The EDGE: ScienceDaily Environment Headlines -- for Sunday, February 12, 2012

ScienceDaily Environment Headlines

for Sunday, February 12, 2012

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Environment's effects on evolution of survival traits (February 11, 2012) -- Advances in studying genes mean that scientists in evolutionary developmental biology or “evo-devo” can now explain more clearly than ever before how bats got wings, the turtle got its shell and blind cave fish lost their eyes, says an evolutionary biologist. ... > full story

The power of estrogen: Male snakes attract other males (February 10, 2012) -- A new study has shown that boosting the estrogen levels of male garter snakes causes them to secrete the same pheromones that females use to attract suitors, and turned the males into just about the sexiest snake in the neighborhood -- attracting dozens of other males eager to mate. ... > full story

Cannabis use doubles chances of vehicle crash (February 10, 2012) -- Drivers who consume cannabis within three hours of driving are nearly twice as likely to cause a vehicle collision as those who are not under the influence of drugs or alcohol claims a paper published today on bmj.com. ... > full story

Substance P causes seizures in patients infected by pork tapeworm (February 9, 2012) -- A neuropeptide called Substance P is the cause of seizures in patients with brains infected by the pork tapeworm. ... > full story

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

Drug quickly reverses Alzheimer's symptoms in mice (February 9, 2012) -- Neuroscientists have made a dramatic breakthrough in their efforts to find a cure for Alzheimer's disease. The use of a drug appears to quickly reverse the pathological, cognitive and memory deficits caused by the onset of Alzheimer's in mice. ... > 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