The EDGE: ScienceDaily Environment Headlines -- for Friday, February 10, 2012

ScienceDaily Environment Headlines

for Friday, February 10, 2012

Welcome to another edition of ScienceDaily's email newsletter. You can change your subscription options or unsubscribe at any time.

Deconstructing a mystery: What caused Snowmaggedon? (February 9, 2012) -- Scientists are using computer models to help unravel the mystery of a record-setting snowfall in the Washington, DC area in early 2010. ... > full story

Most lethal known species of prion protein identified (February 9, 2012) -- Scientists have identified a single prion protein that causes neuronal death similar to that seen in "mad cow" disease, but is at least 10 times more lethal than larger prion species. ... > full story

Hydrogen from acidic water: Potential low cost alternative to platinum for splitting water (February 9, 2012) -- A technique for creating a new molecule that structurally and chemically replicates the active part of the molybdenite catalyst paves the way for developing catalytic materials that can serve as effective low-cost alternatives to platinum for generating hydrogen gas from water. ... > full story

Ocean microbe communities changing, but long-term environmental impact is unclear (February 9, 2012) -- As oceans warm due to climate change, water layers will mix less and affect the microbes and plankton that pump carbon out of the atmosphere – but researchers say it's still unclear whether these processes will further increase global warming or decrease it. It could be either, they say. ... > full story

Chemists harvest light to create 'green' tool for pharmaceuticals (February 9, 2012) -- Researchers have created a new, “green” method for developing medicines. The researchers used energy from a light bulb to create an organic molecule that may be useful in the treatment of Alzheimer’s and other brain diseases. ... > full story

Ocean warming causes elephant seals to dive deeper (February 9, 2012) -- Global warming is having an effect on the dive behavior and search for food of southern elephant seals. Researchers have discovered that the seals dive deeper for food when in warmer water. The scientists attribute this behavior to the migration of prey to greater depths and now wish to check this theory using a new sensor which registers the feeding of the animals below water. ... > full story

Seismic resistance: Model analyzes shape-memory alloys for use in earthquake-resistant structures (February 9, 2012) -- Recent earthquake damage has exposed the vulnerability of existing structures to strong ground movement. Researchers are now analyzing shape-memory alloys for their potential use in constructing seismic-resistant structures. ... > full story

Baby knows best: Baby-led weaning promotes healthy food preferences (February 9, 2012) -- A new study has shown that babies who are weaned using solid finger food are more likely to develop healthier food preferences and are less likely to become overweight as children than those who are spoon-fed pureed food. ... > full story

New battery could lead to cheaper, more efficient solar energy (February 9, 2012) -- Scientists have found that a new type of battery has the potential to improve the efficiency and reduce the cost of solar power. ... > full story

How the zebra got its stripes (February 9, 2012) -- Horseflies are unpleasant insects that deliver powerful bites and now it seems that zebras evolved their stripes to avoid attracting the unpleasant pests. New research show that zebras have the least attractive hides for horseflies. ... > full story

Amazing skin gives sharks a push (February 9, 2012) -- Shark skin has long been known to improve the fish's swimming performance by reducing drag, but now a new study show that in addition, the skin generates thrust, giving the fish an extra boost. The duo also discovered that Speedo's shark skin-inspired Fastskin® FS II fabric surface does not improve swimming speed, although they point out that the figure hugging costumes probably enhance performance in other ways. ... > full story

Global sea level rise: NASA mission takes stock of Earth's melting land ice (February 9, 2012) -- In the first comprehensive satellite study of its kind, researchers have used NASA data to calculate how much Earth's melting land ice is adding to global sea level rise. Using satellite measurements from the NASA/German Aerospace Center Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE), the researchers measured ice loss in all of Earth's land ice between 2003 and 2010, with particular emphasis on glaciers and ice caps outside of Greenland and Antarctica. The total global ice mass lost from Greenland, Antarctica and Earth's glaciers and ice caps during the study period was about 4.3 trillion tons (1,000 cubic miles), adding about 0.5 inches (12 millimeters) to global sea level. That's enough ice to cover the United States 1.5 feet (0.5 meters) deep. ... > full story

Tiny primate is ultrasonic communicator (February 8, 2012) -- Tarsiers' ultrasonic calls -- among the most extreme in the animal kingdom -- give them a "private channel" of communication, says an anthropologist. ... > full story

January 2012 fourth warmest for contiguous United States, but Alaska extremely cold (February 8, 2012) -- During January, warmer-than-average conditions enveloped most of the contiguous United States, with widespread below-average precipitation. The overall weather pattern for the month was reflected in the lack of snow for much of the Northern Plains, Midwest, and Northeast. This scenario was in stark contrast to Alaska where several towns had their coldest January on record. ... > full story

DNA sequencing helps identify cancer cells for immune system attack (February 8, 2012) -- DNA sequences from tumor cells can be used to direct the immune system to attack cancer, according to scientists. The immune system relies on an intricate network of alarm bells, targets and safety brakes to determine when and what to attack. The new results suggest that scientists may now be able to combine DNA sequencing data with their knowledge of the triggers and targets that set off immune alarms to more precisely develop vaccines and other immunotherapies for cancer. ... > full story

Transformational fruit fly genome catalog completed (February 8, 2012) -- Scientists searching for the genomics version of the holy grail – more insight into predicting how an animal’s genes affect physical or behavioral traits – now have a reference manual that should speed gene discoveries in everything from pest control to personalized medicine. ... > full story

Report on Texas fire urges firefighters to consider wind effects (February 8, 2012) -- Wind conditions at a fire scene can make a critical difference on the behavior of the blaze and the safety of firefighters, even indoors, according to a new report. ... > full story

New 'cell assay on a chip:' Solid results from simple means (February 8, 2012) -- A research engineer combined a glass slide, plastic sheets and double-sided tape to build a "diffusion-based gradient generator", a tool to rapidly assess how changing concentrations of specific chemicals affect living cells. ... > full story

Octagonal window of opportunity for carbon capture (February 8, 2012) -- Scientists have gathered new insight into the performance of a material called a zeolite that may filter carbon dioxide far more efficiently than current industrial "scrubbers" do. ... > full story

Charter service: Encasing the Magna Carta (February 8, 2012) -- You often hear about the Framers of the Constitution, but not so much the framers of the Magna Carta. They work for the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Not the authors, of course; they've been dead 700 years. But a NIST engineering team, at the behest of the National Archives, designed and built a state-of-the-art encasement and transport cart to protect the Archive's prized copy of the 1297 Magna Carta. ... > full story

Timing capability added to living cell sensors (February 8, 2012) -- Individual cells modified to act as sensors using fluorescence are already useful tools in biochemistry, but now they can add good timing to their resume. ... > full story

Arsenic criticality poses concern for modern technology (February 8, 2012) -- Risks related to the critical nature of arsenic -- used to make high-speed computer chips that contain gallium arsenide -- outstrip those of other substances in a group of critical materials needed to sustain modern technology, a new study has found. Scientists evaluated the relative criticality of arsenic and five related metals. ... > full story

Lull in ship noise after Sept. 11 attacks eased stress on right whales (February 8, 2012) -- Exposure to low-frequency ship noise may be associated with chronic stress in whales, according to a new study. The study, conducted in Canada's Bay of Fundy, has implications for all baleen whales in areas with heavy ship traffic, and for the recovery of the endangered North Atlantic right whale population. ... > full story

Obstacles no barrier to higher speeds for worms (February 8, 2012) -- Obstacles in an organism's path can help it to move faster, not slower, researchers have found through a series of experiments and computer simulations. Their findings have implications for a better understanding of basic locomotion strategies found in biology, and the survival and propagation of the parasite that causes malaria. ... > full story

Growing up on a farm directly affects regulation of the immune system, study finds (February 8, 2012) -- A new study has shown, for the first time, that growing up on a farm directly affects the regulation of the immune system and causes a reduction in the immunological responses to food proteins. ... > full story

Tuna and mackerel populations have reduced by 60% in the last century (February 8, 2012) -- A new study shows that the impact of fishing for tuna and similar species during the last 50 years has lessened the abundance of all these populations by an average of 60%. Experts add that the majority of tuna fish have been exploited to the limits of sustainability. ... > full story

Carbonized coffee grounds remove foul smells (February 8, 2012) -- In research to develop a novel, eco-friendly filter to remove toxic gases from the air, scientists found that a material made from used coffee grounds can sop up hydrogen sulfide gas, the chemical that makes raw sewage stinky. ... > full story

Molecular path from internal clock to cells controlling rest and activity revealed (February 7, 2012) -- The molecular pathway that carries time-of-day signals from the body's internal clock to ultimately guide daily behavior is like a black box, says a researcher. Now, new research is taking a peek inside, describing a molecular pathway and its inner parts that connect the well-known clock neurons to cells governing rhythms of rest and activity in fruit flies. ... > full story

Scientists develop biological computer to encrypt and decipher images (February 7, 2012) -- Scientists have developed a "biological computer" made entirely from biomolecules that is capable of deciphering images encrypted on DNA chips. ... > full story

Preventing bacteria from falling in with the wrong crowd could help stop gum disease (February 7, 2012) -- Stripping some mouth bacteria of their access key to gangs of other pathogenic oral bacteria could help prevent gum disease and tooth loss. The study suggests that this bacterial access key could be a drug target for people who are at high risk of developing gum disease. ... > full story

Scared of a younger rival? Not for some male songbirds (February 7, 2012) -- When mature male white-crowned sparrows duel to win a mate or a nesting territory, a young bird just doesn’t get much respect. ... > full story

Ancient seagrass holds secrets of the oldest living organism on Earth (February 7, 2012) -- It's big, it's old and it lives under the sea -- and now an international research collaboration has confirmed that an ancient seagrass holds the secrets of the oldest living organism on Earth. Ancient giant Posidonia oceanica reproduces asexually, generating clones of itself. A single organism -- which has been found to span up to 15 kilometers in width and reach more than 6,000 metric tonnes in mass -- may well be more than 100,000 years old. ... > full story

2011 shark attacks remain steady, deaths highest since 1993 (February 7, 2012) -- Shark attacks in the US declined in 2011, but worldwide fatalities reached a two-decade high, according to the a new report. ... > full story

New tool for analyzing solar-cell materials (February 7, 2012) -- An online tool called "Impurities to Efficiency" (known as I2E) allows companies or researchers exploring alternative manufacturing strategies to plug in descriptions of their planned materials and processing steps. After about one minute of simulation, I2E gives an indication of exactly how efficient the resulting solar cell would be in converting sunlight to electricity. ... > full story

Entire genome of extinct human decoded from fossil (February 7, 2012) -- Scientists have completed the genome sequence of a Denisovan, a representative of an Asian group of extinct humans related to Neanderthals. ... > full story

Americans' knowledge of polar regions up, but not their concern (February 7, 2012) -- Americans’ knowledge of facts about the polar regions of the globe has increased since 2006, but this increase in knowledge has not translated into more concern about changing polar environments, according to new research. ... > full story

Low-cost instrument developed by high school students could aid severe weather research (February 7, 2012) -- A group of high school students designed, built and tested a low-cost device that monitors the buildup of electrical charge in clouds. A network of such field mill devices could be used to learn more about the lightning that is part of severe weather. ... > full story

Why bad immunity genes survive: Study implicates arms race between genes and germs (February 7, 2012) -- Biologists have found new evidence for why mice, people and other vertebrate animals carry thousands of varieties of genes to make immune-system proteins named MHCs -- even though some of those genes make us sick. ... > full story

Neanderthal demise due to many influences, including cultural changes (February 7, 2012) -- Although many anthropologists believe that modern humans ancestors "wiped out" Neanderthals, it's more likely that Neanderthals were integrated into the human gene pool thousands of years ago during the Upper Pleistocene era as cultural and climatic forces brought the two groups together. New research suggests that the Neanderthals demise was due to a combination of influences, including cultural changes. ... > full story

An electronic green thumb (February 7, 2012) -- If sensors are supposed to communicate with each other to compare the measured data and to secure them, then, in the future, a network of distributed sensor nodes will aid in that: the network ensures problem-free communication between the sensors. For example, they can be used to reliably monitor the watering of plants. ... > full story

New stinky flower: Our amorphophallus is smaller, but it stinks like its big cousin (February 7, 2012) -- The famed “corpse flower” plant – known for its giant size, rotten-meat odor and phallic shape – has a new, smaller relative: A botanist has discovered a new species of Amorphophallus that is one-fourth as tall but just as stinky. ... > full story

Redder ladybirds more deadly, say scientists (February 6, 2012) -- A ladybird's color indicates how well-fed and how toxic it is, according to scientists. This research directly shows that differences between animals' warning signals reveal how poisonous individuals are to predators. The study shows that redder ladybirds are more poisonous than their paler peers and reveals that this variation is directly linked to diet in early life, with better-fed ladybirds being more visible and more deadly. ... > full story

Invasive alien predator causes rapid declines of European ladybugs (February 6, 2012) -- A new study provides compelling evidence that the arrival of the invasive non-native harlequin ladybird (ladybug) to mainland Europe and subsequent spread has led to a rapid decline in historically-widespread species of ladybird in Britain, Belgium and Switzerland. The analysis is further evidence that harlequin ladybirds are displacing some native ladybirds, most probably through predation and competition. ... > full story

Researchers uncover a mechanism to explain dune field patterns (February 6, 2012) -- In a study of the harsh but beautiful White Sands National Monument in New Mexico, researchers have uncovered a unifying mechanism to explain dune patterns. The new work represents a contribution to basic science, but the findings may also hold implications for identifying when dune landscapes like those in Nebraska's Sand Hills may reach a "tipping point" under climate change, going from valuable grazing land to barren desert. ... > full story

Why common tree is toxic to snowshoe hares (February 6, 2012) -- Biologists have uncovered why the chemical defenses in birch, a common type of tree found in North America, are toxic to snowshoe hares. ... > full story

School closures slowed spread of 2009 H1N1 flu pandemic (February 6, 2012) -- Using high-quality data about the incidence of influenza infections in Alberta during the 2009 H1N1 flu pandemic, the researchers show that when schools closed for the summer, the transmission of infection from person to person was sharply reduced. ... > full story

Domestic cats, and wild bobcats and pumas, living in same area have same diseases (February 6, 2012) -- Scientists found evidence that domestic cats and wild cats that share the same outdoor areas in urban environments also can share diseases such as Bartonellosis and Toxoplasmosis. Both can be spread from cats to people. ... > full story

A bug's (sex) life: Diving beetles offer unexpected clues about sexual selection (February 6, 2012) -- Studies of diving beetles suggest sperm evolution may be driven by changes in female reproductive organs, challenging the paradigm of post-mating sexual selection being driven mostly by competition among sperm. In the process, the researchers discovered an unexpected and stunning variety of sperm form and behavior. ... > full story