ScienceDaily Environment Headlines
for Friday, January 21, 2011
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Newly discovered group of algae live in both fresh water and ocean (January 21, 2011) -- Biologists have discovered an entirely new group of algae living in a wide variety of marine and freshwater environments. This group of algae, which the researchers dubbed "rappemonads," have DNA that is distinctly different from that of other known algae. Based on their DNA analysis, the researchers believe that they have discovered not just a new species or genus, but a potentially large and novel group of microorganisms. ... > full story
New low-cost method to deliver vaccine shows promise (January 21, 2011) -- A promising new approach to immunization might reduce costs and enable thousands more people around the world to be vaccinated. A research team developed a vaccine for rotavirus that can be administered through nasal drops. The study in mice induced a potent immune response and prevented infection. ... > full story
Bus and tram passengers warned to keep their germs to themselves (January 21, 2011) -- You are six times more likely to end up at the doctors with an acute respiratory infection (ARI) if you have recently used a bus or tram -- but those who use buses or trams daily might well be somewhat protected compared with more occasional users. ... > full story
Appearance not always enough to identify species (January 21, 2011) -- Linnaean taxonomy is still a cornerstone of biology, but modern DNA techniques have erased many of the established boundaries between species. This has made identifying species difficult in practice, which can cause problems, as shown by a researcher Sweden. ... > full story
Data matrix codes used to catalogue archaeological heritage (January 21, 2011) -- Researchers in Spain have implemented an innovative system to register archaeological artifacts that eliminates problems in manual markings, such as errors in writing or erosion of data. The system, based on direct labeling using bi-dimensional data matrix (DM) codes, has been used by the research team over the past two years, during which numerous artifacts and bone remains from sites in Spain and Africa were registered. ... > full story
Biological clock ticks slower for female birds who choose good mates (January 20, 2011) -- In birds as in people, female fertility declines with age. But some female birds can slow the ticking of their biological clocks by choosing the right mates, says a new study. ... > full story
Global view of blood cell development reveals new and complex circuitry (January 20, 2011) -- A small pool of stem cells replenishes the human body with about 200 billion new blood cells daily, but the elaborate circuitry that controls this process remains largely unknown. Scientists have now taken a systematic approach to help decipher this circuitry, compiling a comprehensive catalog of the factors that determine a blood cell's fate. ... > full story
2010 ties record for world's warmest year: World Meteorological Organization (January 20, 2011) -- The year 2010 ranked as the warmest year on record, together with 2005 and 1998, according to the World Meteorological Organization. Data received by the WMO show no statistically significant difference between global temperatures in 2010, 2005 and 1998. ... > full story
Identity theft by aphids: Research points to a need for possible reclassification of aphid species (January 20, 2011) -- New research has people asking: "What IS a species?" and entomologists wondering about the relationship between an insect species and the host plant or plants it feeds on. ... > full story
How to tell a pterodactyl's sex: Dino-era riddle solved by new fossil find (January 20, 2011) -- Killed and preserved with her egg, a fossil of a flying reptile shows for the first time how hips and crests can be used to sex pterodactyls. ... > full story
Insect eyes inspire improved solar cells: Anti-reflective film based on moth eyes increases efficiency of photovoltaics (January 20, 2011) -- The eyes of moths, which allow them to see well at night, are also covered with a water-repellent, anti-reflective coating that makes their eyes among the least reflective surfaces in nature. Mimicking the moth eye's microstructure, a team of researchers has created a new film for covering solar cells that can cut down on the amount of reflected light and help capture more power from the sun. ... > full story
Like humans, amoebae pack a lunch before they travel (January 20, 2011) -- Some amoebae do what many people do. Before they travel, they pack a lunch. Evolutionary biologists have shown that long-studied social amoebae Dictyostellum discoideum (commonly known as slime molds) increase their odds of survival through a rudimentary form of agriculture. ... > full story
NASA Mars rover will check for ingredients of life (January 20, 2011) -- One of the jobs for the biggest science instrument on NASA's next Mars rover will be to check for the carbon-based molecular building blocks of life. ... > full story
Bedbug genetic study finds possible pesticide-resistance genes (January 20, 2011) -- Entomologists have conducted the first genetic study of bedbugs, paving the road to the identification of potential genes associated with pesticide resistance and possible new control methods for the troublesome insect, whose sudden resurgence in the United States has led to a public health scare. ... > full story
Nanoparticle vaccine protects against stomach flu (January 20, 2011) -- A new vaccine strategy using nanoparticles as carriers may be the key to developing a vaccine against norovirus, one of the most common causes of foodborne disease in the United States. ... > full story
See how they grow: Monitoring single bacteria without a microscope (January 20, 2011) -- With an invention that can be made from some of the same parts used in CD players, researchers have developed a way to measure the growth and drug susceptibility of individual bacterial cells without the use of a microscope. ... > full story
Small molecules may prevent Ebola infection (January 20, 2011) -- Scientists report they've discovered small molecules that appear to bind to the outer protein coat of the Ebola virus, possibly blocking the virus from entering human cells. The finding may open new paths to treatment of Ebola and the related Marburg viral disease. ... > full story
Prion disease spreads in sheep via mother's milk (January 20, 2011) -- Transmission of prion brain diseases such as bovine spongiform enecephalopathy (BSE) -- also known as mad cow disease -- and human variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) is generally attributed to the consumption of the brain or organ meat of infected animals but new research demonstrates lambs exposed to milk from prion-infected sheep with inflamed mammary glands can develop prion disease as well. The research has major implications for human and livestock health. ... > full story
Glycerin confirmed as a feasible feedstuff for swine (January 20, 2011) -- An increased interest in biofuel production and a growing need to find cost-effective livestock feedstuff alternatives has led researchers to further evaluate the use of glycerin in swine diets. ... > full story
Arctic sea-ice controls the release of mercury (January 20, 2011) -- Scientists have recently highlighted a new role that sea-ice plays in the mercury cycle in the Arctic. By blocking sunlight, sea-ice could influence the breakdown and transfer into the atmosphere of toxic forms of mercury present in the surface waters of the Arctic Ocean. These results suggest that climate plays a key role in the mercury cycle and that the release of mercury into the atmosphere could be accentuated by the melting of Arctic sea-ice. ... > full story
Celiac patients can eat hydrolyzed wheat flour, study finds (January 20, 2011) -- Baked goods made from hydrolyzed wheat flour are not toxic to celiac disease patients, according to new research. ... > full story
Novel antibiotic combinations fight resistance genes (January 20, 2011) -- The combination the antibiotic ceftazidime plus the compound NXL104 is active against bacterial pathogens containing genes that confer resistance to multiple carbapenems, according to new research. ... > full story
Scientists view genome as it turns on and off inside cells (January 20, 2011) -- Researchers have developed a new approach to decoding the vast information embedded in an organism's genome, while shedding light on exactly how cells interpret their genetic material to create RNA messages and launch new processes in the cell. ... > full story
Complete structure of HIV’s outer shell revealed (January 20, 2011) -- Scientists have determined the structure of the protein package that delivers the genetic material of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) to human cells. ... > full story
Staph vaccine shows promise in Phase I (January 20, 2011) -- A new experimental vaccine against Staphylococcus aureus has been shown to be well-tolerated, and to boost antibodies, according to new research. ... > full story
Gardening in space with HydroTropi (January 19, 2011) -- Plants are fundamental to life on Earth, converting light and carbon dioxide into food and oxygen. Plant growth may be an important part of human survival in exploring space, as well. Gardening in space has been part of the International Space Station from the beginning -- whether peas grown in the Lada greenhouse or experiments in the Biomass Production System. The space station offers unique opportunities to study plant growth and gravity, something that cannot be done on Earth. ... > full story
Robotic ghost knifefish is 'born' (January 19, 2011) -- Researchers have created a robotic fish that can move from swimming forward and backward to swimming vertically almost instantaneously by using a sophisticated, ribbon-like fin. The robot -- created after observing and creating computer simulations of the black ghost knifefish of the Amazon River Basin -- could pave the way for nimble robots that could perform underwater recovery operations or long-term monitoring of coral reefs. ... > full story
Atlas of an organism: Gene expression in developing mouse embryo (January 19, 2011) -- While every cell of an organism contains the same genes only a proportion are expressed in any tissue at a given stage in development. Knowing the extent of gene transcription is valuable and a team of European researchers has generated an atlas of gene expression for the developing mouse embryo. This will be a powerful resource to determine co-expression of genes and to identify functional associations between genes relevant to development and disease. ... > full story
Killer paper for next-generation food packaging (January 19, 2011) -- Scientists are reporting development and successful lab tests of "killer paper," a material intended for use as a new food packaging material that helps preserve foods by fighting the bacteria that cause spoilage. The paper contains a coating of silver nanoparticles, which are powerful anti-bacterial agents. ... > full story
More asteroids could have made life's ingredients (January 19, 2011) -- A wider range of asteroids were capable of creating the kind of amino acids used by life on Earth, according to new NASA research. ... > full story
Giant crayfish species discovered right under researchers' noses (January 19, 2011) -- Two aquatic biologists have proven that you don't have to travel to exotic locales to search for unusual new species. They discovered a distinctive species of crayfish in Tennessee and Alabama that is at least twice the size of its competitors. Its closest genetic relative, once thought to be the only species in its genus and discovered in 1884 about 130 miles away in Kentucky, can grow almost as big as a lobster. ... > full story
Advance could speed use of genetic material RNA in nanotechnology (January 19, 2011) -- Scientists are reporting an advance in overcoming a major barrier to the use of the genetic material RNA in nanotechnology -- the field that involves building machines thousands of times smaller than the width of a human hair and now is dominated by its cousin, DNA. Their findings could speed the use of RNA nanotechnology for treating disease. ... > full story
Malaria parasite caught red-handed invading blood cells (January 19, 2011) -- Scientists using new image and cell technologies have for the first time caught malaria parasites in the act of invading red blood cells. The researchers achieved this long-held aim using a combination of electron, light and super resolution microscopy. ... > full story
Eating more fruit and vegetables is linked to a lower risk of dying from ischemic heart disease (January 19, 2011) -- A new study investigating the links between diet and disease has found that people who consume more fruit and vegetables have a lower risk of dying from ischemic heart disease -- the most common form of heart disease and one of the leading causes of death in Europe. ... > full story
In scientific first, researchers visualize naturally occurring mRNA (January 19, 2011) -- In a technique that could eventually shed light on how gene expression influences human disease, scientists have for the first time ever successfully visualized single molecules of naturally occurring messenger RNA transcribed in living mammalian cells. ... > full story
New way of predicting dominant seasonal flu strain (January 19, 2011) -- Scientists have found a way to predict rapidly whether a new strain of the influenza virus should be included in the annual seasonal flu vaccine. While it sometimes takes new flu strains up to three years to become dominant worldwide, the new method can predict whether they will become dominant as little as two weeks after the strain's genetic sequence first appears in the publicly available GenBank database. ... > full story
Mountain ranges may act as 'safe haven' for species facing climate change (January 19, 2011) -- Swiss researchers studying the projected effects of climate change on alpine plant species have discovered that mountain ranges may represent a "safer" place to live during changing climate conditions. The research finds that the habitat diversity of mountain ranges offer species "refuge habitats" which may be important for conservation. ... > full story
Are sharks color blind? (January 19, 2011) -- Sharks are unable to distinguish colors, even though their close relatives rays and chimaeras have some color vision, according to new research by scientists in Australia. Their study shows that although the eyes of sharks function over a wide range of light levels, they only have a single long-wavelength-sensitive cone type in the retina and therefore are potentially totally color blind. ... > full story
New leads in the case against drug-resistant biofilms (January 19, 2011) -- Films of bacteria that form around foreign materials in the body can be very difficult to defeat with drugs, but biologists have now identified a couple proteins that play a key role in building these "biofilms." This pair could prove to be a very important target for developing new antibiotics to fight infections. ... > full story
Forget the sunscreen: Water fleas in mountain ponds can handle UV rays (January 19, 2011) -- Some tiny crustaceans living in clear-water alpine ponds high in Washington state's Olympic Mountains have learned how to cope with the sun's damaging ultraviolet rays without sunblock -- and with very little natural pigmentation to protect them. In fact, in laboratory tests these water fleas, about the size of fruit flies, withstood UV rays much better than the same species of flea taken from a pond less than a mile away, where the water was murkier and thus offered protection. ... > full story
Appetite-related chemical also affects drug-seeking: Hungry rats more resistant to drug relapse in absence of chemical signal (January 19, 2011) -- A behavioral study of food-deprived rats shows that the animals were less likely to return to heroin-seeking habits when given a compound that blocks specific brain receptors. ... > full story
Long-term, high-fat diet alters mice brains: Brain changes may contribute to cycles of weight gain (January 19, 2011) -- The brains of mice fed a high-fat diet for an extended period of time showed irreversible changes in areas associated with reward and pleasure, a new study has found. ... > full story
Cellular traffic: Factors beyond crowding affect how molecules interact within cells, modeling shows (January 19, 2011) -- Using large-scale computer simulations, researchers have identified the most important factors affecting how molecules move through the crowded environment inside living cells. The findings suggest that perturbations caused by hydrodynamic interactions -- similar to what happens when the wake from a large boat affects smaller boats on a lake -- may be the most important factor in this intracellular diffusion. ... > full story
Secrets of birds' sexual signals revealed (January 19, 2011) -- Patterned feathers, previously thought to be used only for camouflage in birds, can play an important role in attracting a mate and fending off rivals, an Australian study reveals. ... > full story
Saving tropical forests and improving farming technology (January 19, 2011) -- In a warming 21st century, tropical forests will be at risk from a variety of threats, especially the conversion to cropland to sustain a growing population. A new report shows that crop productivity improvements and carbon emission limits together could prevent widespread tropical deforestation over the next 100 years -- but if relying on either one alone, the world is at risk of losing many of its tropical forests. ... > full story
Scientific evidence supports effectiveness of Chinese drug for cataracts (January 18, 2011) -- Scientists are reporting a scientific basis for the long-standing belief that a widely used non-prescription drug in China and certain other countries can prevent and treat cataracts, a clouding of the lens of the eye that is a leading cause of vision loss worldwide. ... > full story
Kittiwakes' trans-Atlantic winter odyssey linked to breeding success (January 18, 2011) -- One of Britain's best known seabirds winters on opposite sides of the Atlantic depending on whether its breeding attempt has been successful, according to new research. The findings highlight previously unsuspected links between summer breeding performance and wintering distributions of kittiwakes. ... > full story
Loss of reflectivity in the Arctic doubles estimate of climate models (January 18, 2011) -- A new analysis of the Northern Hemisphere's "albedo feedback" over a 30-year period concludes that the region's loss of reflectivity due to snow and sea ice decline is more than double what state-of-the-art climate models estimate. ... > full story
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