ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

Measuring endocrine disruptors in wastewater

Posted: 12 Apr 2022 06:53 AM PDT

Treating pollutants, such as endocrine disruptors, is an effective way to protect the environment. Endocrine disruptors are chemicals that alter the hormonal systems and the development of organisms that are exposed to them, even in small quantities. Scientists are working on an effluent analysis tool to predict their harmful effects.

Collision hotspots for migrating birds revealed in new study

Posted: 11 Apr 2022 05:23 PM PDT

New research highlights the areas in Europe and North Africa where the construction of wind turbines or power lines is likely to increase the risk of death for migrating birds.

Decoy particles trick coronavirus as it evolves

Posted: 11 Apr 2022 03:43 PM PDT

Decoy nanoparticles mimic cells, attracting viruses to bind to them rather than infecting healthy cells. Researchers tested the strategy against the novel coronavirus and five of its variants, finding it was consistently effective.

New study reveals that exposure to a group of widely used ‘forever chemicals’ may increase diabetes risk in middle-aged women

Posted: 11 Apr 2022 03:43 PM PDT

A new study finds that exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) - a large and diverse group of industrial chemicals found in many everyday products - is associated with an increased risk of developing diabetes in midlife women.

Critical benefits of snowpack for winter wheat are diminishing

Posted: 11 Apr 2022 03:42 PM PDT

Scientists are studying the complex effects of climate change on winter crops. Warming winters may sound like a welcome change for some farmers because the change in temperature could reduce freezing stress on plants and create more ideal conditions for growing overwinter cash crops and winter cover crops. However, when looking at climate change from a cross-seasonal perspective and accounting for declining snowpack, researchers are finding that the whole picture isn’t so sunny.

New transistor could cut 5% from world’s digital energy budget

Posted: 11 Apr 2022 10:35 AM PDT

A new spin on one of the 20th century's smallest but grandest inventions, the transistor, could help feed the world's ever-growing appetite for digital memory while slicing up to 5% of the energy from its power-hungry diet.

Light, oxygen turn waste plastics into useful benzoic acid

Posted: 11 Apr 2022 09:54 AM PDT

Chemists have discovered a way to use light and oxygen to upcycle polystyrene -- a type of plastic found in many common items -- into benzoic acid, a product stocked in undergraduate and high school chemistry labs and also used in fragrances, food preservatives, and other ubiquitous products.

Understanding 'smart,' spitting archerfishes

Posted: 11 Apr 2022 08:37 AM PDT

A new article thoroughly examines the evolutionary history and anatomical variation of archerfishes.

Study links fracking, drinking water pollution, and infant health

Posted: 11 Apr 2022 08:37 AM PDT

New research documents the pollution of public water supplies caused by shale gas development, commonly known as fracking, and its negative impact of infant health.  These findings call for closer environmental regulation of the industry, as levels of chemicals found in drinking water often fall below regulatory thresholds.

Engineered bacteria could help protect 'good' gut microbes from antibiotics

Posted: 11 Apr 2022 08:37 AM PDT

Researchers have engineered a strain of bacteria that can help protect the natural flora of the human digestive tract from antibiotics and curb the emergence of antimicrobial resistance.

New protein discovery reveals the mechanisms of nitrogen assimilation in plants

Posted: 11 Apr 2022 07:13 AM PDT

Researchers recently discovered the protein inhibiting the formation of organic nitrogen compounds in plants. This protein, if manipulated, could potentially be used to encourage plant growth and improve crop harvests.

Light-powered microbes are super-producing chemical factories

Posted: 11 Apr 2022 07:13 AM PDT

Researchers have found that engineering the light-dependent proton pump rhodopsin into Escherichia coli redirects carbon flow from cellular metabolism to biosynthetic product generation. This approach of using light as an energy source can help improve the efficiency of target compound production and reduce CO2 emissions.

Converting solar energy to electricity on demand

Posted: 11 Apr 2022 07:13 AM PDT

A new energy system that makes it possible to capture solar energy, store it for up to eighteen years and release it when and where it is needed has now taken the system a step further. After previously demonstrating how the energy can be extracted as heat, they have now succeeded in getting the system to produce electricity, by connecting it to a thermoelectric generator.

Study sheds new light on the origin of civilization

Posted: 11 Apr 2022 07:12 AM PDT

New research challenges the conventional theory that the transition from foraging to farming drove the development of complex, hierarchical societies by creating agricultural surplus in areas of fertile land.

Research helps provide scientific framework for psilocybin use in therapeutic settings

Posted: 11 Apr 2022 07:12 AM PDT

A new paper provides a scientific framework to help shape the rollout of a program in Oregon that will legally permit the use of psilocybin for therapeutic reasons.

Children think farm animals deserve same treatment as pets

Posted: 11 Apr 2022 07:12 AM PDT

Children differ dramatically from adults in their moral views on animals, new research shows.

New study reveals that healthy plant-based diets are associated with a lower risk of developing diabetes

Posted: 10 Apr 2022 08:07 AM PDT

New research finds that the consumption of healthy plant-based foods, including fruits, vegetables, nuts, coffee, and legumes, is associated with a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes (T2D) in generally healthy people and support their role in diabetes prevention.

Melting ice caps may not shut down ocean current

Posted: 08 Apr 2022 02:53 PM PDT

Most simulations of our climate's future may be overly sensitive to Arctic ice melt as a cause of abrupt changes in ocean circulation, according to new research.

From computer to benchtop: Researchers find clues to new mechanisms for coronaviruses infections

Posted: 08 Apr 2022 11:30 AM PDT

A group of bat viruses related to SARS-CoV-2 can also infect human cells but uses a different and unknown entryway. While researchers are still honing in on how these viruses infect cells, the findings could help in the development of new vaccines that prevent coronaviruses from causing another pandemic.

Some gut viruses promote intestinal health, while others contribute to inflammatory bowel disease

Posted: 08 Apr 2022 11:29 AM PDT

The findings suggest that patients with inflammatory bowel might benefit from therapies that replace disease-driving intestinal viruses with health-promoting viruses.

U.S., EU responsible for the majority of ecological damage caused by excess use of raw materials, study finds

Posted: 08 Apr 2022 07:31 AM PDT

High-income nations are responsible for 74 percent of the global excess in resource extraction over the 1970-2017 period, driven primarily by the United States and the countries of the European Union. This is demonstrated in an international study, which determines national responsibility for ecological breakdown by calculating the extent to which each nation has overshot their fair share of sustainable resource use thresholds.

Want to be sustainable and cool? Choose fans more and AC less

Posted: 08 Apr 2022 05:38 AM PDT

A new study has found using indoor fans more often allows people to reduce their air conditioner use without changing how hot they feel, paving a way for reducing future energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.

Human Lung Chip reveals the effects of breathing motions on lung immune responses

Posted: 08 Apr 2022 05:38 AM PDT

The mere motions of breathing are known to influence vital functions of the lungs, including their development in babies, the production of air-exchange-enhancing fluid on their inner surfaces, and maintenance of healthy tissue structure. Now, new research has revealed that this constant pattern of stretching and relaxing does even more -- it generates immune responses against invading viruses.

First European farmers' heights did not meet expectations

Posted: 07 Apr 2022 02:09 PM PDT

A combined study of genetics and skeletal remains show that the switch from primarily hunting, gathering and foraging to farming about 12,000 years ago in Europe may have had negative health effects as indicated by shorter than expected heights in the earliest farmers, according to an international team of researchers.

Two DNA defense systems behind resilience of 7th cholera pandemic

Posted: 07 Apr 2022 11:19 AM PDT

Two DNA defense systems protect the bacterial strains responsible for the ongoing seventh cholera pandemic from potentially harmful genetic material and viruses, scientists have found. Their study also shows that the defense systems may have been key in the evolution and success of these strains.

New discovery in animal exoskeletons leads to advances in designing construction materials

Posted: 07 Apr 2022 07:11 AM PDT

Researchers have discovered a new design motif derived from the rigid external covering of invertebrates that may help create more damage tolerant materials for future building and construction.

Researchers adapt technology made for astronomical observations to biomedical imaging

Posted: 07 Apr 2022 07:11 AM PDT

Researchers have captured images of multiple radionuclides in mice using astronomy technology.

Researchers mapped interactions of an important group of cell surface receptors

Posted: 07 Apr 2022 07:10 AM PDT

The new study can help understanding diseases stemming from the abnormal functions of the human receptor tyrosine kinases, RTKs.

Solar nanowire-nanotube filter offers easy access to clean drinking water

Posted: 07 Apr 2022 07:10 AM PDT

Scientists have developed a highly efficient water purification filter that uses only solar power. The prototype can supply clean drinking water even at remote places to small populations and can be easily scaled-up.

Fish-like marine reptile buried in its own blubber in Southern Germany 150 million years ago

Posted: 07 Apr 2022 07:10 AM PDT

A new study uses modern methods to understand the preservation of unique ichthyosaur fossils. One complete animal and one tail are the first to preserve outer body shape in the last, large group of ichthyosaurs.

Researchers describe a three-meter-long Mesozoic marine reptile named Baisesaurus robustus

Posted: 07 Apr 2022 07:10 AM PDT

Researchers from China and Canada report a new large early ichthyosauromorph, named Baisesaurus robustus, from the southwest of China, extending the known geographic distribution of this group.