ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

New study overturns popular theory on evolution of termite size

Posted: 14 Jan 2022 08:56 AM PST

Researchers have completed a comprehensive analysis of the head width of over 1500 modern and fossilized species of termites and determined that their size isn't shrinking at a geological timescale.

Earth’s interior is cooling faster than expected

Posted: 14 Jan 2022 08:56 AM PST

Researchers have demonstrated in the lab how well a mineral common at the boundary between the Earth's core and mantle conducts heat. This leads them to suspect that the Earth's heat may dissipate sooner than previously thought.

Meet a colorful but colorblind spider

Posted: 14 Jan 2022 07:30 AM PST

An international team of researchers found that the brightly colored jumping spider Saitis barbipes could not see its own vivid reds.

Hostile takeover in the cell: Pathogens hijack host mitochondria

Posted: 14 Jan 2022 06:28 AM PST

A research team reports that a parasite tricks mitochondria into shedding large structures from their 'skin', thus turning off their defenses.

Past eight years: Warmest since modern recordkeeping began

Posted: 13 Jan 2022 08:01 PM PST

Earth's global average surface temperature in 2021 tied with 2018 as the sixth warmest on record, according to independent analyses done by NASA and NOAA. Collectively, the past eight years are the warmest years since modern recordkeeping began in 1880.

Two new species of freshwater goby fish discovered in Palawan, Philippines

Posted: 13 Jan 2022 12:14 PM PST

Biologists have found two new species of goby fish in Palawan, a Philippine archipelago. The goby fish both belonged to the genus, Rhinogobius.

Powerful sensors on planes detect crop nitrogen with high accuracy

Posted: 13 Jan 2022 09:07 AM PST

Synthetic nitrogen fertilizers transformed agriculture as we know it during the Green Revolution, catapulting crop yields and food security to new heights. Yet, despite improvements in crop nitrogen use efficiency, fears of underperformance spur fertilizer overapplication to this day. Excess nitrogen then ends up in waterways, including groundwater, and in the atmosphere in the form of potent greenhouse gases.

What will it take to save the regent honeyeater from extinction?

Posted: 13 Jan 2022 08:15 AM PST

New research shows unless conservation actions are urgently stepped up, one of our most beautiful songbirds, the regent honeyeater, will be extinct within 20 years.

Green-med diet seems to slow age-related neurodegeneration, study finds

Posted: 13 Jan 2022 08:15 AM PST

A green Mediterranean diet, high in polyphenols and low in red and processed meat, seems to slow age-related brain atrophy, according to a new study. The DIRECT PLUS 18-month long randomized control trial among approximately 300 participants is one of the longest and largest brain MRI trials in the world.

A treasure map for the realm of electrocatalysts

Posted: 13 Jan 2022 08:14 AM PST

Efficient electrocatalysts, which are needed for the production of green hydrogen, for example, are hidden in materials composed of five or more elements. A team has developed an efficient method for identifying promising candidates in the myriad of possible materials. To this end, the researchers combined experiments and simulation.

Unprecedented cellular maps of tissues enabled by new tool

Posted: 13 Jan 2022 08:14 AM PST

The study of the human body at single-cell level has received a boost with the creation of a new tool, which will allow researchers to see not only the function of cells, but also where they are situated within tissues. The tool, called cell2location, has been developed by researchers.

Infants with low-risk deliveries should not need antibiotics at birth, study suggests

Posted: 13 Jan 2022 06:21 AM PST

Infants born via uncomplicated cesarean delivery, without labor or membrane rupture before delivery and no concern for infection, should not need antibiotics at birth, according to a new study. The findings could help clinicians tailor the use of early antibiotics in newborns. Only those deemed at risk for infection should receive antibiotics, thereby reducing unnecessary use.

New conservation tool calculates the optimal time to spend researching a habitat before protecting it

Posted: 13 Jan 2022 06:21 AM PST

Deciding when to stop learning and take action is a common, but difficult decision in conservation. Using a new method, this trade-off can be managed by determining the amount of time to spend on research at the outset.

Swapping just one food item per day can make diets substantially more planet-friendly

Posted: 13 Jan 2022 06:19 AM PST

If your New Year's resolution is to eat better for the planet, a new study finds it may be easier than you think. Researchers calculated how people can lower their diets' carbon impact by swapping one high-impact food item for similar, more sustainable options.

Removing brain cells linked to wakefulness and addiction may lessen symptoms of opioid withdrawal

Posted: 12 Jan 2022 12:49 PM PST

A study in mice shows that removing chemical messengers in the brain that are involved in both wakefulness and addiction may make withdrawal from opioids easier and help prevent relapse.

Dairy calves are social animals

Posted: 12 Jan 2022 11:51 AM PST

Most dairy calves are housed individually in the first weeks and sometimes months of their lives, a practice that has come under scrutiny for its effects on animal behavior, welfare, and health. Despite growing scientific and public support for social housing, approximately 75% and 60% of preweaning dairy calves in the United States and Europe, respectively, are still housed individually. A new study examines young dairy calves' motivation to seek companionship from other calves.

Mosquitoes’ mating game discovery provides new clues to combat malaria

Posted: 12 Jan 2022 11:50 AM PST

Male mosquitoes beat their wings faster when swarming at sunset to better detect females and increase their chance of reproducing, finds a novel study.