The EDGE: ScienceDaily Environment Headlines -- for Wednesday, December 21, 2011

ScienceDaily Environment Headlines

for Wednesday, December 21, 2011

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Ion channel makes African naked mole-rat insensitive to acid-induced pain (December 20, 2011) -- Researchers have found out why the African naked mole-rat, one of the world's most unusual mammals, feels no pain when exposed to acid. The animals have an altered ion channel in their pain receptors that is inactivated by acid and makes the animals insensitive to this type of pain. ... > full story

Human skull is highly integrated: Study sheds new light on evolutionary changes (December 20, 2011) -- Scientists studying a unique collection of human skulls have shown that changes to the skull shape thought to have occurred independently through separate evolutionary events may have actually precipitated each other. ... > full story

Towards artificial photosynthesis for solar hydrogen generation: Algal protein gives boost to electrochemical water splitting (December 20, 2011) -- Water splitting in photo-electrochemical cells to yield hydrogen is a promising way to sustainable fuels. Scientists have now made major progress in developing highly efficient electrodes – made of an algal protein, thus mimicking a central step in natural photosynthesis. ... > full story

Mediterranean diet gives longer life, Swedish study suggests (December 20, 2011) -- A Mediterranean diet with large amounts of vegetables and fish gives a longer life, according to Swedish research. A number of studies since the 1950s have shown that a Mediterranean diet, based on a high consumption of fish and vegetables and a low consumption of animal-based products such as meat and milk, leads to better health. ... > full story

Caterpillars mimic one another for survival (December 20, 2011) -- In the world of insects, high risk of attack has led to the development of camouflage as a means for survival. Researchers have uncovered some of the most extensive evidence of caterpillars using another strategy previously best-known in adult butterflies: mimicry. ... > full story

Infectious fungus, thought to be asexual, isn't (December 20, 2011) -- Candida tropicalis turns out to have sex, making it the second medically important member of the genus to be capable of mating. Sex may improve the survival of the species, particularly when it's under pressure. It may also mean the species can achieve greater virulence or drug resistance more quickly than previously thought. ... > full story

Pet kidney injuries are similar to human kidney injuries (December 20, 2011) -- For pets suffering critical illness or injury, researchers have found that even tiny increases of creatinine in blood also could indicate acute kidney damage. Using human blood measurement guidelines for acute kidney injuries, the researchers believe they can now help pet owners better know the severity of their animals' illness. ... > full story

Living 'neon signs' composed of millions of glowing bacteria (December 20, 2011) -- In an example of life imitating art, biologists and bioengineers have created a living neon sign composed of millions of bacterial cells that periodically fluoresce in unison like blinking light bulbs. ... > full story

New light on medicinal benefits of plants (December 20, 2011) -- Scientists are about to make publicly available all the data they have so far on the genetic blueprint of medicinal plants and what beneficial properties are encoded. ... > full story

Major step forward towards drought tolerance in crops (December 20, 2011) -- When a plant encounters drought, it does its best to cope with this stress by activating a set of protein molecules called receptors. Plant cell biologists have discovered how to rewire this cellular machinery to heighten the plants' stress response -- a finding that can be used to engineer crops to give them a better shot at surviving and displaying increased yield under drought conditions. ... > full story

Hellbender salamander study seeks answers for global amphibian decline (December 20, 2011) -- A new study on the endangered Ozark Hellbender giant salamander is the first to detail its skin microbes, the bacteria and fungi that defend against pathogens. ... > full story

Attic vases from Athens inspired Cypriote pottery (December 20, 2011) -- Athenian pottery was exported to both east and west. In Cyprus the pottery was exported for about 300 years and it became a part of the Cypriots’ life. It also inspired the local potters and painters to create their own versions of the imagery and enrich them with local elements. ... > full story

Data-driven tools cast geographical patterns of rainfall extremes in new light (December 19, 2011) -- Using statistical analysis methods to examine rainfall extremes in India, a team of researchers has made a discovery that resolves an ongoing debate and offers new insights. ... > full story

Researchers closer to understanding the evolution of sound production in fish (December 19, 2011) -- Researchers studying sound production in perch-like fishes have discovered a link between two unrelated lineages of fishes, taking researchers a step closer to understanding the evolution of one of the fastest muscles in vertebrates. ... > full story

Plant-eating dinosaur discovered in Antarctica (December 19, 2011) -- For the first time, the presence of large bodied herbivorous dinosaurs in Antarctica has been recorded. Until now, remains of sauropoda had been recovered from all continental landmasses, except Antarctica. The identification of the remains of the sauropod dinosaur suggests that advanced titanosaurs achieved a global distribution at least by the Late Cretaceous. ... > full story

Chemicals and biofuel from wood biomass (December 19, 2011) -- A new method makes it possible to use microbes to produce butanol suitable for biofuel and other industrial chemicals from wood biomass. Butanol is particularly suited as a transport fuel because it is not water soluble and has higher energy content than ethanol. ... > full story

New kind of metal in the deep Earth: Iron oxide undergoes transition under intense pressures and temperatures (December 19, 2011) -- The intense pressures and temperatures in Earth's deep interior squeeze atoms and electrons so close they interact differently. New experiments and supercomputer computations have revealed that iron oxide undergoes a new kind of transition under deep Earth conditions. It is a component of the second most abundant mineral at Earth's lower mantle, ferropericlase. The finding could alter our understanding of deep Earth dynamics and the behavior of the protective magnetic field, which shields our planet. ... > full story

First aid after tick bites (December 19, 2011) -- They come out in the spring, and each year they spread further – the ticks. Thirty percent of them transmit borrelia pathogens, the causative agent of Lyme borreliosis that can damage joints and organs. The disease often goes undetected. In the future, a new type of gel is intended to prevent an infection – if applied after a tick bite. ... > full story

Immunological defense mechanism leaves malaria patients vulnerable to deadly infection (December 19, 2011) -- The link between malaria and Salmonella infections has been explained for the first time, opening the way to more effective treatments. ... > full story

Nitrogen from humans pollutes remote lakes for more than a century (December 19, 2011) -- Nitrogen derived from human activities has polluted lakes throughout the Northern Hemisphere for more than a century and the fingerprint of these changes is evident even in remote lakes located thousands of miles from the nearest city, industrial area or farm. The findings are based on historical changes in the chemical composition of bottom deposits in lakes using an approach similar to aquatic archeology. ... > full story

Climate change may bring big ecosystem shifts, NASA says (December 19, 2011) -- By 2100, global climate change will modify plant communities covering almost half of Earth's land surface and will drive the conversion of nearly 40 percent of land-based ecosystems from one major ecological community type -- such as forest, grassland or tundra -- toward another, according to a new NASA and university computer modeling study. ... > full story

Data on biodiversity at risk of being lost (December 19, 2011) -- A new project is setting out to rescue biodiversity data at risk of being lost, because they are not integrated in institutional databases, are kept in outdated digital storage systems, or are not properly documented. The project provides a good example for a GBIF recommendation to establish hosting centers for biodiversity data. ... > full story

Novel device removes heavy metals from water (December 18, 2011) -- Engineers have developed a system that cleanly and efficiently removes trace heavy metals from water. In experiments, the researchers showed the system reduced cadmium, copper, and nickel concentrations, returning contaminated water to near or below federally acceptable standards. The technique is scalable and has viable commercial applications, especially in the environmental remediation and metal recovery fields. ... > full story

Rapid rise in wildfires in large parts of Canada? Ecologists find threshold values for natural wildfires (December 18, 2011) -- Large forest regions in Canada are apparently about to experience rapid change. Based on models, scientists can now show that there are threshold values for wildfires just like there are for epidemics. Large areas of Canada are apparently approaching this threshold value and may in future exceed it due to climate change. As a result both the area burnt down annually and the average size of the fires would increase, researchers say. ... > full story

Functionalized graphene oxide plays part in next-generation oil-well drilling fluids (December 17, 2011) -- Graphene's star is rising as a material that could become essential to efficient, environmentally sound oil production. Researchers are taking advantage of graphene's outstanding strength, light weight and solubility to enhance fluids used to drill oil wells. ... > full story

Barracuda babies: Novel study sheds light on early life of prolific predator (December 16, 2011) -- Marine biologists shed light on the larval stage of the barracuda, as well as several other closely related species. ... > full story

Study of skates and sharks questions assumptions about 'essential' genes (December 16, 2011) -- Biologists have long assumed that all jawed vertebrates possess a full complement of nearly identical genes for critical aspects of their development. But new research shows that elasmobranchs, a subclass of cartilaginous fishes, lack a cluster of genes, HoxC, formerly thought to be essential for proper development. ... > full story

New strain of lab mice mimics human alcohol consumption patterns (December 16, 2011) -- A line of laboratory mice drinks more alcohol than other animal models and consumes it in a fashion similar to humans: choosing alcohol over other options and binge drinking. ... > full story

Tiny protein helps bacteria 'talk' and triggers defensive response in plants (December 16, 2011) -- Scientists have discovered a new signal that helps invading bacteria communicate but also helps targeted rice plants coordinate defensive attacks on the disease-causing invaders, a finding that could lead to new methods of combating infection not just in plants, but in humans. ... > full story

The physics behind great white shark attacks on seals (December 16, 2011) -- A new study examines the complex and dynamic interactions between white sharks and Cape fur seals in False Bay, South Africa; Offers new insights on physical and biological factors underlying predator-prey interactions in marine environment. ... > full story

Discovery of a 'dark state' could mean a brighter future for solar energy (December 16, 2011) -- The efficiency of conventional solar cells could be significantly increased, according to new research on the mechanisms of solar energy conversion. ... > full story

Immunity against the cold (December 16, 2011) -- Throughout the interior spaces of humans and other warm-blooded creatures is a special type of tissue known as brown fat, which may hold the secret to diets and weight-loss programs of the future. ... > full story

Researchers assess effects of a world awash in nitrogen (December 16, 2011) -- Humans are having an effect on Earth's ecosystems but it's not just the depletion of resources and the warming of the planet we are causing. Now you can add an over-abundance of nitrogen as another "footprint" humans are leaving behind. The only question is how large of an impact will be felt. ... > full story

Close family ties keep cheaters in check: Why almost all multicellular organisms begin life as a single cell (December 16, 2011) -- Any multicellular animal poses a special difficulty for the theory of evolution. Most of its cells will die without reproducing, and only a privileged few will pass their genes. Given the incentive for cheating, how is cooperation among the cells enforced? Evolutionary biologists suggest the answer is frequent population bottlenecks that restart populations from a single cell. ... > full story

Birds caught in the act of becoming a new species (December 16, 2011) -- A study of South American songbirds has shown that these birds differ dramatically in color and song yet show very little genetic differences, indicating they are on the road to becoming a new species. ... > full story

How cells limit inflammation in lung injury (December 16, 2011) -- Researchers have found in an animal model of acute lung injury a molecular mechanism that allows cells of the immune system to reduce tissue damage from inflammation. ... > full story

New genetic program converts static cells into mobile invasive cells (December 16, 2011) -- Researchers have identified the gene GATA 6 as responsible for epithelial cells -which group together and are static- losing adhesion and moving towards a new site. This process, which is common to developing organisms, is very similar to one that occurs in metastasis, when tumor cells escape from the original tumor and invade new tissue. ... > full story

Global forests are overlooked as water suppliers, study shows (December 16, 2011) -- The forests of the world supply a significant amount of moisture that creates rain. A new study reveals how this important contribution of forests to the hydrologic cycle is often overlooked in water resource policy, such as that of the EU. ... > full story

Biofuel research boosted by discovery of how cyanobacteria make energy (December 15, 2011) -- Research expected to help scientists to discover new ways of genetically engineering bacteria to manufacture biofuels overturns a generally accepted 44-year-old assumption about how certain kinds of bacteria make energy and synthesize cell materials. With this better understanding of how cyanobacteria make energy, it might be possible to genetically engineer a cyanobacterial strain to synthesize 1,3-butanediol -- an organic compound that is the precursor for making not only biofuels but also plastics. ... > full story

Endorphin plays traffic cop to organs (December 15, 2011) -- Spleen to the left, appendix to the right: In order for the body to sort itself out properly, two substances have to trigger a complex chain reaction, according to new research findings. ... > full story

140 new species described by California Academy of Sciences in 2011 (December 15, 2011) -- In 2011, researchers at the California Academy of Sciences added 140 new relatives to our family tree. The new species include 72 arthropods, 31 sea slugs, 13 fishes, 11 plants, nine sponges, three corals, and one reptile. They were described by more than a dozen Academy scientists along with several dozen international collaborators. ... > full story

Scientists find microbes in lava tube living in conditions like those on Mars (December 15, 2011) -- A team of scientists from Oregon has collected microbes from ice within a lava tube in the Cascade Mountains and found that they thrive in cold, Mars-like conditions. They have characteristics that would make the microbes capable of living in the subsurface of Mars and other planetary bodies. ... > full story

Scientists discover second-oldest gene mutation (December 15, 2011) -- A new study has identified a gene mutation that researchers estimate dates back to 11,600 B.C., making it the second oldest human disease mutation known. The mutation was described in people of Arabic, Turkish and Jewish ancestry. It causes a rare, inherited vitamin B12 deficiency. The mutation originated in a single, prehistoric individual and was passed down to that individual's descendants. The discovery should permit reliable genetic diagnosis of suspected cases of Imerslund-Gräsbeck Syndrome. ... > full story

Report recommends stringent limits on use of chimpanzees in biomedical and behavioral research (December 15, 2011) -- Given that chimpanzees are so closely related to humans and share similar behavioral traits, the U.S. National Institutes of Health should allow their use as subjects in biomedical research only under stringent conditions, including the absence of any other suitable model and inability to ethically perform the research on people, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine. ... > full story

Acid rain poses a previously unrecognized threat to Great Lakes sugar maples (December 15, 2011) -- The number of sugar maples in Upper Great Lakes forests is likely to decline in coming decades, according to ecologists, due to a previously unrecognized threat from a familiar enemy: Acid rain. ... > full story

Increasing atmospheric concentrations of new flame retardants found (December 15, 2011) -- Compounds used in new flame-retardant products are showing up in the environment at increasing concentrations, according to a recent study. ... > full story

Artichokes grow big in Texas (December 15, 2011) -- Marketable yield, yield components, quality, and phenolic compounds of artichoke heads were investigated in response to three irrigation regimes and four nitrogen rates under subsurface drip irrigation. Results showed that irrigation was more effective than N management for optimizing artichoke yield. Time of harvest had the largest effect on artichoke nutritional quality, followed by deficit irrigation. The study will help introduce artichoke cultural practices into commercial production in water-limited regions of the southern United States. ... > full story

The shadows in a city reveal its energy flow (December 15, 2011) -- Researchers have created "shadow models" and a type of software that calculates the amount of solar radiation that reaches streets and buildings in high resolution. According to new results, they could help to optimize the energy consumption of cities. ... > full story

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