ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

---

• Feeling hot, hot, hot: Climate shapes distribution and movement of humans as it does other animals
• Satellite images tell tales of changing biodiversity
• Archer fish hunt insects with water jet six times stronger than their muscular power
• Gaps in border controls are related to alien insect invasions in Europe
• Let it snow! Solar panels can take it
• Plants provide accurate low-cost alternative for diagnosis of West Nile Virus
• 2012 Antarctic ozone hole second smallest in 20 years
• Americans use more efficient and renewable energy technologies
• Why 'singing' sand dunes hum certain notes
• Large-scale production of biofuels made from algae poses sustainability concerns
• Bacterial wires explain enigmatic electric currents in the seabed
• 100-million-year-old coelacanth fish discovered in Texas is new species from Cretaceous
• Flycatchers' genomes explain how one species became two
• Speed limits on cargo ships could reduce their pollutants by more than half
• Potatoes created with higher levels of carotenoids
• Forestry's waste wood offers habitat for small forest-floor animals
• Wood completely broken down into its component parts
• Did bacteria spark evolution of multicellular life?
• New insights into membrane-assisted self-assembly
• Earth's magnetosphere behaves like a sieve
• Hanging in there: Koalas have low genetic diversity

Feeling hot, hot, hot: Climate shapes distribution and movement of humans as it does other animals Posted: 24 Oct 2012 02:53 PM PDT Research shows importance of population movement and growth in shaping climate change over the past century in the United States

Satellite images tell tales of changing biodiversity Posted: 24 Oct 2012 02:53 PM PDT Analysis of texture differences in satellite images may be an effective way to monitor changes in vegetation, soil and water patterns over time, with potential implications for measuring biodiversity as well, according to new research.

Archer fish hunt insects with water jet six times stronger than their muscular power Posted: 24 Oct 2012 02:53 PM PDT Archer fish knock their insect prey out of overhanging vegetation with a jet of water several times more powerful than the fish's muscles. New research now shows that the fish generate this power externally using water dynamics rather than with any specialized internal organs. The research provides the first explanation for how archer fish can generate such powerful jets to capture their prey.

Gaps in border controls are related to alien insect invasions in Europe Posted: 24 Oct 2012 02:53 PM PDT European countries with gaps in border security surrounding agricultural imports have been invaded by the largest number of exotic insect pests, according to new research.

Let it snow! Solar panels can take it Posted: 24 Oct 2012 02:52 PM PDT Even if the weather outside is frightful, solar cells can still generate a delightful amount of electricity.

Plants provide accurate low-cost alternative for diagnosis of West Nile Virus Posted: 24 Oct 2012 01:47 PM PDT Biologists have developed a new method of testing for West Nile, using plants to produce biological reagents for detection and diagnosis.

2012 Antarctic ozone hole second smallest in 20 years Posted: 24 Oct 2012 01:47 PM PDT The average area covered by the Antarctic ozone hole this year was the second smallest in the last 20 years. Scientists attribute the change to warmer temperatures in the Antarctic lower stratosphere.

Americans use more efficient and renewable energy technologies Posted: 24 Oct 2012 12:08 PM PDT Americans used less energy in 2011 than in the previous year due mainly to a shift to higher-efficiency energy technologies in the transportation and residential sectors. Meanwhile, less coal was used but more natural gas was consumed according to the most recent energy flow charts.

Why 'singing' sand dunes hum certain notes Posted: 24 Oct 2012 11:02 AM PDT What does Elvis Presley have in common with a sand dune? No, it's not that people sometimes spot both in the vicinity of Las Vegas. Instead, some sand dunes, like The King, can sing. And new research looking for clues to how streams of sand can sing may explain why some dunes croon in more than one pitch at the same time.

Large-scale production of biofuels made from algae poses sustainability concerns Posted: 24 Oct 2012 10:34 AM PDT Scaling up the production of biofuels made from algae to meet at least five percent -- approximately 39 billion liters -- of US transportation fuel needs would place unsustainable demands on energy, water, and nutrients.

Bacterial wires explain enigmatic electric currents in the seabed Posted: 24 Oct 2012 10:33 AM PDT The enigma of electric currents in the seabed is solved. Scientists have discovered bacteria that function as living electrical cables. Each of the centimeter-long 'cable bacteria' contains a bundle of insulated wires leading an electric current from one end to the other.

100-million-year-old coelacanth fish discovered in Texas is new species from Cretaceous Posted: 24 Oct 2012 10:09 AM PDT A fossil discovered in Texas is a new species of coelacanth fish. Paleontologists identified the skull as a 100 million-year-old coelacanth, making it the youngest discovered in Texas. The new species, Reidus hilli, brings to 81 the world's coelacanth species, including two alive today. Coelacanth fish have eluded extinction for 400 million years. Reidus hilli belongs to Dipluridae, a new family that is transitional between Mawsoniidae and Latimeriidae families.

Flycatchers' genomes explain how one species became two Posted: 24 Oct 2012 10:09 AM PDT Just how new species are established is still one of the most central questions in biology. Biologists now describe how they mapped the genomes of the European pied flycatcher and the collared flycatcher and found that it is disparate chromosome structures rather than separate adaptations in individual genes that underlies the separation of the species.

Speed limits on cargo ships could reduce their pollutants by more than half Posted: 24 Oct 2012 09:48 AM PDT Putting a speed limit on cargo ships as they sail near ports and coastlines could cut their emission of air pollutants by up to 70 percent, reducing the impact of marine shipping on Earth's climate and human health, scientists have found.

Potatoes created with higher levels of carotenoids Posted: 24 Oct 2012 09:47 AM PDT Potatoes with higher levels of beneficial carotenoids are the result of new studies to improve one of America's most popular vegetables. Scientists bred yellow potatoes with carotenoid levels that are two to three times higher than those of the popular Yukon Gold yellow-fleshed potato variety.

Forestry's waste wood offers habitat for small forest-floor animals Posted: 24 Oct 2012 09:46 AM PDT The wood that remains after a tree harvesting operation is often burned to reduce the hazard of fire or is removed for bioenergy production. But another option should be considered—leaving the wood for forest wildlife whose habitat has been disturbed during clear-cut forestry operations. Woody debris on the floor of the forest is essential for maintaining biodiversity and long-term ecosystem productivity.

Wood completely broken down into its component parts Posted: 24 Oct 2012 08:14 AM PDT Crude oil is getting scarce. This is why researchers are seeking to substitute petroleum-based products – like plastics – with sustainable raw materials. Waste wood, divided into lignin and cellulose, could serve as a raw material. A pilot plant has been set up to handle this division on a larger scale.

Did bacteria spark evolution of multicellular life? Posted: 24 Oct 2012 07:17 AM PDT Choanoflagellates are single-celled plankton and the closest living relatives of animals, including humans. Molecular biologists have found that these organisms form colonies only when triggered by previously unknown bacteria. The discovery suggests that early single-celled organisms may originally have come together in the presence of bacteria, perhaps to make more efficient feeding machines that eventually evolved into multicellular life.

New insights into membrane-assisted self-assembly Posted: 24 Oct 2012 07:17 AM PDT How proteins and virus capsids – complex protein structures that encase the genetic material of viruses – form structures near to a fluctuating membrane is simulated by physicists with advanced computational techniques. The results are relevant to the understanding of biophysical processes.

Earth's magnetosphere behaves like a sieve Posted: 24 Oct 2012 07:16 AM PDT Our protective magnetic bubble lets the solar wind in under a wider range of conditions than previously believed. Earth's magnetic field is our planet's first line of defense against the bombardment of the solar wind. This stream of plasma is launched by the Sun and travels across the Solar System, carrying its own magnetic field with it. Depending on how the solar wind's interplanetary magnetic field – IMF – is aligned with Earth's magnetic field, different phenomena can arise in Earth's immediate environment.

Hanging in there: Koalas have low genetic diversity Posted: 23 Oct 2012 05:46 PM PDT A species relies on genetic diversity to survive and low diversity usually indicates that there has been inbreeding due to a decrease in population size.  By looking at historic mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from museum samples, new research has found that koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) have had low genetic diversity for over 120 years.

You are subscribed to email updates from ScienceDaily: Top Environment News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610