ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

Introducing a protocol for using robotic pets in memory care

Posted: 20 Jul 2022 12:06 PM PDT

Researchers have developed a protocol for using robotic pets with older adults with dementia. The protocol uses a low-cost robotic pet, establishes ideal session lengths, and identifies common participant responses to the 'pets' to aid in future research.

Antibiotics affect male and female gut microbiomes differently

Posted: 20 Jul 2022 12:06 PM PDT

In a new study, researchers found that antibiotics have sex-specific effects on the gut microbiome makeup of male and female laboratory rats. The findings could have implications for using the drugs in humans to treat or prevent bacterial infection.

Plant study hints evolution may be predictable

Posted: 20 Jul 2022 12:05 PM PDT

Evolution has long been viewed as a rather random process, with the traits of species shaped by chance mutations and environmental events -- and therefore largely unpredictable. But an international team of scientists has found that a particular plant lineage independently evolved three similar leaf types over and over again in mountainous regions scattered throughout the neotropics.

Going against the flow: Scientists reveal garden eels' unique way of feeding

Posted: 20 Jul 2022 12:05 PM PDT

A new lab study on garden eels shows how these shy creatures use their burrows, and change their movement and posture, when feeding in strong currents.

Paper wasps form abstract concept of 'same' and 'different'

Posted: 20 Jul 2022 12:05 PM PDT

In a series of studies over more than 20 years, evolutionary biologists have demonstrated that paper wasps, despite their tiny brains, have an impressive capacity to learn, remember and make social distinctions about others.

Idea of ice age 'species pump' in the Philippines boosted by new way of drawing evolutionary trees

Posted: 20 Jul 2022 12:05 PM PDT

A groundbreaking Bayesian method and new statistical analyses of genomic data from geckos in the Philippines shows that during the ice ages, the timing of gecko diversification gives strong statistical support for the first time to the Pleistocene aggregate island complex (PAIC) model of diversification, or 'species pump.'

Research on bacteria: Electron highway for hydrogen and carbon dioxide storage discovered

Posted: 20 Jul 2022 12:05 PM PDT

Microbiologists have shed light on the structure of an enzyme that produces formic acid from molecular hydrogen (H2) and carbon dioxide (CO2). The enzyme of the bacterium Thermoanaerobacter kivui was discovered a few years previously by microbiologists, and the scientists have recently presented its potential for liquid hydrogen storage. The filamentous structure of the enzyme, now described at atomic level for the first time, acts like a nanowire and is evidently responsible for the extremely efficient conversion rates of the two gases.

New research shows 2/3 of species in global shark fin trade at risk of extinction

Posted: 20 Jul 2022 09:11 AM PDT

Researchers sampled nearly 10,000 shark fin trimmings from markets in Hong Kong -- one of the largest shark fin trade hubs in the world. With a little DNA detective work, they unraveled the mystery of what fin belonged to what species, and found that endangered or threatened species were disproportionately represented in the trade, highlighting the need for additional international regulations in trade and shark management practices.

Desert climate overtaking more of Central Asia

Posted: 20 Jul 2022 09:10 AM PDT

Rising annual temperatures and dwindling yearly precipitation across the mid-latitudes of Central Asia have extended its desert climate 60 miles northward since the 1980s, says a recent study.

Bioinspired whisker arrays can work as antennae to detect sources of flow disturbances under water or in the air

Posted: 20 Jul 2022 09:10 AM PDT

New research could form the basis of aviation innovation. Artificial whiskers, built as models of whiskers from sea lions, can work as an array of antennae to locate the source of hydrodynamic wakes, similar to the way sea lions use their whiskers.

Could modified train cars capture carbon from the air? This team has a plan to make it happen

Posted: 20 Jul 2022 09:10 AM PDT

Direct air capture technology removes carbon dioxide from the air and compresses it for sequestration or utilization and promises to help us meet net-zero emissions goals. However, the process of direct air capture can be energy and land intensive and expensive. To design a direct air capture process that uses less energy and less land, a multi-disciplinary team outlines a plan to retrofit train cars to remove carbon from the air at a much lower than average cost per ton.

All-in-one solar-powered tower makes carbon-neutral jet fuel

Posted: 20 Jul 2022 09:10 AM PDT

Researchers have designed a fuel production system that uses water, carbon dioxide (CO2), and sunlight to produce aviation fuel. They have implemented the system in the field, and the design could help the aviation industry become carbon neutral.

New fossil shows four-legged fishapod that returned to the water while Tiktaalik ventured onto land

Posted: 20 Jul 2022 09:10 AM PDT

A new study describes a fossil species that closely resembles the four-legged fishapod Tiktaalik but has features that made it more suited to life in the water than its adventurous cousin.

The size of mammal ancestors' ear canals reveal when warm-bloodedness evolved

Posted: 20 Jul 2022 09:10 AM PDT

Warm-bloodedness is a key mammal trait, but it's been a mystery when our ancestors evolved it. A new study points to an unlikely source for telling a fossil animal's body temperature: the size of tiny structures in their inner ears. The fluid in our ears becomes runnier at higher temperatures, so animals with warm bodies don't need as big of canals for it to flow through. Turns out, mammal ancestors became warm-blooded nearly 20 million years later than previously thought.

Grab a coffee before shopping? You may want to think twice

Posted: 20 Jul 2022 07:25 AM PDT

Drinking a caffeinated beverage before shopping leads to more items purchased at the store and increased spending.

Biochemistry: Peptide 'fingerprint' enables earlier diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease

Posted: 20 Jul 2022 07:25 AM PDT

Neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's disease or Parkinson's disease are caused by folding errors (misfolding) in proteins or peptides, i.e. by changes in their spatial structure. This is the result of minute deviations in the chemical composition of the biomolecules. Researchers have now developed a simple and effective method for detecting such misfolding at an early stage of the disease. Misfolding is revealed by the structure of dried residue from protein and peptide solutions. The method involves analyzing micrographs with neural networks and has a predictive accuracy of over 99 percent.

Ultrasonic detectors reveal the detrimental effect of wind turbines at forest sites on bats

Posted: 20 Jul 2022 07:24 AM PDT

As more and more wind turbines (WTs) are installed in the course of the energy transition and distance regulations to human settlements are tightened, suitable locations are becoming increasingly difficult to find. As a result, wind turbines are increasingly being erected in forests -- to the detriment of forest specialists among bats.

Rising numbers of exotic snakebites reported in the UK

Posted: 20 Jul 2022 05:01 AM PDT

Exotic snakebites recorded in the UK have 'soared' over the course of a decade, as numbers of the exotic pet increase.

In search of the lost city of Natounia

Posted: 20 Jul 2022 05:01 AM PDT

The mountain fortress of Rabana-Merquly in modern Iraqi Kurdistan was one of the major regional centers of the Parthian Empire, which extended over parts of Iran and Mesopotamia approximately 2,000 years ago. The researchers studied the remains of the fortress.

When did the genetic variations that make us human emerge?

Posted: 19 Jul 2022 07:23 AM PDT

The study of the genomes of our closest relatives, the Neanderthals and Denisovans, has opened up new research paths that can broaden our understanding of the evolutionary history of Homo sapiens. A new study has made an estimation of the time when some of the genetic variants that characterize our species emerged. It does so by analyzing mutations that are very frequent in modern human populations, but not in these other species of archaic humans.

Global supply chains remain resilient in the wake of natural disasters

Posted: 19 Jul 2022 06:11 AM PDT

While many U.S. policy makers are calling for reshoring and nearshoring to combat trade disruptions caused by COVID-19, new research suggests retrenchment of global supply chains is unlikely to happen in the post-pandemic context.

The retron switch

Posted: 18 Jul 2022 09:22 AM PDT

Researchers now understand the function of an elusive small DNA in bacteria and have developed a tool that can be used to better understand what might 'switch on' bacterial immune defenses.

Why corals glow even in the depths of the sea

Posted: 18 Jul 2022 06:45 AM PDT

A new study reveals that the phenomenon in deep reefs in which corals display glowing colors (fluorescence) is intended to serve as a mechanism for attracting prey. The study shows that the marine animals on which corals prey recognize the fluorescent colors and are attracted to them.

Code-free conservation

Posted: 18 Jul 2022 06:44 AM PDT

Thanks to high-tech, low-cost tracking devices, the study of wildlife movement is having its Big Data moment. But so far, only people with data science skills have been able to glean meaningful insights from this 'golden age' of tracking. A new system is changing that. MoveApps is a platform that lets scientists and wildlife managers explore animal movement data -- with little more than a device and a browser -- to tackle real-world issues.