ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

Advances in street lighting are reducing the efficacy of coastal species’ camouflage

Posted: 25 Mar 2022 07:06 PM PDT

A study has shown species that rely on darkness to forage and feed are losing the gift of camouflage thanks to advances in the lighting used to illuminate the world's cities and coastlines.

New study reveals why HIV remains in human tissue even after antiretroviral therapy

Posted: 25 Mar 2022 03:59 PM PDT

Thanks to antiretroviral therapy, HIV infection is no longer the life sentence it once was. But despite the effectiveness of drugs to manage and treat the virus, it can never be fully eliminated from the human body, lingering in some cells deep in different human tissues where it goes unnoticed by the immune system. Now, new research by University of Alberta immunologist Shokrollah Elahi reveals a possible answer to the mystery of why infected people can't get rid of HIV altogether. Elahi and his team found that in HIV patients, killer T cells -- a type of white blood cells responsible for identifying and destroying cells infected with viruses -- have very little to none of a protein called CD73. Because CD73 is responsible for migration and cell movement into the tissue, the lack of the protein compromises the ability of killer T cells to find and eliminate HIV-infected cells, explained Elahi.

Alpaca nanobodies potently neutralize SARS-CoV-2 variants

Posted: 25 Mar 2022 03:59 PM PDT

Researchers have developed a novel strategy for identifying potent miniature antibodies, so-called nanobodies, against emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants. The approach led to the discovery of multiple nanobodies that in cell cultures and mice effectively blocked infection with different SARS-CoV-2 variants. The findings could pave the way for new treatments against COVID-19.

Stabilizing emulsion research improves firefighting operations and more

Posted: 25 Mar 2022 03:58 PM PDT

Researchers have found a way to control the charge of nanoparticles on a two-fluid interface to create a more stable system in which its charge can also be switched and controlled. The ability to change the charge of nanoparticles on a two-fluid interface would result in a surface that could acclimate itself to fit many diverse applications, such as a more durable firefighting operation and even controlled release in certain medications.

The mystery of an unusual Panamanian plant’s dispersal

Posted: 25 Mar 2022 03:58 PM PDT

Camera traps in the forest canopy document a nocturnal mammal that may be helping Zamia pseudoparasitica survive up in the air.

Artificial hail for more accurate weather forecasts

Posted: 25 Mar 2022 11:46 AM PDT

A vertical wind tunnel has supplied important data to facilitate the prediction of heavy rain, hail, and graupel precipitation.

Study shows how bioactive substance inhibits important receptor

Posted: 25 Mar 2022 09:27 AM PDT

The A2A receptor regulates how vigorously the innate immune system attacks diseased cells. Researchers have now been able to show for the first time how an important inhibitor binds to the receptor. In the future, the results will facilitate the targeted search for molecules that give the innate immune system more punch. These could for instance be used in the fight against cancer, but also against brain diseases such as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease.

Like father like child: male parents lead young birds on first migration

Posted: 25 Mar 2022 09:27 AM PDT

GPS tracking of Caspian terns showed that male parents carry the main responsibility for leading young during their first migration from the Baltic Sea to Africa.

The hardy wild grass that could save our bread

Posted: 25 Mar 2022 06:39 AM PDT

An obscure species of wild grass contains 'blockbuster' disease resistance that can be cross bred into wheat to give immunity against one of the deadliest crop pathogens.

Rapid glacial advance reconstructed during the time of Norse occupation in Greenland

Posted: 25 Mar 2022 06:39 AM PDT

The Greenland Ice Sheet is the second largest ice body in the world, and it has the potential to contribute significantly to global sea-level rise in a warming global climate. Understanding the long-term record of the Greenland Ice Sheet, including both records of glacial advance and retreat, is critical in validating approaches that model future ice-sheet scenarios. However, this reconstruction can be extremely challenging. A new study has reconstructed the advance of one of the largest tidewater glaciers in Greenland to provide a better understanding of long-term glacial dynamics.

No flight, no bite: 'Mosquito grounding' bed net nearly halves malaria infection in Tanzanian children

Posted: 25 Mar 2022 06:39 AM PDT

A novel class of bed net that kills mosquitoes resistant to traditional insecticides by making them unable to move or fly, significantly reduces malaria infection in children, according to new research published in The Lancet. Unlike other insecticides which kill the mosquito via the nervous system, the effects of the new bed net mean the mosquito dies from starvation or being unable to fend for itself.

Rescued Victorian rainfall data smashes former records

Posted: 25 Mar 2022 06:39 AM PDT

A superhuman effort by an army of volunteers during the UK's first COVID-19 lockdown has resulted in 5.2 million rainfall observations, recorded by hand on paper sheets now stored in the Met Office archives, being added to a digital national record. The record now has significantly more data for pre-1960 and has filled in what was a data black hole pre-1862. The work has revealed some record-breaking 19th century weather, which is published in a new paper.

Birds are laying their eggs a month earlier, and climate change is to blame

Posted: 25 Mar 2022 06:38 AM PDT

By comparing century-old eggs preserved in museum collections to modern observations, scientists were able to determine that about a third of the bird species nesting in Chicago have are laying their eggs a month earlier than they were a hundred years ago. As far as the researchers can tell, the culprit in this shift is climate change.

Scientists develop coated probiotics that could be effectively delivered into the human gut

Posted: 25 Mar 2022 06:38 AM PDT

Scientists have developed probiotics with a unique edible coating that ensures the beneficial bacteria successfully reach the intestine once they are ingested.

https://www.uni-goettingen.de/en/3240.html?id=6625

Posted: 24 Mar 2022 03:47 PM PDT

Tropical peatlands are one of the most efficient carbon sinks. The flipside is that they can become massive emitters of carbon if they are damaged, for instance by land use change, degradation or fire. This can lead to faster climate warming. Researchers now show how peatland in the coastal areas in Sumatra and Borneo in Indonesia developed over thousands of years and how climate and sea level influenced their dynamics throughout.

Citizen divers aid understanding of fish in the Salish sea

Posted: 24 Mar 2022 03:47 PM PDT

Citizen scientists are increasingly playing crucial roles in understanding fish populations, according to a new study. Over the past 20 years, volunteers have helped monitor more than half of the total fish species known to occur in the Salish Sea.

Cells dancing harmonic duets could enable personalized cancer therapies

Posted: 24 Mar 2022 03:46 PM PDT

Mechanical engineers are using two electronic 'voices' singing a harmonic duet to control suspended particles and cells in new and valuable ways. Their prototype device can form and rotate a single-layer crystal from a group of particles, create arbitrary shapes with a given number of particles, and move pairs of biological cells together and apart again hundreds of times. These abilities could serve fields like materials science, biophysics, life science and medicine.

New research shows certain exercises can help with muscular dystrophy

Posted: 24 Mar 2022 03:46 PM PDT

A new study using neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) in zebrafish found that certain activities may help strengthen muscles affected by Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a severe type of muscular dystrophy that affects young boys. The researchers designed four NMES regimens for zebrafish with a mutation that closely modeled the disease. They then put the fish into an underwater 3D printed 'gym' made up of tunnels and electrodes, and analyzed their skeletal muscles to see how they had changed.

Once called cellular debris, tiny bubbles may play key role in understanding, treating diseases

Posted: 24 Mar 2022 03:46 PM PDT

Scientists have long puzzled about a critical way that cells communicate with one another, but researchers have now used a simple roundworm to solve the mystery.

Carbon-coated nickel enables fuel cell free of precious metals

Posted: 24 Mar 2022 03:45 PM PDT

A nitrogen doped carbon-coated nickel anode can catalyze an essential reaction in hydrogen fuel cells at a fraction of the cost of the precious metals currently used, researchers have found.

Can supermarkets coax people into buying healthier food?

Posted: 24 Mar 2022 11:37 AM PDT

Restricting supermarket placement of less healthy items and increasing the availability of healthier alternatives in these stores may be promising interventions to encourage healthier purchasing behaviors, according to two new studies.

Tuberculosis infection protects mice from developing COVID-19

Posted: 24 Mar 2022 11:37 AM PDT

In mice, the immune response mounted against tuberculosis prevents them from developing COVID-19, according to a new study.

Do octopuses, squid and crabs have emotions?

Posted: 24 Mar 2022 11:37 AM PDT

Octopuses can solve complex puzzles and show a preference for different individuals, but whether they, and other animals and invertebrates, have emotions is being hotly debated and could shake up humans' moral decision-making, says an expert in animal minds. Most countries don't recognize invertebrates, such as octopuses, crabs, lobsters and crayfish, as sentient beings that can feel pain, but the United Kingdom is considering amendments to its animal welfare legislation that would recognize this.

Warming oceans are getting louder

Posted: 24 Mar 2022 10:03 AM PDT

Climate change is speeding sound transmission in the oceans and the way it varies over the globe with physical properties of the oceans. Two 'acoustic hotspots' of future sound speed increases are predicted east of Greenland and in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean, East of Newfoundland. In these locations, the average speed of sound is likely to increase by more than 1.5% if 'business-as-usual' high rates of greenhouse gas emissions continue through 2100.

Tuberculosis induces premature cellular aging

Posted: 24 Mar 2022 10:03 AM PDT

Researchers found that the cells of humans and animals who have recovered from tuberculosis had prematurely aged up to 12 to 14 years. It's possible that this premature cellular aging is one reason why survivors of tuberculosis have a high risk of mortality.

Health risk due to micro- and nanoplastics in food

Posted: 24 Mar 2022 10:02 AM PDT

Five grams of plastic particles on average enter the human gastrointestinal tract per person per week. This is roughly equivalent to the weight of a credit card. Whether ingested micro- and nanoplastics pose a health risk is being investigated in numerous studies but is largely unknown to date. A research team has now summarized the current state of scientific knowledge.

Blow flies can be used detect use of chemical weapons, other pollutants

Posted: 24 Mar 2022 10:02 AM PDT

A study suggests blow flies could be used to detect the use of chemical weapons -- as well as other dangerous substances -- in areas too dangerous or remote for human investigators.

Resourceful viral protein combats monkey and human defenses differently

Posted: 24 Mar 2022 09:26 AM PDT

Researchers have found that different parts of viral protein U expressed by simian immunodeficiency virus are required to bind to and block tetherin, an antiviral protein, in monkey cells versus in human cells. This suggests that the virus uses two different mechanistic strategies to evade this host defense and sheds new light on host-pathogen coevolution.

Life at the top: Scientists find first molecular clues behind high-altitude adaptation in gelada monkeys

Posted: 24 Mar 2022 09:26 AM PDT

An international research team has put together the first gelada reference genome, assembled from a single wild adult female gelada from the Simien Mountains, Ethiopia. They combined it with a detailed study of data collected from wild geladas to identify any adaptations to their high-altitude environment.

Win-wins in environmental management hard to find

Posted: 24 Mar 2022 09:25 AM PDT

When a booming marine fishery can increase its shrimp catch while also reducing unintentional bycatch of turtles --t hat's an example of what environmental scientists and managers call a 'win-win.' Models often predict this ideal outcome is achievable, yet stakeholders rarely see it manifest in the real world.

Male dolphins whistle to maintain key social relationships

Posted: 24 Mar 2022 09:25 AM PDT

Allied male bottlenose dolphins maintain weaker yet vital social relationships with whistle exchanges, researchers have found.

Study connects shorter course of antibiotics to fewer antibiotic resistance genes

Posted: 24 Mar 2022 09:25 AM PDT

A study explains how to to find an optimal dosage that reduces the use of antibiotics without compromising the health of patients.

Popular male dolphins produce more offspring

Posted: 24 Mar 2022 09:25 AM PDT

The reproductive success of male dolphins is not determined by strength or age, but via social bonds with other males. The better integrated males are in their social network, the more offspring they produce, a new study has shown using long-term behavioral and genetic data.

Membraneless organelles: From liquid to solid to drive development

Posted: 24 Mar 2022 07:45 AM PDT

Researchers show that transition from liquid to solid is important for the function of membraneless organelles.

Indian forest loss 'worse than feared' due to climate change

Posted: 24 Mar 2022 07:45 AM PDT

A national-scale study of the relationship between forest loss and rainfall and temperature trends in India reveals climate change may have contributed to huge declines during last two decades, countering official reports that suggest small losses, and adding to existing concerns over deforestation.

Road traffic in European cities exposes 60 million people to noise levels harmful to health

Posted: 24 Mar 2022 07:45 AM PDT

A study assessed the levels of noise generated by road traffic and examined its impact on health in 749 European cities. The findings show that nearly 60 million adults are subjected to unhealthy levels of vehicle-generated noise. Compliance with the World Health Organization (WHO) noise-level guidelines could prevent 3,600 deaths annually from ischemic heart disease alone.

Student researchers improve coral restoration efforts

Posted: 24 Mar 2022 07:45 AM PDT

A recent study revealed that exposing rice coral larvae to warmer temperatures did not improve survival once the coral developed into juveniles and were exposed to heat stress.

Understanding complex faults: Rupture propagation during the 2010 El Mayor-Cucapah earthquake

Posted: 24 Mar 2022 07:44 AM PDT

Researchers have identified irregular rupture propagation during the 2010 El Mayor-Cucapah earthquake in Mexico by incorporating teleseismic P waveform inversion with traditional modeling, allowing resolution of the rupture process and its relation to the complex fault system while mitigating modeling errors. Reducing errors made because of inaccurate assumptions about fault geometry is critical for robust interpretation of complex slip histories.

Breaking down plastic into its constituent parts

Posted: 24 Mar 2022 07:44 AM PDT

A team of ETH researchers led by Athina Anastasaki have succeeded in breaking down plastic into its molecular building blocks and in recovering over 90 percent of them. A first step towards genuine plastic recycling.

Artificial intelligence to bring museum specimens to the masses

Posted: 24 Mar 2022 07:44 AM PDT

Scientists are using cutting-edge artificial intelligence to help extract complex information from large collections of museum specimens.

Good news for coffee lovers: Daily coffee may benefit the heart

Posted: 24 Mar 2022 07:44 AM PDT

Drinking coffee -- particularly two to three cups a day -- is not only associated with a lower risk of heart disease and dangerous heart rhythms but also with living longer, according to recent studies. These trends held true for both people with and without cardiovascular disease. Researchers said the analyses -- the largest to look at coffee's potential role in heart disease and death -- provide reassurance that coffee isn't tied to new or worsening heart disease and may actually be heart protective.

Remote Indian Ocean reefs bounce back quickly after bleaching

Posted: 24 Mar 2022 07:44 AM PDT

Coral reefs in remote or protected areas can recover quickly after mass coral bleaching events, new research shows.

Older wildfire smoke plumes can affect climate

Posted: 23 Mar 2022 01:06 PM PDT

Aerosols carried in wildfire smoke plumes that are hundreds of hours old can still affect climate, according to a new study.

Study examines disparities in air pollution affecting American Indian communities

Posted: 23 Mar 2022 01:06 PM PDT

New research highlights disparities in fine particulate matter (PM2.5) trends between American Indian (AI) and non-AI populated U.S. counties. PM2.5 is one of several air pollutants regulated by the U.S. EPA. Downward trends in PM2.5 concentrations were steeper among the non-AI populated compared to AI-populated counties. With most U.S. air pollution research conducted in urban settings, this is the first study to detail the extent of particulate air pollution levels and its potential health consequences among rural AI communities.

Scholars call for Paris Accord-style global agreement to combat emergence of 'superbugs'

Posted: 23 Mar 2022 01:06 PM PDT

Public health experts have long been concerned by the emergence of so-called 'superbugs' -- existing bacterial, viral, or fungal pathogens that have evolved to evade the antibiotics, antivirals and antifungals developed to kill them. The scope and severity of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and the urgent need for a co-ordinated global response are the subjects of a new paper, co-authored by 25 scholars.

Revamped design could take powerful biological computers from the test tube to the cell

Posted: 23 Mar 2022 12:16 PM PDT

Researchers may have developed long-lived biological computers that could potentially persist inside cells. Researchers forgo the traditional DNA-based approach, opting instead to use the nucleic acid RNA to build computers. The results demonstrate that the RNA circuits are as dependable and versatile as their DNA-based counterparts. What's more, living cells may be able to create these RNA circuits continuously, something that is not readily possible with DNA circuits.

New potentially painkilling compound found in deep-water cone snails

Posted: 23 Mar 2022 12:16 PM PDT

In a new study, researchers report that a group of cone snails produces a venom compound similar to the protein somatostatin. While they continue to learn more about this venom compound and its possible pharmaceutical applications, the results show the wide variety of drug leads that venomous animals produce, which they've designed and refined over millions of years.

Rewriting the history books: Why the Vikings left Greenland

Posted: 23 Mar 2022 12:16 PM PDT

One of the great mysteries of late medieval history is why did the Norse, who had established successful settlements in southern Greenland in 985, abandon them in the early 15th century? The consensus view has long been that colder temperatures, associated with the Little Ice Age, helped make the colonies unsustainable. However, new research upends that old theory. It wasn't dropping temperatures that helped drive the Norse from Greenland, but drought.

Targeted demand response reduces price volatility of electric grid

Posted: 23 Mar 2022 12:05 PM PDT

Demand response, a measure taken to reduce the energy load in response to supply constraints, within the Texas electric grid has been a topic of recent conversation after the wake of Winter Storm Uri just one year ago. Demand response can enhance the reliability of the grid through renewable energy penetration and also significantly reduce price volatility, or fluctuation, in the wholesale electricity market.

New study of Yellowstone National Park shines new light on once hidden details of the famous American landmark

Posted: 23 Mar 2022 09:51 AM PDT

Those who have visited the park may have asked themselves, 'Where does all the hot water come from?' A study now provides stunning subsurface images that begin to answer that question.

Dense bones allowed Spinosaurus to hunt underwater

Posted: 23 Mar 2022 09:51 AM PDT

Spinosaurus is the largest predatory dinosaur known -- over two metres longer than the longest Tyrannosaurus rex -- but the way it hunted has been a subject of debate for decades. In a new paper, palaeontologists have taken a different approach to decipher the lifestyle of long-extinct creatures: examining the density of their bones.

Atossa -- The protein queen commanding cell invasion

Posted: 23 Mar 2022 09:50 AM PDT

Immune cells are our body's police force, but how can they reach the crime scene fast? Researchers have now discovered a new protein that boosts energy production inside immune cells and thus increases their power to invade. Apart from improving immune responses, the results could revolutionize our understanding of energy regulation in cells throughout the human body.

Chemical found in leafy greens shown to slow growth of COVID-19 and common cold viruses

Posted: 23 Mar 2022 09:50 AM PDT

A study in mice and lab-grown cells finds sulforaphane could help prevent and treat illnesses caused by certain coronaviruses, including COVID-19.

Going door-to-door to save Egypt’s pumpkins and address global food insecurity

Posted: 23 Mar 2022 08:45 AM PDT

How does one help save an iconic, nutritious Egyptian crop that will help meet the food security challenges resulting from climate change? An international team of researchers discovered that the best way to start is to drive throughout central and northeastern Egypt, knock on the doors of small farmers, and ask for a handful of their pumpkin seeds.

Antibiotic-resistant Salmonella strains not seen in migrating wild birds

Posted: 23 Mar 2022 08:45 AM PDT

Although many wild birds carry Salmonella, the strains of the bacteria they convey usually do not harbor antimicrobial-resistance genes, according to researchers.

Using marinated eggs to demonstrate diffusion

Posted: 23 Mar 2022 08:45 AM PDT

Researchers were inspired by marinated eggs to demonstrate how diffusion works in an easy and quantifiable way. The basis of the recipe is marinating hard boiled eggs in vinegar or brine, which cures the eggs by sufficiently saturating the egg whites via diffusion. In their experiment, the researchers compared penetration levels of red food dye in the whites of peeled hard-boiled eggs at three different temperatures: refrigerator temperature, room temperature, and in a cool convection oven.

Neighborhoods feeling the heat as medium density housing robs suburbs of street and garden trees

Posted: 23 Mar 2022 07:13 AM PDT

Researchers are calling for new national planning policies to mandate the inclusion of trees in any future housing developments and architectural designs.

Humans have given wild animals their diseases nearly 100 times, researchers find

Posted: 23 Mar 2022 07:12 AM PDT

Scientists have found that humans might give viruses back to animals more often than previously understood.

Firefighters’ risk of irregular heartbeat linked to number of on-the-job fire exposures

Posted: 23 Mar 2022 07:12 AM PDT

The more fires they respond to, the higher the risk of atrial fibrillation or AFib -- a common irregular heart rhythm -- among firefighters, according to a survey of more than 10,000 active U.S. firefighters. After adjusting for atrial fibrillation risk factors, such as high blood pressure and smoking, researchers found a 14% increased risk of atrial fibrillation for every additional five fires fought annually.

New type of ultraviolet light makes indoor air as safe as outdoors

Posted: 23 Mar 2022 07:12 AM PDT

A new type of ultraviolet light that is safe for people destroyed more than 98 percent of airborne microbes in a room within five minutes, a study found.