ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

Residual water from the food industry gives seaweed cultivation a boost

Posted: 29 Mar 2022 07:00 AM PDT

Process water from the food industry is an excellent fertilizer in land-based seaweed cultivation. Not only does the seaweed grow faster; its protein content also multiplies. In this way, process water can go from being a cost to becoming a resource in the food industry.

New estimation strategy improves soil carbon sampling in agricultural fields

Posted: 29 Mar 2022 07:00 AM PDT

Researchers have evaluated strategies for efficiently estimating soil organic carbon in agricultural fields. Quantifying soil organic carbon stocks in agricultural fields is essential for developing sustainable management practices and monitoring. The research team found that in a typical Midwestern agricultural field, public soil surveys and satellite imagery can be leveraged to efficiently select sample locations. This may reduce the number of samples needed to achieve a given precision (compared to random sampling).

I was here first! This is how hepatitis C inhibits hepatitis E

Posted: 29 Mar 2022 06:07 AM PDT

Infections with hepatitis C and E are so common that, going only by statistics, many people should be infected with both viruses at the same time. However, only very few such cases have been reported. A research team has a guess as to why this is the case: The researchers found that the viruses inhibit each other when they infect at the same time.

Improving asphalt road pavement using engineered nano mineral composites

Posted: 29 Mar 2022 06:07 AM PDT

Researchers have developed a new, greener nano asphalt binder that produces a new type of asphalt which uses less energy and produces less vapor and fewer greenhouse gas emissions.

Solid aerosols found in Arctic atmosphere could impact cloud formation and climate

Posted: 28 Mar 2022 01:53 PM PDT

Solid aerosols can change how clouds form in the Arctic. And, as the Arctic loses ice, researchers expect to see more of these unique particles formed from oceanic emissions combined with ammonia from birds, which will impact cloud formation and climate. Additionally, understanding the characteristics of aerosols in the atmosphere is critical for improving the ability of climate models to predict current and future climate in the Arctic and beyond.

Caribou herd rebounds as Indigenous stewards lead conservation efforts

Posted: 28 Mar 2022 01:06 PM PDT

Despite recovery efforts from federal and provincial governments, caribou populations across Canada continue to decline, largely due to human activity. But as a new study finds, in central British Columbia there is one herd of mountain caribou, the Klinse-Za, whose numbers are going in the opposite direction -- all thanks to a collaborative recovery effort led by West Moberly First Nations and Saulteau First Nations.

Hundreds of new mammal species waiting to be found, study says

Posted: 28 Mar 2022 12:05 PM PDT

At least hundreds of so-far unidentified species of mammals are hiding in plain sight around the world, a new study suggests. Researchers found that most of these hidden mammals are small bodied, many of them bats, rodents, shrews, and moles.

Invading hordes of crazy ants may have finally met their kryptonite

Posted: 28 Mar 2022 12:05 PM PDT

Scientists have have demonstrated how to use a naturally occurring fungus to crush local populations of tawny crazy ants.

Squid skin-inspired cup cozy will keep your hands cool and your coffee hot

Posted: 28 Mar 2022 10:37 AM PDT

Drawing inspiration from cephalopod skin, engineers have invented an adaptive fabric that can be used to insulate the contents of coffee cups, to-go boxes and containers of almost any size. In a new paper, the researchers describe the manufacturing process they developed which enables economical mass production of their novel material.

Citizen science data are crucial to understand wildlife roadkill, demonstrates a study in Flanders

Posted: 28 Mar 2022 10:37 AM PDT

Researchers in Flanders (Belgium) analyzed roadkill records from the last decade in the region, using data provided by citizen scientists. Their study looks at the fate of 17 mammal species on the roads of Flanders. In the last decade, roadkill incidents there have diminished, but the exact reason is hard to pin down. The recorded observations, the scientists warn, 'are only the tip of the iceberg'.

Unprecedented videos show RNA switching ‘on’ and ‘off’

Posted: 28 Mar 2022 10:36 AM PDT

Using new simulations, researchers discovered one part of RNA smoothly invades and displaces another part of the same RNA, enabling the structure to rapidly and dramatically change shape. Called strand displacement, this mechanism appears to switch genetic expression from 'on' to 'off'.

New nasal spray treats Delta variant infection in mice, indicating broad spectrum results

Posted: 28 Mar 2022 10:36 AM PDT

Researchers have shown a new compound delivered in a nasal spray is highly effective in preventing and treating COVID-19 caused by the Delta variant in mice. The researchers believe this is the first treatment of its kind proven to be effective against all COVID-19 variants of concern reported to date, including alpha, beta, gamma and delta.

Ancient helium leaking from core offers clues to Earth's formation

Posted: 28 Mar 2022 10:36 AM PDT

Helium-3, a rare isotope of helium gas, is leaking out of Earth's core, a new study reports. Because almost all helium-3 is from the Big Bang, the gas leak adds evidence that Earth formed inside a solar nebula, which has long been debated.

Marmoset monkeys solve hearing tests on the touchscreen

Posted: 28 Mar 2022 08:26 AM PDT

Researchers have developed an automated auditory training program that marmoset monkeys can perform in their familiar environment on a voluntary basis. The team has accomplished getting non-human primates to complete a series of tests in which they hear different sounds and then match them to the appropriate, previously learned visual stimuli by clicking on a touchscreen. This allows scientists to track which sounds the animals can hear and discriminate.

Researchers use skull CT scans to estimate assigned sex at birth

Posted: 28 Mar 2022 08:25 AM PDT

Researchers have proposed a method of assigned sex estimation that is 'population-inclusive,' or one that did not inherently rely on any estimation of ancestry (population affinity) by using 3D volume-rendered computed tomography (CT) scans of ancestry skulls to estimate assigned sex at birth.

How cells control their borders

Posted: 28 Mar 2022 08:24 AM PDT

Bacteria and yeast need to prevent leakage of numerous small molecules through their cell membrane. Biochemists have studied how the composition of the membrane affects passive diffusion and the robustness of this membrane. Their results could help the biotech industry to optimize microbial production of useful molecules and help in drug design.

Solar energy explains fast yearly retreat of Antarctica's sea ice

Posted: 28 Mar 2022 08:23 AM PDT

Sea ice around Antarctica retreats more quickly than it advances, an asymmetry that has been a puzzle. New analysis shows that the Southern Hemisphere is following simple rules of physics, as peak midsummer sun causes rapid changes. In this respect, it seems, it's Arctic sea ice that is more mysterious.

Smells like ancient society: Scientists find ways to study and reconstruct past scents

Posted: 28 Mar 2022 08:21 AM PDT

In a new paper, researchers discuss the importance of scent in human history and address how and why experts might investigate smells from the past.

Atlas of migraine cell types sheds light on new therapeutic targets

Posted: 28 Mar 2022 08:21 AM PDT

By mapping the cell types and genes expressed in the human and mouse trigeminal ganglion, researchers have created an online resource for studying the molecular basis of headache and facial pain.

Chaos theory provides hints for controlling the weather

Posted: 28 Mar 2022 07:13 AM PDT

Researchers have used computer simulations to show that weather phenomena such as sudden downpours could potentially be modified by making small adjustments to certain variables in the weather system. They did this by taking advantage of a system known as a 'butterfly attractor' in chaos theory, where a system can have one of two states -- like the wings of a butterfly -- and that it switches back and forth between the two states depending on small changes in certain conditions.

Less antibody diversity as we age

Posted: 28 Mar 2022 06:21 AM PDT

As we age, our immune system works less well. We become more susceptible to infections and vaccinations no longer work as effectively. A research team has investigated whether short-lived killifish also undergo aging of the immune system. Indeed, they found that as early as four months of age, killifish have less diverse circulating antibodies compared to younger fish, which may contribute to a generalized decrease in the immune function.

Relatedness and size interact in shaping cannibal aggression

Posted: 28 Mar 2022 06:00 AM PDT

New research finds that in addition to size difference, relatedness affects whether or not a poison frog tadpole is more likely to be eaten.

Keeping the light from fading

Posted: 25 Mar 2022 06:38 AM PDT

Researchers used mathematical methods to compensate for changes in the natural illumination during the course of long-exposure scan of stained-glass windows. This approach may help digitize other cultural artifacts more accurately.