ScienceDaily Environment Headlines
for Friday, September 5, 2008
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Global Sea-rise Levels By 2100 May Be Lower Than Some Predict, Says New Study (September 5, 2008) -- Despite projections by some scientists of global seas rising by 20 feet or more by the end of this century as a result of warming, a new study concludes that global sea rise of much more than 6 feet is a near physical impossibility. ... > full story
New Evidence On Folic Acid In Diet And Colon Cancer (September 5, 2008) -- Researchers are reporting a new, more detailed explanation for the link between low folate intake and an increased risk for colon cancer, the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States. ... > full story
Molecular Evolution Is Echoed In Bat Ears (September 4, 2008) -- Echolocation may have evolved more than once in bats, according to new research from the University of Bristol. ... > full story
Do 68 Molecules Hold The Key To Understanding Disease? (September 4, 2008) -- Why is it that the origins of many serious diseases remain a mystery? In considering that question, a scientist at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine has come up with a unified molecular view of the indivisible unit of life, the cell, which may provide an answer. ... > full story
Complex Ocean Behavior Studied With 'Artificial Upwelling' (September 4, 2008) -- A team of scientists is studying the complex ocean upwelling process by mimicking nature -- pumping cold, nutrient-rich water from deep within the Pacific Ocean and releasing it into surface waters near Hawaii that lack the nitrogen and phosphorous necessary to support high biological production. ... > full story
Cinnamon-based Packaging To Prevent Mold In Bread And Other Baked Goods (September 4, 2008) -- Bread that goes moldy is the bane of consumers and bakers alike, ruining appetites and wasting food and money. Now, researchers have developed a new type of paper packaging made with cinnamon oil that appears to prolong the freshness of bread and other baked goods by up to 10 days. ... > full story
Global Warming: Warmer Seas Linked To Strengthening Hurricanes, According to New Research (September 4, 2008) -- The theory that global warming may be contributing to stronger hurricanes in the Atlantic over the past 30 years is bolstered by a new study. ... > full story
Tutankhamen Fathered Twins, Mummified Fetuses Suggest (September 4, 2008) -- Two fetuses found in the tomb of Tutankhamen may have been twins and were very likely to have been the children of the teenage Pharaoh, according to the anatomist who first studied the mummified remains of the young King in the 1960s. ... > full story
Researchers Create Animal Model Of Chronic Stress (September 4, 2008) -- In an effort to better understand how chronic stress affects the human body, researchers have created an animal model that shows how chronic stress affects behavior, physiology and reproduction. Developing the animal model better positions the researchers to understand the neurohormonal causes of such stress and the body reaction in order to develop more effective treatment options for humans. ... > full story
Wolves Would Rather Eat Salmon (September 4, 2008) -- Although most people imagine wolves chasing deer and other hoofed animals, new research suggests that, when they can, wolves actually prefer fishing to hunting. The study shows that when salmon is available, wolves will reduce deer hunting activity and instead focus on seafood. ... > full story
Improving Piglet Survival (September 4, 2008) -- Neonatal mortality in pigs is a major welfare and economic concern. It is one of the issues being tackled by Welfare Quality®, an EU-funded project designed to integrate farm animal welfare into the food chain. ... > full story
A Little Nitrogen Can Go A Long Way (September 4, 2008) -- With significant increases in the price of fertilizer and grain, site-specific management -- especially in variable rate nitrogen application -- can have a significant impact on yield and profitability, as reported in the latest issue of Agronomy Journal. ... > full story
Substance Found In Fruits And Vegetables Reduces Likelihood Of The Flu (September 3, 2008) -- Mice given quercetin, a naturally occurring substance found in fruits and vegetables, were less likely to contract the flu. The study also found that stressful exercise increased the susceptibility of mice to the flu, but quercetin canceled out that negative effect. Quercetin, a close chemical relative of resveratrol, is present in a variety of fruits and vegetables, including red onions, grapes, blueberries, tea, broccoli and red wine. ... > full story
Biological Invasions Increasing Due To Freshwater Impoundments, Says Study (September 3, 2008) -- The growing number of dams and other impoundments is increasing the number of invasive species and the speed at which they spread, putting natural lakes at risk, says a study led by the University of Colorado at Boulder. ... > full story
Cell Division Study Resolves 50-year-old Debate, May Aid Cancer Research (September 3, 2008) -- A new study has finally resolved a controversy that cellular biologists have been arguing over for nearly 50 years, with findings that may aid research on everything from birth defects and genetic diseases to the most classic "cell division" issue of them all -- cancer. ... > full story
Hurricane Katrina Increased Mental And Physical Health Problems In New Orleans By Up To Three Times (September 3, 2008) -- Half the residents of New Orleans were suffering from poor mental and physical health more than a year after their homes and community were devastated by Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, according to new research. ... > full story
Energy-saving Bacteria Resist Antibiotics (September 3, 2008) -- Bacteria save energy by producing proteins that moonlight, having different roles at different times, which may also protect the microbes from being killed. The moonlighting activity of one enzyme from the tuberculosis bacterium makes it partially resistant to a family of broad-spectrum antibiotics, according to a paper published in the journal Microbiology. ... > full story
Oldest Gecko Fossil Ever Found, Entombed In Amber (September 3, 2008) -- Scientists have discovered the oldest known fossil of a gecko, with body parts that are forever preserved in life-like form after 100 million years of being entombed in amber. ... > full story
How Friendly Bacteria Avoids Immune Attack To Live Happily In The Gut (September 3, 2008) -- For a long time scientists have been puzzled by the fact that the immune system in the gut is capable of fighting toxic bacterial infection while staying, at the same time, tolerant to its resident “friendly” bacteria. But a new article has starting to explain the mystery by revealing how a recently discovered gene - pims – is activated by the gut immune response against friendly bacteria to rapidly suppress it, effectively creating tolerance to the gut microbiota. ... > full story
Scientists Grow 'Nanonets' Able To Snare Added Energy Transfer (September 3, 2008) -- Adding to the growing list of novel nanoscale structures, researchers report engineering nanonets, flexible webs of tiny wires that improve the performance of their materials, which are used in microelectronics and clean energy research. The new structure improves material used in microelectronics and water-splitting. ... > full story
Shot In The Arm For Sumatran Elephants And Tigers (September 3, 2008) -- The Indonesian government is to double the size of a national park that is one of the last havens for endangered Sumatran elephants and tigers. ... > full story
Safe, Inexpensive Alternative To Antibiotics Developed For Production Of Biofuels And Biopharmaceuticals (September 3, 2008) -- Researchers have developed a system that eliminates the need for antibiotics and resistance genes in the engineering of industrial and medical products. The method involves safer, less costly alternatives and is well suited for industrial production of many biofuels and biopharmaceuticals. ... > full story
Black-footed Ferrets Sired By Dead Males Via Frozen Sperm (September 3, 2008) -- Two black-footed ferrets at the Smithsonian's National Zoo have each given birth to a kit that was sired by males who died in 1999 and 2000. These endangered ferrets were artificially inseminated in May with frozen semen from the two deceased males, each giving birth on June 20 and 21 respectively. Successful inseminations with frozen semen are extremely rare -- until now only three black-footed ferret kits have been born from this method. ... > full story
New Methods To Protect Wind Generators During Voltage Dips Developed (September 3, 2008) -- A young researcher has put forward two protection techniques so that wind generators continue to be operative despite breaks in electricity supply. ... > full story
Baltic States Failing To Protect Most Damaged Sea (September 3, 2008) -- Nine Baltic sea states all scored failing grades in an annual WWF evaluation of their performance in protecting and restoring the world's most damaged sea. ... > full story
Scientists Develop New Computational Method To Investigate Origin Of Life (September 2, 2008) -- Scientists have developed a new computational method that they say will help them to understand how life began on Earth. The method has the potential to trace the evolutionary histories of proteins all the way back to either cells or viruses, thus settling the debate once and for all over which of these life forms came first. ... > full story
Slowing Ships To Protect North Atlantic Right Whales (September 2, 2008) -- NOAA's Fisheries Service is seeking comment on the final environmental impact statement (EIS) for the Ship Strike Reduction Rule, which aims to reduce the number of endangered North Atlantic right whales injured or killed by collisions with large ships. ... > full story
Why Did The Squirrel Cross The Road? (September 2, 2008) -- A study has shown that red squirrels can and do make use of special crossings set up over busy roads. This kind of bridge is usually installed at sites where there have been fatalities recorded but up until now no-one has collected any data to show whether or not they are actually used by the animals. ... > full story
Person's Geographic Origins Located From DNA (September 2, 2008) -- One day soon, you may be able to pinpoint the geographic origins of your ancestors based on analysis of your DNA. New research uses DNA to predict the geographic origins of individuals from a sample of Europeans, often within a few hundred kilometers of where they were born. ... > full story
More Than 150,000 Species Of Flies, Gnats, Maggots, Midges, Mosquitoes Documented In Database (September 2, 2008) -- Distinguishing between insect pests and partners starts with an ironclad identification. Entomologists have now prepared a database with information to accurately identify and name almost 157,000 flies, gnats, maggots, midges, mosquitoes and related species in the order Diptera. ... > full story
'Fingerprinting' Helps Make Great Grapes (September 2, 2008) -- At about this time next year, nearly all of the 2,800 wild, rare and domesticated grapes in a unique northern California genebank will have had their "genetic profile" or "fingerprint" taken. ... > full story
Earth Has Had Sharp Climatic Shifts In Past: Is Earth Nearing Another Tipping Point? (September 2, 2008) -- In the Earth’s history, periods of relatively stable climate have often been interrupted by sharp transitions to a contrasting state. For instance, glaciation periods typically ended suddenly. About 34 million years ago the Earth’s long lasting tropical state in which most recent life forms evolved, shifted abruptly and irreversibly to a cooler state with ice caps. This shift is known as the "Greenhouse-Icehouse-Transition". ... > full story
Key Discovered To Cold Tolerance In Corn (September 2, 2008) -- Demand for corn -- the world's number one feed grain and a staple food for many -- is outstripping supply, resulting in large price increases that are forecast to continue over the next several years. If corn's intolerance of low temperatures could be overcome, then the length of the growing season, and yield, could be increased at present sites of cultivation and its range extended into colder regions. ... > full story
Global Warming Greatest In Past Decade (September 2, 2008) -- Researchers confirm that surface temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere were warmer over the last 10 years than any time during the last 1300 years, and, if the climate scientists include the somewhat controversial data derived from tree-ring records, the warming is anomalous for at least 1700 years. ... > full story
Thawing Permafrost Likely To Boost Global Warming, New Assessment Concludes (September 2, 2008) -- A new assessment more than doubles previous estimates of the amount of carbon stored in permafrost, and indicates that carbon dioxide emissions from microbial decomposition of organic carbon in thawing permafrost could amount to roughly half those resulting from global land-use change during this century. ... > full story
Teflon: Chemists Break Harmful Bonds (September 2, 2008) -- Everybody loves the way eggs slide off of Teflon pans. Indeed, the carbon-fluorine bond at the heart of Teflon cookware is so helpful we also use it in products from clothing to blood substitutes. But the very strength of the C-F bond also gives it greenhouse gas effects. In the journal Science, researchers report a catalyst that breaks the C-F bond and converts it to a carbon-hydrogen bond, rendering it harmless to the environment. ... > full story
New Giant Clam Species Offers Window Into Human Past (September 2, 2008) -- Researchers report the discovery of the first new living species of giant clam in two decades. ... > full story
Bonobos May Have Greater Linguistic Skills Than Previously Thought (September 2, 2008) -- What happens when linguistic tools used to analyze human language are applied to a conversation between a language-competent bonobo and a human? New findings indicate that bonobos may exhibit larger linguistic competency in ordinary conversation than in controlled experimental settings. ... > full story
Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary In Fair Condition, Facing Emerging Threats (September 2, 2008) -- A new NOAA report on the health of Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary indicates that the overall condition of the sanctuary's marine life and habitats is fair. The report also identifies several emerging threats to sanctuary resources, including non-indigenous marine species, overfishing, waterborne chemicals from human coastal activities, and increased recreational use of the site. ... > full story
Prehistoric Funerary Precinct Excavated In Northern Israel: Grave Goods Include Phallic Figurines, Sea Shells (September 2, 2008) -- Hebrew University excavations in the north of Israel have revealed a prehistoric funerary precinct dating back to 6,750-8,500 BCE. The precinct, a massive walled enclosure measuring 10 meters by at least 20 meters, was discovered at excavations being undertaken at Kfar HaHoresh. The Pre-Pottery Neolithic B site in the Nazareth hills of the lower Galilee is interpreted as having been a regional funerary and cult center for nearby lowland villages. ... > full story
Bitter-tasting Nectar And Floral Odors Optimize Outcrossing For Plants (September 2, 2008) -- Experiments with genetically modified plants reveal new aspects on the biochemistry of flowers. Scientists have discovered how the chemistry of nectar and floral scents enforces good pollinator behavior, enabling plants to optimize the production of out-crossed seeds. ... > full story
Grain Moisture Measurements May Divert Mold, Insect Infestation (September 2, 2008) -- Grain storage bins are routinely monitored for temperature to control insect and mold problems. Now an scientists have preliminary research findings showing that monitoring carbon dioxide -- along with humidity and temperature -- also may help detect problems more effectively. ... > full story
'Lost World' Beneath Caribbean To Be Explored (September 1, 2008) -- Scientists are set to explore the world's deepest undersea volcanoes and find out what lives in a 'lost world' five kilometres beneath the Caribbean. ... > full story
New Report Loosens Noose Around Albatross’s Neck (September 1, 2008) -- The survival chances of the albatross, now officially the most threatened seabird family in the world, have been improved following a new report released by WWF-South Africa. ... > full story
Environmental Friendly Technology Can Remove Ink Stains In Paper Recycling (September 1, 2008) -- The greatest challenge in paper recycling is removal of polymeric ink and coating; and the most difficult paper is mixed office wastepaper. Traditional de-inking processes involve large quantities of chemicals which are expensive and unfriendly to the environment. A better alternative would be a technology that involves biological intervention. ... > full story
'Armored' Fish Study Helps Strengthen Darwin's Natural Selection Theory (September 1, 2008) -- Shedding some genetically induced excess baggage may have helped a tiny fish thrive in freshwater and outsize its marine ancestors, according to a new study in Science. ... > full story
Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease: Humans Could Be Infected Through Blood Transfusions (September 1, 2008) -- A nine-year study in sheep has added to the evidence that Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) can be transmitted through blood transfusion in humans. The likelihood of Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) being transmitted between sheep through transfusion of infected sheep blood was 36 per cent, according to new research. ... > full story
Diversity Among Parasitic Wasps Is Even Greater Than Suspected (September 1, 2008) -- A tiny wasp that lays its eggs under the skin of unwitting caterpillars belongs to one of the most diverse groups of insects on Earth. Now researchers report that its diversity is even higher than previously thought. ... > full story
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