ScienceDaily Environment Headlines -- for Saturday, September 10, 2011

ScienceDaily Environment Headlines

for Saturday, September 10, 2011

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Using 61 years of tropical storm data, scientists uncover landfall threat probabilities (September 9, 2011) -- Scientists have found an intriguing relationship between hurricane tracks and climate variability using data from the Atlantic gathered between 1950-2010, unlocking some noteworthy results. ... > full story

Captivated by critters: Humans are wired to respond to animals (September 9, 2011) -- Some people feel compelled to pet every animal they see on the street, while others jump at the mere sight of a shark on their television. No matter what your response is to animals, it may be thanks to a specific part of your brain that is hardwired to rapidly detect creatures of the nonhuman kind. In fact, researchers report that neurons throughout the amygdala respond preferentially to images of animals. ... > full story

Deep-sea fish in deep trouble: Scientists find nearly all deep-sea fisheries unsustainable (September 9, 2011) -- A team of leading marine scientists from around the world is recommending an end to most commercial fishing in the deep sea. Instead, they recommend fishing in more productive waters nearer to consumers. ... > full story

How an 'evolutionary playground' brings plant genes together (September 9, 2011) -- Plants produce a vast array of natural products, many of which we find useful for making things such as drugs. Researchers have recently discovered that the genes producing two of these products in the model plant Arabidopsis are clustered together by an 'evolutionary playground' in the plant's genome. Knowing how these clusters assemble and are controlled will be important for improving and exploiting the production of new natural products. ... > full story

Mantis shrimp: Ocean floor critters communicate in synchronized rumbles (September 9, 2011) -- Mantis shrimp make noise with each individual seeming to have its own "voice" with which to communicate. The research team noted the "rumbles" were synchronized. ... > full story

Mother's diet influences baby's allergies, research suggests (September 9, 2011) -- A possible link between what a mother eats during pregnancy and the risk of her child developing allergies has been identified in new research. ... > full story

Where does all Earth's gold come from? Precious metals the result of meteorite bombardment, rock analysis finds (September 9, 2011) -- Ultra high precision analyses of some of the oldest rock samples on Earth provides clear evidence that the planet's accessible reserves of precious metals are the result of a bombardment of meteorites more than 200 million years after Earth was formed. ... > full story

New cooling system raises efficiency of oil and gas processing (September 9, 2011) -- Mathematicians in Norway have devised a solution for making sub-sea oil and gas processing more efficient at substantially lower cost. Using their expertise in fluid mechanics they have developed a unique design for a subsea cooling system. Their research can help to recover more oil and gas resources both in the North Sea and elsewhere. The first newly constructed processing facilities could be installed on the seabed as early as 2013. The equipment will be designed to last 30 years, which means that in addition to being smaller and lighter, it has to be durable, maintenance-free and without moving parts. ... > full story

National forests can provide public health benefits, U.S. study finds (September 9, 2011) -- Each year, more than 170 million people visit U.S. national forests for recreation. And the physical activity associated with these visits burns 290 billion food calories. That equals enough french fries laid end to end to reach the Moon and back -- twice -- according to a recent study. ... > full story

Powered by seaweed: Polymer from algae may improve battery performance (September 9, 2011) -- By looking to Mother Nature for solutions, researchers have identified a promising new binder material for lithium-ion battery electrodes that could not only boost energy storage, but also eliminate the use of toxic compounds now used in manufacturing the components. Known as alginate, the material is extracted from common, fast-growing brown algae. ... > full story

Genomic analysis of superbug provides clues to antibiotic resistance (September 9, 2011) -- An analysis of the genome of a superbug has yielded crucial, novel information that could aid efforts to counteract the bacterium's resistance to an antibiotic of last resort. ... > full story

Handier than Homo habilis? Versatile hand of Australopithecus sediba makes a better candidate for an early tool-making hominin (September 9, 2011) -- Hand bones from a single individual with a clear taxonomic affiliation are scarce in the hominin fossil record, which has hampered understanding of the evolution of manipulative abilities in hominins. An international team of researchers has now published a study that describes the earliest, most complete fossil hominin hand post-dating the appearance of stone tools in the archaeological record, the hand of a 1.98-million-year-old Australopithecus sediba from Malapa, South Africa. ... > full story