ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

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• Universal Ebola drug target identified by researchers
• Around the world in 400,000 years: Journey of the red fox
• A diet for the cell: Keeping DNA fit with fewer calories
• The unexamined diversity in the 'Coral Triangle'
• Killer whales learn to communicate like dolphins
• Closing the gap: Extreme desert gecko spotted on salt-flats in central Oman
• Back off: Female chimps stressed out by competing suitors
• What 20 years of research on cannabis use has taught us
• Coffee in the Genes? New genetic variants associated with coffee drinking
• New pathway discovered regulating autoimmune diseases
• Due to landscape fragmentation, Brazil's rainforests are releasing more carbon dioxide than previously thought
• E-car sharing comes of age
• Plants: Stressed parents, stronger offspring
• Non-coding half of human genome unlocked with novel sequencing technique
• Getting the most out of aquaculture: Pearls of wisdom from farmed oysters

Universal Ebola drug target identified by researchers Posted: 07 Oct 2014 12:26 PM PDT A new tool can be used as a drug target in the discovery of anti-Ebola agents that are effective against all known strains and likely future strains, researchers report. Current experimental drugs generally target only one of Ebola's five species. "The current growing epidemic demonstrates the need for effective broad-range Ebola virus therapies," says the lead author on the study.

Around the world in 400,000 years: Journey of the red fox Posted: 07 Oct 2014 11:45 AM PDT For the first time, researchers have investigated ancestry across the red fox genome, including the Y chromosome, or paternal line. The data, compiled for over 1,000 individuals from all over the world, expose some surprises about the origins, journey and evolution of the red fox, the world's most widely distributed land carnivore.

A diet for the cell: Keeping DNA fit with fewer calories Posted: 07 Oct 2014 10:13 AM PDT Cells are generally able to repair spontaneous damage that arises in their genetic material. Unfortunately, the DNA repair process is not perfect and sometimes, damaged DNA gets passed on to newly made cells. Molecular biologists now show how the nutrient status of cells can influence their response to damaged DNA.

The unexamined diversity in the 'Coral Triangle' Posted: 07 Oct 2014 08:12 AM PDT Research on zoantharians, a group of animals related to corals and anemones has demonstrated how little we know about marine diversity in the so-called 'center of marine biodiversity' located in the central Indo-Pacific Ocean.

Killer whales learn to communicate like dolphins Posted: 07 Oct 2014 08:10 AM PDT The sounds that most animals use to communicate are innate, not learned. However, a few species, including humans, can imitate new sounds and use them in appropriate social contexts. This ability, known as vocal learning, is one of the underpinnings of language. Now, researchers have found that killer whales can engage in cross-species vocal learning: when socialized with bottlenose dolphins, they shifted the sounds they made to more closely match their social partners.

Closing the gap: Extreme desert gecko spotted on salt-flats in central Oman Posted: 07 Oct 2014 07:34 AM PDT Two new records of the salt-flat specialist gecko, Pseudoceramodactylus khobarensis, from the eastern Rub Al Khali desert in Arabia have closed the distributional knowledge gap for this species, offering a better understanding of the diversity pattern of this extreme desert dweller across the Arabian Peninsula.

Back off: Female chimps stressed out by competing suitors Posted: 07 Oct 2014 07:31 AM PDT Being the center of attention can have its drawbacks. For female chimpanzees, being around too many rowdy males is disadvantageous when foraging for food, an effect that can ultimately interfere with her reproductive ability.

What 20 years of research on cannabis use has taught us Posted: 07 Oct 2014 06:24 AM PDT In the past 20 years, recreational cannabis use has grown tremendously, becoming almost as common as tobacco use among adolescents and young adults, and so has the research evidence. A major new review sets out the latest information on the effects of cannabis use on mental and physical health.

Coffee in the Genes? New genetic variants associated with coffee drinking Posted: 07 Oct 2014 06:23 AM PDT A new, large-scale study has identified six new genetic variants associated with habitual coffee drinking. "Coffee and caffeine have been linked to beneficial and adverse health effects. Our findings may allow us to identify subgroups of people most likely to benefit from increasing or decreasing coffee consumption for optimal health," said the lead author of the study.

New pathway discovered regulating autoimmune diseases Posted: 07 Oct 2014 06:23 AM PDT NAD+, a natural molecule found in living cells, plants and food protects against autoimmune diseases by altering the immune response and turning 'destructive' cells into 'protective' cells, researchers have discovered. Moreover, the researchers demonstrated that NAD+ can restore tissue integrity which may benefit patients that have advanced tissue damage caused by autoimmune diseases.

Due to landscape fragmentation, Brazil's rainforests are releasing more carbon dioxide than previously thought Posted: 07 Oct 2014 06:23 AM PDT Because of the deforestation of tropical rainforests in Brazil, significantly more carbon has been lost than was previously assumed. The effect of the degradation has been underestimated in fragmented forest areas, since it was hitherto not possible to calculate the loss of the biomass at the forest edges and the higher emission of carbon dioxide.

E-car sharing comes of age Posted: 07 Oct 2014 06:22 AM PDT Every day, private motor transportation causes traffic jams, pollution and a shortage of parking spaces. The number one mode of transportation – the automobile – is one of the biggest burdens on urban spaces and their inhabitants. But does it have to be this way? Other options have emerged that offer reliable, low-emission mobility in cities and the surrounding areas: not just electromobility, but digital networking and car sharing, too.

Plants: Stressed parents, stronger offspring Posted: 07 Oct 2014 06:22 AM PDT In 2012 plant scientists at Lancaster were among the first in the world to publish data explaining how plants exposed to pests or disease can pass on their immunity to their seedlings, giving them an inherited advantage which can still be seen several generations down the line. Now new research will further investigate the complex biological mechanisms behind this process, which they believe has an epigenetic basis.

Non-coding half of human genome unlocked with novel sequencing technique Posted: 07 Oct 2014 06:17 AM PDT An obscure swatch of human DNA once thought to be nothing more than biological trash may actually offer a treasure trove of insight into complex genetic-related diseases such as cancer and diabetes, thanks to a novel sequencing technique developed by biologists.

Getting the most out of aquaculture: Pearls of wisdom from farmed oysters Posted: 07 Oct 2014 06:17 AM PDT Oysters were fit with biosensors in a new study to measure how they respond to changing environmental conditions or stressors on aquaculture farms. The results have implications for achieving and maintaining ideal conditions for targeted species in aquatic environments.

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