Thursday, August 30, 2012

ScienceDaily Environment Headlines -- for Thursday, August 30, 2012

ScienceDaily Environment Headlines

for Thursday, August 30, 2012

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Japanese spacecraft to search for clues of Earth's first life (August 29, 2012) -- In a Physics World special report on Japan, Dennis Normile reports on how the Japanese space agency JAXA plans to land a spacecraft onto an asteroid in 2018 to search for clues of how life began on Earth. ... > full story

Bacterial cause found for skin condition rosacea (August 29, 2012) -- Scientists are closer to establishing a definitive bacterial cause for the skin condition rosacea. This will allow more targeted, effective treatments to be developed for sufferers. ... > full story

Benzene in California groundwater occurs infrequently and is mainly from natural sources, study finds (August 29, 2012) -- Benzene occurs infrequently in California public supply wells and comes predominantly from naturally occurring petroleum deposits deep in the ground, according to a study by the U.S. Geological Survey. Spills associated with underground fuel storage and above ground distribution systems have long been considered the main source of benzene in groundwater. This unique study finds that contamination most often occurs in older, brackish, groundwater located near naturally occurring deep underground oil and gas deposits. ... > full story

Mississippi River flows backwards due to Isaac (August 29, 2012) -- Strong winds and storm surge from Hurricane Isaac's landfall forced the Mississippi River to flow backwards for nearly 24 hours on Tuesday, Aug. 28. The USGS streamgage at Belle Chasse, Louisiana, showed the Mississippi River flowing upstream at 182,000 cubic feet per second, surging to 10 feet above than its previous height. Average flow for the Mississippi River at Belle Chase is about 125,000 cfs towards the Gulf of Mexico. ... > full story

Scientist creates test, treatment for malaria-like sickness in horses (August 29, 2012) -- A therapy used in an outbreak of equine piroplasmosis at the storied King Ranch in Texas is now being evaluated as a standard US treatment protocol. ... > full story

NASA sees Hurricane Isaac make double landfall in Louisiana (August 29, 2012) -- Hurricane Isaac made two landfalls in southeastern Louisiana. Isaac's first landfall occurred in southeastern Louisiana on Aug. 28 at 7:45 pm EDT, second landfall on Aug. 29 at 6 am EDT. NASA's TRMM satellite observed heavy rainfall in this slow moving storm, which leads to higher rainfall totals and flooding. ... > full story

Rare find: Feathered dinosaur feasted on flying food (August 29, 2012) -- Researchers found evidence that a feathered, but flightless dinosaur was able to snag and consume small flying dinosaurs. ... > full story

Flu is transmitted before symptoms appear, study in ferrets suggests (August 29, 2012) -- New research examining influenza transmission in ferrets suggests that the virus can be passed on before the appearance of symptoms. If the finding applies to humans, it means that people pass on flu to others before they know they’re infected, making it very difficult to contain epidemics. ... > full story

California heatwaves to move toward coastal areas: Researchers reassess heatwaves against the backdrop of rising temperatures (August 29, 2012) -- A new study suggests that the nature of California heatwaves is changing due to global warming. Climate researchers have detected a trend toward more humid heatwaves that are expressed very strongly in elevated nighttime temperatures, a trend consistent with climate change projections. Moreover, relative to local warming, the mid-summer heatwaves are getting stronger in generally cooler coastal areas. ... > full story

Hope of greater global food output, less environmental impact of agriculture (August 29, 2012) -- Can we have enough to eat and a healthy environment, too? Yes -- if we're smart about it, suggests a new study. ... > full story

Eyeless Australian fish have closest relatives in Madagascar (August 29, 2012) -- Researchers have discovered that two groups of blind cave fishes on opposite sides of the Indian Ocean are each other's closest relatives. Through comprehensive DNA analysis, the researchers determined that these eyeless fishes, one group from Madagascar and the other from similar subterranean habitats in Australia, descended from a common ancestor before being separated by continental drift nearly 100 million years ago. ... > full story

Computer viruses could take a lesson from showy peacocks (August 29, 2012) -- Computer viruses are constantly replicating throughout computer networks and wreaking havoc. But what if they had to find mates in order to reproduce? Researchers have now created the digital equivalent of spring break to see how mate attraction played out through computer programs. ... > full story

ACE, workhorse of NASA's heliophysics fleet, is 15 (August 29, 2012) -- The Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) is Earth's vanguard. Orbiting around a point 900,000 miles away between Earth and our sun, this satellite is ever vigilant, recording the combination of radiation -- from the sun, from the solar system, from the galaxy -- that streams by. None of this radiation can harm humans on Earth, but the biggest bursts of particles from the sun can flow into near-Earth space causing a dynamic space weather system that can damage satellites and interfere with radio communication transmissions and navigation systems. ... > full story

Warning on deterioration of famous Swedish warship, Vasa (August 29, 2012) -- The famous warship, Vasa, displayed in a museum that gets 1.2 million visitors every year and ranks as one of Sweden's most popular tourist attractions, is deteriorating despite ongoing preservation efforts, scientists are reporting. ... > full story

Many trendy 'microgreens' are more nutritious than their mature counterparts (August 29, 2012) -- The first scientific analysis of nutrient levels in edible microgreens has found that many of those trendy seedlings of green vegetables and herbs have more vitamins and healthful nutrients than their fully grown counterparts. ... > full story

Making dye-sensitized solar panels more efficient (August 29, 2012) -- Engineers are making dye-sensitized solar panels more efficient. They are using mathematical modeling to test the use of nanotubes and a polymer substrate in the panels. ... > full story

Hot spots pinpointed as earthquake trigger points: Small droplets of friction-generated melts can lead to 'megaquakes' (August 29, 2012) -- Scientists have come a step closer to deciphering some of the basic mysteries and mechanisms behind earthquakes and how average-sized earthquakes may evolve into massive earthquakes. Scientists describe new information gleaned from laboratory experiments mimicking earthquake processes. The researchers discovered how fault zones weaken in select locations shortly after a fault reaches an earthquake tipping point. ... > full story

Large methane reservoirs beneath Antarctic ice sheet, study suggests (August 29, 2012) -- The Antarctic Ice Sheet could be an overlooked but important source of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, according to a new report. ... > full story

Single gene has major impact on gaits in horses and in mice (August 29, 2012) -- A mutation in a single gene in horses that is critical for the ability to perform ambling gaits, for pacing and that has a major effect on performance in harness racing, new research shows. Experiments on this gene in mice have led to fundamental new knowledge about the neural circuits that control leg movements. The study is a breakthrough for our understanding of spinal cord neuronal circuitry and its control of locomotion in vertebrates. ... > full story

Climate change stories from the abyss: Ancient climate mirrored and influenced by geochemical processes deep within ocean (August 29, 2012) -- Scientists have shed new light on the world's history of climate change. The Pacific Ocean has remained the largest of all oceans on the planet for many million years. Scientists have now recovered 6.3 kilometers of sediment cores from water depths between 4.3 and 5.1 km and drilled 6.3 km of sediment cores at eight locations. The cores offered an excellent archive of Earth's history and showed how global climate development during the past 55 million years is mirrored and influenced by geochemical processes deep within the ocean. ... > full story

New approach needed to restore New England river herring (August 29, 2012) -- Despite recent evidence that populations of river herring are dangerously low, ecologists say removing dams and adding fishways can still revive alewife and blueback herring numbers in New England and help to restore a long-neglected natural link between marine and freshwater ecosystems. ... > full story

Graphene-based materials kill bacteria two ways (August 29, 2012) -- Graphene-based materials kill bacteria through one of two possible mechanisms. Researchers have now compared the antibacterial activity of graphite, graphite oxide, graphene oxide and reduced graphene oxide using the model bacterium Escherichia coli. ... > full story

Oversized fat droplets: Too much of a good thing (August 29, 2012) -- As the national waistline expands, so do pools of intra-cellular fat known as lipid droplets. Although most of us wish our lipid droplets would vanish, they represent a cellular paradox: on the one hand droplets play beneficial roles by corralling fat into non-toxic organelles. On the other, oversized lipid droplets are associated with obesity and its associated health hazards. ... > full story

Cooler waters help diminish Isaac's punch (August 29, 2012) -- Seven years after the powerful Category 3 Hurricane Katrina caused widespread devastation along the Gulf Coast, a Category 1 Hurricane Isaac, with maximum sustained winds of 80 miles per hour (70 knots), made landfall Aug. 28 in southeast Louisiana. And one of the reasons why Isaac is not Katrina is the path it took across the Gulf of Mexico and the temperature of the ocean below, which helps to fuel hurricanes. ... > full story

What's behind rising food prices, beyond the U.S. drought (August 29, 2012) -- Although many U.S. consumers were alarmed to see news reports this summer of droughts leaving shriveled crops dying in the fields, a professor of food marketing warns other factors will have a greater effect on Americans’ wallets. ... > full story

Decline in breeding chinstrap penguins in Antarctic Peninsula confirmed (August 29, 2012) -- Significant declines were found in breeding chinstrap penguins in the vastly warming Antarctic Peninsula, where it's warming faster than, or as fast as, any other place on Earth. ... > full story

'Anternet' discovered: Behavior of harvester ants as they forage for food mirrors protocols that control Internet traffic (August 29, 2012) -- An ant biologist and a computer scientist has revealed that the behavior of harvester ants as they forage for food mirrors the protocols that control traffic on the Internet. ... > full story

Climate change could increase levels of avian influenza in wild birds (August 29, 2012) -- Rising sea levels, melting glaciers, more intense rainstorms and more frequent heat waves are among the planetary woes that may come to mind when climate change is mentioned. Now, researchers say an increased risk of avian influenza transmission in wild birds can be added to the list. ... > full story

Biologists create first predictive computational model of gene networks that control development of sea-urchin embryos (August 29, 2012) -- As an animal develops from an embryo, its cells take diverse paths, eventually forming different body parts -- muscles, bones, heart. In order for each cell to know what to do during development, it follows a genetic blueprint, which consists of complex webs of interacting genes called gene regulatory networks. Biologists have spent the last decade or so detailing how these gene networks control development in sea-urchin embryos. Now, for the first time, they have built a computational model of one of these networks. ... > full story

Small family size increases wealth of descendants but reduces evolutionary success (August 28, 2012) -- Evolutionary biologists have long puzzled over this because natural selection is expected to have selected for organisms that try to maximize their reproduction. But in industrialized societies around the world, increasing wealth coincides with people deliberately limiting their family size -- the so-called 'demographic transition'. In a new study, researchers reject a popular theory put forward to explain the phenomenon. This 'adaptive' hypothesis proposes that low fertility may boost evolutionary success in the long term by increasing offspring wealth, which in turn eventually increases the number of long-term descendants because richer offspring end up having more children. ... > full story

Less is more for reef-building corals: Surprisingly more flexible corals are more sensitive to environment disturbances (August 28, 2012) -- Researchers have made a discovery that challenges a major theory in the field of coral reef ecology. The general assumption has been that the more flexible corals are, regarding which species of single-celled algae they host in coral tissues, the greater ability corals will have to survive environmental stress. However, scientists documented that the more flexible corals are, the more sensitive to environment disturbances they are. ... > full story

Chimpanzees create 'social traditions': Unique handclasp grooming behavior reveals local difference (August 28, 2012) -- Researchers have revealed that chimpanzees are not only capable of learning from one another, but also use this social information to form and maintain local traditions. A recent study shows that the way in which chimpanzees groom each other depends on the community to which they belong. Specifically, it is the unique handclasp grooming behaviour that reveals this local difference. ... > full story

NASA sees Hurricane Isaac affecting the Northern Gulf Coast (August 28, 2012) -- NASA and NOAA satellites continue to provide detailed information on Hurricane Isaac as the storm bears down on the US Gulf coast. NASA's TRMM and Terra satellites captured imagery, and NOAA's GOES-13 satellite provided animations of Isaac's march toward the coast Aug. 28. ... > full story

Why are there so many species of beetles and so few crocodiles? (August 28, 2012) -- Why are there so many species of beetles and so few crocodiles? The answer may be ecological limits to species number, scientists report. ... > full story

Male snails babysit for other dads: Family secrets of marine whelk Solenosteira macrospira (August 28, 2012) -- Pity the male of the marine whelk, Solenosteira macrospira. He does all the work of raising the young, from egg-laying to hatching -- even though few of the baby snails are his own. Throw in extensive promiscuity and sibling cannibalism, and the species has one of the most extreme life histories in the animal kingdom. ... > full story

Evaluate children's stress after natural disasters (August 28, 2012) -- Some children, depending on other stressors, may have a harder time recovering from natural disasters. ... > full story

Bright Arctic clouds formed by exhaust from final space shuttle launch (August 28, 2012) -- Scientists are tracking the rapid transport of the exhaust plume from the final launch of the space shuttle in July 2011. The team has found that the plume moved quickly to the Arctic, forming unusually bright polar mesospheric clouds there a day after launch. ... > full story

Unforeseen regulation of the anti-bacterial immune response discovered (August 28, 2012) -- New research holds promise for the improved prevention and treatment of bacterial infections and the life-threatening complications of chronic inflammation that can result from them. ... > full story

NASA's IceBridge seeking new view of changing sea ice (August 28, 2012) -- This year scientists working on NASA's Operation IceBridge, a multi-year airborne science mission to study changing ice conditions at both poles, debuted a new data product with the potential to improve Arctic sea ice forecasts. ... > full story

'New England Banksia' a distinct species, botany student shows (August 28, 2012) -- The New England Banksia is largely restricted to the eastern edge of the New England Tableland, and is common in places along Waterfall Way. Researchers have raised this flowering plant, until now classified as a variety of the Hairpin, to the taxonomic level of a distinct species. ... > full story

Strong candidate for possible single-dose malaria cure discovered (August 28, 2012) -- A recently discovered compound from the aminopyridine class not only has the potential to become part of a single-dose cure for all strains of malaria, but might also be able to block transmission of the parasite from person to person, according to a new research. ... > full story

Tropical Storm Isaac can damage your health (August 28, 2012) -- Drastic climate changes brought on by severe storms can spur allergy and asthma symptoms for sufferers across the country. ... > full story

A new look at proteins in living cells (August 28, 2012) -- Scientists have devised a new technique for examining the binding kinetics of membrane proteins. ... > full story

Genome of diploid cotton sequenced (August 28, 2012) -- Scientists have completed the genome sequence and analysis of a diploid cotton -- Gossypium raimondii. ... > full story

Low cost, high efficiency solar technology developed (August 28, 2012) -- Researchers have developed a new solar technology that could make solar energy more affordable, and thus speed-up its market adoption. ... > full story

Antibiotic residues in sausage meat may promote pathogen survival (August 28, 2012) -- Antibiotic residues in uncured pepperoni or salami meat are potent enough to weaken helpful bacteria that processors add to acidify the sausage to make it safe for consumption, according to a new study. ... > full story

Hidden graves of the Holocaust (August 28, 2012) -- A forensic archaeologist has explored the pioneering changes made to the archaeological methodology and techniques used to uncover surviving archaeological remains and landscapes of the Holocaust. ... > full story

Raccoons spreads dangerous diseases as they invade Europe, Spanish researchers find (August 28, 2012) -- Furry, agile, intelligent and voracious: the raccoon is far from being a cuddly toy, which is what many people believe when they get one as a pet. It is more like an invader that escapes and is able to adapt and survive in new habitats. According to a study, its expansion across Spain and Europe is bringing infectious and parasitic diseases like rabies. ... > full story


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