ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

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• Scientists identify key fungal species that help explain mysteries of white nose syndrome
• Broad-scale genome tinkering with help of an RNA guide: Biotechnology tool borrowed from pathogenic bacteria
• Mechanism behind squids' and octopuses' ability to change color revealed
• Extinct ancient ape did not walk like a human, study shows
• Captured: Mysterious oyster killers
• Microbial who-done-it for biofuels
• Pacific equatorial cold water region explained
• Computer can infer rules of the forest
• Secret of plant geometry revealed: How plants set the angles of their branches
• World-changing technology enables crops to take nitrogen from the air
• Simulated hibernation aids toad work
• 18th century specimen reveals new South African weevil genus
• Deciphering the air-sea communication: Ocean significantly affects long-term climate fluctuations
• Adenoviruses may pose risk for monkey-to-human leap
• Pigeons fly home with a map in their heads
• Molluscs vs. bacteria: New finding on marine natural products biosynthesis

Scientists identify key fungal species that help explain mysteries of white nose syndrome Posted: 25 Jul 2013 05:24 PM PDT Researchers have identified what may be a key to unraveling some of the mysteries of White Nose Syndrome: The closest known non-disease causing relatives of the fungus that causes WNS. A new study outlines research on the evolution of species related to the fungus causing WNS.

Broad-scale genome tinkering with help of an RNA guide: Biotechnology tool borrowed from pathogenic bacteria Posted: 25 Jul 2013 12:21 PM PDT Researchers have devised a way to quickly and easily target and tinker with any gene in the human genome. The new tool, which builds on an RNA-guided enzyme they borrowed from bacteria, is being made freely available to researchers who may now apply it to the next round of genome discovery.

Mechanism behind squids' and octopuses' ability to change color revealed Posted: 25 Jul 2013 11:17 AM PDT Color in living organisms can be formed two ways: Pigmentation or anatomical structure. Structural colors arise from the physical interaction of light with biological nanostructures. A wide range of organisms possess this ability, but the biological mechanisms underlying the process have been poorly understood. Now researchers have delved deeper to uncover the mechanism responsible for the dramatic changes in color used by such creatures as squids and octopuses.

Extinct ancient ape did not walk like a human, study shows Posted: 25 Jul 2013 09:54 AM PDT A new study has found that a 9- to 7-million-year-old ape from Italy did not, in fact, walk habitually on two legs. The findings refute a long body of evidence, suggesting that Oreopithecus had the capabilities for bipedal (moving on two legs) walking.

Captured: Mysterious oyster killers Posted: 25 Jul 2013 09:54 AM PDT Researchers have apprehended tiny, elusive parasites that have plagued oysters from British Columbia to California.

Microbial who-done-it for biofuels Posted: 25 Jul 2013 09:54 AM PDT Scientists have developed a promising technique for identifying microbial enzymes that can effectively deconstruct biomass into fuel sugars under refinery processing conditions.

Pacific equatorial cold water region explained Posted: 25 Jul 2013 09:54 AM PDT A new study reveals for the first time how the mixing of cold, deep waters from below can change sea surface temperatures on seasonal and longer timescales.

Computer can infer rules of the forest Posted: 25 Jul 2013 09:54 AM PDT Researchers have devised a computer algorithm that takes intermittent samples -- for example, the number of prey and predating species in a forest once a year, or the concentration of different species in a chemical bath once an hour -- and infer the likely reactions that led to that result. They're working backward from traditional stochastic modeling, which they say could help unravel the hidden laws in fields as diverse as molecular biology to population ecology to basic chemistry.

Secret of plant geometry revealed: How plants set the angles of their branches Posted: 25 Jul 2013 09:53 AM PDT Researchers have discovered how plants set the angles of their branches relative to gravity. While the other principle features governing the architecture of plants such as the control of the number of branches and positioning around the main shoot are now well understood, scientists have long puzzled over how plants set and maintain the angle of their lateral branches relative to gravity.

World-changing technology enables crops to take nitrogen from the air Posted: 25 Jul 2013 09:50 AM PDT A major new technology enables all of the world's crops to take nitrogen from the air rather than expensive and environmentally damaging fertilizers. Nitrogen fixation, the process by which nitrogen is converted to ammonia, is vital for plants to survive and grow. However, only a very small number of plants, most notably legumes (such as peas, beans and lentils) have the ability to fix nitrogen from the atmosphere with the help of nitrogen fixing bacteria. The vast majority of plants have to obtain nitrogen from the soil, and for most crops currently being grown across the world, this also means a reliance on synthetic nitrogen fertilizer.

Simulated hibernation aids toad work Posted: 25 Jul 2013 08:26 AM PDT A partnership with the Memphis Zoo brought a colony of threatened toads from the Colorado Rockies to Mississippi State University. Researchers there joined the ranks of those trying to learn how to get the animals to breed in captivity. They had no success until they simulated hibernation in the refrigerator.

18th century specimen reveals new South African weevil genus Posted: 25 Jul 2013 07:48 AM PDT An old specimen collected probably between 1772 and 1775 has been found to belong to an unknown, relict South African genus of weevils (snout beetles). This highlights the value of museums as keepers of priceless views of biodiversity against the present loss of richness and rampant human-driven extinction.

Deciphering the air-sea communication: Ocean significantly affects long-term climate fluctuations Posted: 25 Jul 2013 07:48 AM PDT Scientists have investigated the role of heat exchange between ocean and atmosphere in long-term climate variability in the Atlantic. The scientists analyzed meteorological measurements and sea surface temperatures over the past 130 years. It was found that the ocean significantly affects long term climate fluctuations, while the seemingly chaotic atmosphere is mainly responsible for the shorter-term, year-to-year changes.

Adenoviruses may pose risk for monkey-to-human leap Posted: 25 Jul 2013 06:12 AM PDT Adenoviruses commonly infect humans, causing colds, flu-like symptoms and sometimes even death, but now researchers have discovered that a new species of adenovirus can spread from primate to primate, and potentially from monkey to human.

Pigeons fly home with a map in their heads Posted: 25 Jul 2013 06:11 AM PDT It is a fascinating phenomenon that homing pigeons always find their way home. Researchers have now carried out experiments demonstrating that pigeons have a spatial map and thus possess cognitive capabilities. In unknown territories, they recognize where they are in relation to their loft and are able to choose their targets themselves.

Molluscs vs. bacteria: New finding on marine natural products biosynthesis Posted: 25 Jul 2013 06:11 AM PDT The gastropod mollusc Scaphander lignarius -- a marine invertebrate found in North Atlantic and Mediterranean water -- is the first organism, besides bacteria, in which the biosynthesis of lignarenones, organic molecules involved in organism's chemical defence, has been identified.

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