ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

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• Magnesium oxide: From Earth to super-Earth
• Scientists describe elusive replication machinery of flu viruses
• Muscle powers spearing mantis shrimp attacks
• Climate change: Believing and seeing implies adapting

Magnesium oxide: From Earth to super-Earth Posted: 22 Nov 2012 12:29 PM PST The mantles of Earth and other rocky planets are rich in magnesium and oxygen. Due to its simplicity, the mineral magnesium oxide is a good model for studying the nature of planetary interiors. New work studied how magnesium oxide behaves under the extreme conditions deep within planets and found evidence that alters our understanding of planetary evolution.

Scientists describe elusive replication machinery of flu viruses Posted: 22 Nov 2012 12:29 PM PST Scientists have made a major advance in understanding how flu viruses replicate within infected cells. The researchers used cutting-edge molecular biology and electron-microscopy techniques to "see" one of influenza's essential protein complexes in unprecedented detail. The images generated in the study show flu virus proteins in the act of self-replication, highlighting the virus's vulnerabilities that are sure to be of interest to drug developers.

Muscle powers spearing mantis shrimp attacks Posted: 22 Nov 2012 06:54 AM PST Mantis shrimps pack a powerful punch, whether they smash or spear their victims. Smasher mantis shrimps power their claws' ballistic blows using a catapult mechanism, but how do spearers deploy their weapons? Analyzing the movements of large Lysiosquillina maculata, biologists found that they unexpectedly use muscle power to launch their claw spears although smaller Alachosquilla vicina use a catapult mechanism like smashers.

Climate change: Believing and seeing implies adapting Posted: 22 Nov 2012 06:54 AM PST To communicate climate change and adaptation to stakeholders such as European forest owners is a challenge. A capacity to adapt to climate change has, until now, mainly been understood as how trees and forest ecosystems can adapt to climate change and which socio-economic factors determine the implementation of adaptive measures. The new study shows, for the first time, the importance of two personal factors; when forest owners believe in and see the effects of climate change, they are more likely to have taken adaptive measures.

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