ScienceDaily: Top Environment News


4D composite printing can improve the wings of drones

Posted: 10 May 2022 01:34 PM PDT

The aviation industry faces multiple pressures from higher fuel costs and increased scrutiny over the environmental and quality-of-life impacts from its aircraft. Researchers are looking for new methods of keeping expenses down while improving overall efficiency, and the relatively new market of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) -- or drones -- is no exception.

New research documents domestic cattle genetics in modern bison herds

Posted: 10 May 2022 01:34 PM PDT

A new study has revealed the strongest evidence to date that all bison in North America carry multiple small, but clearly identifiable, regions of DNA that originated from domestic cattle.

Fossil discovery reveals that trilobites had clasper-like limbs used for mating

Posted: 10 May 2022 12:15 PM PDT

Thanks to their easily fossilized exoskeleton, trilobites largely dominate the fossil record of early complex animal life. However, trilobite appendages and the anatomy of the underside of their body are typically not well preserved, which makes it difficult to infer their mating and reproductive behaviors.

Cells take out the trash before they divide

Posted: 10 May 2022 09:24 AM PDT

Researchers have discovered that before cells start to divide, they toss waste products. Using a new method they developed for measuring the dry mass of cells, the researchers found cells suddenly lose mass as they enter cell division.

Scientists advance renewable hydrogen production method

Posted: 10 May 2022 09:24 AM PDT

Perovskite materials may hold the potential to play an important role in a process to produce hydrogen in a renewable manner, according to a recent analysis. Hydrogen has emerged as an important carrier to store energy generated by renewable resources, as a substitute for fossil fuels used for transportation, in the production of ammonia, and for other industrial applications.

Photosynthesis unaffected by increasing carbon dioxide channels in plant membranes

Posted: 10 May 2022 09:24 AM PDT

In a recent study,botanists investigated the effects of increasing the amount of carbon dioxide channels in plant membranes, but could not detect any impact on photosynthesis in model tobacco plants.

Diets high in fiber associated with less antibiotic resistance in gut bacteria

Posted: 10 May 2022 09:24 AM PDT

Healthy adults who eat a diverse diet with at least 8-10 grams of soluble fiber a day have fewer antibiotic-resistant microbes in their guts, according to a new study. The results lead directly to the idea that modifying the diet has the potential to be a new weapon in the fight against antimicrobial resistance. And this does not require eating some exotic diet, but eating a diverse diet, adequate in fiber, a diet that some Americans already eat.

Study of pregnant women finds increasing chemical exposure

Posted: 10 May 2022 07:29 AM PDT

A national study that enrolled a highly diverse group of pregnant women over 12 years found rising exposure to chemicals from plastics and pesticides that may be harmful to development.

Micro- and nanoplastic from the atmosphere is polluting the ocean

Posted: 10 May 2022 07:29 AM PDT

According to estimates, by 2040 the level of plastic pollution could reach 80 million metric tons per year. Plastic particles have now been detected in virtually all spheres of the environment, e.g. in water bodies, the soil and the air. Via ocean currents and rivers, the tiny plastic particles can even reach the Arctic, Antarctic or ocean depths. A new overview study has now shown that wind, too, can transport these particles great distances -- and much faster than water can: in the atmosphere, they can travel from their point of origin to the most remote corners of the planet in a matter of days.

Rare discovery: How a gene mutation causes higher intelligence

Posted: 10 May 2022 07:29 AM PDT

When genes mutate, this can lead to severe diseases of the human nervous system. Researchers have now used fruit flies to demonstrate how, apart from the negative effect, the mutation of a neuronal gene can have a positive effect -- namely higher IQ in humans.

Marine sponge chemical and synthetic derivatives hijack human enzyme to kill cells

Posted: 10 May 2022 07:29 AM PDT

A human enzyme converts chemicals produced by marine sponges and related synthetic derivatives into cell-killing compounds, shows a new study.

Complex human childbirth and cognitive abilities a result of walking upright

Posted: 10 May 2022 07:29 AM PDT

Childbirth in humans is much more complex and painful than in great apes. It was long believed that this was a result of humans' larger brains and the narrow dimensions of the mother's pelvis. Researchers have now used 3D simulations to show that childbirth was also a highly complex process in early hominins that gave birth to relatively small-brained newborns -- with important implications for their cognitive development.

Novel tool targeting unusual RNA structures for potential therapeutic applications

Posted: 10 May 2022 07:29 AM PDT

Ribonucleic acids (RNAs), which decode the genetic code stored in DNA and produce proteins, fold into diverse structures to govern fundamental biological processes in all life forms, including humans. Targeting disease-associated RNA structures with drug-like small molecules has been one of the gold standards for developing RNA-targeting drugs in the scientific field. Recently, a research team has developed a new type of RNA structure targeting tool to specifically recognize unusual four-strand RNA structures, which are associated with diseases such as cancer and neurological disorders.

Climate change is pushing pine defoliating moth northward 50 years ahead of earlier predictions

Posted: 10 May 2022 07:29 AM PDT

In Finland, climate change is causing the pine pest Panolis flammea, or pine beauty moth, to shift its range northward 50 years ahead of predictions. Changes in both the distribution and size of the pine beauty moth population are linked to higher temperatures, a new study shows.

Chagas disease: Hybrid strains make insidious parasite more dangerous

Posted: 10 May 2022 07:29 AM PDT

Researchers have mapped how the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi forms new variants that are more effective at evading the immune system and causing disease. Their findings can give rise to new methods for diagnosing, preventing and treating Chagas disease, which affects millions of people in Central and South America, causing thousands of deaths every year.

What benefits nutrition in Africa the most?

Posted: 10 May 2022 07:29 AM PDT

Malnutrition in developing countries is best addressed not by increasing the variety of crops grown on smallholder farms, but by improving access to markets. More variety in animal production, however, does show positive effects.

Soil microbes use different pathways to metabolize carbon

Posted: 10 May 2022 07:29 AM PDT

Much of what scientists think about soil metabolism may be wrong. New evidence suggests that microbes in different soils use different biochemical pathways to process nutrients, respire, and grow. The study upends long-held assumptions in the field of soil ecology and calls for more investigation and higher-resolution methods to be applied to what has been a black box for the field.

Assessment of metabolites in African savanna elephants

Posted: 10 May 2022 07:28 AM PDT

Researchers have conducted the first assessment of metabolites in African savanna elephants, an important step in understanding the relationship between metabolism and health in these endangered animals.

Animal research: Influence of experimenters on results less strong than expected

Posted: 10 May 2022 07:28 AM PDT

The Number One confounding factor in animal research is the person conducting the experiment. Behavioral biologists examined this factor in behavioral experiments involving mice at different locations.

Head, body, eye coordination conserved across animal kingdom

Posted: 10 May 2022 07:28 AM PDT

Fruit flies synchronize the movements of their heads and bodies to stabilize their vision and fly effectively, according to researchers who utilized virtual-reality flight simulators. The finding appears to hold true in primates and other animals, the researchers say, indicating that animals evolved to move their eyes and bodies independently to conserve energy and improve performance. This understanding could inform the design of advanced mobile robots.

Stress may be associated with fertility issues in women

Posted: 10 May 2022 07:28 AM PDT

Female rats exposed to a scream sound may have diminished ovarian reserve and reduced fertility, according to a small animal study.

Bali-like temperatures in Wyoming? Fossils reveal tropically hot North America 95 million years ago

Posted: 10 May 2022 07:28 AM PDT

A new study that used fossil oyster shells as paleothermometers found the shallow sea that covered much of western North America 95 million years ago was as warm as today's tropics.

Exposure to wildfires increases risk of cancer

Posted: 09 May 2022 04:15 PM PDT

A new study finds higher incidence of lung cancer and brain tumors in people exposed to wildfires. The study, which tracks over two million Canadians over a period of 20 years, is the first to examine how proximity to forest fires may influence cancer risk.

Shipping poses significant threat to the endangered whale shark

Posted: 09 May 2022 12:06 PM PDT

New research indicates that lethal collisions of whale sharks with large ships are vastly underestimated, and could be the reason why populations are falling.

Bolder marmoset monkeys learn faster than shy ones

Posted: 09 May 2022 08:20 AM PDT

Individual traits seem to drive our learning success: for instance, conscientious individuals often show higher academic performance. A group of cognitive and behavioral biologists conducted personality assessments and a battery of learning tests with common marmosets and found that such a link, intertwined with family group membership, exists in these monkeys, too.

'New and improved' supermarkets trim childhood obesity in NYC

Posted: 09 May 2022 08:20 AM PDT

Access to newer supermarkets that offer fresh foods in some of New York City's poorest neighborhoods was linked to a 1% decline in obesity rates among public school students living nearby, a new study shows. The modernized markets were also tied to reductions of between 4% and 10% in the average student BMI-z score, a measure of body weight based on height for each age group by gender.