The EDGE: ScienceDaily Environment Headlines -- for Saturday, August 25, 2012

ScienceDaily Environment Headlines

for Saturday, August 25, 2012

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Sunbathing helps these bugs stay healthy (August 24, 2012) -- Sunbathing may be healthy -- at least for one group of North American insects, the Western boxelder bug -- that apparently uses the activity to fight off germs. The bugs are known to group together in sunlit patches and release monoterpenes, strong-smelling chemical compounds that help protect the bugs by killing germs on their bodies. ... > full story

Only two percent of Canadians deny climate change (August 24, 2012) -- A new survey shows that only two percent of Canadians deny climate change. ... > full story

Microwave ovens may help produce lower cost solar energy technology (August 24, 2012) -- The same type of microwave oven technology that most people use to heat up leftover food has found an important application in the solar energy industry, providing a new way to make thin-film photovoltaic products with less energy, expense and environmental concerns. ... > full story

Boston subway system to be used to test new sensors for biological agents (August 24, 2012) -- The Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate has scheduled a series of tests in the Boston subways to measure the real-world performance of new sensors recently developed to detect biological agents within minutes. ... > full story

Superior fuel cell material developed (August 24, 2012) -- Using a mixture of gold, copper and platinum nanoparticles, researchers have developed a more powerful and longer lasting fuel cell material. ... > full story

Good news from the bad drought: Gulf 'Dead Zone' smallest in years (August 24, 2012) -- The worst drought to hit the United States in at least 50 years does have one benefit: It has created the smallest "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico in years, say researchers. ... > full story

Bigger creatures live longer, travel farther for a reason (August 24, 2012) -- A biological mystery about the longer lifespans of bigger creatures may be explained by the application of a physical law called the Constructal Law. It proposes that anything that flows -- a river, bloodstream or highway network -- will evolve toward the same basic configuration out of a need to be more efficient. A professor argues that this same basic law applies to all bodies in motion, be they animals or tanker trucks. ... > full story

New insights to the function of molecular chaperones (August 24, 2012) -- Molecular biologists have gained new insights into the function of so-called molecular chaperones in protein synthesis. Scientists were able to demonstrate how a molecular chaperone in bacterial cells can influence the formation of the three-dimensional structure of new proteins. ... > full story

Cup of herbal tea could help fight breast cancer (August 24, 2012) -- Scientists have discovered that an extract from a common plant in Pakistan may help treat breast cancer. ... > full story

New molecular interactions behind the inhibition of TGF beta-signaling described (August 24, 2012) -- Researchers describe new molecular interactions behind the inhibition of TGF beta-signaling. ... > full story

Pollination: with small rewards come bad results (August 24, 2012) -- The hawkmoth, a natural petunia pollinator, spends less time on Petunia lines that offer less nectar as a reward. ... > full story

The end of an era? Branding horses does not enable them to be identified (August 24, 2012) -- Despite increasing evidence that branding foals causes the animals stress, many horse breeders still claim that this practice represents the best method for identifying the animals. Although the debate has raged for some time, nobody has thought to pose the crucial question: How reliably can brand marks be read later? New results may well spell the end of the line for the traditional practice of branding horses. ... > full story