ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

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• Next-generation antireflection coatings could improve solar photovoltaic cell efficiency
• Hurricane Sandy looks as the 'Bride of Frankenstorm' Approaching U.S. East Coast
• High-efficiency quantum dot solar cells developed
• Hermit crabs socialize to evict their neighbors
• Minimizing mining damage with manure
• Mechanism of membrane fission deciphered
• Watching the cogwheels of the biological clock in living cells
• Technology helping to crack oldest undeciphered writing system
• Laser spotlight reveals machine 'climbing' DNA
• NASA radar penetrates thick, thin of Gulf oil spill
• Efforts to mitigate climate change must target energy efficiency, experts say
• Most ancient pottery prehistoric figurine of the Iberian Peninsula found in Begues
• Penis worms show the evolution of the digestive system

Next-generation antireflection coatings could improve solar photovoltaic cell efficiency Posted: 26 Oct 2012 12:34 PM PDT Photovoltaic cell efficiency may soon get a big boost, thanks to next-generation antireflection coatings crafted from nanomaterials capable of cutting down on the amount of light reflected away from a cell's surface.

Hurricane Sandy looks as the 'Bride of Frankenstorm' Approaching U.S. East Coast Posted: 26 Oct 2012 11:33 AM PDT NASA's TRMM satellite revealed Hurricane Sandy's heavy rainfall and the storm is expected to couple with a powerful cold front and Arctic air to bring that heavy rainfall to the Mid-Atlantic and northeastern US. Some forecasters are calling this combination of weather factors "Frankenstorm" because of the close proximity to Halloween. However, because Sandy is a woman's name, the storm could be considered a "bride of Frankenstorm."

High-efficiency quantum dot solar cells developed Posted: 26 Oct 2012 11:32 AM PDT Scientists have demonstrated the first solar cell with external quantum efficiency (EQE) exceeding 100 percent for photons with energies in the solar range.

Hermit crabs socialize to evict their neighbors Posted: 26 Oct 2012 09:51 AM PDT Social animals usually congregate for protection or mating or to capture bigger prey, but a biologist has found that the terrestrial hermit crab has a more self-serving social agenda: to kick another crab out of its shell and move into a larger home.

Minimizing mining damage with manure Posted: 26 Oct 2012 09:50 AM PDT New research confirms that the time-tested practice of amending crop soils with manure also can help restore soils on damaged post-mining landscapes.

Mechanism of membrane fission deciphered Posted: 26 Oct 2012 09:50 AM PDT Researchers have shed light on the mechanism of the fission of cell membranes. They used an in vitro analysis of the functioning of dynamin, a protein involved in this mechanism.

Watching the cogwheels of the biological clock in living cells Posted: 26 Oct 2012 09:50 AM PDT Most physiological functions in mammals are controlled by a daily internal time-keeping system, termed the circadian clock. The transcription of many genes producing detoxifying enzymes is regulated by DBP, a protein that is itself expressed in a highly rhythmic fashion. Scientists have now deciphered the molecular basis of how the circadian clock controls the rhythmic production of DBP protein in individual living cells.

Technology helping to crack oldest undeciphered writing system Posted: 26 Oct 2012 08:12 AM PDT New technology has allowed researchers to come closer than ever to cracking the world's oldest undeciphered writing system. Researchers in the UK have developed a Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI) System for Ancient Documentary Artefacts to capture images of some of the world's most important historical documents. Recently this system was used on objects held in the vaults of the Louvre Museum in Paris.

Laser spotlight reveals machine 'climbing' DNA Posted: 26 Oct 2012 08:07 AM PDT New imaging technology has revealed how the molecular machines that remodel genetic material inside cells 'grab onto' DNA like a rock climber looking for a handhold.

NASA radar penetrates thick, thin of Gulf oil spill Posted: 26 Oct 2012 07:12 AM PDT Researchers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena have developed a method to use a specialized NASA 3-D imaging radar to characterize the oil in oil spills, such as the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The research can be used to improve response operations during future marine oil spills.

Efforts to mitigate climate change must target energy efficiency, experts say Posted: 26 Oct 2012 05:46 AM PDT More must be done to develop energy efficient cars, buildings and domestic appliances to address climate change – according to new research. Twice as much effort is spent developing energy supply technologies, such as new power stations, as is spent improving the efficiency with which energy is used. Efficient end-use technologies have the potential to contribute large emission reductions and provide higher social returns on investment, so the imbalance must be redressed.

Most ancient pottery prehistoric figurine of the Iberian Peninsula found in Begues Posted: 26 Oct 2012 05:46 AM PDT In the course of the excavation process in Can Sadurní cave (Begues), archeologists found the torso, with one complete arm and the initial part of the other, of a human figurine made of pottery. It is the most ancient human figurine that has been found in Catalonia and is approximately 6500 years old.

Penis worms show the evolution of the digestive system Posted: 26 Oct 2012 05:43 AM PDT Scientists have revealed that the enigmatic marine penis worms (priapulids) develop their intestine as humans, fish or starfish do. This surprising finding shows that very different animals share a common way of forming a gut.

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