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ScienceDaily: Top Environment News |
| Role of dopamine in songbird's brain plasticity Posted: 02 Jul 2021 12:43 PM PDT Neuroscientists have demonstrated in new research that dopamine plays a key role in how songbirds learn complex new sounds. |
| Same dance, different species: How natural selection drives common behavior of lizards Posted: 02 Jul 2021 08:45 AM PDT A surprising study on the behavior of unrelated lizards in very different parts of the world has demonstrated how evolution can lead to different species learning the same skills. The study documents how the Anolis lizard species in the Caribbean, and the Draco lizard species in Southeast Asia, have solved the challenge of communicating with one another to defend territories and attract mates. |
| Muskrats are a bellwether for a drying delta Posted: 02 Jul 2021 08:45 AM PDT Downstream of hydroelectric dams and Alberta's oil sands, one of the world's largest freshwater deltas is drying out. New research suggests long-term drying is making it harder for muskrats to recover from massive die-offs. It's a sign of threats to come for many other species. |
| Guadalupe fur seals continue to recover as new colony discovered Posted: 02 Jul 2021 08:45 AM PDT Guadalupe fur seals (Arctocephalus townsendi) have established a large resting colony in the Gulf of California -- bringing the total number of sites where this endangered species now occurs to just four. This new haul-out was discovered on El Farallón de San Ignacio Island, along the mainland coast of Mexico. |
| Novel strategy for natural product biosynthesis Posted: 02 Jul 2021 08:45 AM PDT Researchers discover enzyme prototype for formation of ecologically and pharmaceutically important tropone compounds. |
| How ethane-consuming archaea pick up their favorite dish Posted: 02 Jul 2021 08:45 AM PDT Hot vents in the deep sea are home to microbes that feed on ethane. Now researchers have succeeded in finding an important component in the microbial conversion of the gas. They were able to decode the structure of the enzyme responsible for the ethane fixation. |
| COVID-19 test offers solution for population-wide testing, scientists say Posted: 01 Jul 2021 04:53 PM PDT Researchers report real-world results on SwabSeq, a high-throughput testing platform that uses sequencing to test thousands of samples at a time to detect COVID-19. They were able to perform more than 80,000 tests in less than two months, with the test showing extremely high sensitivity and specificity. |
| Large-scale drug analysis reveals potential new COVID-19 antivirals Posted: 01 Jul 2021 04:53 PM PDT Researchers have screened thousands of drug and chemical molecules and identified a range of potential antivirals that could be developed into new treatments for COVID-19 or in preparation for future coronavirus outbreaks. |
| Cleaner air has boosted US corn and soybean yields Posted: 01 Jul 2021 04:52 PM PDT The analysis estimates pollution reductions between 1999 and 2019 contributed to about 20 percent of the increase in corn and soybean yield gains during that period - an amount worth about $5 billion per year. |
| Earth's cryosphere shrinking by 87,000 square kilometers per year Posted: 01 Jul 2021 04:52 PM PDT A new study reports the first global assessment of the extent of snow and ice cover on Earth's surface -- a critical factor cooling the planet through reflected sunlight -- and its response to warming temperatures. |
| Posted: 01 Jul 2021 04:52 PM PDT In a new issue of Science, devoted to the plastics problem, call for new approaches to plastics design, production and use, with the goal of keeping plastics out of landfills and waterways, reusing the valuable resources they represent indefinitely in a 'circular' plastics economy. |
| Imaging spectroscopy can predict water stress in wild blueberry fields Posted: 01 Jul 2021 12:09 PM PDT Imaging spectroscopy can help predict water stress in wild blueberry barrens, according to a new study. Researchers deployed a drone with a spectrometer to photograph wild blueberry fields, then process the images to measure reflected light spectra from plants for properties that would help them estimate water potential. Incorporating data from the images into models allowed them predict water stress in the fields. |
| How information beyond the genetic sequence is encoded in plant sperm Posted: 01 Jul 2021 11:09 AM PDT Hereditary information is passed from parent to offspring in the genetic code, DNA, and epigenetically through chemically induced modifications around the DNA. New research has uncovered a mechanism which adjusts these modifications, altering the way information beyond the genetic code is passed down the generations. |
| Spatial patterns of gene transcripts captured across single cells of mouse embryo Posted: 01 Jul 2021 11:09 AM PDT A new technique called sci-Space, combined with data from other technologies, could lead to four-dimensional atlases of gene expression across diverse cells during embryonic development of mammals. Such atlases would map how the gene transcripts in individual cells reflect the passage of time, cell lineages, cell migration, and location on the developing embryo. They would also help illuminate the spatial regulation of gene expression. |
| Catalyzing the conversion of biomass to biofuel Posted: 01 Jul 2021 11:09 AM PDT Zeolites are extremely porous materials: Ten grams can have an internal surface area the size of a soccer field. Their cavities make them useful in catalyzing chemical reactions and thus saving energy. An international research team has now made new findings regarding the role of water molecules in these processes. One important application is the conversion of biomass into biofuel. |
| COVID-19 aggravates antibiotic misuse in India, study finds Posted: 01 Jul 2021 11:06 AM PDT Antibiotic sales soared during India's first surge of COVID-19, suggesting that the drugs were inappropriately used to treat mild and moderate COVID-19 infections, according to new research. The excessive usage is especially concerning because antibiotic overuse increases the risk for drug-resistant infections -- not just in India, but worldwide. |
| Better predicting how plants and animals will weather climate extremes Posted: 01 Jul 2021 10:49 AM PDT A team of scientists has devised a more accurate way to predict the effects of climate change on plants and animals -- and whether some will survive at all. |
| Reducing plastic waste will require fundamental change in culture Posted: 01 Jul 2021 10:49 AM PDT Plastic waste is considered one of the biggest environmental problems of our time. Researchers surveyed consumers in Germany about their use of plastic packaging. Their research reveals that fundamental changes in infrastructures and lifestyles, as well as cultural and economic transformation processes, are needed to make zero-waste shopping the norm. |
| From meadow to plate: The cultured meat that replaces animals with grass Posted: 01 Jul 2021 10:49 AM PDT An affordable lab system uses grass blades to turn cells into cultured meat, by creating a scaffold that animal stem cells can attach to and grow on. |
| Scientists resurrect 'forgotten' genus of algae living in marine animals Posted: 01 Jul 2021 10:49 AM PDT Scientists resurrected the genus Philozoon by using modern technologies to thoroughly characterize two of the species of algae that biologist Patrick Geddes had investigated in the mid-to-late 19th century, along with six new related ones. |
| Good food in a nice setting: Wild bees need diverse agricultural landscapes Posted: 01 Jul 2021 09:06 AM PDT Mass-flowering crops such as oilseed rape or faba bean provide valuable sources of food for bees, which, in turn, contribute to the pollination of both the crops and nearby wild plants. But not every arable crop that produces flowers is visited by the same bees. A team investigated how the habitat diversity of the agricultural landscape and the cultivation of different mass-flowering crops affect wild bees. |
| Multitalented filaments in living cells Posted: 01 Jul 2021 08:27 AM PDT Living cells are constantly exposed to a wide variety of mechanical stresses: heart and lungs must withstand expansion and contraction; our skin must be resistant to tearing whilst retaining elasticity; immune cells are squashy so they can move through the body. 'Intermediate filaments' (special protein structures), play an important role here. Researchers have now measured what determines the properties of individual filaments, and which features only occur through the interaction of filaments in networks. |
| Last ice-covered parts of summertime Arctic Ocean vulnerable to climate change Posted: 01 Jul 2021 08:27 AM PDT Last August, sea ice north of Greenland showed its vulnerability to the long-term effects of climate change. The region, part of what's known as the 'Last Ice Area' that could serve as a refuge for ice-dependent species, may be ice-free in summertime sooner than expected. |
| Why are some fish warm-blooded? Predatory sharks gain speed advantage, study finds Posted: 01 Jul 2021 08:27 AM PDT New research from marine biologists offers answers to a fundamental puzzle that had until now remained unsolved: why are some fish warm-blooded when most are not? It turns out that while (warm-blooded) fish able to regulate their own body temperatures can swim faster, they do not live in waters spanning a broader range of temperatures. |
| Global climate dynamics drove the decline of mastodonts and elephants, new study suggests Posted: 01 Jul 2021 08:26 AM PDT Elephants and their forebears were pushed into wipeout by waves of extreme global environmental change, rather than overhunting by early humans, according to new research. |
| Instant water cleaning method 'millions of times' better than commercial approach Posted: 01 Jul 2021 08:26 AM PDT A water disinfectant created on the spot using just hydrogen and the air around us is millions of times more effective at killing viruses and bacteria than traditional commercial methods, according to scientists. |
| Underwater seismometer can hear how fast a glacier moves Posted: 01 Jul 2021 08:26 AM PDT Scientists show that an ocean-bottom seismometer deployed close to the calving front of a glacier in Greenland can detect continuous seismic radiation from a glacier sliding, reminiscent of a slow earthquake. |
| Conservation concern as alien aphid detected on Kangaroo Island Posted: 01 Jul 2021 08:26 AM PDT An invasive species of aphid could put some threatened plant species on Kangaroo Island at risk. Researchers confirm Australia's first sighting of the aphid on the island's Dudley Peninsula. |
| Manufacturing the core engine of cell division Posted: 01 Jul 2021 08:26 AM PDT By modelling the kinetochore from scratch, researchers get a step closer to creating artificial chromosomes. |
| Dolichomitus meii wasp discovered in Amazonia is like a flying jewel Posted: 01 Jul 2021 08:26 AM PDT Parasitoid wasps are one of the most species rich animal taxa on Earth, but their tropical diversity is still poorly known. Now, scientist have discovered the Dolichomitus meii and Polysphincta parasitoid wasp species previously unknown to science in South America. The new species found in the rainforests entice with their colors and exciting habits. |
| Eruption of the Laacher See volcano redated Posted: 01 Jul 2021 08:26 AM PDT The eruption of the Laacher See volcano in the Eifel in Germany is one of Central Europe's largest eruptions over the past 100,000 years. Technical advances in combination with tree remains buried in the course of the eruption now enabled an international research team to accurately date the event. Accordingly, the eruption of the Laacher See volcano occurred 13,077 years ago and thus 126 years earlier than previously assumed. |
| Consuming a diet with more fish fats, less vegetable oils can reduce migraine headaches, study finds Posted: 30 Jun 2021 06:30 PM PDT A diet higher in fatty fish helped frequent migraine sufferers reduce their monthly number of headaches and intensity of pain compared to participants on a diet higher in vegetable-based fats and oils, according to a new study. |
| Prehistoric homes would have failed modern air quality tests Posted: 30 Jun 2021 08:54 AM PDT Domestic burning of wood and dung fuels in Neolithic homes would have exceeded modern internationally agreed standards for indoor air quality, exposing inhabitants to unsafe levels of particulates, research has shown. |
| Breakthrough for tracking RNA with fluorescence Posted: 30 Jun 2021 08:53 AM PDT Researchers have succeeded in developing a method to label mRNA molecules, and thereby follow, in real time, their path through cells, using a microscope - without affecting their properties or subsequent activity. The breakthrough could be of great importance in facilitating the development of new RNA-based medicines. |
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