ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

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• Atomically thin, flexible, semi-transparent solar cells created
• Mutations in leukemia gene linked to new childhood growth disorder
• First animals oxygenated the ocean
• New bioinformatics tool to visualize transcriptomes
• In grasslands remade by humans, animals may protect biodiversity: Grazers let in the light, rescue imperiled plants
• Four new human-made ozone depleting gases found in the atmosphere
• Sun's energy influences 1,000 years of natural climate variability in North Atlantic
• New NASA Van Allen Probes observations helping to improve space weather models
• Service is key to winery sales

Atomically thin, flexible, semi-transparent solar cells created Posted: 09 Mar 2014 12:05 PM PDT A lot of research has been done on graphene recently -- carbon flakes, consisting of only one layer of atoms. As it turns out, there are other materials too which exhibit remarkable properties if they are arranged in a single layer. One of them is tungsten diselenide, which could be used for photovoltaics. Ultrathin layers made of Tungsten and Selenium have now been created; experiments show that they may be used as flexible, semi-transparent solar cells.

Mutations in leukemia gene linked to new childhood growth disorder Posted: 09 Mar 2014 12:05 PM PDT Mutations in a gene associated with leukemia cause a newly described condition that affects growth and intellectual development in children, new research reports. A study identified mutations in the DNA methyltransferase gene, DNMT3A, in 13 children.

First animals oxygenated the ocean Posted: 09 Mar 2014 12:05 PM PDT The evolution of the first animals may have oxygenated the earth's oceans -- contrary to the traditional view that a rise in oxygen triggered their development. New research contests the long held belief that oxygenation of the atmosphere and oceans was a pre-requisite for the evolution of complex life forms. The study builds on the recent work of scientists in Denmark who found that sponges -- the first animals to evolve -- require only small amounts of oxygen.

New bioinformatics tool to visualize transcriptomes Posted: 09 Mar 2014 12:05 PM PDT ZENBU, a new, freely available bioinformatics tool enables researchers to quickly and easily integrate, visualize and compare large amounts of genomic information resulting from large-scale, next-generation sequencing experiments. Next-generation sequencing has revolutionized functional genomics.

In grasslands remade by humans, animals may protect biodiversity: Grazers let in the light, rescue imperiled plants Posted: 09 Mar 2014 12:05 PM PDT A study of grasslands on six continents suggests a way to counteract the human-made overdose of fertilizer that threatens the biodiversity of the world's prairies. The solution originates in nature: let grazing animals crop fast growing grasses, which have a competitive advantage in an over-fertilized world. The grasses block sunlight from ground level, but herbivores make light available to other plants.

Four new human-made ozone depleting gases found in the atmosphere Posted: 09 Mar 2014 12:05 PM PDT New research reveals that four new human-made gases have been discovered in the atmosphere. 74,000 tons of these new CFCs and HCFCs are all contributing to the destruction of the ozone layer. Emission increases of this scale have not been seen for any other CFCs since controls were introduced during the 1990s.

Sun's energy influences 1,000 years of natural climate variability in North Atlantic Posted: 09 Mar 2014 12:04 PM PDT Changes in the sun's energy output may have led to marked natural climate change in Europe over the last 1000 years, according to researchers. The study found that changes in the Sun's activity can have a considerable impact on the ocean-atmospheric dynamics in the North Atlantic, with potential effects on regional climate.

New NASA Van Allen Probes observations helping to improve space weather models Posted: 07 Mar 2014 01:59 PM PST Using data from NASA's Van Allen Probes, researchers have tested and improved a model to help forecast what's happening in the radiation environment of near-Earth space -- a place seething with fast-moving particles and a space weather system that varies in response to incoming energy and particles from the sun.

Service is key to winery sales Posted: 07 Mar 2014 11:30 AM PST To buy, or not to buy? That is the question for the more than 5 million annual visitors to New York's wineries. Researchers found that customer service is the most important factor in boosting tasting room sales, but sensory descriptions of what flavors consumers might detect were a turn-off.

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