ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

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• SAR11, oceans' most abundant organism, has ability to create methane
• Scientists probe DNA of 'Evolution Canyon' fruit flies, find drivers of change
• World's biggest-ever flying bird discovered: Twice as big as the royal albatross
• Neandertal trait in early human skull suggests that modern humans emerged from complex labyrinth of biology and peoples
• Restored immunity shown for cancer-related fungal infections
• Dodging dots helps explain brain circuitry
• Satellites reveal possible catastrophic flooding months in advance
• Infant toenails reveal in utero exposure to low-level arsenic, study finds
• Rats use their whiskers in a similar way to how humans use their hands and fingers
• Mechanism that prevents lethal bacteria from causing invasive disease is revealed
• Antarctic climate and food web strongly linked
• Climate change: IPCC must consider alternate policy views, researchers say
• Why 'whispers' among bees sometimes evolve into 'shouts'
• Rhode Island lead law effective, but often ignored
• Science and cookies: Researchers tap into citizen science to shed light on ant diversity
• University students developing robotic gardening technology
• From antibiotics to yeast: Latest student science heads for space
• High-quality gene catalog of human gut microbiome created
• New type of soot particle discovered from wildfire emissions
• China's hidden water footprint
• Changing Antarctic winds create new sea level threat
• Viruses use 'fake' proteins to hide in our cells
• Water bonus flows from climate change measures
• Denali duck-billed dino tracks discovered
• Sociable weavers show everybody needs good neighbors
• Revolutionary approach to studying intestinal microbiota
• DNA origami nano-tool provides important clue to cancer
• Animal vaccines should guide malaria research, experts say
• 'Unloved' pseudogenes may provide clearer understanding of biomarkers
• New knowledge about intestines uncovered: microorganisms, bacterial viruses in intestinal flora identified
• Discovery provides insights on how plants respond to elevated carbon dioxide levels
• Novel protein complex with potential to combat gastric cancer caused by bacterial infection found by researchers
• Chip developed for rapid detection of dengue fever
• High-protein weight loss diets can work, scientists show
• Old ways help modern maize to defend itself
• Benefits of okra plant: World interest in research work to improve food
• Researchers study flight pattern of red palm weevil in order to set more efficient control measures
• First cancer immunotherapy for dogs developed
• Developing better vaccine for mutating virus in cows

SAR11, oceans' most abundant organism, has ability to create methane Posted: 07 Jul 2014 02:11 PM PDT The oxygen-rich surface waters of the world's major oceans are supersaturated with methane -- a powerful greenhouse gas that is roughly 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide -- yet little is known about the source of this methane. A new study demonstrates the ability of some strains of the oceans' most abundant organism -- SAR11 -- to generate methane as a byproduct of breaking down a compound for its phosphorus.

Scientists probe DNA of 'Evolution Canyon' fruit flies, find drivers of change Posted: 07 Jul 2014 01:16 PM PDT Scientists have long puzzled over the genetic differences between fruit flies that live hardly a puddle jump apart in a natural environment known as "Evolution Canyon" in Mount Carmel, Israel. Even with migration, cross-breeding, and near-extinction of whole populations, the environment is the driving force in the fruit-fly gene pool in Evolution Canyon, according to new research.

World's biggest-ever flying bird discovered: Twice as big as the royal albatross Posted: 07 Jul 2014 12:24 PM PDT Scientists have identified the fossilized remains of an extinct giant bird that could be the biggest flying bird ever found. With an estimated 20- to 24-foot wingspan, the creature surpassed the previous record holder -- an extinct bird named Argentavis magnificens -- and was twice as big as the royal albatross, the largest flying bird today. Computer simulations show that the bird's long slender wings helped it stay aloft despite its enormous size.

Neandertal trait in early human skull suggests that modern humans emerged from complex labyrinth of biology and peoples Posted: 07 Jul 2014 12:24 PM PDT Re-examination of a circa 100,000-year-old archaic early human skull found 35 years ago in Northern China has revealed the surprising presence of an inner-ear formation long thought to occur only in Neandertals.

Restored immunity shown for cancer-related fungal infections Posted: 07 Jul 2014 12:22 PM PDT Sleeping Beauty and fungal infections -- not two items one would normally associate together, but for immunocompromised cancer patients they may prove to be a helpful combination. A study has used the Sleeping Beauty gene transfer system to modify T cells in hopes of fighting major life-threatening infections caused by invasive Aspergillus fungus.

Dodging dots helps explain brain circuitry Posted: 07 Jul 2014 11:17 AM PDT Neuroscientists looked cell by cell at the brain circuitry that tadpoles, and possibly other animals, use to avoid collisions. The study produced a model of how individual inhibitory and excitatory neurons can work together to control a simple behavior. The basic circuitry involved is present in a wide variety of animals, including people, which is no surprise given how fundamental collision avoidance is across animal behavior.

Satellites reveal possible catastrophic flooding months in advance Posted: 07 Jul 2014 11:17 AM PDT Data from NASA satellites can greatly improve predictions of how likely a river basin is to overflow months before it does, according to new findings. The use of such data, which capture a much fuller picture of how water is accumulating, could result in earlier flood warnings, potentially saving lives and property.

Infant toenails reveal in utero exposure to low-level arsenic, study finds Posted: 07 Jul 2014 11:17 AM PDT Infant toenails are a reliable way to estimate arsenic exposure before birth, a study shows. A growing body of evidence suggests that in utero and early-life exposure to arsenic may have detrimental effects on children, even at the low to moderate levels common in the United States and elsewhere. The fetus starts to develop toenails during the first trimester, making them an accurate measure of exposure to arsenic during the entire gestation.

Rats use their whiskers in a similar way to how humans use their hands and fingers Posted: 07 Jul 2014 11:16 AM PDT The way rats use their whiskers is more similar to how humans use their hands and fingers than previously thought, new research has found. Rats deliberately change how they sense their environment using their facial whiskers depending on whether the environment is novel, if there is a risk of collision and whether or not they can see where they are going.

Mechanism that prevents lethal bacteria from causing invasive disease is revealed Posted: 07 Jul 2014 10:43 AM PDT An important development in understanding how the bacterium that causes pneumonia, meningitis and septicemia remains harmlessly in the nose and throat has been discovered by scientists. Streptococcus pneumoniae is a 'commensal', which can live harmlessly in the nasopharynx as part of the body's natural bacterial flora. However, in the very young and old it can invade the rest of the body, leading to serious diseases such as pneumonia, sepsis and meningitis, which claim up to a million lives every year worldwide.

Antarctic climate and food web strongly linked Posted: 07 Jul 2014 10:43 AM PDT A long-term study of the links between climate and marine life along the rapidly warming West Antarctic Peninsula reveals how changes in physical factors such as wind speed and sea-ice cover send ripples up the food chain, with impacts on everything from single-celled algae to penguins.

Climate change: IPCC must consider alternate policy views, researchers say Posted: 07 Jul 2014 10:43 AM PDT The Summary for Policymakers recently produced by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has triggered a public debate about excessive governmental intrusion in the IPCC process. The IPCC cannot avoid alternative political interpretations of data and must involve policy makers in finding out how to address these implications, according to a team of researchers.

Why 'whispers' among bees sometimes evolve into 'shouts' Posted: 07 Jul 2014 10:43 AM PDT Let's say you're a bee and you've spotted a new and particularly lucrative source of nectar and pollen. What's the best way to communicate the location of this prize cache of food to the rest of your nestmates without revealing it to competitors, or 'eavesdropping' spies, outside of the colony? One risky way is to "shout" to warn would-be competitors that their prime source of food will be fiercely defended if they show up to the site.

Rhode Island lead law effective, but often ignored Posted: 07 Jul 2014 09:15 AM PDT Only one in five properties in Central Falls, Pawtucket, Providence, and Woonsocket that are covered by Rhode Island's lead hazard mitigation law were in compliance with the statute more than four years after it took effect, according to a study by a local team of academic, government, and nonprofit researchers. Many exempt dwellings also seem likely to harbor hazards. But where landlords have complied, the data show that children have benefited.

Science and cookies: Researchers tap into citizen science to shed light on ant diversity Posted: 07 Jul 2014 09:15 AM PDT Scientists have combined cookies, citizen science and robust research methods to track the diversity of ant species across the United States, and are now collaborating with international partners to get a global perspective on how ants are moving and surviving in the modern world. The School of Ants project was developed to help researchers get a handle on the diversity of ant species across the United States.

University students developing robotic gardening technology Posted: 07 Jul 2014 08:35 AM PDT For more than a half-century, NASA has made the stuff of science fiction into reality. Researchers are continuing that tradition by designing robots to work in a deep-space habitat, tending gardens and growing food for astronaut explorers. It sounds like a concept from Star Wars, but a team of graduate students from the University of Colorado Boulder is now developing the innovative technology to make it possible.

From antibiotics to yeast: Latest student science heads for space Posted: 07 Jul 2014 08:32 AM PDT Astronauts on future missions may nibble on lettuce and grow their own antibiotics, depending on the results of research that student scientists plan to conduct on the International Space Station. Mission 5 of the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP) is scheduled to launch to the space station on July 11. A total of 1,344 proposals yielded 15 selected investigations for the flight. These investigations represent a diversity of subject matter from bacteria to tadpole shrimp and locations from Massachusetts to Arizona.

High-quality gene catalog of human gut microbiome created Posted: 07 Jul 2014 07:36 AM PDT A high-quality gene catalog of human gut microbiome has been developed by researchers, a key to understanding human health and diseases. While the roughly 20,000 genes in the human genome have been available for over a decade, the gene catalog of the microbiome, our much larger "other genome," has to date been much more poorly understood and characterized.

New type of soot particle discovered from wildfire emissions Posted: 07 Jul 2014 07:36 AM PDT A team of scientists reports the observation of a previously unrecognized form of soot particle, identified as 'superaggregates,' from wildfire emissions. These particles were detected in smoke plumes from wildfires in Northern California, New Mexico, Mexico City, and India. These particles contribute up to 90-percent more warming than spherical sub-micrometer soot particles, which current climate models use.

China's hidden water footprint Posted: 07 Jul 2014 07:36 AM PDT China's richest provinces have an outsized environmental impact on the country's water-scarce regions, according to new research. Many developed regions in China are not only drawing from their own water resources but also contributing to water depletion in other water-scarce regions of the country through imports of food and other water-intensive goods, researchers report.

Changing Antarctic winds create new sea level threat Posted: 07 Jul 2014 07:36 AM PDT New research shows projected changes in the winds circling the Antarctic may accelerate global sea level rise significantly more than previously estimated. Changes to Antarctic winds have already been linked to southern Australia's drying climate but now it appears they may also have a profound impact on warming ocean temperatures under the ice shelves along the coastline of West and East Antarctic.

Viruses use 'fake' proteins to hide in our cells Posted: 07 Jul 2014 06:27 AM PDT Some viruses can hide in our bodies for decades and make 'fake' human proteins that trick our immune cells into believing nothing is wrong. Now researchers have determined the basic structure of one of the two known families of these deceptive proteins.

Water bonus flows from climate change measures Posted: 07 Jul 2014 06:27 AM PDT The equivalent of one-third of Melbourne's water use could be saved each year through the implementation of efficiency measures that deal with climate change, according to a new study. Researchers analyzed the water-saving potential of 74 options for reducing greenhouse gas emissions identified in ClimateWorks Australia's award-winning Low Carbon Growth Plan for Australia.

Denali duck-billed dino tracks discovered Posted: 07 Jul 2014 06:26 AM PDT A trio of paleontologists has discovered a remarkable new tracksite in Alaska's Denali National Park filled with duck-billed dinosaur footprints -- technically referred to as hadrosaurs -- that demonstrates they not only lived in multi-generational herds but thrived in the ancient high-latitude, polar ecosystem. The article provides new insight into the herd structure and paleobiology of northern polar dinosaurs in an arctic greenhouse world.

Sociable weavers show everybody needs good neighbors Posted: 07 Jul 2014 06:24 AM PDT Sociable weavers, a highly social and co-operative breeding bird from the savannahs of southern Africa, build the largest nests of any bird, housing colonies of up to several hundred birds that can often weigh tonnes and last for decades. The massive nests consist of individual nest chambers which are used throughout the year for breeding and roosting and are embedded within a communal thatch. Now research on these birds provides insight into one of the biggest questions in science -- why some animals, including humans, work together to maintain a common good.

Revolutionary approach to studying intestinal microbiota Posted: 07 Jul 2014 06:24 AM PDT Analyzing the global genome, or the metagenome of the intestinal microbiota, has taken a turn, thanks to a new approach to study developed by an international research team. This method markedly simplifies microbiome analysis and renders it more powerful. The scientists have thus been able to sequence and assemble the complete genome of 238 intestinal bacteria, 75% of which were previously unknown.

DNA origami nano-tool provides important clue to cancer Posted: 07 Jul 2014 06:24 AM PDT Researchers have headed a study that provides new knowledge about the EphA2 receptor, which is significant in several forms of cancer. This is important knowledge in itself – but just as important is how this study was conducted. The researchers used the method of DNA origami, in which a DNA molecule is shaped into a nanostructure, and used these structures to test theories about cell signalling.

Animal vaccines should guide malaria research, experts say Posted: 07 Jul 2014 06:23 AM PDT Research into vaccines for malaria in humans should be guided by the success shown in producing effective vaccines for malaria-like diseases in animals, according to a research study. A veterinarian and disease researcher says there are many effective vaccines for diseases in animals caused by close relatives of the parasites that cause malaria (called protozoans). "In contrast, there are no vaccines available for malaria or any other protozoal disease of humans - despite great need and considerable effort," he says.

'Unloved' pseudogenes may provide clearer understanding of biomarkers Posted: 07 Jul 2014 06:23 AM PDT Pseudogenes: dysfunctional, unloved and seemingly of little use, these poor-cousin relatives of genes have lost their protein-coding abilities. They contain material not essential for an organism's survival and are the "last stop" for removal of genomic waste. Now, however, the science of pseudogene expression analysis may very well play a key role in explaining how cancer occurs by helping medical experts in the discovery of new biomarkers, researchers report.

New knowledge about intestines uncovered: microorganisms, bacterial viruses in intestinal flora identified Posted: 06 Jul 2014 12:33 PM PDT Researchers have identified and mapped 500 previously unknown microorganisms and more than 800 bacterial viruses in our intestinal flora. A discovery which -- in the long term -- can replace antimicrobial agents and perhaps improve treatment and prevention of, e.g., type 2 diabetes, asthma and certain intestinal disorders.

Discovery provides insights on how plants respond to elevated carbon dioxide levels Posted: 06 Jul 2014 12:33 PM PDT Biologists have solved a long-standing mystery concerning the way plants reduce the numbers of their breathing pores in response to rising carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere. Researchers report the discovery of a new genetic pathway in plants, made up of four genes from three different gene families that control the density of breathing pores—or "stomata"—in plant leaves in response to elevated CO2 levels.

Novel protein complex with potential to combat gastric cancer caused by bacterial infection found by researchers Posted: 06 Jul 2014 12:32 PM PDT A protein named IL23A is part of our stomach's defense against bacterial infection which leads to gastric cancer, researchers have discovered. This finding could potentially be used to combat the deadly disease. Every year, some 740,000 people die from gastric cancer globally.

Chip developed for rapid detection of dengue fever Posted: 05 Jul 2014 11:00 AM PDT A chip (also known as cDNA microarray) has been developed that allows detection of the RNA strand of the dengue fever virus. The genetic information contained in this scientific tool pinpoints the exact serotype of malaria that an infected person or mosquito is carrying.

High-protein weight loss diets can work, scientists show Posted: 04 Jul 2014 10:48 AM PDT Scientists have shown that instead of counting calories for weight loss, we would do better to boost the protein content of our diet. Nutritional values of foods are typically given in kilojoules or kilocalories, standard units of energy. However, new research on apes and monkeys suggests that this is too simplistic as different macronutrients -- carbohydrates, fats and proteins- interact to regulate appetite and energy intake.

Old ways help modern maize to defend itself Posted: 04 Jul 2014 10:48 AM PDT Many modern crops have high productivity, but have lost their ability to produce certain defence chemicals, making them vulnerable to attack by insects and pathogens. Scientists are exploring ways to help protect 21st century maize by re-arming it with its ancestral chemical weapons.

Benefits of okra plant: World interest in research work to improve food Posted: 04 Jul 2014 10:46 AM PDT New research could help to improve the quality of some of the most popular emulsion-based food products – such as butter, mayonnaise, yoghurt and fruit drinks -- and this work is gaining an international profile. "The purpose is to improve the quality of the product -- its consistency, texture, how it breaks in the mouth, and its shelf-life," says one researcher.

Researchers study flight pattern of red palm weevil in order to set more efficient control measures Posted: 04 Jul 2014 10:46 AM PDT What is the average distance that the red palm weevil covers? Does the insect's sex, age and body size have an influence on its flight potential? Researchers have released a study that answers these and other questions. The results allow them to learn more about the flight pattern of this insect, which is threatening palm trees all over the world, in order to set new preventive and curative measures against the pest.

First cancer immunotherapy for dogs developed Posted: 04 Jul 2014 10:46 AM PDT Nearly every second dog develops cancer from the age of ten years onward. A few therapies derived from human medicine are available for dogs. A very successful form of therapy by which antibodies inhibit tumor growth has not been available for animals so far. Scientists have developed, for the first time, antibodies to treat cancer in dogs.

Developing better vaccine for mutating virus in cows Posted: 04 Jul 2014 10:42 AM PDT It can incorporate a cow's genes or another virus into its genome. It can lead to production of a persistently infected calf that sheds the virus its entire life. Despite yearly vaccinations, one to 15 percent of a herd can test positive for bovine viral diarrhea virus. Researchers now are exploring how the virus suppresses the immune system, so they can develop better modified live vaccines.

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