ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

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• One smart egg: Birds sense day length and change development
• Researchers develop technique to help pollution forecasters see past clouds
• The old primates' club: Even male monkeys ride their fathers' coattails to success
• New parasitic coral reef crustacean named after late reggae performer Bob Marley
• Secrets of parasites' replication unraveled
• Waste to watts: Improving microbial fuel cells
• New biofuel process dramatically improves energy recovery, and uses agricultural waste
• New possibilities for solar power
• Climate change may lead to fewer but more violent thunderstorms
• No matter the drilling method, natural gas is a much-needed tool to battle global warming
• First seabed sonar to measure marine energy effect on environment and wildlife
• Rare glimpse into the origin of species
• The magnetic sense: Why powerlines confuse the internal compass of migrating birds
• World's largest herbivore, the African elephant, makes unique food choices
• Rising carbon dioxide in atmosphere also speeds carbon loss from forest soils
• Low number of bees in found urban areas, national bee count in US ready to count again
• Copper from car brakes and mining is making salmon prone to predators
• New Technology provides a deep view into protein structures
• Outstanding for the past 15 million years: Swiss Alps have influenced Europe’s climate since the Miocene

One smart egg: Birds sense day length and change development Posted: 10 Jul 2012 03:54 PM PDT This is one smart egg. Talk about adjusting your internal clock. New research shows that some chicks can sense day length, even while they are still in the egg, which in turn, affects how they develop.

Researchers develop technique to help pollution forecasters see past clouds Posted: 10 Jul 2012 02:21 PM PDT Scientists have created a technique to help satellites "see" through the clouds and better estimate the concentration of pollutants, such as soot.

The old primates' club: Even male monkeys ride their fathers' coattails to success Posted: 10 Jul 2012 01:33 PM PDT The significant advantages enjoyed by the male offspring of long-reigning alpha male capuchin monkeys evoke the good old boys' network enjoyed by human males, suggests a new study by a primatologist.

New parasitic coral reef crustacean named after late reggae performer Bob Marley Posted: 10 Jul 2012 12:04 PM PDT President Barack Obama has one. Comedian Stephen Colbert has one. Elvis Presley has one. Even computer software magnate Bill Gates has one. And now, Bob Marley -- the late popular Jamaican singer and guitarist -- also has one. So what is it that each of these luminaries have? The answer: they each have a biological species that has been named after them.

Secrets of parasites' replication unraveled Posted: 10 Jul 2012 11:19 AM PDT A group of diseases that kill millions of people each year can't be touched by antibiotics, and some treatment is so harsh the patient can't survive it. They're caused by parasites, and for decades researchers have searched for a "magic bullet" to kill them without harming the patient. Now microbiologists report the first detailed characterization of the way key proteins in the model parasite Trypanosoma brucei organize to replicate its mitochondrial DNA.

Waste to watts: Improving microbial fuel cells Posted: 10 Jul 2012 10:31 AM PDT Some of the planet's tiniest inhabitants may help address two of society's biggest environmental challenges: How to deal with the vast quantities of organic waste produced and where to find clean, renewable energy. Anode respiring bacteria generate useful energy in a device known as a microbial fuel cell.

New biofuel process dramatically improves energy recovery, and uses agricultural waste Posted: 10 Jul 2012 10:30 AM PDT A new biofuel production process produces energy more than 20 times higher than existing methods. The results showcase a novel way to use microbes to produce biofuel and hydrogen, all while consuming agricultural wastes.

New possibilities for solar power Posted: 10 Jul 2012 10:30 AM PDT Researchers have made a significant breakthrough in solar technology. A newly developed solar photovoltaic thermal system generates both electricity and heat.

Climate change may lead to fewer but more violent thunderstorms Posted: 10 Jul 2012 10:30 AM PDT Scientists are working hard to identify just how climate change will impact weather around the world. Now researcher says that, if temperatures continue to rise, Earth can expect a significant increase in the violence of thunderstorms.

No matter the drilling method, natural gas is a much-needed tool to battle global warming Posted: 10 Jul 2012 10:29 AM PDT No matter how you drill it, using natural gas as an energy source is a smart move in the battle against global climate change and a good transition step on the road toward low-carbon energy from wind, solar and nuclear power according to a new study.

First seabed sonar to measure marine energy effect on environment and wildlife Posted: 10 Jul 2012 10:28 AM PDT UK scientists will measure the effect on the marine environment and wildlife of devices that harness tide and wave energy using sonar technology that has, for the first time, been successfully deployed on the seabed.

Rare glimpse into the origin of species Posted: 10 Jul 2012 09:02 AM PDT A new species of monkey flower has been discovered in Scotland. Derived from two New World species brought to feature in Victorian gardens, genetic differences between the parents usually leave hybrids infertile. A researcher has found wild hybrid plants that have overcome these genetic boundaries to form a new species, a rare example of a species originated in the last 150 years.

The magnetic sense: Why powerlines confuse the internal compass of migrating birds Posted: 10 Jul 2012 09:02 AM PDT Migratory birds and fish use the Earth's magnetic field to find their way. Researchers have now identified cells with internal compass needles for the perception of the field – and can explain why high-tension cables perturb the magnetic orientation.

World's largest herbivore, the African elephant, makes unique food choices Posted: 10 Jul 2012 08:58 AM PDT When is an elephant a picky eater? A study of the African elephant finds that, despite its large size and fast-operating digestive system, this mammal does not eat just anything. This megaherbivore selectively chooses species and parts of the woody plants that comprise its diet.

Rising carbon dioxide in atmosphere also speeds carbon loss from forest soils Posted: 10 Jul 2012 08:58 AM PDT Elevated levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide accelerate carbon cycling and soil carbon loss in forests, biologists have found. The new evidence supports an emerging view that although forests remove a substantial amount of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, much of the carbon is being stored in living woody biomass rather than as dead organic matter in soils.

Low number of bees in found urban areas, national bee count in US ready to count again Posted: 10 Jul 2012 06:39 AM PDT Biologists have found low numbers of bees in urban areas across America.

Copper from car brakes and mining is making salmon prone to predators Posted: 10 Jul 2012 06:39 AM PDT Minute amounts of copper from brake linings and mining operations can affect salmon to where they are easily eaten by predators, according to new research. Biologists found the metal affects salmon's sense of smell so much that they won't detect a compound that ordinarily alerts them to be still and wary.

New Technology provides a deep view into protein structures Posted: 10 Jul 2012 06:35 AM PDT Proteins consist of a sequence of amino acids and have important physiological functions, such as catalysis or transport of metabolic products. To perform their physiological role, proteins need to fold their linear amino acid chains into a stable three-dimensional structure. In part, the spatial arrangement is determined by a network of hydrogen bonds. However so far it was unclear to what extent individual hydrogen bonds contribute to the stability of a structure. Using a newly developed high pressure cell and NMR method scientists have, for the first time, completely characterize the stability of individual hydrogen bonds in the protein Ubiquitin.

Outstanding for the past 15 million years: Swiss Alps have influenced Europe’s climate since the Miocene Posted: 10 Jul 2012 06:34 AM PDT Switzerland's highest peaks in the geologically young central Alps have been this high for quite some time, as a new study shows. 15 million years ago Europe's own mountain range was at least as high as today. Scientists compared the isotopic ratios of water and oxygen in rocks in the Alps and Alpine foreland and were able to determine the height of the peaks in the past.

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