ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

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• Developing microbial cell factories by employing synthetic small regulatory RNAs
• Warmer soils release additional CO2 into atmosphere; Effect stabilizes over longer term
• New study sheds light on the origin of the European Jewish population
• Earliest sea cow ancestors originated in Africa, lived in fresh water
• Bats are reservoir for ebola virus in Bangladesh
• Marginal lands are prime fuel source for alternative energy
• Fish journeying upstream are hampered by hydropower dams: Facilities in northeastern U.S. fail to allow passage of migrating fish

Developing microbial cell factories by employing synthetic small regulatory RNAs Posted: 20 Jan 2013 12:00 PM PST Biotechnologists have been working hard to address the climate change and limited fossil resource issues through the development of sustainable processes for the production of chemicals, fuels and materials from renewable non-food biomass. One promising sustainable technology is the use of microbial cell factories for the efficient production of desired chemicals and materials. Scientists have now discovered that synthetic small RNA can be employed for finely controlling the expression levels of multiple genes at the translation level.

Warmer soils release additional CO2 into atmosphere; Effect stabilizes over longer term Posted: 20 Jan 2013 12:00 PM PST Warmer temperatures due to climate change could cause soils to release additional carbon into the atmosphere, thereby enhancing climate change – but that effect diminishes over the long term, finds a new study. The study sheds new light on how soil microorganisms respond to temperature and could improve predictions of how climate warming will affect the carbon dioxide flux from soils.

New study sheds light on the origin of the European Jewish population Posted: 16 Jan 2013 04:53 PM PST Despite being one of the most genetically analyzed groups, the origin of European Jews has remained obscure. However, a new study argues that the European Jewish genome is a mosaic of Caucasus, European, and Semitic ancestries, setting to rest previous contradictory reports of Jewish ancestry. This could have a major impact on the ways in which scientists study genetic disorders within the population.

Earliest sea cow ancestors originated in Africa, lived in fresh water Posted: 16 Jan 2013 04:53 PM PST A new fossil discovered in Tunisia represents the oldest known ancestor of modern-day sea cows, supporting the African origins of these marine mammals.

Bats are reservoir for ebola virus in Bangladesh Posted: 16 Jan 2013 01:38 PM PST Ebola virus antibodies were circulating in ~4% of the 276 bats scientists screened in Bangladesh.

Marginal lands are prime fuel source for alternative energy Posted: 16 Jan 2013 01:37 PM PST Marginal lands ­-- those unsuited for food crops -- can serve as prime real estate for meeting the U.S. alternative energy production goals. Marginal lands represent a huge untapped resource to grow mixed species cellulosic biomass, plants grown specifically for fuel production, which could annually produce up to 5.5 billion gallons of ethanol in the Midwest alone.

Fish journeying upstream are hampered by hydropower dams: Facilities in northeastern U.S. fail to allow passage of migrating fish Posted: 16 Jan 2013 01:35 PM PST Major hydropower dams in the northeastern United States, constructed with state-of-the-art features designed to allow migratory fish to pass through them on their way to spawn upstream, have failed in that regard, according to a new study.

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