ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

Effectiveness of antibiotics significantly reduced when multiple bugs present

Posted: 19 Mar 2022 05:16 AM PDT

A study has found that much higher doses of antibiotics are needed to eliminate a bacterial infection of the airways when other microbes are present. It helps explain why respiratory infections often persist in people with lung diseases such as cystic fibrosis despite treatment.

Conversion process turns pollution into cash

Posted: 18 Mar 2022 01:14 PM PDT

Engineers have developed a promising electrochemical system to convert emissions from chemical and power plants into useful products while addressing climate change.

Researchers use unique ingredient to strengthen bamboo

Posted: 18 Mar 2022 01:14 PM PDT

Researchers have adapted a technique -- originally designed to embalm human remains -- to strengthen the properties of biocomposites and make them stronger. With the innovation of new materials and green composites, it is easy to overlook materials like bamboo and other natural fibers, explains one of the researchers. These fibers are now used in many applications such as clothing, the automotive industry, packaging and construction.

Artificial intelligence paves the way to discovering new rare-earth compounds

Posted: 18 Mar 2022 01:14 PM PDT

Artificial intelligence advances how scientists explore materials. Researchers trained a machine-learning (ML) model to assess the stability of rare-earth compounds. The framework they developed builds on current state-of-the-art methods for experimenting with compounds and understanding chemical instabilities.

Antabuse may help revive vision in people with progressive blinding disorders

Posted: 18 Mar 2022 01:14 PM PDT

Animal and cell studies show that as retinal cells die in degenerative eye diseases, they make other cells hyperactive, creating noise that further obscures vision. Tests to prove this in humans are hard to conduct, however. Antabuse, an approved drug used to wean people off alcohol, should tamp down this hyperactivity and conclusively show whether hyperactivity plays a role in humans, potentially driving work to find better drugs to help those with progressive vision loss.

Ancient ancestors evolved to be strong and snappy

Posted: 18 Mar 2022 01:14 PM PDT

Researchers show that the earliest jaws in the fossil record were caught in a trade-off between maximizing their strength and their speed.

Could we make cars out of petroleum residue?

Posted: 18 Mar 2022 01:14 PM PDT

Researchers have developed a way to make lightweight fibers, for possible use in the bodies of cars, out of an ultracheap feedstock: the waste material from the refining of petroleum.

The colored skeletons of Çatalhöyük, Turkey, from 9,000 years ago

Posted: 18 Mar 2022 08:02 AM PDT

An international team provides new insights about how the inhabitants of the 'oldest city in the world' in Çatalhöyük (Turkey) buried their dead. Their bones were partially painted, excavated several times and reburied. The findings provide insight into the burial rituals of a fascinating society that lived 9000 years ago.

New, possibly arboreal rice rat species discovered in Ecuador

Posted: 18 Mar 2022 08:02 AM PDT

Three expeditions led an international research to the Cordillera de Kutukú, an isolated mountain range in Ecuador, to find just one specimen of the previously unknown species. The find in the Amazonian side of the Andes underlines the valuable biological role of this mountainous region.

Marijuana for medical use may result in rapid onset of cannabis use disorder

Posted: 18 Mar 2022 08:02 AM PDT

A new study shows that using cannabis products to treat pain, anxiety and depression failed to improve these symptoms while doubling the risk of developing the addictive symptoms of cannabis use disorder. People seeking cannabis to treat symptoms of anxiety and depression were at greatest risk of CUD. Contrary to evidence-based medicine, people with medical marijuana cards choose their own products and dosing, suggesting the need for better controls over dispensing, use, and professional follow-up of these patients.

Wildfires devastate the land they burn, and they are also warming the planet

Posted: 18 Mar 2022 08:02 AM PDT

The 2021 wildfire season broke records globally, leaving land charred from California to Siberia. The risk of fire is growing, and a recent report warned that wildfires are on track to increase 50% by 2050. These fires destroy homes, plant life, and animals as they burn, but the risk doesn't stop there. Researchers detail how the brown carbon released by burning biomass in the northern hemisphere is accelerating warming in the Arctic and warn that this could lead to even more wildfires in the future.

Regrown tropical forests may have short lifespans, says new study

Posted: 18 Mar 2022 07:49 AM PDT

Preventing the re-clearing of second-growth forests is a major challenge for restoration efforts in tropical regions, according to a new study. The study found that a third of regenerating areas in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest were cut down again, most after just 4 to 8 years of regeneration.

Industrial discharge is the dominant mercury source in Korea’s west coast

Posted: 18 Mar 2022 06:21 AM PDT

Researchers have used mercury (Hg) stable isotopes to verify the Hg sources in the sediment and fish along the west coast of Korea.

Visible ocean plastics just the tip of the iceberg

Posted: 18 Mar 2022 06:21 AM PDT

Simulating a half century of movement and degradation of plastic waste in the ocean, a new study estimates that nearly two-thirds of ocean plastics are outside the reach of current monitoring methods. Furthermore, the study suggests that the estimated 25.3 million metric tons of total ocean plastics may represent only 5% of all mismanaged plastic waste to date, with the rest still on land.

Higher exposure to bisphenol A in the womb associated with increased risk for asthma and wheezing in school-age girls

Posted: 18 Mar 2022 05:02 AM PDT

An analysis of data from more than 3,000 mother-child pairs from six European countries indicates that prenatal exposure to bisphenol A may have negative effects on respiratory health in school-age girls.

New insight into the possible origins of life

Posted: 18 Mar 2022 05:02 AM PDT

Researchers have for the first time been able to create an RNA molecule that replicates, diversifies and develops complexity, following Darwinian evolution. This has provided empirical evidence that simple biological molecules can lead to the emergence of complex lifelike systems.

Massive study shows urbanization drives adaptive evolution

Posted: 17 Mar 2022 01:36 PM PDT

A massive study on a tiny roadside weed shows urbanization is leading to adaptive evolution at a global scale. Scientists from 160 cities across six continents collected more than 110,000 samples of white clover plants in urban, suburban, and rural areas to study urbanization's effects on the plants.

New computer predictive model useful in identifying ancient hunter-gatherer sites

Posted: 17 Mar 2022 01:36 PM PDT

Researchers looking to identify some of the most difficult 'finds' in archaeology --including sites used by nomadic hunter-gatherer communities--are tapping technology to help in the search.

How cattle ranchers in Brazil could help reduce carbon emissions

Posted: 17 Mar 2022 01:36 PM PDT

Providing customized training to Brazilian ranchers can not only help keep carbon in the ground, but improve their livelihoods and mitigate climate change, according to new research.

As oceans warm, marine cold spells are disappearing

Posted: 17 Mar 2022 01:34 PM PDT

Marine cold spells are cold versions of heat waves: periods of exceptionally cold water, able to hurt or help the ecosystems they hit. Today, the oceans experience just 25% of the number of cold spell days they did in the 1980s, and cold spells are about 15% less intense, researchers found. Weaker cold spells could mean they're less likely to cause mass die-off events, but having fewer cold spells also means refuges and recovery periods from marine heat waves are disappearing.

Chemists find a quick way to synthesize novel neuroactive compounds found in rainforest tree

Posted: 17 Mar 2022 11:37 AM PDT

A potential cornucopia of neuroactive compounds, which might yield clues to the design of future psychiatric and neurological drugs, has become more accessible to synthetic chemists.

Smoke from major wildfires destroys the ozone layer

Posted: 17 Mar 2022 11:37 AM PDT

A new study shows that smoke from wildfires destroys the ozone layer. Researchers caution that if major fires become more frequent with a changing climate, more damaging ultraviolet radiation from the sun will reach the ground.

Rapid adaptation in fruit flies

Posted: 17 Mar 2022 11:37 AM PDT

Evolution is normally considered to be a gradual process, unfolding over long timescales. But new findings show that widespread physical and genomic adaptation to the environment can occur within just weeks.

Forest restoration must navigate trade-offs between environmental and wood production goals

Posted: 17 Mar 2022 11:37 AM PDT

Forest restoration schemes should prioritize restoring native forests for greatest climate and environmental benefits, but these benefits incur a trade-off with wood production in comparison with tree plantations.

Methane-eating bacteria convert greenhouse gas to fuel

Posted: 17 Mar 2022 11:37 AM PDT

Methanotrophic bacteria consume 30 million metric tons of methane per year and have captivated researchers for their natural ability to convert the potent greenhouse gas into usable fuel. Yet we know very little about how the complex reaction occurs, limiting our ability to use the double benefit to our advantage.

Engineering an 'invisible cloak' for bacteria to deliver drugs to tumors

Posted: 17 Mar 2022 09:03 AM PDT

Researchers have genetically engineered a microbial encapsulation system for therapeutic bacteria that can hide them from immune systems, enabling them to reach tumors more effectively and kill cancer cells in mice.