ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

Early molten moon’s deep secrets

Posted: 03 Aug 2021 02:52 PM PDT

Recently, a pair of NASA studies identified the most likely locations to find pieces of the Moon's mantle on the surface, providing a map for future lunar sample return missions such as those under NASA's Artemis program. If collected and analyzed, these fragments from deep within the Moon can provide a better understanding of how the Moon, the Earth, and many other solar system worlds evolved.

How landscapes of fear affect the songbirds in our backyards

Posted: 03 Aug 2021 02:52 PM PDT

A team of researchers has recently discovered that fear plays an important, unrecognized role in the underdevelopment, and increased vulnerability, of backyard songbirds.

An overactive sweet tooth may spell trouble for our cellular powerplants

Posted: 03 Aug 2021 02:52 PM PDT

The average American eats roughly 22 teaspoons of added sugar a day -- more than three times the recommended amount for women and more than double the recommended amount for men. Although this overconsumption is known to contribute to diabetes and other disorders, the exact ways in which eating too much sugar sets the stage for metabolic diseases on a cellular level has been less clear. Now, a team has found that surplus sugar may cause our cellular powerplants -- called mitochondria -- to become less efficient, reducing their energy output.

New approach opens window into life below the seafloor

Posted: 03 Aug 2021 02:52 PM PDT

Scientists studied microorganisms from an underwater mountain in the Atlantic Ocean, pioneering a method that could open new windows into our understanding of how life survives deep under the sea -- or in space.

State of the science on western wildfires, forests and climate change

Posted: 03 Aug 2021 02:52 PM PDT

Seeing the urgent need for change, a team of scientists from leading research universities, conservation organizations and government laboratories across the West has produced a synthesis of the scientific literature that clearly lays out the established science and strength of evidence on climate change, wildfire and forest management for seasonally dry forests. The goal is to give land managers and others across the West access to a unified resource that summarizes the best-available science so they can make decisions about how to manage their landscapes.

Emperor penguins increasingly threatened by climate change

Posted: 03 Aug 2021 09:13 AM PDT

A new study provides valuable new data that highlights how species extinction risk is accelerating due to rapid climate change and an increase in extreme climate events, such as glacial calving and sea ice loss.

Semi-natural habitat patches complement flower strips in protecting pollinators

Posted: 03 Aug 2021 09:13 AM PDT

Ecologists observe the diversity of insects on the edge of apple orchards on Lake Constance.

Two new genera and species of conifers discovered from upper Cretaceous in Hokkaido, Japan

Posted: 03 Aug 2021 09:12 AM PDT

Paleobotanists describe two new genera of ancient conifers based on two beautifully preserved 3-D fossil seed cones. These new conifers belong to the cypress family, which was important in many ecosystems during the age of dinosaurs.

What’s killing coral reefs in Florida is also killing them in Belize

Posted: 03 Aug 2021 07:55 AM PDT

Only 17 percent of live coral cover remains on fore-reefs in Belize. A study finds new evidence that nitrogen enrichment from land-based sources like agriculture run-off and sewage, are significantly driving macroalgal blooms to increase on the Belize Barrier Reef and causing massive decline in hard coral cover. With only 2 percent of hard coral cover remaining in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, it's too late to save that reef, but there's still hope for the Belize Barrier Reef.

New method to detect impact of sea level rise

Posted: 03 Aug 2021 07:55 AM PDT

Scientists have developed a new simple, inexpensive and fast method to analyze sulfur isotopes, which can be used to help investigate chemical changes in environments such as oceans, and freshwater rivers and lakes.

How sex cells get the right genetic mix – An interdisciplinary approach solves a century-old puzzle

Posted: 03 Aug 2021 05:49 AM PDT

A new discovery explains what determines the number and position of genetic exchanges that occur in sex cells, such as pollen and eggs in plants, or sperm and eggs in humans.

Holistic assessment of plastic pollution in the Caribbean

Posted: 02 Aug 2021 07:39 PM PDT

New research has resulted in the first holistic assessment of marine and land-based plastic pollution in the Southern Caribbean and some of the environmental and human factors which might influence its distribution.

Cryptic transcription, a novel phenomenon in mammalian stem cells, linked to aging

Posted: 02 Aug 2021 01:06 PM PDT

Researchers have discovered that a cellular phenomenon called cryptic transcription, which had been previously described and linked to aging in yeasts and worms, is also involved in mammalian aging. They also discovered a mechanism that triggers the phenomenon in mammals.

Productivity of kelp forests, sans the iconic kelp

Posted: 02 Aug 2021 01:06 PM PDT

A lush canopy is a defining feature of most of the planet's forests. But canopy-forming species can be particularly vulnerable to disturbances and environmental change. So the question is: What is a forest without its trees?

Neanderthals indeed painted Andalusia’s Cueva de Ardales

Posted: 02 Aug 2021 01:06 PM PDT

The origin and date of appearance of prehistoric cave art are the subjects of ongoing debate. Spain's Cueva de Ardales is one point of discussion. There a flowstone formation is stained red in places. This coloring is apparently almost 65,000 years old but until now, a part of the scientific community attributed it to a natural coating of iron oxide deposited by flowing water. However, that hypothesis has just been rejected.

Manganese could make luminescent materials and the conversion of sunlight more sustainable

Posted: 02 Aug 2021 08:49 AM PDT

Researchers have reached an important milestone in their quest to produce more sustainable luminescent materials and catalysts for converting sunlight into other forms of energy. They have developed a new class of compounds, based on the cheap metal manganese, with promising properties that until now have primarily been found in noble metal compounds.

Bird and mammal diversity is declining with biological invasions

Posted: 02 Aug 2021 07:30 AM PDT

The introduction of invasive species leads to a decline in certain native species: a team of researchers has managed to show that 11% of the global phylogenetic diversity of birds and mammals, in other words their accumulated evolutionary history, is threatened by biological invasions. Their ability to adapt to environmental changes could thus be largely lost due to biological invasions.