ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

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• First ever videos of snow leopard mother and cubs in dens recorded in Mongolia
• Early human ancestor, Australopithecus sediba, fossils discovered in rock
• Antarctica at risk from human activities
• Vaccines backfire: Veterinary vaccines found to combine into new infectious viruses
• Solar system ice: Source of Earth's water
• As old as Clovis sites, but not Clovis: Paisley Caves, Oregon yields Western Stemmed points, more human DNA
• Study: Wolverines need refrigerators
• Tamarisk biocontrol efforts get evolutionary boost
• Male sex ornaments are fishing lures, literally
• Sake, soy sauce, and the taming of the microbes
• Helping family is key for social birds
• Coral reefs in the Indo-Pacific Ocean naturally tougher than Caribbean reefs
• Viruses may be causing coral bleaching and decline around the world
• Fossil egg links dinosaurs to modern birds
• Potential new weapon against crop pests discovered
• White rot fungus boosts ethanol production from corn stalks, cobs and leaves

First ever videos of snow leopard mother and cubs in dens recorded in Mongolia Posted: 12 Jul 2012 01:27 PM PDT For the first time, the den sites of two female snow leopards and their cubs have been located in Mongolia's Tost Mountains, with the first known videos taken of a mother and cubs, located and recorded.

Early human ancestor, Australopithecus sediba, fossils discovered in rock Posted: 12 Jul 2012 01:27 PM PDT A large rock containing significant parts of a skeleton of an early human ancestor has just been discovered. The skeleton is believed to be the remains of "Karabo," the type skeleton of Australopithecus sediba, discovered at the Malapa site in the Cradle of Humankind in 2009.

Antarctica at risk from human activities Posted: 12 Jul 2012 12:31 PM PDT The continent of Antarctica is at risk from human activities and other forces, and environmental management is needed to protect the planet's last great wilderness area, say experts.

Vaccines backfire: Veterinary vaccines found to combine into new infectious viruses Posted: 12 Jul 2012 11:47 AM PDT Two different vaccine viruses -- used simultaneously to control the same condition in chickens -- have combined to produce new infectious viruses. The research found that when two different ILT vaccine strains were used in the same populations, they combined into two new strains (a process known as recombination), resulting in disease outbreaks.

Solar system ice: Source of Earth's water Posted: 12 Jul 2012 11:47 AM PDT Scientists have long believed that comets and, or a type of very primitive meteorite were the sources of early Earth's volatile elements. Understanding where these volatiles came from is crucial for determining the origins of both water and life. New research focuses on ice that was distributed throughout much of the early Solar System. The team's findings contradict prevailing theories and suggest that meteorites are the most-likely sources of the Earth's water.

As old as Clovis sites, but not Clovis: Paisley Caves, Oregon yields Western Stemmed points, more human DNA Posted: 12 Jul 2012 11:19 AM PDT Western Stemmed projectile points dating to at least 13,200 calendar years ago have been uncovered in Oregon's Paisley Caves. Researchers report the discovery and provide substantial new documentation that confirms the human DNA pulled earlier from dried feces in the caves also dates to the same time period.

Study: Wolverines need refrigerators Posted: 12 Jul 2012 11:15 AM PDT The distribution of wolverines in the wild relates to the species' ability to store and "refrigerate" their food supply through tough times. The cold caches play a particularly important role in wolverine reproductive success, as they provide a source of nutrition for lactating females while they are nursing young.

Tamarisk biocontrol efforts get evolutionary boost Posted: 12 Jul 2012 10:17 AM PDT Scientists trying to control the invasive tamarisk plant have been getting a boost from evolution, in the form of a rapidly evolving beetle that has been changing its life cycle to more efficiently consume the noxious weed.

Male sex ornaments are fishing lures, literally Posted: 12 Jul 2012 10:17 AM PDT Talk about a bait-and-switch. Male representatives of the tropical fish known as swordtail characins have flag-like sex ornaments that catch mates just like the bait on a fishing rod would.

Sake, soy sauce, and the taming of the microbes Posted: 12 Jul 2012 10:15 AM PDT Study maps the genetic changes involved in the domestication of Aspergillus oryzae, one of the fungi used to make sake, soy sauce and miso.

Helping family is key for social birds Posted: 12 Jul 2012 07:15 AM PDT Social birds that forgo breeding to help to raise the offspring of other group members are far more likely to care for their own close relatives than for more distant kin, a new study has found. The study, which looked at a highly social species from outback Australia, the chestnut-crowned babbler, also found that these birds work much harder to care for their brothers and sisters than the young of less-related group members.

Coral reefs in the Indo-Pacific Ocean naturally tougher than Caribbean reefs Posted: 12 Jul 2012 07:15 AM PDT Coral reefs in the Indo-Pacific region, including the Great Barrier Reef, recover faster from major stresses than their Caribbean counterparts, leading marine scientists say.

Viruses may be causing coral bleaching and decline around the world Posted: 12 Jul 2012 06:26 AM PDT Scientists have discovered two viruses that appear to infect the single-celled microalgae that reside in corals and are important for coral growth and health, and they say the viruses could play a role in the serious decline of coral ecosystems around the world.

Fossil egg links dinosaurs to modern birds Posted: 12 Jul 2012 06:24 AM PDT Researchers have discovered a series of dinosaur eggs with a unique characteristic: they are oval in shape. The discovery supports the theory that birds and non-avian theropods, dinosaurs from the Cretaceous Period, could have a common ancestor.

Potential new weapon against crop pests discovered Posted: 12 Jul 2012 06:24 AM PDT Scientists have made a discovery that could provide a new means to control insect crop pests around the globe.

White rot fungus boosts ethanol production from corn stalks, cobs and leaves Posted: 11 Jul 2012 06:02 PM PDT Scientists are reporting new evidence that a white rot fungus shows promise in the search for a way to use waste corn stalks, cobs and leaves -- rather than corn itself -- to produce ethanol to extend supplies of gasoline. Their study is on using the fungus to break down the tough cellulose and related material in this so-called "corn stover" to free up sugars for ethanol fermentation.

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