ScienceDaily: Top Environment News


2021 heat wave created 'perfect storm' for shellfish die-off

Posted: 21 Jun 2022 03:45 PM PDT

It's hard to forget the excruciating heat that blanketed the Pacific Northwest in late June 2021. Temperatures in Oregon, Washington and British Columbia soared to well above 100 degrees Fahrenheit, with Seattle setting an all-time heat record of 108 degrees on June 28. A team has now compiled and analyzed hundreds of field observations to produce a comprehensive report of the impacts of the 2021 heat wave on shellfish.

What the nose doesn't know helps wildlife: Using olfactory cues to protect vulnerable species

Posted: 21 Jun 2022 01:33 PM PDT

Behavioral ecologists have discovered a way to harness animals' olfactory ability to protect vulnerable plants and endangered animals.

Modern wind turbines can more than compensate for decline in global wind resource

Posted: 21 Jun 2022 12:51 PM PDT

Wind energy contributes significantly to the energy sector's sustainable, low-CO2 transformation. However, the efficiency of wind turbines depends on available wind resources and the technical characteristics of the turbines.

Pacific whiting skin has anti-aging properties that prevent wrinkles, research suggests

Posted: 21 Jun 2022 11:18 AM PDT

The gelatin in the skin of Pacific whiting, an abundant fish on the Pacific Coast of North America, may help prevent skin wrinkling caused by ultraviolet radiation, a new study found.

SeqScreen can reveal 'concerning' DNA

Posted: 21 Jun 2022 11:17 AM PDT

Computer scientists have developed a program to screen short DNA sequences, whether synthetic or natural, to determine their toxicity.

Genetic mutations enable efficient evolution of TB-causing bacteria

Posted: 21 Jun 2022 08:47 AM PDT

Researchers have identified how the bacterium that causes tuberculosis (TB) can evolve rapidly in response to new environments.

Research highlights importance of large wood in streams for land-based animals

Posted: 21 Jun 2022 07:56 AM PDT

Land managers have invested millions of dollars annually since the 1980s to place large pieces of wood back in streams, owing primarily to its importance for fish habitat. But little is known about how large wood in streams impacts birds and land-based animals. Scientists are beginning to change that with a just-published paper that outlines what they observed from one year of footage from motion-triggered video cameras they set up near multiple large log jams in a creek just west of Corvallis, Oregon.

Remote sensing helps track carbon storage in mangroves

Posted: 21 Jun 2022 07:56 AM PDT

Researchers have developed a model that can estimate the productivity of mangrove forests at large scales. A remote sensing-based productivity model that considered the effects of tidal inundation was developed. Comparisons with carbon measurements from carbon flux towers showed that the model was able to accurately estimate the productivity of mangrove forests in China. The results highlight the potential of this type of model for assessing the capacity of mangrove forests to store carbon.

Wildlife--human conflicts could shift with climate change

Posted: 21 Jun 2022 07:56 AM PDT

Researchers modeled the risk of human -- elephant conflict in Thailand under different climate change scenarios using a risk framework. A spatial shift in the risk of conflict was observed with climate change, with northern areas and higher latitudes showing increasing risk in the future. These results can be used to develop planning strategies in affected communities and increase coexistence awareness.

A blueprint for life forms on Mars?

Posted: 21 Jun 2022 07:56 AM PDT

Microbes taken from surface sediment near Lost Hammer Spring, Canada, about 900 km south of the North Pole, could provide a blueprint for the kind of life forms that may once have existed, or may still exist, on Mars.

Agriculture emissions pose risks to health and climate

Posted: 21 Jun 2022 06:14 AM PDT

Environmental engineers determine the economic cost of reactive nitrogen emissions from agriculture, and their significant risks to populations through air pollution and climate change.

Vital cell machinery behind the human body's incorporation of selenium observed

Posted: 20 Jun 2022 05:49 PM PDT

Scientists have determined the process for incorporating selenium -- an essential trace mineral found in soil, water and some foods that increases antioxidant effects in the body -- to 25 specialized proteins, a discovery that could help develop new therapies to treat a multitude of diseases from cancer to diabetes.

Lack of diversity of micro-organisms in the gut or elevated metabolite implicated in heart failure severity

Posted: 20 Jun 2022 05:49 PM PDT

Some people who experience heart failure have less biodiversity in their gut or have elevated gut metabolites, both of which are associated with more hospital visits and greater risk of death, according to a systematic review of research.

Science coverage of climate change can change minds

Posted: 20 Jun 2022 12:21 PM PDT

Science reporting on climate change does lead Americans to adopt more accurate beliefs and support government action on the issue -- but these gains are fragile, a new study suggests.

Fifth of global food-related emissions due to transport

Posted: 20 Jun 2022 09:23 AM PDT

Food transport constitutes 19 percent of food emissions, equivalent to 6 percent of emissions from all sources. High-income countries are responsible for nearly half of these emissions, leading researchers to conclude that among the rich, eating locally should be prioritised.

Scientists develop antimicrobial, plant-based food wrap designed to replace plastic

Posted: 20 Jun 2022 09:21 AM PDT

Aiming to produce environmentally friendly alternatives to plastic food wrap and containers, a scientist has developed a biodegradable, plant-based coating that can be sprayed on foods, guarding against pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms and transportation damage. The scalable process could potentially reduce the adverse environmental impact of plastic food packaging as well as protect human health.

Scientists conceptualize a species 'stock market' to put a price tag on actions posing risks to biodiversity

Posted: 20 Jun 2022 07:08 AM PDT

Species have intrinsic value, but also provide ecosystem services of major economic value, for example, bees that pollinate our crops. However, as such values are hard to translate into figures, currently, they remain easy to dismiss altogether. In a new study, a research team conceptualizes a species stock market for unified valuation of all species. By using digitized information from museums, occurrence data, and DNA sequence databases, this market quantifies our knowledge of each species from scientific, societal, and economic points of view.

Evolutionary biology: The greening ashore

Posted: 20 Jun 2022 07:08 AM PDT

A team has been studying the current state of research on the plant colonization of land that occurred some 500 million years ago.

More digging needed to see whether bones of fallen Waterloo soldiers were sold as fertilizer, as few human remains have ever been found

Posted: 17 Jun 2022 06:00 PM PDT

Launched on the anniversary of the conflict, a new study suggests that mystery still surrounds what happened to the bodies of Waterloo militaries.

Researchers discover 'hotspots' of three-layered alternatively rotating circulation in South China Sea

Posted: 17 Jun 2022 07:18 AM PDT

A research team carried out field observations and conducted numerical simulations in the South China Sea (SCS) recently and revealed the never-before-seen characteristics of the three-dimensional ocean motion in the SCS through geophysical fluid dynamic theory.

Why vaccination against malaria quickly loses its protective effect

Posted: 17 Jun 2022 07:18 AM PDT

Scientists have studied the human immune response after immunization with the malaria pathogen Plasmodium falciparum. Their findings could explain why natural infections, to which people in endemic areas are constantly exposed, offer little protection against new diseases with other strains, and why the effect of the vaccination available to date lasts only a short time.