ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

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• Smarter than a first-grader? Crows can perform as well as 7- to 10-year-olds on cause-and-effect water displacement tasks
• Eco-pottery product from water treatment sludge
• Vasculature of the hive: How honey bees stay cool
• Spinach could lead to alternative energy more powerful than Popeye
• Bird 'backpacks' put wood thrush migration on the map
• 15-year analysis of blue whale range off California finds conflict with shipping lanes
• Dog jealousy: Study suggests primordial origins for the 'green-eyed monster'
• 3-D image of Paleolithic child's skull reveals trauma, brain damage
• Major impact of climate change on Antarctic fur seals
• How much magma is hiding beneath our feet? Mysteries of Earth's crust pierced
• Physicians seeing increase in brown recluse spider bites
• Calcification in changing oceans
• The electric slide dance of DNA knots
• Ancient genetic material from caries bacterium obtained for the first time
• Electronic nose could aid in rescue missions
• Alaska frogs reach record lows in extreme temperature survival
• Vaccine for dust-mite allergies created
• Oso disaster had its roots in earlier landslides
• Distinctive developmental origin for a drainage tube in the eye
• Potential new flu drugs target immune response, not virus

Smarter than a first-grader? Crows can perform as well as 7- to 10-year-olds on cause-and-effect water displacement tasks Posted: 23 Jul 2014 03:08 PM PDT In Aesop's fable about the crow and the pitcher, a thirsty bird happens upon a vessel of water, but when he tries to drink from it, he finds the water level out of his reach. Not strong enough to knock over the pitcher, the bird drops pebbles into it -- one at a time -- until the water level rises enough for him to drink his fill. New research demonstrates the birds' intellectual prowess may be more fact than fiction.

Eco-pottery product from water treatment sludge Posted: 23 Jul 2014 03:07 PM PDT Sludge obtained from water treatment plants were studied as suitable materials to be used in the pottery industry to make suitable pottery products.

Vasculature of the hive: How honey bees stay cool Posted: 23 Jul 2014 01:19 PM PDT Honey bees, especially the young, are highly sensitive to temperature and to protect developing bees, adults work together to maintain temperatures within a narrow range. New research also supports the theoretical construct of the bee hive as a superorganism — an entity in which its many members carry out specialized and vital functions to keep the whole functioning as a unit.

Spinach could lead to alternative energy more powerful than Popeye Posted: 23 Jul 2014 12:20 PM PDT Spinach gave Popeye super strength, but it also holds the promise of a different power for a group of scientists: the ability to convert sunlight into a clean, efficient alternative fuel. Physicists are using spinach to study the proteins involved in photosynthesis, the process by which plants convert the sun's energy into carbohydrates used to power cellular processes. Artificial photosynthesis could allow for the conversion of solar energy into renewable, environmentally friendly hydrogen-based fuels.

Bird 'backpacks' put wood thrush migration on the map Posted: 23 Jul 2014 11:18 AM PDT Researchers have created the first migratory connectivity map produced for a songbird, using tracking from both breeding and winter sites. They were able to trace the route taken by wood thrushes from North America using bird 'backpacks'. They discovered that wood thrushes from Canada don't migrate to the same areas as their southern neighbors, and actually have a longer migratory route. The map will help identify specific areas for habitat protection.

15-year analysis of blue whale range off California finds conflict with shipping lanes Posted: 23 Jul 2014 11:17 AM PDT A comprehensive analysis of the movements of blue whales off the West Coast found that their favored feeding areas are bisected by heavily used shipping lanes, increasing the threat of injury and mortality. But moving the shipping lanes off Los Angeles and San Francisco to slightly different areas -- at least, during summer and fall when blue whales are most abundant -- could significantly decrease the probability of ships striking the whales.

Dog jealousy: Study suggests primordial origins for the 'green-eyed monster' Posted: 23 Jul 2014 11:17 AM PDT Dogs exhibit jealous behaviors. The first experimental test of jealousy in dogs supports the view that there may be a more basic form of jealousy, which evolved to protect social bonds from interlopers.

3-D image of Paleolithic child's skull reveals trauma, brain damage Posted: 23 Jul 2014 11:17 AM PDT Three-dimensional imaging of a Paleolithic child's skull reveals potentially violent head trauma that likely lead to brain damage.

Major impact of climate change on Antarctic fur seals Posted: 23 Jul 2014 10:14 AM PDT Genetic analysis of Antarctic fur seals, alongside decades of in-depth monitoring, has provided unique insights into the effect of climate change on a population of top-predators. The findings show that the seals have significantly altered in accordance with changes in food availability that are associated with climate conditions. Despite a shift in the population towards 'fitter' individuals, this fitness is not passing down through generations, leaving the population in decline.

How much magma is hiding beneath our feet? Mysteries of Earth's crust pierced Posted: 23 Jul 2014 10:13 AM PDT Molten rock, or magma, has a strong influence on our planet and its inhabitants, causing destructive volcanic eruptions and generating some of the giant mineral deposits. Our understanding of these phenomena is, however, limited by the fact that most magma cools and solidifies several kilometers beneath our feet, only to be exposed at the surface, millions of years later, by erosion.

Physicians seeing increase in brown recluse spider bites Posted: 23 Jul 2014 10:12 AM PDT Medical toxicologists are reporting an increase in patients seen with brown recluse spider bites this summer. There are two components to spider bites -- the cutaneous lesion and, more rarely, the systemic symptoms that can occur following the bite.

Calcification in changing oceans Posted: 23 Jul 2014 08:42 AM PDT What do mollusks, starfish, and corals have in common? Aside from their shared marine habitat, they are all calcifiers -- organisms that use calcium from their environment to create hard carbonate skeletons and shells for stability and protection.

The electric slide dance of DNA knots Posted: 23 Jul 2014 08:04 AM PDT DNA has the nasty habit of getting tangled and forming knots. Scientists study these knots to understand their function and learn how to disentangle them (e.g. useful for gene sequencing techniques). Scientists have been carrying out research in which they simulate these knots and their dynamics. They have now devised and tested a method based on the application of electric fields and "optical tweezers".

Ancient genetic material from caries bacterium obtained for the first time Posted: 23 Jul 2014 08:04 AM PDT Streptococcus mutans, one of the principal bacteria that cause dental caries, has increased the change in its genetic material over time, possibly coinciding with dietary change linked to the expansion of humanity.

Electronic nose could aid in rescue missions Posted: 23 Jul 2014 08:04 AM PDT Researchers have developed a device that allows multiple robotic platforms to follow the path of certain odors. A technology which could aid the search and rescue of people in case of natural disasters such as earthquakes, hurricanes or floods.

Alaska frogs reach record lows in extreme temperature survival Posted: 22 Jul 2014 01:43 PM PDT "Alaska wood frogs spend more time freezing and thawing outside than a steak does in your freezer, and the frog comes back to life in the spring in better shape than the steak," said the lead author on a recent paper demonstrating that freeze tolerance in Alaska wood frogs is more extreme than previously thought.

Vaccine for dust-mite allergies created Posted: 22 Jul 2014 01:41 PM PDT A vaccine for dust-mite allergies has been created, researchers report. In lab tests and animal trials, the nano-sized vaccine package was readily absorbed by immune cells and dramatically lowered allergic responses. "What is new about this is we have developed a vaccine against dust-mite allergens that hasn't been used before," says a corresponding author on the paper.

Oso disaster had its roots in earlier landslides Posted: 22 Jul 2014 12:24 PM PDT A new geological study concludes that the disastrous March 22 landslide that killed 43 people in the rural Washington state community of Oso involved the "remobilization" of a 2006 landslide on the same hillside. "Perhaps the most striking finding is that, while the Oso landslide was a rare geologic occurrence, it was not extraordinary," said a team leader for the study.

Distinctive developmental origin for a drainage tube in the eye Posted: 22 Jul 2014 11:25 AM PDT Scientists have conducted a comprehensive exploration of an eye structure known as Schlemm's canal: a key gatekeeper for the proper flow of eye fluid, presenting a number of insights relevant to glaucoma and other diseases.

Potential new flu drugs target immune response, not virus Posted: 21 Jul 2014 09:40 AM PDT The seriousness of disease often results from the strength of immune response, rather than with the virus, itself. Turning down that response, rather than attacking the virus, might be a better way to reduce that severity, says a researcher. The research team has now taken the first step in doing just that for the H7N9 influenza, and their work has already led to identification of six potential therapeutics.

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