ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

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• Zebrafish neurons may lead to understanding of birth defects like spina bifida
• Los Angeles' vulnerability to future sea level rise projected
• Synthetic molecular oscillator discoveries may help create artificial cells
• Studies of cow antibodies help scientists understand how our own bodies work
• Battery small enough to be injected, energetic enough to track salmon
• What cooperation and conflict in an insect's society can teach us about social acceptance
• Evolution stuck in slime for a billion years
• Study of 2011 Illinois flood will lead to better preparedness
• Artificial leaf jumps developmental hurdle
• Wings, tails, fins: Study looks at how animals propel themselves
• Blu-ray player detects microorganisms and toxins on discs
• Beyond rubber boots and photo ops: Exploring the politics of climate change in the UK
• Beauty and bacteria: Slim, attractive men have less nasal bacteria than heavy men
• Increase in Arctic cyclones is linked to climate change
• Extreme weather images in the media cause fear and disengagement with climate change
• Progress in the automatic detection of water contaminants

Zebrafish neurons may lead to understanding of birth defects like spina bifida Posted: 18 Feb 2014 03:51 PM PST Using zebrafish, scientists can determine how individual neurons develop, mature and support basic functions like breathing, swallowing and jaw movement. Researchers say that learning about neuronal development and maturation in zebrafish could lead to a better understanding of birth defects such as spina bifida in humans. The zebrafish, a tropical freshwater fish similar to a minnow and native to the southeastern Himalayan region, is well established as a key tool for researchers studying human diseases, including brain disorders.

Los Angeles' vulnerability to future sea level rise projected Posted: 18 Feb 2014 03:48 PM PST Los Angeles, a metropolis perched on the edge of a coast, can expect to experience sea level rise of as much as two feet due by 2050 due to climate change, according to current projections.

Synthetic molecular oscillator discoveries may help create artificial cells Posted: 18 Feb 2014 01:34 PM PST Researchers have made important discoveries regarding the behavior of a synthetic molecular oscillator, which could serve as a timekeeping device to control artificial cells. The team developed methods to screen thousands of copies of this oscillator using small droplets, and found, surprisingly, that the oscillators inside these small droplets behave in a very diverse way in terms of period, amplitude and phase.

Studies of cow antibodies help scientists understand how our own bodies work Posted: 18 Feb 2014 12:37 PM PST Understanding how antibodies work is important for designing new vaccines to fight infectious diseases and certain types of cancer and for treating disorders of the immune system in animals and humans. The immune systems of cows can be used to understand the diversity of antibodies and this knowledge could improve the health of both people and livestock.

Battery small enough to be injected, energetic enough to track salmon Posted: 18 Feb 2014 11:33 AM PST Scientists have created a microbattery that packs twice the energy compared to current microbatteries used to monitor the movements of salmon. The battery is just slightly larger than a long grain of rice, however is not the world's smallest battery. Engineers have created batteries far tinier than the width of a human hair, but those smaller batteries don't hold enough energy to power acoustic fish tags. The new battery is small enough to be injected into an organism and holds much more energy than similar-sized batteries.

What cooperation and conflict in an insect's society can teach us about social acceptance Posted: 18 Feb 2014 11:33 AM PST A new study looks at colonies of social wasps and explores the acceptance of individuals not related to each other, in a highly organized and adaptable society. The findings show that the age of the individual, and of the colony, defines the costs and benefits of accepting new members into a group.

Evolution stuck in slime for a billion years Posted: 18 Feb 2014 11:33 AM PST Researchers are providing a new explanation as to why life remained as little more than slime for a billion years, before rapidly diversifying in the 'Cambrian explosion of life'. Using a new technology originally developed for mineral exploration, the team has shown how varying levels of oxygen and biologically-important elements in the ancient oceans might have triggered the major evolutionary events that brought us here today.

Study of 2011 Illinois flood will lead to better preparedness Posted: 18 Feb 2014 11:32 AM PST In May 2011, when the US Army Corps of Engineers used explosives to breach a levee south of Cairo, Ill., diverting the rising waters of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers to prevent flooding in the town, about 130,000 acres of Missouri farmland were inundated. Researchers took advantage of this "once-in-a-scientific-lifetime" occurrence to study the damage. Their study showed that landscape vulnerabilities can be mapped ahead of time to help communities prepare for extreme flooding.

Artificial leaf jumps developmental hurdle Posted: 18 Feb 2014 09:44 AM PST Scientists report advances toward perfecting a functional artificial leaf. Designing an artificial leaf that uses solar energy to convert water cheaply and efficiently into hydrogen and oxygen is an important goal. Hydrogen is an important fuel in itself and serves as an indispensible reagent for the production of light hydrocarbon fuels from heavy petroleum feed stocks. Society requires a renewable source of fuel that is widely distributed, abundant, inexpensive and environmentally clean. Society needs cheap hydrogen.

Wings, tails, fins: Study looks at how animals propel themselves Posted: 18 Feb 2014 09:44 AM PST The wonder of animal movement -- from the tiniest of insects to the largest fish in the sea -- has been a subject of mystery for ages. But when it comes to animal propulsion, there are almost infinite kinds, but also limits that can't be pushed or breakdowns will occur, according to an unusual study.

Blu-ray player detects microorganisms and toxins on discs Posted: 18 Feb 2014 08:05 AM PST In addition to storing films, optical discs can be used to detect microorganisms, toxins, allergens and tumoral biomarkers. Blu-ray technology has allowed researchers to develop a way to find out if a sample contains Salmonella or toxic substances. This simple and cheap analytical system may be applied to clinical diagnosis and environmental monitoring.

Beyond rubber boots and photo ops: Exploring the politics of climate change in the UK Posted: 18 Feb 2014 07:07 AM PST Keen to appear responsive to flooding across the U.K., politicians from across the Westminster divide competed to be seen wading through water in front of cameras. Researchers explore how the politics of climate change has shifted from one of consensus, to overt tribalism, and asks how this may be changed by the rise of hitherto fringe political parties.

Beauty and bacteria: Slim, attractive men have less nasal bacteria than heavy men Posted: 18 Feb 2014 07:07 AM PST Do attractive traits tell us anything about a person's reproductive health? New research reveals a link between Body Mass Index (BMI) and the amount of bacteria colonizing noses. The results show that heavier men harbor more potentially pathogenic species of bacteria in their nose, compared with slimmer, more traditionally attractive men.

Increase in Arctic cyclones is linked to climate change Posted: 18 Feb 2014 07:07 AM PST Winter in the Arctic is not only cold and dark; it is also storm season when hurricane-like cyclones traverse the northern waters from Iceland to Alaska. These cyclones are characterized by strong localized drops in sea level pressure, and as Arctic-wide decreases in sea level pressure are one of the expected results of climate change, this could increase extreme Arctic cyclone activity, including powerful storms in the spring and fall. A new study uses historical climate model simulations to demonstrate that there has been an Arctic-wide decrease in sea level pressure since the 1800's.

Extreme weather images in the media cause fear and disengagement with climate change Posted: 18 Feb 2014 07:06 AM PST Extreme weather images represent human suffering and loss. They are iconic of climate change and are symbols of its natural impacts. Reporting on extreme weather has increased over the last few years. In the past social scientists, and media and communication analysts have studied how climate change is depicted in the text of media and social media. While researchers have become increasingly interested in climate change images, they have not yet studied them with respect to symbolizing certain emotions.

Progress in the automatic detection of water contaminants Posted: 18 Feb 2014 07:06 AM PST Researchers are working in the development of hydrocarbons early detection devices for rivers in order to prevent contamination that could seriously affect the environment. The new devices use ultraviolet LED as light source that detects contaminant substances thanks to a fluorescence method. This can result in many benefits compared to the current systems due to the development of faster, robust and affordable detection systems. These new devices will be useful for the search of potential dangerous substances present in continental waters.

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