ScienceDaily Environment Headlines
for Friday, August 20, 2010
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Brain gene expression changes when honey bees go the distance (August 20, 2010) -- Tricking honey bees into thinking they have traveled long distance to find food alters gene expression in their brains, researchers report. ... > full story
Scientists pry new information from disease-causing, shellfish-borne bacterium (August 20, 2010) -- Researchers have uncovered a key weapon in the molecular arsenal the infectious bacterium Vibrio parahaemolyticus (V. para) uses to kill cells and cause food poisoning in its human host. ... > full story
How the storehouses of plant cells are formed (August 20, 2010) -- Researchers have shown for the first time that a specific protein plays an indispensable role in the formation of vacuoles, by far the largest organelles in plant cells. Enveloped by a membrane, vacuoles store substances vital for the plant cell and in many cases important to humans as well. Until now, scientists have only vaguely understood how these vacuoles are formed or how the substances stored inside them get there. ... > full story
Scientist IDs genes that promise to make biofuel production more efficient, economical (August 20, 2010) -- Metabolic engineers have taken the first step toward the more efficient and economical production of biofuels by developing a strain of yeast with increased alcohol tolerance. Overexpression of a particular gene increased ethanol volume by more than 70 percent and ethanol tolerance by more than 340 percent compared to the control strain. ... > full story
Human neural stem cells restore motor function in mice with chronic spinal cord injury (August 20, 2010) -- Researchers have demonstrated that human neural stem cells can restore mobility in cases of chronic spinal cord injury, suggesting the prospect of treating a much broader population of patients. ... > full story
New ways to chart our maritime past (August 20, 2010) -- By combining meteorology and archaeology, scientists may discover old sea routes and mooring sites, and boost our knowledge of ancient maritime culture. ... > full story
Scientists map and confirm origin of large, underwater hydrocarbon plume in Gulf (August 19, 2010) -- Scientists have detected a plume of hydrocarbons that is at least 22 miles long and more than 3,000 feet below the surface of the Gulf of Mexico, a residue of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill. ... > full story
Dogs' family status depends on family's locale (August 19, 2010) -- Man's best friend might just be treated like any other animal depending on where the owners live. A new study found that people who think of animals as children tend to have a city background. ... > full story
New genetic tool helps improve rice (August 19, 2010) -- Scientists have developed a new tool for improving the expression of desirable genes in rice in parts of the plant where the results will do the most good. ... > full story
Paper wasps punish peers for misrepresenting their might (August 19, 2010) -- Falsely advertising one's fighting ability might seem like a good strategy for a wimp who wants to come off as a toughie, but in paper wasp societies, such deception is discouraged through punishment, experiments suggest. ... > full story
Slowing urban sprawl, adding forests curb floods and help rivers (August 19, 2010) -- Controlling urban growth and increasing forested land are the most effective ways to decrease future water runoff and flooding, according to a new study. ... > full story
Targeting hit-and-run cancer viruses (August 19, 2010) -- Viruses that can invade host cells, initiate cancer and then flee from their own trail of destruction could be stopped in their tracks, say researchers. ... > full story
Bees warm up with a drink, too! (August 19, 2010) -- When we venture out on a cool morning, nothing energizes our body like a nice warm drink and new research reveals that bees also use the same idea when they're feeling cold. A new study shows that bees also like to keep winter at bay with a warm drink. ... > full story
Brightness on fluorescent probes used to monitor biological activities of individual proteins increased (August 19, 2010) -- Researchers are turning up the brightness on a group of fluorescent probes that are used to monitor biological activities of individual proteins in real-time. This latest advance enhances their fluormodule technology causing it to glow an order of magnitude brighter than typical fluorescent proteins and five- to seven-times brighter than enhanced green fluorescent protein. ... > full story
Ancient 'terror bird' used powerful beak to jab like an agile boxer (August 19, 2010) -- The ancient "terror bird" Andalgalornis couldn't fly, but it used its unusually large, rigid skull -- coupled with a hawk-like hooked beak -- for a fighting strategy reminiscent of boxer Muhammad Ali. The agile creature repeatedly attacked and retreated, landing well-targeted, hatchet-like jabs to take down its prey, according to a new study. ... > full story
Moderate drinking, especially wine, associated with better cognitive function (August 19, 2010) -- A large prospective study of 5,033 men and women has reported that moderate wine consumption is independently associated with better performance on cognitive tests. ... > full story
Too hot to handle: Impacts of climate change on mussels (August 19, 2010) -- Climate change is causing higher air and water temperatures along the east coast of the United States. These changes have shrunk the geographic region where blue mussels are able to survive, according to new findings. ... > full story
Discovery may aid search for anti-aging drugs: Gene's action may help explain why restricting diet lengthens life in animals (August 19, 2010) -- Scientists have found that suppressing a newly discovered gene lengthens the lifespan of roundworms. The results offer promising early evidence that scientists may succeed at finding targets for anti-aging drugs. ... > full story
Creation of the first frozen repository for Hawaiian coral (August 19, 2010) -- Scientists have created the first frozen bank for Hawaiian corals in an attempt to protect them from extinction and to preserve their diversity in Hawaii. ... > full story
New computer model advances climate change research (August 19, 2010) -- Scientists can now study climate change in far more detail with powerful new computer software released by the National Center for Atmospheric Research. The Community Earth System Model will be one of the primary climate models used for the next assessment by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. ... > full story
Thymus cells transform into skin cells in Swiss laboratory (August 19, 2010) -- Taking one type of cell and transforming it into another type is now possible. Cells taken from the thymus have been transformed into skin cells -- a discovery that may have important ramifications for the field of organ regeneration. The findings show that these stem cells change their genetic make-up according to their environment to contribute to the long-term functioning of the skin, even producing hair for up to a year after implantation. ... > full story
New satellite data reveals true decline of world's mangrove forests (August 19, 2010) -- New satellite imagery has given scientists the most comprehensive and exact data on the distribution and decline of mangrove forests from across the world. The research reveals forest distribution is 12.3% smaller than earlier estimates. ... > full story
Deadly Samoa-Tonga earthquake concealed two other quakes, seismic sleuths discover (August 19, 2010) -- A magnitude-8.1 earthquake and tsunami that killed 192 people last year in Samoa, American Samoa and Tonga was more complicated than initially thought: The 8.1 "great earthquake" concealed and triggered two major quakes of magnitude 7.8, seismologists report. ... > full story
How genes hide their function (August 19, 2010) -- Researchers in Japan have illuminated mechanisms underlying the genetic robustness of metabolic effects in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. Their findings reveal a key balance between the roles played by duplicate genes and metabolic network connectivity in functional compensation. ... > full story
Forecasting the fate of fertilizer in the Chesapeake Bay watershed (August 19, 2010) -- Reducing the runoff from plant nutrients that can eventually wash into the Chesapeake Bay could someday be as easy as checking the weather forecast. ... > full story
Kihansi spray toads make historic return to Tanzania (August 19, 2010) -- In a bold effort to save one of the world's rarest amphibians from extinction, one hundred Kihansi spray toads have been flown home to Tanzania after being painstakingly reared at the Bronx Zoo and the Toledo Zoo. ... > full story
Choosing healthier protein-rich foods instead of red and processed meats may reduce heart disease (August 18, 2010) -- American women who ate more protein-rich foods instead of red meat had a significantly lower risk of developing heart disease, according to a new study. Eating more fresh red meat, processed red meat and high-fat dairy carried an increased risk of heart disease in the study. Women who had two servings per day of red meat compared to those who had half a serving per day had a 30 percent higher risk of developing coronary heart disease. ... > full story
How corals fight back (August 18, 2010) -- Researchers are a step closer to understanding the rapid decline of our coral reefs, thanks to a breakthrough study linking coral immunity with its susceptibility to bleaching and disease. ... > full story
Meningitis research breakthrough could save children’s lives (August 18, 2010) -- Scientists have developed a rapid diagnostic test for meningococcal bacteria that can produce results within an hour. The speed of this new test is a vital factor in the treatment of young children with meningococcal meningitis and septicaemia who become very ill over a short period. ... > full story
Screening crop plants for toxins (August 18, 2010) -- Scientists are working on a way to screen crop plants for toxic accumulation. Many plants, in response to predators or herbivores, release hydrogen cyanide to defend themselves. The new genetic screen for plants lacking this ability will be particularly useful for crops grown in tropical and sub-Saharan Africa. ... > full story
Can anthropology solve an economic crisis? (August 18, 2010) -- The field of anthropology is often associated with finding lost tribes, understanding ancient civilizations, and the study of indigenous peoples. However, researchers in Norway argue that anthropology has much more to offer than insights into small-scale societies, traditional cultures or arcane customs. They now argue that anthropology is an indispensable tool to complement others research fields, such as psychology and economics, in solving many diverse problems. ... > full story
Scientists closer to finding what causes the birth of a fat cell (August 18, 2010) -- Just what causes the birth of a human fat cell is a mystery, but scientists using mathematics to tackle the question have come up with a few predictions about the proteins that influence this process. The research is intended to increase understanding of how and why preadipocytes, or pre-fat cells, either lie dormant, copy themselves or turn into fat. ... > full story
Paving 'slabs' that clean the air (August 18, 2010) -- The concentrations of toxic nitrogen oxide that are present in German cities regularly exceed the maximum permitted levels. That's now about to change, as innovative paving slabs that will help protect the environment are being introduced. Coated in titanium dioxide nanoparticles, they reduce the amount of nitrogen oxide in the air. ... > full story
Future air travel: Quieter, cleaner and more environmentally friendly? (August 18, 2010) -- Less noise, less exhaust, less refuse - air travel of the future is expected to be quieter, cleaner and more environmentally friendly. To achieve this goal, new structural concepts and aerodynamic profiles have to be engineered, along with better drive concepts as well as adapted logistical designs, and then put to use. In the European project Clean Sky, researchers want to make their contribution to solving this Herculean task. ... > full story
Fossil reveals 48-million-year history of zombie ants (August 18, 2010) -- A 48-million-year-old fossilized leaf has revealed the oldest known evidence of a macabre part of nature -- parasites taking control of their hosts to turn them into zombies. ... > full story
Vitamin D may treat or prevent allergy to common mold (August 18, 2010) -- Vitamin D may be an effective therapeutic agent to treat or prevent allergy to a common mold that can complicate asthma and frequently affects patients with cystic fibrosis. ... > full story
New probe technology illuminates the activation of light-sensing cells (August 18, 2010) -- Ultimately, Charles Darwin's "endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful" can be boiled down to a scant 20 or so amino acids, the basic building blocks of life. From this parsimonious palette, nature paints the proteins that make up the wild diversity of life on earth, from the simplest bacteria to the most complicated structure in the known universe -- the human brain. Now, research reveals a new technique for tagging proteins with non-natural amino acids to scrutinize details about how they function. ... > full story
Dwindling green pastures, not hunting, may have killed off the mammoth (August 18, 2010) -- A massive reduction in grasslands and the spread of forests may have been the primary cause of the decline of mammals such as the woolly mammoth, woolly rhino and cave lion, according to scientists. ... > full story
Novel diabetes hope comes from Chinese herbs (August 18, 2010) -- Emodin, a natural product that can be extracted from various Chinese herbs including Rheum palmatum and Polygonum cuspidatum, shows promise as an agent that could reduce the impact of type 2 diabetes. New findings show that giving emodin to mice with diet-induced obesity lowered blood glucose and serum insulin, improved insulin resistance and lead to more healthy levels of lipid in the blood. It also decreased body weight and reduced central fat mass. ... > full story
Cause of immune system avoidance of certain pathogens discovered (August 18, 2010) -- Researchers have discovered that a special set of sugars found on some disease-causing pathogens helps those pathogens fight the body's natural defenses as well as vaccines. This discovery may be a first step in understanding a disease family that includes tuberculosis for which there are currently no good vaccines or cures. ... > full story
Human activity eclipses Brazos River's native carbon cycle (August 18, 2010) -- Geochemists have found that damming and other human activity has completely obscured the natural carbon dioxide cycling process in Texas' longest river, the Brazos. The study is the first to document such an overwhelming influence of human activity on carbon dioxide in a major river. ... > full story
Can cloned plants live forever? (August 18, 2010) -- Despite the many cosmetic products, surgical treatments, food supplements, and drugs designed specifically to reverse the biological effects of aging in humans, long-lived aspen clones aren't so lucky. Researchers have shown that as long-lived male aspen clones age, their sexual performance declines. ... > full story
Studying yeast to better understand male infertility (August 18, 2010) -- Men and yeast have something in common: they use the same molecular process to ensure the integrity of their gene pool during reproduction, according to researchers in France. The scientists are studying yeast in order to shed light on the numerous cases of male infertility related to the malfunction of this process during spermatogenesis ... > full story
Powering Australia with waves (August 18, 2010) -- Researchers have provide new estimates of the wave-energy potential of Australia's near-shore regions. They also calculate how much of Australia's energy needs could be obtained from wave energy alone. ... > full story
Secrets of a vanished English landscape: Geologists examine 5,000-year-old 'fossilized' landscape (August 18, 2010) -- A team of scientists in the UK has published new research on a fossilized landscape, providing insights into how an ancient environment functioned. ... > full story
How to reduce UK transport carbon emissions by 76 per cent by 2050 (August 18, 2010) -- Researchers in the UK have achieved a significant breakthrough in climate change policy by showing how to make drastic cuts in carbon dioxide emissions from transport. The study goes beyond the science and paints a picture of what a low carbon transport future would look like. What emerges is vision of a less stressful, quieter, healthier, more resilient and confident society. ... > full story
Moderate chocolate consumption linked to lower risks of heart failure, study finds (August 17, 2010) -- Middle-aged and elderly Swedish women who regularly ate a small amount of chocolate had lower risks of heart failure risks, according to a new study. ... > full story
Saving the brain's white matter with mutated mice (August 17, 2010) -- Scientists are developing laboratory mice which carry the Vanishing White Matter (VWM) mutation. This important new development allows for new research on VWM diseases such as multiple sclerosis, leading to a deeper understanding of the condition. ... > full story
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