The EDGE: ScienceDaily Environment Headlines -- for Saturday, June 2, 2012

ScienceDaily Environment Headlines

for Saturday, June 2, 2012

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Plants previously thought to be 'stable' found to be responding to climate change (June 1, 2012) -- Many wild plant species thought to be "stable" in the face of climate change are actually responding to global warming, say researchers. ... > full story

Unmanned NASA storm sentinels set for hurricane study (June 1, 2012) -- Ah, June. It marks the end of school, the start of summer ... and the official start of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season, which got off to an early start in May with the formation of Tropical Storms Alberto and Beryl. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecasters are calling for a near-normal hurricane season this year. But whether the season turns out to be wild or wimpy, understanding what makes these ferocious storms form and rapidly intensify is a continuing area of scientific research, and is the focus of the NASA-led Hurricane and Severe Storm Sentinel (HS3) airborne mission that kicks off this summer. ... > full story

Sierra Nevada 200-year megadroughts confirmed (June 1, 2012) -- The culmination of a comprehensive high-tech assessment of Fallen Leaf Lake -- a small moraine-bound lake at the south end of the Lake Tahoe Basin -- shows that stands of pre-Medieval trees in the lake suggest the region experienced severe drought at least every 650 to 1,150 years during the mid- and late-Holocene period. ... > full story

New compound could become 'cool blue' for energy efficiency in buildings (June 1, 2012) -- A new type of durable, environmentally-benign blue pigment has also been found to have unusual characteristics in reflecting heat -- it's a "cool blue" compound that could become important in new approaches to saving energy in buildings. ... > full story

Some butterfly species particularly vulnerable to climate change (June 1, 2012) -- A recent study of the impact of climate change on butterflies suggests that some species might adapt much better than others, with implications for the pollination and herbivory associated with these and other insect species. ... > full story

Plate tectonics cannot explain dynamics of Earth and crust formation more than three billion years ago (June 1, 2012) -- The current theory of continental drift provides a good model for understanding terrestrial processes through history. However, while plate tectonics is able to successfully shed light on processes up to three billion years ago, the theory isn't sufficient in explaining the dynamics of Earth and crust formation before that point and through to the earliest formation of planet, some 4.6 billion years ago. ... > full story

Even early human hands left prominent ecological footprints (June 1, 2012) -- Early human activity has left a greater footprint on today's ecosystem than previously thought, say researchers. ... > full story

Why is it so difficult to trace the origins of food poisoning outbreaks? (June 1, 2012) -- As illustrated by the 2011 E. coli outbreak in Germany, any delay in identifying the source of food poisoning outbreaks can cost lives and cause considerable political and economical damage. Scientists have now shown that difficulties in finding the sources of contamination behind food poisoning cases are inevitable due to the increasing complexity of a global food traffic network where food products are constantly crossing country borders, generating a worldwide network. ... > full story

All proteins that bind to RNA, including 300 new ones, catalogued (June 1, 2012) -- Scientists have cataloged all proteins that bind to RNA, finding 300 previously unknown to do so. The study could help to explain the role of genes that have been linked to diseases like diabetes and glaucoma. ... > full story

Nunavik sled dogs need first aid and care too (June 1, 2012) -- In Nunavik, there are many dogs – sled dogs, pets, and strays – but no veterinarian, so a veterinary student is designing and delivering a first aid guide for dogs in northern Quebec. ... > full story

Neuroscientists reach major milestone in whole-brain circuit mapping project (June 1, 2012) -- Neuroscientists have just reached an important milestone, publicly releasing the first installment out of 500 terabytes of data so far collected in their pathbreaking project to construct the first whole-brain wiring diagram of a vertebrate brain, that of the mouse. ... > full story

Silkmoth inspires novel explosive detector (June 1, 2012) -- Imitating the antennas of the silkmoth, Bombyx mori, researchers have designed a system for detecting explosives with unparalleled performance. Made up of a silicon microcantilever bearing nearly 500,000 aligned titanium dioxide nanotubes, this device is capable of detecting concentrations of trinitrotoluene (TNT) of around 800 ppq (1) (i.e. 800 molecules of explosive per 10^15 molecules of air), thereby improving one thousand-fold the detection limit attainable until now. This innovative concept could also be used to detect drugs, toxic agents and traces of organic pollutants. ... > full story