ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

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• First evidence of hunting by prehistoric Ohioans (U.S.)
• Turning off small RNA: New tool designed for breaking the epigenetic code
• Clearer picture of how protein machine systems tweak gene expression
• Bacteria communicate by touch, new research suggests
• Sturdy Scandinavian conifers survived Ice Age
• Ocean acidification rate may be unprecedented, study says
• Generating power from salty water: Unique salt allows energy production to move inland
• First computer model of how buds grow into leaves
• Pioneering research reveals versatile bacterium's secrets
• Protein complex affects cells' ability to move, respond to external cues
• What makes a robot fish attractive? Robot fish moves to the head of the school
• Study of wildfire trends in Northwestern California shows no increase in severity over time
• Carbon dioxide catchers: New tools for identifying effective carbon capture technologies
• Fancy footwork and non-stick leg coating helps spiders not stick to their own webs
• Leatherback turtle migration study identifies Pacific danger zones for endangered species
• Floor of oldest fossilized forest discovered: 385 million years old
• Bacteria tend leafcutter ants' gardens
• Two new extinct camel species discovered at Panama Canal excavation
• Modify thy ejaculate to determine the sex of your offspring

First evidence of hunting by prehistoric Ohioans (U.S.) Posted: 01 Mar 2012 03:07 PM PST Cut marks found on Ice Age bones indicate that humans in Ohio hunted or scavenged earlier than previously known. A series of 41 incisions appear on an animal's left femur. Radiocarbon dating of the femur bone estimates its age to be between 13,435 to 13,738 years old. Microscopic analyses of the cut marks revealed that stone tools made the marks.

Turning off small RNA: New tool designed for breaking the epigenetic code Posted: 01 Mar 2012 11:37 AM PST Scientists have known for years that minuscule strings of genetic material called small RNA are critically important to our genetic makeup, but finding out what they do hasn't been easy. Now scientists have developed a way to turn off small RNAs and find out just how important they can be.

Clearer picture of how protein machine systems tweak gene expression Posted: 01 Mar 2012 11:37 AM PST Biologists have found that specific types of RNA polymerase enzymes, the molecular machines that convert DNA into RNA, can differ in function based on variation in the parts -- in this case protein subunits -- used to assemble those machines.

Bacteria communicate by touch, new research suggests Posted: 01 Mar 2012 11:37 AM PST What if bacteria could talk to each other? What if they had a sense of touch? A new study suggests both, and theorizes that such cells may, in fact, need to communicate in order to perform certain functions.

Sturdy Scandinavian conifers survived Ice Age Posted: 01 Mar 2012 11:37 AM PST Until now, it was presumed that the last glacial period denuded the Scandinavian landscape of trees until a gradual return of milder weather began and melted away the ice cover some 9,000 years ago. New research shows that some Scandinavian conifers survived the inhospitable ice age climate likely for several thousands of years.

Ocean acidification rate may be unprecedented, study says Posted: 01 Mar 2012 11:37 AM PST The world's oceans may be turning acidic faster today from human carbon emissions than they did during four major extinctions in the last 300 million years, when natural pulses of carbon sent global temperatures soaring, says a new study. The study is the first of its kind to survey the geologic record for evidence of ocean acidification over this vast time period.

Generating power from salty water: Unique salt allows energy production to move inland Posted: 01 Mar 2012 11:37 AM PST Production of energy from the difference between salt water and fresh water is most convenient near the oceans, but now, using an ammonium bicarbonate salt solution, researchers can combine bacterial degradation of waste water with energy extracted from the salt-water fresh-water gradient to produce power anywhere.

First computer model of how buds grow into leaves Posted: 01 Mar 2012 11:34 AM PST Leaves come in all shapes and sizes. Scientists have discovered the simple rules that control leaf shape during growth. Using this "recipe," they have developed the first computer model able to accurately emulate leaf growth from a bud.

Pioneering research reveals versatile bacterium's secrets Posted: 01 Mar 2012 11:33 AM PST Ground-breaking research will help to make one of the most versatile of bacteria even more useful to society and the environment. Though it lives naturally in the soil, the bacterium Bacillus subtilis is widely used as a model laboratory organism. It is also used as a 'cell factory' to produce vitamins for the food industry and, in biotechnology, to produce enzymes such as those used in washing powders.

Protein complex affects cells' ability to move, respond to external cues Posted: 01 Mar 2012 11:33 AM PST Scientists have explained for the first time how a long-studied protein complex affects cell migration and how external cues affect cell's ability to migrate.

What makes a robot fish attractive? Robot fish moves to the head of the school Posted: 01 Mar 2012 08:33 AM PST Probing the largely unexplored question of what characteristics make a leader among schooling fish, researchers have discovered that by mimicking nature, a robotic fish can transform into a leader of live ones. In early experiments aimed at understanding how a robot could potentially lead wildlife from danger, the researchers were intrigued to find that their biomimetic robotic fish could not only infiltrate and be accepted by the swimmers, but actually assume a leadership role.

Study of wildfire trends in Northwestern California shows no increase in severity over time Posted: 01 Mar 2012 07:39 AM PST Even though wildfires have increased in size over time, they haven't necessarily grown in severity nor had corresponding negative impacts to the ecosystem, according to a recent study.

Carbon dioxide catchers: New tools for identifying effective carbon capture technologies Posted: 01 Mar 2012 07:39 AM PST Using techniques from drug discovery, and state-of-the-art advances in mathematics, computational algorithms and supercomputing, researchers have developed a tool for identifying the most efficient porous materials for CO2.

Fancy footwork and non-stick leg coating helps spiders not stick to their own webs Posted: 01 Mar 2012 07:38 AM PST Researchers asked why spiders do not stick to their own sticky webs. Repeating old, widely quoted but poorly documented studies with modern equipment and techniques, they discovered that spiders' legs are protected by a covering of branching hairs and by a non-stick chemical coating and that they modify their behavior to avoid getting stuck.

Leatherback turtle migration study identifies Pacific danger zones for endangered species Posted: 01 Mar 2012 07:37 AM PST The majestic leatherback turtle is the largest sea turtle in the world, growing to more than 6 feet in length. It is also one of the most threatened. A major new study of migration patterns has identified high-use areas -- potential danger zones -- in the Pacific Ocean for this critically endangered species. This new understanding could help inform decisions about fishing practices to help reduce further deaths of this fragile species.

Floor of oldest fossilized forest discovered: 385 million years old Posted: 01 Mar 2012 07:27 AM PST The floor of the world's oldest forest has been unearthed. Scientists are now piecing together a view of this ancient site, dating back about 385 million years ago, which could shed new light on the role of modern-day forests and their impact on climate change.

Bacteria tend leafcutter ants' gardens Posted: 01 Mar 2012 05:41 AM PST New research points to two important roles for bacteria that live in the underground fungal gardens of leafcutter ants: they help decompose leaves that ants bring to the gardens and play a major role in turning those leaves into nutrients for both ants and the fungi. The findings could help researchers studying fungal enzymes to convert plants into biofuel.

Two new extinct camel species discovered at Panama Canal excavation Posted: 29 Feb 2012 09:11 AM PST The discovery of two new extinct camel species sheds new light on the history of the tropics, a region containing more than half the world's biodiversity and some of its most important ecosystems.

Modify thy ejaculate to determine the sex of your offspring Posted: 28 Feb 2012 08:42 AM PST Some animal and human populations were shown to shift their birth sex ratio from the expected unity. Using fluorescence in situ hybridisation, scientists now show that males in a captive endangered pygmy hippopotamus (Choeropsis liberiensis) population may be able to adjust the ratio of X- and Y-chromosome bearing spermatozoa in their ejaculates, in favor of producing more female offspring.

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