ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

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• Large mammals were the architects in prehistoric ecosystems
• Big stride in understanding PP1, the ubiquitous enzyme
• Surface of the sea is a sink for nitrogen oxides at night
• Increasing homogeneity of world food supplies warns of serious implications for farming and nutrition
• A new renewable energy source? Device captures energy from Earth's infrared emissions to outer space
• Sardis dig yields enigmatic trove: Ritual egg in a pot
• Century-old music mystery solved: Long-lost opera by Spanish composer Enrique Granados located
• In academia, men more likely to cooperate with lower-ranked colleagues
• Gut microbes spur development of bowel cancer
• Yosemite bears and human food: Study reveals changing diets over past century
• Ancient Chinese medicine put through its paces for pancreatic cancer
• Fire prevention: Water-mist may prevent rain of sparks
• Humans responsible for 62% of cougar deaths in re-established populations
• How ancient Greek plays allow us to reconstruct Europe's climate
• Black hawks downed: Bird threat to U. S. military helicopters revealed
• Potent HIV antibody research has opened up possibilities for HIV prevention, treatment
• Spanish forest ecosystems: Carbon emission will be higher in second half of century
• Increased intake of fish can boost good cholesterol levels
• Zoos, aquariums do teach us about biodiversity, largest international study proves
• Herbal cannabis not recommended for rheumatology patients
• First glimpse of brain circuit that helps experience to shape perception

Large mammals were the architects in prehistoric ecosystems Posted: 03 Mar 2014 12:41 PM PST Elephants, rhinoceroses and aurochs once roamed around freely in the forests of Europe, while hippopotamuses lived in rivers such as the Thames and the Rhine. New research shows how we can use knowledge about the past to restore a varied landscape with a high level of biodiversity.

Big stride in understanding PP1, the ubiquitous enzyme Posted: 03 Mar 2014 12:41 PM PST The enzyme PP1 has a key role in many of the body's healthy functions and diseases. It's so generally important that drug developers dare not target it. In a new study, scientists report a big leap in understanding how PP1 interacts with other proteins to behave specifically in distinct situations. That could lead to medicines that target it for precise benefits.

Surface of the sea is a sink for nitrogen oxides at night Posted: 03 Mar 2014 12:41 PM PST The surface of the sea takes up nitrogen oxides that build up in polluted air at night, new measurements on the coast of southern California have shown. The ocean removes about 15 percent of these chemicals overnight along the coast, a team of atmospheric chemists reports.

Increasing homogeneity of world food supplies warns of serious implications for farming and nutrition Posted: 03 Mar 2014 12:41 PM PST A comprehensive new study of global food supplies confirms and thoroughly documents for the first time what experts have long suspected: over the last five decades, human diets around the world have grown ever more similar -- by a global average of 36 percent -- and the trend shows no signs of slowing, with major consequences for human nutrition and global food security.

A new renewable energy source? Device captures energy from Earth's infrared emissions to outer space Posted: 03 Mar 2014 12:40 PM PST When the sun sets on a remote desert outpost and solar panels shut down, what energy source will provide power through the night? A battery, perhaps, or an old diesel generator? Perhaps something strange and new. Scientists now envision a device that would harvest energy from Earth's infrared emissions into outer space. Heated by the sun, our planet is warm compared to the frigid vacuum beyond. Thanks to recent technological advances, the researchers say, that heat imbalance could soon be transformed into direct-current (DC) power, taking advantage of a vast and untapped energy source.

Sardis dig yields enigmatic trove: Ritual egg in a pot Posted: 03 Mar 2014 11:32 AM PST The ruins of Sardis have been a rich source of knowledge about classical antiquity since the 7th century B.C., when the city was the capital of Lydia. Now, Sardis has given up another treasure in the form of two enigmatic ritual deposits, which are proving more difficult to fathom than the coins for which the city was famous.

Century-old music mystery solved: Long-lost opera by Spanish composer Enrique Granados located Posted: 03 Mar 2014 11:32 AM PST A graduate student stumbled upon a mystery that would haunt him for more than two decades: What happened to an unpublished opera written by Enrique Granados, one of Spain's greatest composers, at the turn of the 20th century?

In academia, men more likely to cooperate with lower-ranked colleagues Posted: 03 Mar 2014 11:01 AM PST Women of different social or professional 'ranks' cooperate less well with each other than men do, according to a new study. With those they see as equals, the study found no difference between the sexes. Cooperation among women was as frequent as cooperation among men.

Gut microbes spur development of bowel cancer Posted: 03 Mar 2014 10:59 AM PST It is not only genetics that predispose to bowel cancer; microbes living in the gut help drive the development of intestinal tumors, according to new research in mice. Bowel cancer, also called colorectal cancer, results from a series of genetic changes (mutations) that cause healthy cells to become progressively cancerous, first forming early tumors called polyps that can eventually become malignant. New research focused on these polyps demonstrated that bacteria are essential for early tumor development.

Yosemite bears and human food: Study reveals changing diets over past century Posted: 03 Mar 2014 05:44 AM PST Black bears in Yosemite National Park and elsewhere are notorious for seeking out human food, even breaking into cars and cabins for it. A new study reveals just how much human food has contributed to the diets of Yosemite bears over the past century. Researchers estimated the proportion of human-derived food in bears' diets by analyzing chemical isotopes in hair and bone samples.

Ancient Chinese medicine put through its paces for pancreatic cancer Posted: 03 Mar 2014 05:44 AM PST The bark of the Amur cork tree has traveled a centuries-long road with the healing arts. Now it is being put through its paces by science in the fight against pancreatic cancer, with the potential to make inroads against several more. Researchers were already exploring the cork tree extract's promise in treating prostate cancer when the team found that deadly pancreatic cancers share some similar development pathways with prostate tumors. The potential of natural substances to treat and cure disease has great appeal, but the advantage of cork tree extract, available as a dietary supplement in capsule form, is that it already has been established as safe for use in patients.

Fire prevention: Water-mist may prevent rain of sparks Posted: 03 Mar 2014 05:43 AM PST Fire researchers have shown that sparks from a burning house can be prevented from spreading if the loft is fitted with an extinguishing system based on water-mist, i.e. tiny water droplets that turn into steam. Shortly after the catastrophic fire in Lærdal in Western Norway, which destroyed 40 buildings, an eleven-year-old report from the Norwegian Fire Research Laboratory, has once again become highly relevant.

Humans responsible for 62% of cougar deaths in re-established populations Posted: 03 Mar 2014 05:42 AM PST The reintroduction of mountain lions across the mid-western United States has made species management an urgent area of research for conservationists. A new report explores the fatal cost of human interaction with cougars and asks what state agencies can do to protect both species.

How ancient Greek plays allow us to reconstruct Europe's climate Posted: 03 Mar 2014 05:39 AM PST The open air plays of the ancient Greeks may offer us a valuable insight into the Mediterranean climate of the time, reports new research. Using historical observations from artwork and plays, scientists identified 'halcyon days', of theater friendly weather in mid-winter.

Black hawks downed: Bird threat to U. S. military helicopters revealed Posted: 03 Mar 2014 05:39 AM PST Rotary-wing aircraft, such as Apache and Chinook helicopters, play vital combat and logistical roles across the U.S. military services, but new research reveals how vulnerable these aircraft are to wildlife strikes. Many types of aircraft are vulnerable to strikes, estimated to cost the aviation industry $1.2 billion worldwide per year; however, to date no assessment of strikes to military rotary-wing aircraft has been conducted.

Potent HIV antibody research has opened up possibilities for HIV prevention, treatment Posted: 03 Mar 2014 05:39 AM PST The discovery of how a KwaZulu-Natal woman's body responded to her HIV infection by making potent antibodies (called broadly neutralizing antibodies, because they are able to kill multiple strains of HIV from across the world), has been reported by an international team of scientists. All HIV infected people respond to HIV by making antibodies. In most patients, these antibodies are not able to kill a wide range of HIV -- this is described as a lack of neutralization breadth. However, in a few infected people, they naturally make antibodies that kill (neutralize) many different kinds of HIV. The identification and successful cloning of these special antibodies enables the researchers to make sufficiently large quantities for further testing, similar to the way a medicine used to prevent or treat HIV would be tested.

Spanish forest ecosystems: Carbon emission will be higher in second half of century Posted: 03 Mar 2014 05:35 AM PST Spanish forest ecosystems will probably emit high quantities of carbon dioxide in the second half of the 21st century. This is the conclusion of a report that reviews the results obtained from the implementation of the forest simulation model GOTILWA+, a tool to simulate forest growth processes under several environmental conditions and to optimize Mediterranean forests management strategies in the context of climate change.

Increased intake of fish can boost good cholesterol levels Posted: 03 Mar 2014 05:35 AM PST The consumption of fish has long been known to be beneficial for health; however, the mechanisms by which fats and other useful nutrients found in fish work in the human body are not fully known. Now research confirms that increasing the intake of fatty fish increases the number of large HDL particles. People who increased their intake of fish to a minimum of 3-4 weekly meals had more large HDL particles in their blood than people who are less frequent eaters of fish. Large HDL particles are believed to protect against cardiovascular diseases.

Zoos, aquariums do teach us about biodiversity, largest international study proves Posted: 03 Mar 2014 05:35 AM PST Zoos and aquariums do teach the public about the delicate balance between animal species and their habitats, a new international study shows. More than 6,000 visitors to over 30 zoos and aquariums across the world took part in this landmark study. Participants filled out pre- and post-visit surveys to evaluate their biodiversity understanding and knowledge of how to help protect biodiversity. The study found there was an increase from pre-visit (69.8%) to post-visit (75.1%) in respondents demonstrating some positive evidence of biodiversity understanding.

Herbal cannabis not recommended for rheumatology patients Posted: 03 Mar 2014 05:35 AM PST Patients with rheumatic conditions are in need of symptom relief and some are turning to herbal cannabis as a treatment option. However, the effectiveness and safety of medical marijuana to treat symptoms of rheumatic conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, or fibromyalgia is not supported by medical evidence. A new article explores the risks associated with using herbal cannabis for medicinal purposes and advises healthcare providers to discourage rheumatology patients from using this drug as therapy.

First glimpse of brain circuit that helps experience to shape perception Posted: 02 Mar 2014 11:36 AM PST How do our memories shape the way sensory information is collected? For the first time, scientists have demonstrated a way to observe how our experiences shape sensory information in awake animals. The team was able to measure the activity of a group of inhibitory neurons that links the odor-sensing area of the brain with brain areas responsible for thought and cognition. This connection provides feedback so that memories and experiences can alter the way smells are interpreted.

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