My picks from ScienceDaily

Birdsong Not Just For The Birds: Bio-acoustic Method Also Hears Nature's Cry For Help:

Switch on the mike, start the recording, the stage is set for the local fauna!

Explosion In Marine Biodiversity Explained By Climate Change:

A global change in climate could explain the explosion in marine biodiversity that took place 460 million years ago. Researchers from Lyon (1) and Canberra (Australia) (2) have found evidence of a progressive ocean cooling of about 15°C over a period of 40 million years during the Ordovician (3). Until now, this geologic period had been associated with a "super greenhouse effect" on our planet.

Plant Steroids Offer New Paradigm For How Hormones Work:

Steroids bulk up plants just as they do human athletes, but the playbook of molecular signals that tell the genes to boost growth and development in plant cells is far more complicated than in human and animal cells.

Acidification Of The Sea Hampers Reproduction Of Marine Species: Decreasing pH The Biggest Threat To Marine Animal Life For Thousands Of Years:

By absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and from the human use of fossil fuels, the world's seas function as a giant buffer for the Earth's life support system. The chemical balance of the sea has long been regarded as immovable.

Bacteria Reveal Secret Of Adaptation At Evolution Canyon:

Bacteria living on opposite sides of a canyon have evolved to cope with different temperatures by altering the make-up of their 'skin', or cell membranes. Scientists have found that bacteria change these complex and important structures to adapt to different temperatures by looking at the appearance of the bacteria as well as their genes. The researchers hope their study, published in the August issue of Microbiology, will start a new trend in research.