ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

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• Feeding by tourists compromises health of already-endangered iguanas, study finds
• First in-depth analysis of primate eating habits
• Discovery of partial skeleton suggests ruggedly built, tree-climbing human ancestor
• New genetic research finds shark, human proteins stunningly similar
• Hummingbird metabolism unique in burning glucose, fructose equally
• New Jersey Shore likely faces unprecedented flooding by mid-century
• New method of DNA editing allows synthetic biologists to unlock secrets of a bacterial genome
• How mosquitoes are drawn to human skin and breath
• Sharks prefer to sneak up from behind: Caribbean reef sharks can tell if a human is facing toward them
• Deep-sea study reveals cause of 2011 tsunami: Unusually thin, slippery geological fault found
• Experiment is first to simulate warming of Arctic permafrost
• An ecosystem-based approach to protect the deep sea from mining
• Crop-infecting virus forces aphids to spread disease
• DNA helicity, elasticity explained on nanoscale
• Mother lemon sharks 'home' to their birthplace to give birth
• Geoengineering approaches to reduce climate change unlikely to succeed
• Active component of grape seed extract effective against cancer cells
• Structure of key pain-related protein unveiled
• How our nerves keep firing
• 'Arabidopsis' semidwarfs: The green revolution in nature

Feeding by tourists compromises health of already-endangered iguanas, study finds Posted: 05 Dec 2013 07:01 PM PST Feeding wildlife is an increasingly common tourist activity, but a new study shows that already-imperilled iguanas are suffering further physiological problems as a result of being fed by tourists.

First in-depth analysis of primate eating habits Posted: 05 Dec 2013 07:00 PM PST From insect-munching tamarins to leaf-loving howler monkeys, researchers have compiled the most thorough review of primate eating habits to date.

Discovery of partial skeleton suggests ruggedly built, tree-climbing human ancestor Posted: 05 Dec 2013 03:56 PM PST A human ancestor characterized by "robust" jaw and skull bones was a muscular creature and more adaptive to its environment than previously thought, scientists have discovered. Researchers found a partial skeleton dated to 1.34 million years (Paranthropus boisei) in north Tanzania. The bones suggest the creature was more ruggedly built than previously thought.

New genetic research finds shark, human proteins stunningly similar Posted: 05 Dec 2013 01:58 PM PST Despite widespread fascination with sharks, the world's oldest ocean predators have long been a genetic mystery. The first deep dive into a great white shark's genetic code has fished up big surprises behind a design so effective it has barely changed since before dinosaurs roamed.

Hummingbird metabolism unique in burning glucose, fructose equally Posted: 05 Dec 2013 01:58 PM PST Hummingbird metabolism is a marvel of evolutionary engineering. These tiny birds can power all of their energetic hovering flight by burning the sugar contained in the floral nectar of their diet.

New Jersey Shore likely faces unprecedented flooding by mid-century Posted: 05 Dec 2013 11:22 AM PST Geoscientists estimate that the New Jersey shore will likely experience a sea-level rise of about 1.5 feet by 2050 and of about 3.5 feet by 2100 -- 11 to 15 inches higher than the average for sea-level rise globally over the century.

New method of DNA editing allows synthetic biologists to unlock secrets of a bacterial genome Posted: 05 Dec 2013 11:21 AM PST A group researchers has demonstrated the use of an innovative DNA engineering technique to discover potentially valuable functions hidden within bacterial genomes.

How mosquitoes are drawn to human skin and breath Posted: 05 Dec 2013 11:18 AM PST Scientists have found that the very receptors in the mosquito's maxillary palp that detect carbon dioxide are ones that detect skin odors as well, thus explaining why mosquitoes are attracted to skin odor -- smelly socks, worn clothes, bedding -- even in the absence of carbon dioxide. Using a chemical computational method they developed, the researchers identified affordable, safe and pleasant-smelling compounds that could find use in mosquito control.

Sharks prefer to sneak up from behind: Caribbean reef sharks can tell if a human is facing toward them Posted: 05 Dec 2013 11:16 AM PST "Never turn your back on a shark" is the message from a new article. Biologists contend that sharks can comprehend body orientation and therefore know whether humans are facing them or not. This ability helps sharks to approach and possibly attack their prey from the blind side -- a technique they prefer.

Deep-sea study reveals cause of 2011 tsunami: Unusually thin, slippery geological fault found Posted: 05 Dec 2013 11:13 AM PST The tsunami that struck Japan's Tohoku region in 2011 was touched off by a submarine earthquake far more massive than anything geologists had expected in that zone. Now, a team of scientists has shed light on what caused the dramatic displacement of the seafloor.

Experiment is first to simulate warming of Arctic permafrost Posted: 05 Dec 2013 09:34 AM PST Although vegetation growth in the Arctic is boosted by global warming, it's not enough to offset the carbon released by the thawing of the permafrost beneath the surface, researchers have found in the first experiment in the Arctic environment to simulate thawing of permafrost in a warming world.

An ecosystem-based approach to protect the deep sea from mining Posted: 05 Dec 2013 07:23 AM PST A new paper describes the expert-driven systematic conservation planning process applied to inform science-based recommendations to the International Seabed Authority for a system of deep-sea marine protected areas to safeguard biodiversity and ecosystem function in an abyssal Pacific region targeted for nodule mining (e.g. the Clarion–Clipperton fracture zone, CCZ).

Crop-infecting virus forces aphids to spread disease Posted: 05 Dec 2013 07:23 AM PST Viruses alter plant biochemistry in order to manipulate visiting aphids into spreading infection.

DNA helicity, elasticity explained on nanoscale Posted: 05 Dec 2013 07:22 AM PST A simple mechanical model to effectively implement the well-known double-stranded structure and the elasticity of DNA on a nano-meter scale has been developed, in an effort to more comprehensively explore the nucleic acid containing genetic material of cells.

Mother lemon sharks 'home' to their birthplace to give birth Posted: 05 Dec 2013 07:22 AM PST Research conducted in Bimini in The Bahamas spanning almost two decades shows that female lemon sharks that were born there returned 15 years later to give birth to their own young, confirming this behavior for the first time in sharks. The study began in 1995, and has resulted in the capture, tagging, and release of more than 2,000 baby sharks.

Geoengineering approaches to reduce climate change unlikely to succeed Posted: 05 Dec 2013 06:20 AM PST Reducing the amount of sunlight reaching the planet's surface by geoengineering may not undo climate change after all. Researchers used a simple energy balance analysis to explain how the Earth's water cycle responds differently to heating by sunlight than it does to warming due to a stronger atmospheric greenhouse effect. Further, they show that this difference implies that reflecting sunlight to reduce temperatures may have unwanted effects on the Earth's rainfall patterns.

Active component of grape seed extract effective against cancer cells Posted: 04 Dec 2013 03:12 PM PST Controlled lab studies of grape seed extract (GSE) show anti-cancer activity without toxicity to healthy cells.

Structure of key pain-related protein unveiled Posted: 04 Dec 2013 10:20 AM PST In a technical tour de force, scientists have determined, at near-atomic resolution, the structure of a protein that plays a central role in the perception of pain and heat.

How our nerves keep firing Posted: 04 Dec 2013 10:09 AM PST Biologists discovered how nerve cells recycle tiny bubbles or "vesicles" that send chemical nerve signals from one cell to the next. The process is much faster and different than two previously proposed mechanisms for recycling the bubbles.

'Arabidopsis' semidwarfs: The green revolution in nature Posted: 04 Dec 2013 07:37 AM PST During the so-called 'green revolution' of the sixties, a movement that changed agricultural practices in many crops around the world, techniques for genetic improvement were applied in order to obtain grain varieties which were shorter, more resistant and more productive. A study has found that some similar mutations to those which were artificially obtained during the green revolution also occur naturally in populations of the plant Arabidopsis thaliana.

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