ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

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• Six natural wonders declared World Heritage Sites
• DNA sequenced for parrot's ability to parrot
• Newly discovered dinosaur implies greater prevalence of feathers; Megalosaur fossil represents first feathered dinosaur not closely related to birds
• 'Next-generation digital Earth' charted
• Tapping into genetic reservoir of heat-loving bacteria
• Pinpointing history of droughts through exploration of tree rings: Unexpected complexity in U. S. West's patterns of drought
• How clouds are formed: Rate of condensation much slower than thought
• Scientists Unlock Some Key Secrets of Photosynthesis
• War-related climate change would reduce substantially reduce crop yields
• Naked mole rat may hold the secret to long life
• Cell biology: New insights into the life of microtubules
• Natural intestinal flora strengthen immune system
• Native plant restoration not enough to maintain tropical dry forests in Hawaii
• Mass extinctions reset the long-term pace of evolution
• Acid-wielding worms drill through bones at the bottom of the sea
• New light shed on explosive solar activity
• Diving seabirds: Working hard and living long
• Do the world's smallest flies decapitate tiny ants?
• Are brown widows displacing black widow spiders around southern California homes?
• Ants farm root aphid clones in subterranean rooms
• German wind farms can kill bats from near and far, research suggests
• Cell research: Enzyme questions important principle of evolution

Six natural wonders declared World Heritage Sites Posted: 02 Jul 2012 11:52 PM PDT Sangha Trinational -- shared between Cameroon, the Central African Republic and the Republic of Congo; Lakes of Ounianga in Chad and Chengjiang fossil site in China have been inscribed on the World Heritage List, following the recommendations of IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature). Lena Pillars Nature Park in Russia and Western Ghats in India were also added to the prestigious list by the World Heritage Committee.

DNA sequenced for parrot's ability to parrot Posted: 02 Jul 2012 06:02 PM PDT Scientists say they have assembled more completely the string of genetic letters that could control how well parrots learn to imitate their owners and other sounds.

Newly discovered dinosaur implies greater prevalence of feathers; Megalosaur fossil represents first feathered dinosaur not closely related to birds Posted: 02 Jul 2012 06:02 PM PDT A new species of feathered dinosaur discovered in southern Germany is further changing the perception of how predatory dinosaurs looked. The fossil of Sciurumimus albersdoerferi, which lived about 150 million years ago, provides the first evidence of feathered theropod dinosaurs that are not closely related to birds.

'Next-generation digital Earth' charted Posted: 02 Jul 2012 06:02 PM PDT The world has gotten smaller and more accessible since applications like Google Earth became mainstream, says an expert. However, there is still a long way to go, and there are important steps to take to get there.

Tapping into genetic reservoir of heat-loving bacteria Posted: 02 Jul 2012 04:25 PM PDT The identification of key proteins in a group of heat-loving bacteria could help light a fire under next-generation biofuel production.

Pinpointing history of droughts through exploration of tree rings: Unexpected complexity in U. S. West's patterns of drought Posted: 02 Jul 2012 04:25 PM PDT Through an exploration of tree rings and oxygen isotopes, researchers are now able to better pinpoint the history of droughts in the arid and semiarid areas of the American West.

How clouds are formed: Rate of condensation much slower than thought Posted: 02 Jul 2012 04:25 PM PDT Researchers have shown that the rate of condensation of water on organic aerosol particles in the atmosphere can be very slow, taking many hours for a particle to change in size. This could have significant consequences for understanding how clouds are formed, affecting climate.

Scientists Unlock Some Key Secrets of Photosynthesis Posted: 02 Jul 2012 04:24 PM PDT New research is seeking to detail the individual steps of highly efficient reactions that convert sunlight into chemical energy within plants and bacteria.

War-related climate change would reduce substantially reduce crop yields Posted: 02 Jul 2012 03:39 PM PDT Though worries about "nuclear winter" have faded since the end of the Cold War, existing stockpiles of nuclear weapons still hold the potential for devastating global impacts. Experts say that the climate effects of a hypothetical nuclear war between India and Pakistan would greatly reduce yields of staple crops, even in distant countries.

Naked mole rat may hold the secret to long life Posted: 02 Jul 2012 01:23 PM PDT The naked mole rat's brain contains unusually high levels of NRG-1, a neuroprotecting protein, which preserves high activity, bone health, and cognitive ability throughout its lifespan, new research shows. And because the rodent has an 85 percent genetic similarity to humans, continuing investigation could lead to a longer and healthier life for us.

Cell biology: New insights into the life of microtubules Posted: 02 Jul 2012 01:22 PM PDT Every second, around 25 million cell divisions take place in our bodies. This process is driven by microtubule filaments which continually grow and shrink. A new study shows how so-called motor proteins in the cytosol can control their dynamics.

Natural intestinal flora strengthen immune system Posted: 02 Jul 2012 12:29 PM PDT Signals from natural intestinal bacteria are necessary for an effective immune response to various viral or bacterial germs, new research suggests.

Native plant restoration not enough to maintain tropical dry forests in Hawaii Posted: 02 Jul 2012 10:48 AM PDT Protecting Hawaiian dry forests from invasive species and the risk of wildfire is an ongoing challenge for land managers and scientists conducting research on the Island of Hawaii. It is commonly thought that removing the invasive species and planting native species will restore the land to its original state. However, a recent article found that it is not quite that simple.

Mass extinctions reset the long-term pace of evolution Posted: 02 Jul 2012 10:48 AM PDT A new study indicates that mass extinctions affect the pace of evolution, not just in the immediate aftermath of catastrophe, but for millions of years to follow.

Acid-wielding worms drill through bones at the bottom of the sea Posted: 02 Jul 2012 10:48 AM PDT Tiny "bone-devouring worms," known to both eat and inhabit dead whale skeletons and other bones on the sea floor, have a unique ability to release bone-melting acid, scientists at have recently discovered.

New light shed on explosive solar activity Posted: 02 Jul 2012 10:47 AM PDT The first images of an upward surge of the sun's gases into quiescent coronal loops have been identified by an international team of scientists. The discovery is one more step towards understanding the origins of extreme space storms, which can destroy satellite communications and damage power grids on Earth.

Diving seabirds: Working hard and living long Posted: 02 Jul 2012 10:47 AM PDT Scientists have found that diving birds reach their 30s and then die quickly and suddenly, showing few signs of aging prior to death. Their findings could help us understand the aging process, providing critical insights for our aging population.

Do the world's smallest flies decapitate tiny ants? Posted: 02 Jul 2012 10:44 AM PDT The smallest fly ever discovered is just 0.40 millimeters in length, and is a member of a fly family that is known for "decapitating" ants.

Are brown widows displacing black widow spiders around southern California homes? Posted: 02 Jul 2012 10:44 AM PDT Brown widow spiders are relatively new to North America, where they were first documented in Florida in 1935, and even newer to southern California, where they were only recently discovered in 2003. However, in the last decade they've been so successful that they may be displacing native black widow spiders. If so, the overall danger to homeowners may decrease because brown widow spider bites are less toxic than those of native western black widow spiders.

Ants farm root aphid clones in subterranean rooms Posted: 02 Jul 2012 10:40 AM PDT The yellow meadow ant, Lasius flavus, farms root aphids for sugar (honeydew) and nitrogen (protein). In turn these species of aphids have developed distinctive traits never found in free living species such as the 'trophobiotic organ' to hold honey dew for the ants. New research shows that over half of ant mounds contained only one of the three most common  species of aphid, and two thirds of these has a single aphid clone. Even in mounds which contained more than one species of aphid 95% of the aphid chambers contained individuals of a single clone.

German wind farms can kill bats from near and far, research suggests Posted: 02 Jul 2012 10:35 AM PDT Wind turbines may have large-scale negative effects on distant ecosystems. New research demonstrates that bats killed at German wind turbines originate mostly from northeastern Europe.

Cell research: Enzyme questions important principle of evolution Posted: 02 Jul 2012 10:32 AM PDT In evolutionary processes, it is the simple, economical solutions that prevail over the complex and laborious ones. Researchers have now investigated the key enzyme, "ribonuclease P", which is found in every living organism. The surprising result is that the principle of evolutionary economy does not appear to apply to this enzyme.

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