ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

Reporting entanglements of leatherback turtles is critical for survival

Posted: 24 Feb 2022 08:27 AM PST

New research suggests that leatherback turtles entangled in fishing gear have a better chance of survival if the incident is reported quickly, giving trained responders the opportunity to fully disentangle the animals.

Developments in lignin degradation: New microorganisms and enzymes at play

Posted: 24 Feb 2022 08:26 AM PST

Lignin, a chief component of cell walls in plants, is naturally degraded in the soil. Identifying new microorganisms involved in this degradation can help develop novel lignin breakdown processes in industrial settings. Now, researchers have isolated 8 microorganisms that degrade the lignin model compound 2-phenoxyacetophenone (2-PAP). They found that one of these microbes uses a new, unidentified enzyme to cleave the ether-bonds in 2-PAP, resulting in the formation of phenol and benzoate.

'Workhorse' of photovoltaics in tandem with perovskite

Posted: 24 Feb 2022 08:26 AM PST

So-called PERC cells are used in mass production of silicon solar cells, they are considered the workhorses of photovoltaics, dominating the market. Now two teams have shown that such standard silicon cells are also suitable as a basis for tandem cells with perovskite top cells. Currently, the efficiency of the tandem cell is still below that of optimised PERC cells alone, but could be increased to up to 29.5% through targeted optimization. The research was funded by the German Federal Ministry of Economics as part of a joint project.

Fight or flight? How birds are helping to reveal the mysteries of evolution

Posted: 24 Feb 2022 06:11 AM PST

New research uncovers the negative link between flight-worthiness and fight-worthiness in birds. Evolutionary pressure demanded that birds could either fly or arm themselves -- but not both. Furthermore, the new research suggests that developing wings and not bony spurs involved both sexual and natural selection. This insight helps us better understand how the enormous diversity of life and earth came to be.

Feeling connected to nature linked to lower risk of snake and spider phobias

Posted: 24 Feb 2022 06:10 AM PST

A study of over a thousand people in Hungary has found for the first time that people who feel more connected to nature are less likely to be affected by snake and spider fears or phobias.

Brazilian babies born with Zika virus syndrome at greater risk of death in first three years of life than those born without

Posted: 23 Feb 2022 02:25 PM PST

Babies born with congenital Zika syndrome (CZS), due to infection with the Zika virus during pregnancy, are at more than 11x greater risk of dying during the first three years of life than those born without the syndrome, according to a new study.

Water filtration membranes morph like cells

Posted: 23 Feb 2022 11:32 AM PST

Morphogenesis is nature's way of building diverse structures and functions out of a fixed set of components. While nature is rich with examples of morphogenesis -- cell differentiation, embryonic development and cytoskeleton formation, for example -- research into the phenomenon in synthetic materials is scant. Researchers are taking a step forward using electron tomography, fluid dynamics theories and machine learning to watch soft polymers as the polymers learn from nature.

Researchers feed worms a natural plant extract; watch them fatten, live 40% longer

Posted: 23 Feb 2022 10:35 AM PST

A new study looks at how a natural plant extract of a particular kind of wormwood, Artemisia scoparia, could lead to longer lifespans, including potentially for humans. The key lies in enhanced metabolic health.

Pioneering simulations focus on HIV-1 virus

Posted: 23 Feb 2022 10:34 AM PST

First-ever biologically authentic computer model was completed of the HIV-1 virus liposome. Key finding from the simulations is the formation of sphingomyelin and cholesterol rich microdomains. HIV-1 is known to preferentially bud from regions of the host cell membrane where these constituents are in high abundance. Scientists are hopeful this basic research into viral envelopes can help efforts to develop new HIV-1 therapeutics, as well as laying a foundation for study of other enveloped viruses such as the novel coronavirus.

Upcycling plastic waste into more valuable materials could make recycling pay for itself

Posted: 23 Feb 2022 08:12 AM PST

Researchers have developed a new and simple method for upcycling plastic waste at room temperature.

How some gut microbes awaken 'zombie' viruses in their neighbors

Posted: 23 Feb 2022 08:12 AM PST

Gut bacteria brew all sorts of chemicals, but we don't know what most of them do. A new study suggests that one such compound, previously linked to cancer, may serve as a bizarre weapon in microbial skirmishes.

Risks of using AI to grow our food are substantial and must not be ignored, warn researchers

Posted: 23 Feb 2022 08:12 AM PST

Artificial intelligence (AI) is on the cusp of driving an agricultural revolution, and helping confront the challenge of feeding our growing global population in a sustainable way. But researchers warn that using new AI technologies at scale holds huge risks that are not being considered.

Sensor breakthrough paves way for groundbreaking map of world under Earth surface

Posted: 23 Feb 2022 08:12 AM PST

An object hidden below ground has been located using quantum technology - a long-awaited milestone with profound implications for industry, human knowledge and national security.

The last day of the dinosaurs

Posted: 23 Feb 2022 08:12 AM PST

The asteroid which killed nearly all of the dinosaurs struck Earth during springtime. This conclusion was drawn by an international team of researchers after having examined thin sections, high-resolution synchrotron X-ray scans, and carbon isotope records of the bones of fishes that died less than 60 minutes after the asteroid impacted.

Global warming is amplifying our water cycle – and it’s happening much faster than we expected

Posted: 23 Feb 2022 08:12 AM PST

A research team has used changing patterns of salt in the ocean to estimate that between 1970 and 2014, at least two times more freshwater shifted from the equator to the poles than our climate models predicted -- giving us insights about how the global water cycle is amplifying as a whole.

Ancient DNA reveals surprises about how early Africans lived, traveled and interacted

Posted: 23 Feb 2022 08:12 AM PST

A new analysis of human remains that were buried in African archaeological sites has produced the earliest DNA from the continent, telling a fascinating tale of how early humans lived, traveled and even found their significant others.

Being near pollinator habitat linked to larger soybean size

Posted: 23 Feb 2022 07:49 AM PST

Researchers have found that soybean crops planted near pollinator habitat produce larger soybeans than soybean crops that are not planted near pollinator habitat.

‘Super pest’ Colorado potato beetle has the genetic resources to sidestep our attacks

Posted: 23 Feb 2022 07:49 AM PST

The Colorado potato beetle has evolved resistance to more than 50 different kinds of insecticides, making the insect a 'super pest' that wreaks havoc on potatoes around the world. New research finds that the beetle achieved this feat largely by turning to a deep pool of diversity within its genome, which allowed different populations across the U.S. to quickly evolve resistance to nearly anything humans have thrown at it.

Likelihood of extreme autumn fire weather has increased 40 percent, modeling shows

Posted: 23 Feb 2022 07:49 AM PST

The likelihood of hot, dry, windy autumn weather that can set the stage for severe fires in California and western Oregon has increased 40 percent due to human-caused climate change, new computer models show.

Bringing out the best in wild birds on farms

Posted: 23 Feb 2022 07:49 AM PST

After an E.coli outbreak in 2006 devastated the spinach industry, farmers were pressured to remove natural habitat to keep wildlife -- and the foodborne pathogens they can sometimes carry -- from visiting crops. A study of California strawberry farms found that birds were actually more likely to carry pathogens and eat berries when farms did not have surrounding natural habitat.

Basis for next-gen bioprocesses

Posted: 23 Feb 2022 07:49 AM PST

Succinic acid is an important precursor for pharmaceutical and cosmetic products and also serves as a component in biodegradable plastics. It is currently derived mainly from petroleum-based processes. Researchers are using the marine bacterium Vibrio natriegens as a biocatalyst. This could permit the production of succinic acid in sustainable processes using renewable raw materials.

Agriculture: Global cropland could be almost halved

Posted: 23 Feb 2022 07:49 AM PST

In the context of trade-offs between land use and biodiversity, geographers have simulated land saving potentials for agriculture.

Gene allowing humans to feel touch may play a role in sense of smell

Posted: 23 Feb 2022 07:30 AM PST

Researchers have determined that a gene linked to feeling touch may moonlight as an olfactory gene. That's the conclusion drawn from studying a very small, transparent worm that shares many similarities with the human nervous system.

From the streets to the stratosphere: Clean driving technology enables cleaner rocket fuel

Posted: 23 Feb 2022 05:57 AM PST

A chemical used in electric vehicle batteries could also give us carbon-free fuel for space flight, according to new research.

Monitoring Arctic permafrost with satellites, supercomputers, and deep learning

Posted: 22 Feb 2022 10:54 AM PST

Using deep learning and supercomputers, researchers have been able to identify and map 1.2 billion ice wedge polygons in the Arctic permafrost based on satellite imagery. The data helps establish a baseline from which to detect changes to the region. The researchers trained a deep learning system to identify Arctic features and TACC's Longhorn supercomputer to analyze the data. The ice wedge data will be available for rapid analysis on the new Permafrost Discovery Gateway.

It's the rhythm that counts

Posted: 22 Feb 2022 10:54 AM PST

It has long been known that oscillatory neural activity is a key factor for attentional selection in the mammalian brain. Scientists have now investigated how this works. They found that coupling lower frequencies of oscillations with higher ones allows fine-tuning the brain and is thus the basis for higher cognitive functions, such as selective attention.

Study supports distant relationship between Archaea and Bacteria in tree of life

Posted: 22 Feb 2022 10:53 AM PST

Scientists have found further evidence to support the idea that the primary two domains of life, the Archaea and Bacteria, are separated by a long phylogenetic tree branch and therefore distantly related.

Growing rice with aquatic animals boosts production and reduces chemical use

Posted: 22 Feb 2022 10:53 AM PST

Growing rice alongside aquatic animals can reduce the need for chemical fertilizers and pesticides, as well as increase farmers' yields, shows a new study.

350-year-old remains in a Stone Age site in Portugal

Posted: 22 Feb 2022 10:52 AM PST

An African man who lived just 350 years ago was buried in a prehistoric shell midden in Amoreira in Portugal. This was very surprising because Amoreira and other midden sites in the Muge region are well known by archaeologists for the cemeteries of the last hunter-gatherers living in the area 8,000 years ago. To investigate this burial researchers combined biomolecular archaeology, ancient DNA, and historical records.

Beetles in climate change

Posted: 22 Feb 2022 10:49 AM PST

How do canopy insects react to the sudden disappearance of their host tree? A study in the floodplain forests along the river Elbe shows surprising results.