ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

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• How did Earth's primitive chemistry get kick started?
• Aquatic playground can turn water tanks into fish schools
• Planetary 'runaway greenhouse' more easily triggered, research shows
• Simulations aiding study of earthquake dampers for structures
• North Pole not flooded -- but lots of melting in the Arctic
• Sequestration and fuel reserves: Storing carbon dioxide to release liquid fuels
• Environmental impact on mouse strains used for disease models
• Plasmonic black metals: Breakthrough in solar energy research?
• Radio waves carry news of climate change: Surprising tool to measure our changing climate
• Improving dogs' ability to detect explosives
• New understanding of actin filament growth in cells
• New primate species native of Madagascar, Lavasoa Dwarf Lemur, discovered
• The Hobbit and his spider

How did Earth's primitive chemistry get kick started? Posted: 30 Jul 2013 08:55 PM PDT How did life on Earth get started? Three new papers strengthen the case that Earth's first life began at alkaline hydrothermal vents at the bottom of oceans. Scientists are interested in understanding early life on Earth because if we ever hope to find life on other worlds -- especially icy worlds with subsurface oceans such as Jupiter's moon Europa and Saturn's Enceladus -- we need to know what chemical signatures to look for.

Aquatic playground can turn water tanks into fish schools Posted: 30 Jul 2013 04:35 PM PDT Raising fish in tanks that contain hiding places and other obstacles can make the fish both smarter and improve their chances of survival when they are released into the wild, according to scientists.

Planetary 'runaway greenhouse' more easily triggered, research shows Posted: 30 Jul 2013 01:31 PM PDT It might be easier than previously thought for a planet to overheat into the scorchingly uninhabitable "runaway greenhouse" stage, according to new research.

Simulations aiding study of earthquake dampers for structures Posted: 30 Jul 2013 01:31 PM PDT Researchers have demonstrated the reliability and efficiency of "real-time hybrid simulation" for testing a type of powerful damping system that might be installed in buildings and bridges to reduce structural damage and injuries during earthquakes.

North Pole not flooded -- but lots of melting in the Arctic Posted: 30 Jul 2013 01:31 PM PDT Widespread media reports of a lake at the North Pole don't hold water -- but scientists who deployed the monitoring buoys are watching closely as Arctic sea ice approaches its yearly minimum.

Sequestration and fuel reserves: Storing carbon dioxide to release liquid fuels Posted: 30 Jul 2013 01:31 PM PDT A technique for trapping the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide deep underground could at the same be used to release the last fraction of natural gas liquids from ailing reservoirs, thus offsetting some of the environmental impact of burning fossil fuels, experts say.

Environmental impact on mouse strains used for disease models Posted: 30 Jul 2013 01:31 PM PDT A study addresses how location and sex can affect mouse models in scientific research.

Plasmonic black metals: Breakthrough in solar energy research? Posted: 30 Jul 2013 10:26 AM PDT The use of plasmonic black metals could someday provide a pathway to more efficient photovoltaics -- the use of solar panels containing photovoltaic solar cells -- to improve solar energy harvesting, according to researchers.

Radio waves carry news of climate change: Surprising tool to measure our changing climate Posted: 30 Jul 2013 09:34 AM PDT Radio waves reflecting back to Earth from the ionosphere can offer valuable news about the extent of climate change. His simple, cost-effective measurement can be a valuable contribution to the ongoing effort to track climate change, adding to current measurements for a more holistic picture.

Improving dogs' ability to detect explosives Posted: 30 Jul 2013 06:11 AM PDT Training of dogs to recognise explosives could be quicker and more effective following research by animal behaviour experts.

New understanding of actin filament growth in cells Posted: 29 Jul 2013 08:20 AM PDT Biochemists have determined how tiny synthetic molecules disrupt an important actin-related molecular machine in cells in one study and, in a second one, the crystal structure of that machine when bound to a natural inhibitor.

New primate species native of Madagascar, Lavasoa Dwarf Lemur, discovered Posted: 29 Jul 2013 08:17 AM PDT The island of Madagascar harbors a unique biodiversity that evolved due to its long-lasting isolation from other land masses. Numerous plant and animal species are found solely on Madagascar. Lemurs, a subgroup of primates, are among the most prominent representatives of the island's unique fauna. They are found almost exclusively on Madagascar. The only exceptions are two species of the genus Eulemur that also live on the Comoros Islands, where they probably have been introduced by humans.

The Hobbit and his spider Posted: 29 Jul 2013 08:16 AM PDT A spider expert has discovered further previously unknown spider species in Laos. One of the spiders, now described for the first time, crawled across his path during the filming of a nature documentary.

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