My Picks from ScienceDaily

Humans Perceive Others' Fear Faster Than Other Emotions:

You may not be fully dressed without a smile, but a look of horror will make a faster first impression. Vanderbilt University researchers have discovered that the brain becomes aware of fearful faces more quickly than those showing other emotions.

Pasturing Cows Convert Soil To A Source Of Methane, Potent Greenhouse Gas:

The cow as a killer of the climate: This inglorious role of our four-legged friends, peaceful in itself, is well-enough recognised, because, with their digestion, the animals produce methane, which is expelled continuously. Now, however, a team of German scientists from the Institute of Soil Ecology of the GSF - National Research Center for Environment and Health (Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres) and Czech colleagues at the Budweis Academy of Science have been able to show that bovine animals can also boost the production of this climate gas in soil.

Portable Diagnostic System For Foot-and-mouth Disease And Avian Flu Designed:

Smiths Detection is to launch a portable detection system that will enable veterinarians to carry out on-site diagnosis of animal diseases such as foot-and-mouth and avian flu. This new technology means vets will be able to diagnose diseases in livestock and birds in the field in less than 90 minutes rather than having to send samples for laboratory analysis.

Red Wine And Grape Juice Help Defend Against Food-borne Diseases, Study Suggests:

Red wine is known to have multiple health benefits. Researchers at the University of Missouri-Columbia have found that red wine may also protect humans from common food-borne diseases.

Want Antioxidants? Have You Eaten Micro-algae Lately?:

Some consumers want more than just their traditional nourishment requirements met. Micro-algae (eaten by humans in pre-Columbian America) are more than just nutritive. Spirulina microalgae could be a good source of antioxidants due to the presence of carotenoids deriving from chlorophyll, and provide bacterial growth inhibiting action because of certain fatty acids. Microalgae have turned out to be a potential alternative to the use of synthetic sources for these ingredients.

Buying And Selling Habitats To Help Wildlife:

Tradable permits are all the rage in environmental policy. They are already used internationally to reduce carbon emissions and improve air quality. A group of economists and ecologists from the UK, the Netherlands and Germany, are working together to find out whether such schemes could work for wildlife too. So far, it looks promising, but probably only for cultural landscapes like farmland.