ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

Water resources will fluctuate increasingly and become more difficult to predict in snow-dominated regions across the Northern Hemisphere by later this century, according to a comprehensive new climate change study. Even regions that keep receiving the same amount of precipitation will experience more variable and unpredictable streamflow as snowpack recedes.

A new study suggests that an elephant's muscles aren't the only way it stretches its trunk -- its folded skin also plays an important role. The combination of muscle and skin gives the animal the versatility to grab fragile vegetation and rip apart tree trunks. The research finds that an elephant's skin doesn't uniformly stretch. The top of the trunk is more flexible than the bottom, and the two sections begin to diverge when an elephant reaches more than 10%. When stretching for food or objects, the dorsal section of the trunk slides further forward.

Researchers used silicone wristbands to measure Houston residents' increased exposure to hazardous chemicals in the wake of Hurricane Harvey in 2017.

Passive day cooling is a promising technology for the sustainable reduction of energy consumption. Researchers have now created a test system with which the materials used for passive cooling can be reliably characterized and compared -- regardless of weather conditions and environmental conditions.

A new survey attempts to fill some of the gaps in understanding by synthesizing the perspectives of thousands of biodiversity experts worldwide. The survey received 3,331 responses from scientists studying biodiversity in 187 countries, covering all major groups of species, habitats and ecosystems.

Scientists have revealed a novel ADAR1-SIRT1-p16INK4a axis in regulating cellular senescence and its potential implications in tissue aging.

A new study of rattlesnakes in the western U.S. sheds light on how the reptiles evolve over time to keep up with prey resistance to their venom.

Hundreds of millions of years ago, microbes and plants might have given insects an evolutionary advantage by passing genes to them through horizontal gene transfer. Researchers now report that more than 1,400 genes across 218 insect species, including butterflies and moths, originated from bacteria, viruses, fungi, and plants. The study argues that these genes might have been essential for insect evolution by allowing them to develop beneficial traits in mating behavior, nutrition, growth, and adaptation to environmental changes.

A new national study shows which Americans are least likely to be prepared to take necessary actions when faced with disasters such as hurricanes, floods and wildfires.

There are certain skills that once we acquire them, we rarely have to relearn them, like riding a bike or looking both ways before crossing a street. Most studies on learning and long-term memory in the wild focus on a handful of animal species. Now, researchers share the first report of long-term memory in frog-eating bats.