ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

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• Nitrous oxide emissions in streams and rivers examined
• Research shows early promise of new drug for cancers caused by viruses
• How electricity helps spider webs snatch prey and pollutants
• Starchy food led to rotten teeth in ancient hunter-gatherers
• T-cell research sheds light on why HIV can persist despite treatment
• Bald reef gets new growth with seaweed transplant
• First farmers and stockbreeders painted with the same pigments as their hunters ancestors
• Physical reason for chromosome's cylindrical shape discovered
• Even 25 metres below ground, positioning system tracks firefighters
• First plastic cell with working organelle
• What lies beneath: Giant trench under Antarctic Ice, deeper than Grand Canyon
• How could dinosaurs weigh up to 80 tons? New research on sauropod gigantism
• Mitochondrial genes matter for survival and reproduction
• And that is how the desert locust lost its memory
• Primate growing up with half the calories: New understanding about human health and longevity
• Keeping stem cells pluripotent
• How immune system fights off malaria
• How fruit flies detect sweet foods
• Microbes swap for tiny goods in minuscule markets: Microbes buy low, sell high

Nitrous oxide emissions in streams and rivers examined Posted: 14 Jan 2014 10:07 AM PST The scientists are trying to understand how populations of microorganisms regulate emissions of nitrous oxide from streams and rivers.

Research shows early promise of new drug for cancers caused by viruses Posted: 14 Jan 2014 08:42 AM PST A newly published paper is the first to report that specialized fat (lipid) molecules, called sphingolipids, play a key role in the survival of aggressive lymphomas caused by viruses. The paper also reveals a new therapy for preventing production of sphingolipids by lymphoma cells, thereby killing these cells, which are often resistant to standard therapies.

How electricity helps spider webs snatch prey and pollutants Posted: 14 Jan 2014 08:33 AM PST Spider webs actively spring towards prey thanks to electrically-conductive glue spread across their surface, scientists have discovered. The researchers found that the electrostatic properties of the glue that coats spider webs causes them to reach out to grab all charged particles, from pollen and pollutants to flying insects. They also showed that the glue spirals can distort Earth's electric field within a few millimetres of the web, which may enable insects to spot the webs with their antennae 'e-sensors'.

Starchy food led to rotten teeth in ancient hunter-gatherers Posted: 14 Jan 2014 08:27 AM PST A diet rich in starchy foods may have led to high rates of tooth decay in ancient hunter-gatherers, according to a new study that challenges the long-held view that dental disease was linked to the advent of farming. The research shows widespread tooth decay occurred in a hunter-gathering society in Morocco several thousand years before the dawn of agriculture.

T-cell research sheds light on why HIV can persist despite treatment Posted: 14 Jan 2014 06:21 AM PST Research by an international team provides evidence that a particular T-cell type may help researchers better understand why HIV can persist despite treatment.

Bald reef gets new growth with seaweed transplant Posted: 14 Jan 2014 06:19 AM PST Marine ecologists in Sydney have successfully restored a once thriving seaweed species, which vanished along a stretch of the city's coastline during the 1970s and 80s during high levels of sewage outfalls. Researchers transplanted fertile specimens of the missing crayweed (Phyllospora comosa) onto two barren reef sites where it once grew abundantly. The new seaweed survived and reproduced.

First farmers and stockbreeders painted with the same pigments as their hunters ancestors Posted: 14 Jan 2014 06:19 AM PST Scientists have analyzed, for the first time, two cave figures of rock shelters located in the archaeological ensemble of Minateda, in Hellín (Albacete). They have different styles and are separated by several millenniums in time. The results show that the composition of the painting in Prehistory did not change in thousands of years and that there were no cultural or ritual connotations in its making.

Physical reason for chromosome's cylindrical shape discovered Posted: 14 Jan 2014 06:18 AM PST Researchers have determined why metaphase chromosomes have their characteristic elongated cylindrical shape. The results show that this morphology is related to the chromosome's self-organizing structure.

Even 25 metres below ground, positioning system tracks firefighters Posted: 14 Jan 2014 06:17 AM PST With sensor-equipped footwear firefighters can be even more effective at saving lives and property.

First plastic cell with working organelle Posted: 14 Jan 2014 06:17 AM PST For the first time, chemists have successfully produced an artificial cell containing organelles capable of carrying out the various steps of a chemical reaction.

What lies beneath: Giant trench under Antarctic Ice, deeper than Grand Canyon Posted: 14 Jan 2014 06:08 AM PST A massive ancient subglacial trough -- deeper than the Grand Canyon -- has been discovered by a team of scientists. The researchers charted the Ellsworth Subglacial Highlands -- an ancient mountain range buried beneath several kilometers of Antarctic ice -- by combining data from satellites and ice-penetrating radars towed behind snowmobiles and on-board small aircraft.

How could dinosaurs weigh up to 80 tons? New research on sauropod gigantism Posted: 14 Jan 2014 06:08 AM PST Sauropods, the largest land animals in Earth's history, are still mightily puzzling the scientists. These plant-eating dinosaurs with their long necks and small heads could reach a height of 10 meters or more and dominated all other land vertebrates in terms of size. They could weigh up to 80 tons, more than any other known land vertebrate. One question that has been intensely debated is how these giants of the animal kingdom regulated their own body temperature.

Mitochondrial genes matter for survival and reproduction Posted: 14 Jan 2014 06:08 AM PST Contrary to common belief, mitochondrial genes seem to matter for how well individuals survive and reproduce. These new results are reported by researchers who studied the genes of a common beetle species. Mitochondria are vital power plants of cells. They carry their own genes, which are inherited only through females, and these genes vary greatly between individuals. Scientists have shown for the first time that differences in the mitochondrial genes that individuals carry actually affect how well they survive and reproduce.

And that is how the desert locust lost its memory Posted: 14 Jan 2014 06:08 AM PST The desert locust (a type of grasshopper), much like Dr Jekyll/Mr Hyde, goes from being an innocuous solitary-living individual to become a voracious gregarious animal that destroys everything on its path (and back). These two very different "personas" are remarkable adaptations of a single genome to distinct environments. But apparently, this flexibility is even more impressive, as they reveal that the locust' solitarious and gregarious forms also have different memory and learning abilities to suit the needs of the two life stages.

Primate growing up with half the calories: New understanding about human health and longevity Posted: 13 Jan 2014 01:38 PM PST New research shows that humans and other primates burn 50 percent fewer calories each day than other mammals. The study suggests that these remarkably slow metabolisms explain why humans and other primates grow up so slowly and live such long lives.

Keeping stem cells pluripotent Posted: 13 Jan 2014 01:36 PM PST In a paper published, researchers identify a key gene receptor and signaling pathway essential maintaining hESCs in an undifferentiated state.

How immune system fights off malaria Posted: 13 Jan 2014 12:42 PM PST A study reveals immune cells that are critical to combating the parasite in early stages of infection.

How fruit flies detect sweet foods Posted: 13 Jan 2014 12:42 PM PST Using the common fruit fly, researchers have performed a study that describes just how the fly's taste receptors detect sweet compounds. Even though these taste receptors were discovered more than a decade ago, how they recognize diverse chemicals remained an enigma and an unmet challenge -- until now. Understanding the mechanisms by which the fly tastes and ingests sweet substances may offer tools to control insect feeding, the researchers say.

Microbes swap for tiny goods in minuscule markets: Microbes buy low, sell high Posted: 13 Jan 2014 12:26 PM PST Microbes set up their own markets, comparing bids for commodities, hoarding to obtain a better price, and generally behaving in ways more commonly associated with Wall Street than the microscopic world. This has led an international team of scientists to ask which, if any, market features are specific to cognitive agents.

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