ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

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• Rare Sumatran rabbit photographed
• Solar desalination system for arid land agriculture
• Copy of the genetic makeup travels in a protein suitcase
• Oldest Jewish archaeological evidence on the Iberian Peninsula
• Cell’s transport pods look like a molecular version of robots from Transformers
• As D-Day anniversary approaches, new geological insights
• The secret to good tomato chemistry
• Record number of young scallops in Mid-Atlantic
• Unusual quantum effect discovered in earliest stages of photosynthesis
• Sea urchin populations in the Mediterranean
• New model of geological strata may aid oil extraction, water recovery and earth history studies

Rare Sumatran rabbit photographed Posted: 25 May 2012 11:01 AM PDT Researchers say the rare rabbit may now be found only in two remote national parks on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, and conservation is critical.

Solar desalination system for arid land agriculture Posted: 25 May 2012 07:39 AM PDT A solar-powered system uses nanofiltration membranes to treat the local brackish water, resulting in high-quality desalinated irrigation water. The results indicate that irrigation with desalinated water yields higher productivity from water and inorganic fertilizers compared with current practices. Crops grown with desalinated water required 25 percent less irrigation and fertilizer than brackish water irrigation.

Copy of the genetic makeup travels in a protein suitcase Posted: 25 May 2012 07:37 AM PDT Researchers have caught on film, in real time, the process of messenger RNA leaving the cell nucleus.

Oldest Jewish archaeological evidence on the Iberian Peninsula Posted: 25 May 2012 07:37 AM PDT Archaeologists have found one of the oldest artifacts of Jewish culture on the Iberian Peninsula at an excavation site in the south of Portugal, close to the city of Silves (Algarve). On a marble plate, measuring 40 by 60 centimeters, the name "Yehiel" can be read, followed by further letters which have not yet been deciphered. The Jena Archaeologists believe that the new discovery might be a tomb slab.

Cell’s transport pods look like a molecular version of robots from Transformers Posted: 25 May 2012 07:36 AM PDT Images of the cell's transport pods have revealed a molecular version of the robots from Transformers. Previously, scientists had been able to create and determine the structure of 'cages' formed by parts of the protein coats that encase other types of vesicles, but this study was the first to obtain high-resolution images of complete vesicles, budded from a membrane.

As D-Day anniversary approaches, new geological insights Posted: 24 May 2012 06:51 PM PDT Two geology professors have discovered tiny bits of shrapnel and other microscopic remnants of the D-Day invasion in samples of sand collected on Omaha Beach in Normandy, France. The scientists were surprised that these tiny traces survived for decades despite the scouring action of sand and waves, and the rusting action of seawater.

The secret to good tomato chemistry Posted: 24 May 2012 09:30 AM PDT There is nothing better than a ripe, red, homegrown tomato, and now researchers have figured out just what it is that makes some of them so awfully good (and your average supermarket tomato so bland).

Record number of young scallops in Mid-Atlantic Posted: 24 May 2012 08:23 AM PDT Recent surveys reveal an unprecedented number of young scallops in two fishery management areas off the mid-Atlantic coast. The results bode well for the continued success of the commercial fishery.

Unusual quantum effect discovered in earliest stages of photosynthesis Posted: 24 May 2012 06:29 AM PDT Quantum physics and plant biology seem like two branches of science that could not be more different, but surprisingly they may in fact be intimately tied. Scientists have discovered an unusual quantum effect in the earliest stages of photosynthesis.

Sea urchin populations in the Mediterranean Posted: 24 May 2012 06:22 AM PDT Scientists have new insight into which processes regulate long-term populations of sea urchins. New research includes an analysis of extraordinary episodes such as the violent storm that hit the Catalan coast on 26 December 2008, which caused the disappearance of around 80% of the population of sea urchins in the archipelago of the Medes and the Montgrí coast.

New model of geological strata may aid oil extraction, water recovery and earth history studies Posted: 24 May 2012 06:20 AM PDT A new modeling study contradicts a long-held belief of geologists that pore sizes and chemical compositions are uniform throughout a given strata, which are horizontal slices of sedimentary rock. By understanding the variety of pore sizes and spatial patterns in strata, geologists can help achieve more production from underground oil reservoirs and water aquifers. Better understanding also means more efficient use of potential underground carbon storage sites, and better evaluations of the possible movement of radionuclides in nuclear waste depositories to determine how well the waste will be isolated.

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