ScienceDaily Environment Headlines
for Wednesday, October 5, 2011
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Follow the odor and CO<sub>2</sub>: Flight patterns reveal how mosquitoes find hosts to transmit deadly diseases (October 5, 2011) -- Experiments performed by entomologists to study how female Aedes aegypti -- mosquitoes that transmit yellow fever and dengue -- respond to plumes of carbon dioxide and human odor demonstrate that puffs of exhaled carbon dioxide first attract these mosquitoes, which then proceed to follow a broad skin odor plume, eventually landing on a human host. Results from the study could clue scientists on how odors can be used in traps for intercepting host-seeking mosquitoes. ... > full story
Grazing zebras versus cattle: Not so black and white (October 5, 2011) -- African ranchers often prefer to keep wild grazers like zebra off the grass that fattens their cattle. But a new study shows that grazing by wild animals doesn't always harm -- and can sometimes benefit -- cattle. ... > full story
DNA sequences reveal the true identity of the softshell turtle Pelodiscus (October 5, 2011) -- A research team has identified many different genetic lineages in the softshell turtle genus Pelodiscus, representing different species. Traditionally it has been assumed that only the species Pelodiscus sinensis belonged to the genus examined. As a foodstuff, Chinese softshell turtles are the most economically important turtles in the world, with an annual trade volume of many hundreds of millions of specimens. ... > full story
Climate change simulations show which animals can take the heat (October 4, 2011) -- As climate change continues to take hold this century, which species will be able to take the heat? In simulations examining species and their projected range, researchers show that animals' ability to withstand fluctuations in temperature during their climate-induced journeys will be a crucial determinant of their ultimate survival. ... > full story
Green tea helps mice keep off extra pounds (October 4, 2011) -- Green tea may slow down weight gain and serve as another tool in the fight against obesity, according to food scientists. ... > full story
Experiments suggest research avenues for treating excess fat storage and obesity (October 4, 2011) -- Scientists have begun to unravel the complex process by which cells take in and store microscopic fat molecules, suggesting new directions for further research into solutions for obesity and its related conditions, such as heart disease, Type 2 diabetes and fatty liver disease. ... > full story
A hitchhiker's guide to the Galápagos: Co-evolution of Galápagos mockingbirds and their parasites (October 4, 2011) -- Along with the famous finches the Galápagos mockingbirds had a great influence on Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. Now, 176 years later, three of the four mockingbird species are among the rarest birds in the world. New research untangles the evolutionary relationships between Galápagos mockingbirds and provides information about their parasites to help ensure the birds survival. ... > full story
Researchers transform iPhone into high-quality medical imaging device (October 4, 2011) -- In a feat of technology tweaking that would rival MacGyver, a team of researchers has transformed everyday iPhones into medical-quality imaging and chemical detection devices. With materials that cost about as much as a typical app, the decked-out smartphones are able to use their heightened senses to perform detailed microscopy and spectroscopy. ... > full story
Engineers build smart petri dish: Device can be used for medical diagnostics, imaging cell growth continuously (October 4, 2011) -- The cameras in our cell phones have dramatically changed the way we share the special moments in our lives, making photographs instantly available to friends and family. Now, the imaging sensor chips that form the heart of these built-in cameras are helping engineers transform the way cell cultures are imaged by serving as the platform for a "smart" petri dish. ... > full story
From compost to sustainable fuels: Heat-loving fungi sequenced (October 4, 2011) -- Two heat-loving fungi, often found in composts that self-ignite without flame or spark, could soon have new vocations. The complete genetic makeup of Myceliophthora thermophila and Thielavia terrestris has now been decoded. The findings may lead to the faster and greener development of biomass-based fuels, chemicals and other industrial materials. ... > full story
Robot brain implanted in a rodent: Researcher implants robotic cerebellum to repair motor function (October 4, 2011) -- With new cutting-edge technology aimed at providing amputees with robotic limbs, a researcher has successfully implanted a robotic cerebellum into the skull of a rodent with brain damage, restoring its capacity for movement. ... > full story
How gas and temperature controlled bacterial response to Deepwater Horizon spill (October 4, 2011) -- Scientists used DNA to identify microbes present in the Gulf of Mexico following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and then identified the microbes responsible for consuming the large amount of natural gas present immediately after the spill. They have also explained how water temperature played a key role in the way bacteria reacted to the spill. ... > full story
Location matters: For invasive aquatic species, it's better to start upstream (October 4, 2011) -- Scientists have studied populations of European green crab, Carcinus maenas. The species was introduced to the East Coast of North America twice, at both the upper and lower edges of its range. Their findings may help inform the control of invasive species and conservation of imperiled native species. ... > full story
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
Developing East Coast fever vaccine (October 4, 2011) -- A vaccine that protects cattle against East Coast fever, a destructive disease in eastern and central Africa, is being developed. ... > full story
Polar oceans in transition (October 4, 2011) -- Polar bears will be affected by climate change in the Arctic and Antarctic, but so will India's iconic tigers and elephants. Researchers are working to understand what is happening in polar oceans -- and what can be done. ... > full story
Closer to solving the cod mystery (October 4, 2011) -- Fish quantities off the Norwegian coast fluctuate widely from year to year. For 150 years, scientists have tried to figure out why -- and now they are nearing an explanation. ... > full story
Gaps in forest monitoring (October 4, 2011) -- A new report identifies gaps in forest monitoring and ways to improve data collection. This will produce reliable estimates of greenhouse gas emission reductions from activities aimed at reducing deforestation. ... > 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
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