo. "The joint release of maleos and olive ridleys on the same day is a boost to the conservation of both species in Sulawesi," said the scientists. "The protection of the beachfront lands which are critical nesting grounds for both species will help safeguard this part of Indonesia's natural heritage."

Unraveling mystery in 'histone code' shows how gene activity is inherited Posted: 13 Mar 2014 11:26 AM PDT Every cell in our body has exactly the same DNA, yet every cell is different. The genetic code carried in our DNA provides instructions for cells to manufacture specific proteins. A second code, carried by histone proteins bound to DNA, determines which genes are activated in particular cells. Researchers have found that the slightest variation in a histone protein can have dramatic effects on how the genes encoded in our DNA are used.

Novel battleground for plant-pathogen interactions Posted: 13 Mar 2014 11:26 AM PDT A new finding opens the door to improving crop disease resistance by optimizing how plants recognize pathogenic microbes. The research also shows how pathogens inhibit the mechanism to cause disease. It was previously only associated with other processes in mammalian cells. "Our research highlights a battle between hosts and pathogens to take control of an important mechanism," said the first author. "Control over this mechanism to activate immune receptors determines whether a plant stays healthy or suffers from disease."

Preserving large carnivores in ecosystem requires multifaceted approach Posted: 13 Mar 2014 11:24 AM PDT Social species, such as the African wild dog, require strict participation from group members to be successful. This strategy can enhance fitness benefits for the group, but also a higher critical threshold for extinction. Awareness of life history needs to guide management strategy. "Failure to consider the impacts of group dynamics may result in underestimation of critical threshold population sizes or densities required for population persistence," the researchers write.

Drug kills cancer cells building blocks Posted: 13 Mar 2014 10:42 AM PDT Imagine cutting down the growth of cancer cells at their earliest stages. Research is now showing promise in this approach with a new class of compounds that disrupt cancer cell mitochondrial metabolism. Targeting cancer cell metabolism is recognized as a promising area for the development of cancer chemotherapeutics.

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