ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

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• New imaging technology could reveal cellular secrets
• Earth's center is 1,000 degrees hotter than previously thought, synchrotron X-ray experiment shows
• Whales are able to learn from others: Humpbacks pass on hunting tips
• 'When in Rome': Monkeys found to conform to social norms
• Ecology buys time for evolution: Climate change disrupts songbird's timing without impacting population size (yet)
• Archeologists unearth new information on origins of Maya civilization
• Why do guppies jump?
• How trees play role in smog production
• First edition of a bookworm's genome
• Key cellular organelle involved in gene silencing identified
• New grass hybrid could help reduce the likelihood of flooding
• Scientists advocate a simple, affordable and accurate technology to identify threats from sea-level rise
• Nanostructures improve the efficiency of solar cells

New imaging technology could reveal cellular secrets Posted: 25 Apr 2013 01:02 PM PDT Researchers have married two biological imaging technologies, creating a new way to learn how good cells go bad.

Earth's center is 1,000 degrees hotter than previously thought, synchrotron X-ray experiment shows Posted: 25 Apr 2013 11:23 AM PDT The temperature near Earth's center is 6,000 degrees Celsius, 1,000 degrees more than given in an experiment 20 years ago. This experiment with synchrotron X-rays confirms geophysical models that explain Earth's magnetic field and the creation and intense activity of hot-spot volcanoes. The scientists also established why the earlier experiment had produced lower temperature figures.

Whales are able to learn from others: Humpbacks pass on hunting tips Posted: 25 Apr 2013 11:23 AM PDT Humpback whales are able to pass on hunting techniques to each other, just as humans do, new research has found.

'When in Rome': Monkeys found to conform to social norms Posted: 25 Apr 2013 11:23 AM PDT The human tendency to adopt the behavior of others when on their home territory has been found in non-human primates. Researchers observed 'striking' fickleness in male monkeys, when it comes to copying the behavior of others in new groups. The study has been hailed by leading primate experts as rare experimental proof of 'cultural transmission' in wild primates to date.

Ecology buys time for evolution: Climate change disrupts songbird's timing without impacting population size (yet) Posted: 25 Apr 2013 11:23 AM PDT Songbird populations can handle far more disrupting climate change than expected. Density-dependent processes are buying them time for their battle. But without (slow) evolutionary rescue it will not save them in the end, says an international team of scientists.

Archeologists unearth new information on origins of Maya civilization Posted: 25 Apr 2013 11:23 AM PDT A new study challenges the two prevailing theories on how the ancient Maya civilization began, suggesting its origins are more complex than previously thought. The findings are based on seven years of archaeological excavations at the ancient Maya site of Ceibal in Guatamala.

Why do guppies jump? Posted: 25 Apr 2013 10:28 AM PDT Pet guppies often jump out of their tanks. One such accident inspired a new study which reveals how guppies are able to jump so far, and suggests why they do it.

How trees play role in smog production Posted: 25 Apr 2013 10:28 AM PDT After years of scientific uncertainty and speculation, researchers have shown exactly how trees help create one of society's predominant environmental and health concerns: air pollution.

First edition of a bookworm's genome Posted: 25 Apr 2013 10:28 AM PDT The tiny nematode Panagrellus redivivus, often called the beer-mat worm or the microworm, has emerged from relative obscurity with the publication of its complete genetic code. Further study of this worm is expected to shed new light on many aspects of animal biology.

Key cellular organelle involved in gene silencing identified Posted: 25 Apr 2013 10:26 AM PDT How exactly microRNAs repress target gene expression is not well understood. Geneticists have now conducted a study on plants that shows that the site of action of the repression of target gene expression occurs on the endoplasmic reticulum, a cellular organelle that is an interconnected network of membranes -- essentially, flattened sacs and branching tubules -- that extends like a flat balloon throughout the cytoplasm in plant and animal cells.

New grass hybrid could help reduce the likelihood of flooding Posted: 25 Apr 2013 07:33 AM PDT Scientists have used hybridized forage grass to combine fast root growth and efficient soil water retention. Field experiments show Festulolium cultivar reduces water runoff by up to 51 percent against nationally-recommended cultivar. Potential for the hybrid to capture more water and reduce runoff and likelihood of flood generation.

Scientists advocate a simple, affordable and accurate technology to identify threats from sea-level rise Posted: 25 Apr 2013 06:14 AM PDT Researchers are calling for the global adoption of a method to identify areas that are vulnerable to sea-level rise. The method, which utilizes a simple, low-cost tool, is financially and technically accessible to every country with coastal wet­lands. The team seeks to establish a network to coordinate the standardization and management of the data, as well as to provide a platform for collaboration.

Nanostructures improve the efficiency of solar cells Posted: 25 Apr 2013 06:13 AM PDT Researchers have been able to improve the efficiency of solar cells by coating the cell surface with extremely small nanoscale structures. The new technology has been shown to nearly eliminate the reflection losses of solar radiation.

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