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Public Release: 24-May-2013
 Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesUnderstanding the past and predicting the future by looking across space and time In a new paper published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and elsewhere validate a fundamental assumption at the very heart of a popular way to predict relationships between complex variables. Contact: Jessica Blois
Public Release: 24-May-2013
LithosphereJune 2013 LITHOSPHERE now online New papers published in the June issue of Lithosphere cover the geology of Western Europe; the Osa Peninsula of Costa Rica; the Norwegian Caledonides; the Central Asian Orogenic Belt; the Karakoram shear zone and Greater Himalaya Sequence, NW India; the Garlock fault and the southern Sierra Nevada-eastern Tehachapi Mountains, USA; and the Chinese Altai. The issue features multi-national research teams, including authors from Belgium, Scotland, China, and Japan, as well as the USA. Contact: Kea Giles
Public Release: 24-May-2013
Environmental Science & TechnologyHow sustainable is Switzerland? The vision of a society in which each inhabitant of the earth manages to consume only 2,000 watts has already been around for 15 years. During this time, there has been a steady increase in environmental awareness. Technology has become more efficient and sustainable lifestyle is popular. However, as a study by Empa and ETH Zurich shows, Mr. and Mrs. Swiss are still a long way from achieving this. Contact: Dominic Notter
Public Release: 24-May-2013
A majority on Earth face severe self-inflicted water woes within 2 generations: Scientists A conference of 500 leading water scientists from around the world today issued a stark warning that, without major reforms, "in the short span of one or two generations, the majority of the 9 billion people on Earth will be living under the handicap of severe pressure on fresh water, an absolutely essential natural resource for which there is no substitute. This handicap will be self-inflicted and is, we believe, entirely avoidable." Contact: Terry Collins
Public Release: 23-May-2013
NatureMonkey teeth help reveal Neanderthal weaning Studies on monkeys at the California National Primate Research Center at UC Davis have helped US and Australian researchers calculate when a Neanderthal infant was weaned. 
US Environmental Protection Agency, NIH/National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Science Foundation, National Health and Medical Research Council, Australian Research Council, Harvard University
Contact: Andy Fell
Public Release: 23-May-2013
Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesReforestation study shows trade-offs between water, carbon and timber More than 13,000 ships per year transit the Panama Canal each year. Each time a ship passes through, more than 55 million gallons of water are used. The advent of large "super" cargo ships has demanded expansion of the canal, leaving the authority to consider how meet increased demand for water. One proposed measure is the reforestation of the watershed, which has been studied by ASU scientists Silvio Simonit and Charles Perrings to aid planners.
National Science Foundation, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Contact: Margaret Coulombe
Public Release: 23-May-2013
ScienceSyracuse University professor argues Earth's mantle affects long-term sea-level rise estimates New findings by a team of researchers, including Robert Moucha, assistant professor of Earth Sciences in Syracuse University's College of Arts and Sciences, reveal that the US shoreline -- from Virginia to Florida -- has been uplifted by more than 210 feet, meaning less ice melted than expected. This is big news for scientists who use the coastline to predict future sea-level rise. Contact: Rob Enslin
Public Release: 23-May-2013
Current BiologyScientists offer first definitive proof of bacteria-feeding behavior in green algae Researchers have captured images of green alga consuming bacteria, offering a glimpse at how early organisms dating back more than 1 billion years may have acquired free-living photosynthetic cells. This acquisition is thought to be a critical first step in the evolution of photosynthetic algae and land plants, which, in turn, contributed to the increase in oxygen levels in Earth's atmosphere and ocean and provided one of the conditions necessary for animal evolution.
American Museum of Natural History, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
Contact: Kendra Snyder
Public Release: 23-May-2013
Scientists announce top 10 new species An amazing glow-in-the-dark cockroach, a harp-shaped carnivorous sponge and the smallest vertebrate on Earth are just three of the newly discovered top 10 species selected by the International Institute for Species Exploration at Arizona State University. A global committee of taxonomists -- scientists responsible for species exploration and classification -- announced its list of top 10 species from 2012 today, May 23. Contact: Sandra Leander
Public Release: 23-May-2013
Molecular CellResearchers identify new target to boost plant resistance to insects and pathogens Plants have evolved unique and sophisticated immune systems to defend themselves against insects and pathogens. Plant hormones called jasmonates play an important role in this defense, but jasmonates have been found to also be important for plant growth. Now, researchers have discovered a gene in the jasmonate pathway that controls plant defenses but does not play a detectable role in plant development. These findings could be applied to improve crop resistance in agriculture. Contact: Mary Beth O'Leary
Public Release: 23-May-2013
Current BiologyWhite tiger mystery solved White tigers today are only seen in zoos, but they belong in nature, say researchers reporting new evidence about what makes those tigers white. Their spectacular white coats are produced by a single change in a known pigment gene, according to the study, appearing on May 23 in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication. Contact: Mary Beth O'Leary
Public Release: 22-May-2013
Frontiers in Ecology and the EnvironmentThinking 'big' may not be best approach to saving large-river fish Large-river specialist fishes -- from giant species like paddlefish and blue catfish, to tiny crystal darters and silver chub -- are in danger, but researchers say there is greater hope to save them if major tributaries identified in a University of Wisconsin-Madison study become a focus of conservation efforts. Contact: Brenda Pracheil
Public Release: 22-May-2013
NASA's Landsat satellite looks for a cloud-free view For decades, Landsat satellites have documented the desiccation of the Aral Sea in Central Asia. Once one of the largest seas in the world, it shrunk to a tenth of its original volume after Russia diverted its feeder rivers in the 1960s. Scientists studying the Aral Sea's changing ecology and retreating shoreline have looked to Landsat -- and a new feature of the Landsat Data Continuity Mission will help ensure they get a clear, cloud-free view.
NASA, US Geological Survey
Contact: Kate Ramsayer
Public Release: 22-May-2013
ScienceUAF researchers contribute to global glacier study Alaska's melting glaciers remain one of the largest contributors to the world's rising sea levels, say two University of Alaska Fairbanks scientists. Contact: Diana Campbell
Public Release: 22-May-2013
Journal of Vertebrate PaleontologySmall, speedy plant-eater extends knowledge of dinosaur ecosystems Dinosaurs are often thought of as large, fierce animals, but new research highlights a previously overlooked diversity of small dinosaurs. In the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, a team of paleontologists from the University of Toronto, Royal Ontario Museum, Cleveland Museum of Natural History and University of Calgary have described a new dinosaur, the smallest plant-eating dinosaur species known from Canada. Contact: Cody Mooneyhan
Public Release: 22-May-2013
Environmental Science & TechnologyMore emphasis needed on recycling and reuse of Li-ion batteries The discovery of potential environmental and human health effects from disposal of millions of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries each year has led scientists to recommend stronger government policies to encourage recovery, recycling and reuse of lithium-ion battery materials. That's the conclusion of a new paper in the ACS journal Environmental Science & Technology. Contact: Michael Bernstein
Public Release: 22-May-2013
Atmospheric Chemistry and PhysicsVolcanoes cause climate gas concentrations to vary Trace gases and aerosols are major factors influencing the climate. With the help of highly complex installations, such as MIPAS on board of the ENVISAT satellite, researchers try to better understand the processes in the upper atmosphere. Now, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology presents the most comprehensive overview of sulfur dioxide measurements in the journal of Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. Contact: Monika Landgraf
Public Release: 22-May-2013
NatureThe tropical upper atmosphere 'fingerprint' of global warming The winds of the quasibiennial oscillation in the tropical upper atmosphere have greatly weakened at some altitudes over the last six decades, according to a new study by scientists at the International Pacific Research Center, University of Hawaii at Manoa, and the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology. The finding is consistent with computer model projections of how the upper atmosphere responds to global warming induced by increased greenhouse gas concentrations and is published in the May 23, 2013, issue of Nature. Contact: Gisela E. Speidel
Public Release: 22-May-2013
Journal of Archaeological ScienceNew archaeological 'high definition' sourcing sharpens understanding of the past A new method of sourcing the origins of artefacts in high definition is set to improve our understanding of the past. Contact: Amy Stone
Public Release: 22-May-2013
Virology JournalWhat the smallest infectious agents reveal about evolution Radically different viruses share genes and are likely to share ancestry, according to research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Virology Journal this week. The comprehensive phylogenomic analysis compares giant viruses that infect amoeba with tiny viruses known as virophages and to several groups of transposable elements. The complex network of evolutionary relationships the authors describe suggests that viruses evolved from non-viral mobile genetic elements and vice versa, on more than one occasion. Contact: Ruth Francis
Public Release: 22-May-2013
PLOS ONENew cave-dwelling arachnids discovered in Brazil Two new species of cave-dwelling short-tailed whipscorpions have been discovered in northeastern Brazil, and are described in research published May 22 in the open access journal PLOS ONE by Adalberto Santos, from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (Brazil) and colleagues. Contact: Souri Somphanith
Public Release: 22-May-2013
PLOS ONECaptive-bred wallabies may carry antibiotic resistant bacteria into wild populations Endangered brush-tail rock wallabies raised in captive breeding programs carry antibiotic resistance genes in their gut bacteria and may be able to transmit these genes into wild populations, according to research published May 22 in the open access journal PLOS ONE by Michelle Power and colleagues from Macquarie University in New South Wales, Australia. Contact: Souri Somphanith
Public Release: 21-May-2013
Comprehensive analysis of impact spherules supports theory of cosmic impact 12,800 years ago About 12,800 years ago when the Earth was warming and emerging from the last ice age, a dramatic and anomalous event occurred that abruptly reversed climatic conditions back to near-glacial state. According to James Kennett, UC Santa Barbara emeritus professor in earth sciences, this climate switch fundamentally -- and remarkably -- occurred in only one year, heralding the onset of the Younger Dryas cool episode. Contact: Sonia Fernandez
Public Release: 21-May-2013
Journal of CatalysisNew method for producing clean hydrogen Duke University engineers have developed a novel method for producing clean hydrogen, which could prove essential to weaning society off of fossil fuels and their environmental implications.
California Energy Commission, Oak Ridge Associated Universities
Contact: Richard Merritt
Public Release: 21-May-2013
Environmental Science & TechnologyGoing green: Nation equipped to grow serious amounts of pond scum for fuel A new analysis shows that the nation's land and water resources could likely support the growth of enough algae to produce up to 25 billion gallons of algae-based fuel a year in the United States, one-twelfth of the country's yearly needs. For the best places to produce algae for fuel, think hot, humid and wet. Especially promising are the Gulf Coast and the Southeastern seaboard.
US Department of Energy
Contact: Tom Rickey
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