ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

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• Cell nucleus protein in brown fat cells governs daily control of body temperature
• Scientists eye longer-term forecasts of U. S. heat waves
• Radioactive waste: Where to put it?
• Hurricane Sandy's lessons include: Put parks, not houses, on the beach
• Flash floods and debris flows: How to manage nature's runaway freight trains
• Surprises discovered in decoded kiwifruit genome

Cell nucleus protein in brown fat cells governs daily control of body temperature Posted: 27 Oct 2013 03:50 PM PDT Body temperature follows a 24-hour rhythm, peaking during the day, low at night. The benefit might be the conservation of energy while sleeping. It is also critical to be able to adapt to changes in ambient temperature regardless of the time of day. A new mouse study shows how body temperature rhythms are synchronized while maintaining the ability to adapt to changes in environmental temperature day or night.

Scientists eye longer-term forecasts of U. S. heat waves Posted: 27 Oct 2013 03:50 PM PDT Scientists have fingerprinted a distinctive atmospheric wave pattern high above the Northern Hemisphere that can foreshadow the emergence of summertime heat waves in the United States more than two weeks in advance. The new research could potentially enable forecasts of the likelihood of U.S. heat waves 15-20 days out, giving society more time to prepare for these often-deadly events.

Radioactive waste: Where to put it? Posted: 27 Oct 2013 11:06 AM PDT As the U.S. makes new plans for disposing of spent nuclear fuel and other high-level radioactive waste deep underground, geologists are key to identifying safe burial sites and techniques. Scientists are describing the potential of shale formations; challenges of deep borehole disposal; and their progress in building a computer model to help improve understanding of the geologic processes that are important for safe disposal of high-level waste. In the United States, about 70,000 metric tons of spent commercial nuclear fuel are located at more than 70 sites in 35 states.

Hurricane Sandy's lessons include: Put parks, not houses, on the beach Posted: 27 Oct 2013 09:35 AM PDT Just days before Hurricane Sandy hit the New York and New Jersey coastline on Oct. 29, 2012, scientists had produced the most detailed model to date of the region's potential for damage from big storms.

Flash floods and debris flows: How to manage nature's runaway freight trains Posted: 27 Oct 2013 09:35 AM PDT Last month's torrential rains and flooding in Colorado made headlines, but there's another, far more common and growing weather-related threat western states are facing in the wake of longer and worsening fire seasons: flash floods and debris flows. These runaway freight trains made of rock, mud, and water can barrel down mountain channels with little or no warning and take out roads, homes, and anything else in their path.

Surprises discovered in decoded kiwifruit genome Posted: 25 Oct 2013 12:52 PM PDT A new study that decoded the DNA sequence of the kiwifruit has concluded that the fruit has many genetic similarities between its 39,040 genes and other plant species, including potatoes and tomatoes. The study also has unveiled two major evolutionary events that occurred millions of years ago in the kiwifruit genome.

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