The EDGE: ScienceDaily Environment Headlines -- for Tuesday, October 4, 2011

ScienceDaily Environment Headlines

for Tuesday, October 4, 2011

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Overall quality of pregnant woman’s diet affects risk for two birth defects, study shows (October 4, 2011) -- The overall quality of a pregnant woman's diet is linked with risk for two types of serious birth defects, a new study has shown. In the study, women who ate better before and during pregnancy gave birth to fewer infants with malformations of the brain and spinal cord, or orofacial clefts, such as cleft lip and cleft palate. ... > full story

Forest structure, services and biodiversity may be lost even as form remains (October 4, 2011) -- A forest may look like a forest, have many of the same trees that used to live there, but still lose the ecological, economic or cultural values that once made it what it was, researchers suggest. ... > full story

Helium raises resolution of whole cell imaging (October 4, 2011) -- The ability to obtain an accurate three-dimensional image of an intact cell is critical for unraveling the mysteries of cellular structure and function. However, for many years, tiny structures buried deep inside cells have been practically invisible to scientists due to a lack of microscopic techniques that achieve adequate resolution at the cell surface and through the entire depth of the cell. Now, a new study demonstrates that microscopy with helium ions may greatly enhance both surface and sub-cellular imaging. ... > full story

Ice Age carbon mystery: Rising carbon dioxide levels not tied to Pacific Ocean, as had been suspected (October 4, 2011) -- After the last Ice Age peaked about 18,000 years ago, levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide rose about 30 percent. Scientists believe that the additional CO2 -- the source of which was thought to be the deep ocean -- played a key role in warming the planet and melting the continental ice sheets. But a new study suggests that the deep ocean was not an important source of carbon during glacial times. The finding will force researchers to reassess their ideas about the fundamental mechanisms that regulate atmospheric CO2 over long time scales. ... > full story

Tuberculosis bacterium's outer cell wall disarms the body's defense to remain infectious (October 4, 2011) -- The bacterium that causes tuberculosis has a unique molecule on its outer cell surface that blocks a key part of the body's defense. New research suggests this represents a novel mechanism in the microbe's evolving efforts to remain hidden from the human immune system. The TB bacterium has a molecule on its outer surface called lipomannan that can stop production of an important protein in the body's immune cells that helps contain TB infection and maintain it in a latent state. ... > full story

Tick responsible for equine piroplasmosis outbreak identified (October 4, 2011) -- The cayenne tick has been identified as one of the vectors of equine piroplasmosis in horses in a 2009 Texas outbreak, according to new research. ... > full story

Decline and recovery of coral reefs linked to 700 years of human and environmental activities (October 3, 2011) -- Changing human activities coupled with a dynamic environment over the past few centuries have caused fluctuating periods of decline and recovery of corals reefs in the Hawaiian Islands, according to a new study. Using the reefs and island societies as a model social-ecological system, a team of scientists reconstructed 700 years of human-environment interactions in two different regions of the Hawaiian archipelago. ... > full story

Fruity aromas: An aphrodisiac for flies (October 3, 2011) -- The smell of food acts as an aphrodisiac for Drosophila (vinegar flies). Scientists have brought to light a novel olfactory perception mechanism: male flies use a scent derived from the fruit that they eat to stimulate their sexual appetite. ... > full story

Tenerife geology discovery is among 'world's best': Holiday Island landscape reveals explosive past (October 3, 2011) -- Volcanologists have uncovered one of the world's best-preserved accessible examples of a monstrous landslide that followed a huge volcanic eruption on the Canarian island of Tenerife. ... > full story

Mother's investment in the eggs makes zebra finch males attractive (October 3, 2011) -- It is not the superior genes of the father, but the mother's resource investment in the eggs that makes zebra finch males particularly attractive. A Swiss-Australian research team has challenged the theory that females mate with superior males to obtain good genes for their offspring. ... > full story

Killing crop-eating pests: Compounds work by disrupting bugs' winter sleep (October 3, 2011) -- The creation of compounds that disrupt a worldwide pest's winter sleep hints at the potential to develop natural and targeted controls against crop-eating insects, new research suggests. Scientists have designed agents that interfere with the protective dormancy period of the corn earworm, a species that infests more than 100 types of plants and costs American farmers an estimated billion a year in losses and control costs. ... > full story

Russian and US veterinarians collaborate to solve mysterious wild tiger deaths (October 3, 2011) -- Veterinarians are working to understand how distemper -- a virus afflicting domestic dogs and many wildlife species -- may be a growing threat to Siberian tigers. ... > full story

Unprecedented Arctic ozone loss last winter (October 3, 2011) -- A NASA-led study has documented an unprecedented depletion of Earth's protective ozone layer above the Arctic last winter and spring caused by an unusually prolonged period of extremely low temperatures in the stratosphere. ... > full story

Weeds are vital to the existence of farmland species, study finds (October 3, 2011) -- Weeds, which are widely deemed as a nuisance plant, are vital to the existence of many farmland species, according to a new study. Since many weeds produce flowers and seed, they are an integral part of our ecosystem and together with other crop and non-crop seeds found on farms, they provide food for over 330 species of insects, birds and animals. ... > full story

2011 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine: Breakthroughs in understanding how human Immune system is activated (October 3, 2011) -- The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet has awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2011 to Bruce A. Beutler and Jules A. Hoffmann for their discoveries concerning the activation of innate immunity and the other half to Ralph M. Steinman for his discovery of the dendritic cell and its role in adaptive immunity. ... > full story

Fatty acid test: Why some harm health, but others help (October 3, 2011) -- In a new paper, researchers offer an explanation, and a framework that could lead to dietary supplements designed to treat obesity at the molecular level. ... > full story

Taking the heat: Asian elephants simply 'ride out' high daytime heat load (October 3, 2011) -- Scientists in Austria have discovered the mechanism by which Asian elephants are able to tolerate hot daytime temperatures. Heterothermy is an adaptive mechanism by which body temperature fluctuates in response to environmental temperature, decreasing at night when it is cooler and increasing gradually in the daytime. ... > full story

Physicists consider their own carbon footprint (October 3, 2011) -- An astrophysicist calls on physicists to pull their weight when it comes to climate change, drawing on his own research showing that astronomers average 23,000 air miles per year flying to observatories, conferences and meetings, and use 130 KWh more energy per day than the average US citizen. ... > full story

Mapping immune genes in salmon (October 3, 2011) -- Scientists have identified and mapped a group of immune genes that are the key to warding off infectious agents such as viruses and bacteria in salmon. ... > full story

Alcohol impairs the body's ability to fight off viral infection, study finds (October 2, 2011) -- Alcohol can worsen the effects of disease. New research shows that alcohol modulates the anti-viral and inflammatory functions of monocytes. Prolonged alcohol consumption has a double negative effect of reducing the anti-viral effect of Type 1 interferon (IFN) whilst increasing inflammation via the pro-inflammatory cytokine TNF±. Consequently this may impair host response to single-stranded virus infection like hepatitis C. ... > full story

Toxic red tides: Scientist tracks neurotoxin-producing algae (October 2, 2011) -- With toxic algal blooms -- which can increase the amount of harmful toxins in the shellfish that California residents consume -- ramping up in frequency and severity locally, scientists have developed a new algae monitoring method in hopes of one day being able to predict when and where toxic "red tides" will occur. ... > full story

What's in a kids meal? Not happy news (October 2, 2011) -- High-calorie, high-sodium choices were on the menu when parents purchased lunch for their children at a San Diego fast-food restaurant. Why? Because both children and adults liked the food and the convenience. However, the study of data showed that convenience resulted in lunchtime meals that accounted for between 36 and 51 percent of a child's daily caloric needs. ... > full story

Measuring global photosynthesis rate: Earth's plant life 'recycles' carbon dioxide faster than previously estimated (October 2, 2011) -- A research team followed the path of oxygen atoms on carbon dioxide molecules during photosynthesis to create a new way of measuring the efficiency of the world's plant life. The authors of the study said the new estimate of the rate of global photosynthesis enabled by their method will in turn help guide other estimates of plant activity such as the capacity of forests and crops to grow. ... > full story

Vicious queen ants use mob tactics to reach the top (October 1, 2011) -- Leptothorax acervorum ants' reproductive strategy depends on habitat. Colonies are functionally monogynous (only one queen reproduces) on sun-exposed slopes in Alaska, Hokkaido and the mountains of central Spain. New research demonstrates that queen ants fight by antennal boxing to become the reproductive queen, and that worker ants reinforce queen behavior by feeding dominant females and expelling, or killing, their weaker sisters. ... > full story

Mechanism uncovered for the establishment of vertebrate left–right asymmetry (October 1, 2011) -- A research team has demonstrated a mechanism by which left-right asymmetry in the body is established and maintained. The study offers a new model of how families of genes interact to promote and direct body asymmetry. ... > full story

Koalas' bellows boast about size (October 1, 2011) -- Koalas are usually slothful until the mating season when they begin bellowing. Intrigued by the marsupial's strange sound, biologists decided to find out what messages the koalas' bellows may send and discovered that they are boasting about their size. The largest koalas produce deeper resonances than smaller males, and even the smallest males produce resonances that make them sound larger than a bison, which are 100 times their size. ... > full story

Humans and sharks share immune system feature (September 30, 2011) -- A central element of the immune system has remained constant through more than 400 million years of evolution, according to new research. T-cell receptors from mice continue to function even when pieces of shark, frog and trout receptors are substituted in. The function of the chimeric receptors depends on a few crucial amino acids, found also in humans, that help the T-cell receptor bind to MHC molecules presenting antigens. ... > full story

Female promiscuity can rescue populations from harmful effects of inbreeding, beetle study finds (September 30, 2011) -- Females in inbred populations become more promiscuous in order to screen out sperm from genetically incompatible males, according to new study by the University of East Anglia (UEA). ... > full story

Autistic mice act a lot like human patients: Geneticists develop promising mouse model for testing new autism therapies (September 30, 2011) -- Scientists have created a mouse model for autism that opens a window into the biological mechanisms that underlie the disorder and offers a promising way to test new treatment approaches. The research found that autistic mice display remarkably similar symptoms and behavior as children and adults on the autism spectrum. ... > full story

Small fish recover faster than large fish (September 30, 2011) -- In football, linebackers are usually the largest players and have the endurance required to get through a game plus overtime. But when it comes to fish, larger doesn't always mean stronger. A new study showed smaller fish recover from exertion faster than larger fish. ... > full story

Changes in attention and visual perception are correlated with aging: Older people find it harder to see the wood for the trees (September 30, 2011) -- When looking at a picture of many trees, young people will tend to say: "This is a forest." However, the older we get, the more likely we are to notice a single tree before seeing the forest. Researchers have found that these age-related changes are correlated with a specific aspect of visual perception, known as Gestalt perception. ... > full story

Complicated gene networks involved in fly aggression (September 30, 2011) -- Put up your dukes. A study of aggression in fruit flies aims to provide a framework for how complex gene interactions affect behavior. And these clues in flies could translate to a better understanding of human genes and behavior. ... > full story

Unprecedented insight into fighting viral infections (September 30, 2011) -- Researchers have determined the structure of a protein that is the first line of defense in fighting viral infections including influenza, hepatitis C, West Nile, rabies and measles. ... > full story

New flavors emerge from Peruvian cacao collection trip (September 30, 2011) -- New cacao types with unique flavors that are distinctly Peruvian have been identified. These new flavors could one day be marketed like wine, by geographical provenance. ... > full story

'Superfast' muscles responsible for bat echolocation (September 30, 2011) -- As nocturnal animals, bats rely echolocation to navigate and hunt prey. By bouncing sound waves off objects, including the bugs that are their main diet, bats can produce an accurate representation of their environment in total darkness. Now, researchers at the University of Southern Denmark and the University of Pennsylvania have shown that this amazing ability is enabled by a physical trait never before seen in mammals: so-called "superfast" muscles. ... > full story

Researchers produce cheap sugars for sustainable biofuel production (September 30, 2011) -- Researchers have developed technologies to efficiently produce, recover and separate sugars from the fast pyrolysis of biomass. That's a big deal because those sugars can be further processed into biofuels. ... > full story

Sharks are in trouble, new analysis confirms (September 30, 2011) -- Sharks are in big trouble on the Great Barrier Reef and worldwide, according to an Australian-based team who have developed a world-first way to measure rates of decline in shark populations. ... > full story

All-access genome: New study explores packaging of DNA (September 29, 2011) -- A team of biophysicists has been preoccupied with tiny, spool-like entities known as nucleosomes. Their latest insights help explain how these structures wrap and unwrap, permitting regulatory proteins to access, bind with and act on regions of DNA. ... > full story

3-D microscope opens eyes to prehistoric oceans and present-day resources (September 29, 2011) -- A research team has turned their newly developed 3-D microscope technology on ancient sea creatures and hopes to expand its use. ... > full story

Tree frogs chill out to collect precious water (September 29, 2011) -- Australian green tree frogs survive the dry season with the help of the same phenomenon that fogs up eyeglasses in the winter, new research shows. ... > full story

Labor-saving way to monitor vast rangelands (September 29, 2011) -- U.S. agricultural scientists have found that unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), a tool used by the military, may be suitable for keeping an eye on changing land-use patterns across vast tracts of western rangeland. ... > full story

Red wine ingredient resveratrol stops breast cancer growth, study suggests (September 29, 2011) -- New research shows that resveratrol, the "healthy" ingredient in red wine, stops breast cancer cells from growing by blocking the growth effects of estrogen. This discovery suggests for the first time that resveratrol is able to counteract malignant progression since it inhibits the proliferation of hormone resistant breast cancer cells. This has important implications for treatment of women with breast cancer whose tumors develop resistance to hormonal therapy. ... > full story

Risk factors for cat cancer could have human implications (September 29, 2011) -- A recent, large-scale study on cat intestinal cancer has provided new insight into a common pet disease and its causes; the findings could ultimately benefit humans. ... > full story

In unique fire tests, outdoor decks will be under firebrand attack (September 29, 2011) -- NIST will unleash its Dragon, an invention that bellows showers of glowing embers, at a unique wind tunnel test facility in Japan, where researchers will evaluate the vulnerability of outdoor deck assemblies and materials to ignition during wildfires, a growing peril that accounts for half of the nation's 10 most costly fires. ... > full story

Self-cleaning cotton breaks down pesticides, bacteria (September 29, 2011) -- Scientists have developed a self-cleaning cotton fabric that can kill bacteria and break down toxic chemicals such as pesticide residues when exposed to light. ... > full story

Fish uses tool to dig up and crush clams (September 29, 2011) -- The first video of tool use by a fish has now been published. In the video, an orange-dotted tuskfish digs a clam out of the sand, carries it over to a rock, and repeatedly throws the clam against the rock to crush it. ... > full story

Breath-takingly simple test for human exposure to potentially toxic substances (September 29, 2011) -- The search for a rapid, non-invasive way to determine whether people have been exposed to potentially toxic substances in their workplaces, homes and elsewhere in the environment has led scientists to a technology that literally takes a person's breath away. Their report identifies exhaled breath as an ideal indicator of such exposure. ... > full story

Assessing California earthquake forecasts (September 29, 2011) -- Earthquake prediction remains an imperfect science, but the best forecasts are about 10 times more accurate than a random prediction, according to a new study. ... > full story