ScienceDaily Environment Headlines
for Sunday, September 5, 2010
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Novel nanotechnology collaboration leads to breakthrough in cancer research (September 4, 2010) -- A multidisciplinary group of researchers has produced a 3.6-angstrom resolution structure of the human adenovirus. Scientists are working with adenovirus as a vector for gene therapy, but have needed better structural information. ... > full story
Helping corn-based plastics take more heat (September 4, 2010) -- A team of agricultural scientists are working to make corn-derived plastics more heat tolerant -- research that may broaden the range of applications for which these plastics could be used as an alternative to petroleum-based plastics. ... > full story
Next step in evolution? A technical life form that passes on knowledge and experience (September 4, 2010) -- Dutch biologist Gerard Jagers op Akkerhuis has developed the ‘operator hierarchy’ -- a system based on the complexity of particles and of organisms, which can predict the next step in evolution: a technical life form, that can pass on its knowledge and experience to the next generation. ... > full story
Most new farmland in tropics comes from slashing forests, research shows (September 4, 2010) -- A new study shows that more than 80 percent of the new farmland created in the tropics between 1980 and 2000 came from felling forests, which sends carbon into the atmosphere and drives global warming. But the research team also noted that big agribusiness has largely replaced small farmers in doing most of the tree cutting in Brazil and Indonesia, which may make it easier to rein in the trend. ... > full story
Why fish oils work swimmingly against inflammation and diabetes (September 4, 2010) -- Researchers have identified the molecular mechanism that makes omega-3 fatty acids so effective in reducing chronic inflammation and insulin resistance. ... > full story
Many urban streams harmful to aquatic life following winter pavement deicing (September 4, 2010) -- The use of salt to deice pavement can leave urban streams toxic to aquatic life, according to a new study on the influence of winter runoff in northern US cities, with a special focus on eastern Wisconsin and Milwaukee. ... > full story
Ants take on Goliath role in protecting trees in the savanna from elephants (September 3, 2010) -- Ants are not out of their weight class when defending trees from the appetite of nature's heavyweight, the African elephant, a new study finds. Columns of angered ants will crawl up into elephant trunks to repel the ravenous beasts from devouring tree cover throughout drought-plagued East African savannas, playing a potentially important role in regulating carbon sequestration in these ecosystems. ... > full story
Mechanisms and function of a type of mysterious immune cell discovered (September 3, 2010) -- In two closely related studies, two teams of scientists have discovered the underlying mechanisms that activate a type of immune cell in the skin and other organs. The findings may lead to the development of new therapies to treat inflammation, wounds, asthma and malignant tumors. ... > full story
Giant Greenland iceberg -- largest in the northern hemisphere -- enters Nares Strait (September 3, 2010) -- The European Space Agency's Envisat satellite has been tracking the progression of the giant iceberg that calved from Greenland's Petermann glacier on 4 August 2010. A new animation shows that the iceberg, the largest in the northern hemisphere, is now entering Nares Strait -- a stretch of water that connects the Lincoln Sea and Arctic Ocean with Baffin Bay. ... > full story
Brainy worms: Scientists uncover counterpart of cerebral cortex in marine worms (September 3, 2010) -- Unexpectedly, scientists have now discovered a true counterpart of the cerebral cortex in an invertebrate, a marine worm. Their findings give an idea of what the most ancient higher brain centers looked like, and what our distant ancestors used them for. ... > full story
Capsaicin can act as co-carcinogen, study finds; Chili pepper component linked to skin cancer (September 3, 2010) -- New research links capsaicin, a component of chili peppers, to skin cancer. While the molecular mechanisms of the cancer-promoting effects of capsaicin are not clear and remain controversial, the new research has shown a definite connection to formation of skin cancer through various laboratory studies. ... > full story
Cranberry juice shows promise blocking Staph infections (September 3, 2010) -- Expanding their scope of study on the mechanisms of bacterial infection, researchers have reported the surprise finding from a small clinical study that cranberry juice cocktail blocked a strain of Staphylococcus aureus from beginning the process of infection. ... > full story
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