ScienceDaily Environment Headlines
for Friday, February 12, 2010
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Low levels of antibiotics cause multidrug resistance in 'superbugs' (February 12, 2010) -- A new study by biomedical engineers indicates that treating bacteria with levels of antibiotics insufficient to kill them produces germs that are cross-resistant to a wide range of antibiotics. ... > full story
Environmental disaster in southern Spain compared with Cretaceous mass extinction (February 12, 2010) -- Researchers in Spain have compared the disaster caused by the Aznalcóllar spillage in the Doñana National Park in Andalusia 11 years ago with the biggest species extinction known to date. What do these two disasters have in common? The scientists say that carrying out comparisons of this kind will make it possible to find out how ecosystems recover following mass extinctions. ... > full story
Moderate fertilizer use could double African banana yields, study shows (February 12, 2010) -- A fertilizer-use study by researchers on East African highland bananas showed that moderate application of mineral fertilizers could double the production of the crop. However, the study also found that majority of the banana growers in the region do not use fertilizers, missing out on the opportunity to maximize their crop's food security and economic potentials. Over 70 million people in the East African highlands depend on banana as their primary source of food and income. ... > full story
Better weather forecasts with a map showing atmospheric vapor (February 12, 2010) -- Weather forecasts, satellite navigation in cars and the inspection of dikes or natural gas fields: these applications using satellite data would all be even more accurate if we knew more about the distribution of water vapor in the atmosphere, according to researchers. ... > full story
Resistant wheat goes for the gut to protect against Hessian flies (February 11, 2010) -- Resistant wheat plants stave off attacks by Hessian fly larvae by essentially destroying the fly's midgut and its ability to absorb nutrients, according to a new study. ... > full story
Archaeological 'time machine' greatly improves accuracy of early radiocarbon dating (February 11, 2010) -- Researchers have produced a new archaeological tool which could answer key questions in human evolution. The new calibration curve, which extends back 50,000 years, is a major landmark in radiocarbon dating -- the method used by archaeologists and geoscientists to establish the age of carbon-based materials. ... > full story
Biologist discovers 'stop' signal in honey bee communication (February 11, 2010) -- Honey bees warn their nest mates about dangers they encounter while feeding with a special signal that's akin to a "stop" sign for bees. When foragers were attacked by competitors from nearby colonies fighting for food at an experimental feeder, they produced a specific signal to stop nest mates from recruiting others to the dangerous location. ... > full story
Chocoholic mice fear no pain (February 11, 2010) -- Ever get a buzz from eating chocolate? Scientists have shown that chocolate-craving mice are ready to tolerate electric shocks to get their fix. ... > full story
3-D structure of bullet-shaped virus with potential to fight cancer, HIV revealed (February 11, 2010) -- A recent study demonstrates that with advanced imaging technique, the vesicular stomatitis virus can be modified to serve as an anti-cancer agent because it displays high selectivity in killing cancer cells while sparing normal cells. It can also be engineered as a potent vaccine against HIV/AIDS. ... > full story
Geographers help map devastation in Haiti (February 11, 2010) -- In the wake of the earthquake in Haiti, geography students are participating in a global effort to enhance the international response and recovery effort by helping to assess damage, using images hosted by Google Earth and the Virtual Disaster Viewer, which shares imagery of disasters from various sources. ... > full story
Millimeter-scale, energy-harvesting sensor system can operate nearly perpetually (February 11, 2010) -- A newly developed 9 cubic millimeter solar-powered sensor system is the smallest that can harvest energy from its surroundings to operate nearly perpetually. ... > full story
Hot pepper relief: New category of painkillers on the way? (February 11, 2010) -- Research has opened the door for the advancement of a new category of painkillers, called TRPV1 antagonists. These drugs block the transient receptor potential vannilloid-1 (TRPV1) channel, which is the same receptor responsible for the sensation of hotness from hot peppers. ... > full story
Tigers in serious trouble around the world, including the US (February 11, 2010) -- As many Asian countries prepare to celebrate Year of the Tiger beginning Feb. 14, World Wildlife Fund reports that tigers are in crisis around the world, including here in the United States, where more tigers are kept in captivity than are alive in the wild throughout Asia. As few as 3,200 tigers exist in the wild where they are threatened by poaching, habitat loss, illegal trafficking and the conversion of forests for infrastructure and plantations. ... > full story
Infection-fighting antibodies made in plants as effective as costlier conventional version (February 11, 2010) -- The first head-to-head comparison of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies produced from plants versus the same antibodies produced from mammalian cells has shown that plant-produced antibodies can fight infection equally well. Scientists conducted the comparison as a test of the potential for treating disease in developing nations with the significantly less expensive plant-based production technique. ... > full story
Researchers map all fragile sites of yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae's genome (February 11, 2010) -- Researchers have accomplished a technical breakthrough: they mapped all the fragile sites of a living organism, the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The method used by the researchers can be applied to humans. ... > full story
Mass extinctions: 'Giant' fossils are revolutionizing current thinking (February 11, 2010) -- Large-sized gastropods dating from only 1 million years after the greatest mass extinction of all time, the Permian-Triassic extinction, have been discovered by an international team of researchers. These specimens call into question the existence of a "Lilliput effect", the reduction in the size of organisms inhabiting postcrisis biota, normally spanning several million years. ... > full story
Nuclear pore complexes harbor new class of gene regulators (February 11, 2010) -- Nuclear pore complexes are best known as the communication channels that regulate the passage of all molecules to and from a cell's nucleus. Researchers, however, have shown that some of the pores' constituent proteins, called nucleoporins, pull double duty as transcription factors regulating the activity of genes active during early development. ... > full story
Animals cope with climate change at the dinner table: Birds, foxes and small mammals adapt their diets to global warming (February 11, 2010) -- New research measures the evolving body sizes of birds and animals in areas where climate change is most extreme. In higher latitudes, a pattern of birds getting smaller and mammals getting bigger has been identified. The change, researchers hypothesizes, is likely a strategy for survival. ... > full story
Adapting to clogged airways makes common pathogen resist powerful drugs (February 11, 2010) -- Mutations of a common environmental pathogen that causes chronic lung disease in patients with cystic fibrosis are able to survive in oxygen-poor, nitrate-rich airway secretions. This same survival mechanism also enables the mutate bacteria to resist the effects of certain antibiotics -- even without any previous exposure to antibiotics. ... > full story
Agricultural scientists sequence genome of grass that can be a biofuel model crop (February 10, 2010) -- Scientists have completed sequencing the genome of a kind of wild grass that will enable researchers to shed light on the genetics behind hardier varieties of wheat and improved varieties of biofuel crops. ... > full story
Surprising new branches on arthropod family tree (February 10, 2010) -- Any way you look at it -- by sheer weight, species diversity or population -- the hard-shelled, joint-legged creepy crawlies called arthropods dominate planet Earth. Because of their success and importance, scientists have been trying for decades to figure out the family relationships that link lobsters to millipedes and cockroaches to tarantulas and find which might have come first. ... > full story
Comprehensive study using bioinformatics predicts the molecular causes of many genetic diseases (February 10, 2010) -- It is widely known that genetic mutations cause disease. What are largely unknown are the mechanisms by which these mutations wreak havoc at the molecular level, giving rise to clinically observable symptoms in patients. Now a new study using bioinformatics reports the ability to predict the molecular cause of many inherited genetic diseases. These predictions have led to the creation of a web-based tool available to academic researchers who study disease. ... > full story
Waking the dead: Scientists reconstruct nuclear genome of extinct human being (February 10, 2010) -- For the first time, scientists have reconstructed the nuclear genome of an extinct human being. The innovative technique can help reconstruct human phenotypic traits of extinct cultures. It also allows for finding those contemporary populations most closely related to extinct cultures revealing ancient human expansions and migrations. Finally, the discovery improves our understanding of heredity and the disease risk passed down from our ancestors. The spectacular findings are being published in Nature. ... > full story
Future earthquake risk in Haiti: Startling images of ground motion help scientists understand risk of aftershocks (February 10, 2010) -- Analyzing images captured using Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) by Japan's ALOS satellite before and just after Haiti's earthquake on Jan. 12, scientists are making new discoveries. The images show that the earthquake rupture did not reach the surface -- unusual for an earthquake this size. More importantly, the images confirm that only the western half of the fault actually ruptured this time. Scientists are interpreting the data to establish the probability of another large quake in the next 20-30 years. ... > full story
Bird-from-dinosaur theory of evolution challenged: Was it the other way around? (February 10, 2010) -- A new study provides yet more evidence that birds did not descend from ground-dwelling theropod dinosaurs, experts say, and continues to challenge decades of accepted theories about the evolution of flight. ... > full story
Biological risks of eating reptiles (February 10, 2010) -- Reptiles are bred in captivity primarily for their skins, but some restaurants and population groups also want them for their meat. A study shows that eating these animals can have side effects that call into question the wisdom of eating this 'delicacy.' ... > full story
Climate 'tipping points' may arrive without warning, says top forecaster (February 10, 2010) -- A new study by a top ecological forecaster says it is harder than experts thought to predict when sudden shifts in Earth's natural systems will occur -- a worrisome finding for scientists trying to identify the tipping points that could push climate change into an irreparable global disaster. ... > full story
Thirty-eight percent of world's surface in danger of desertification (February 10, 2010) -- Researchers have measured the degradation of the planet's soil using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), a scientific methodology that analyses the environmental impact of human activities, and which now for the first time includes indicators on desertification. The results show that 38 percent of the world is made up of arid regions at risk of desertification. ... > full story
Cells can read damaged DNA without missing a beat (February 10, 2010) -- Under certain growth-limiting conditions, enzymes that read DNA can skim through damaged DNA without skipping any letters in the genetic "text." This suggests a mechanism that can allow bacteria to develop resistance to antibiotics. ... > full story
Invasive plants are beneficiaries of climate change in Thoreau's woods (February 10, 2010) -- Invasive plants could become even more prevalent and destructive as climate change continues, according to a new analysis of data stretching back more than 150 years. The scientists who conducted the study say that non-native plants, and especially invasive species, appear to thrive during times of climate change because they're better able to adjust the timing of annual activities like flowering and fruiting. ... > full story
Why did mammals survive the 'K/T extinction'? (February 10, 2010) -- Picture a dinosaur. Huge, menacing creatures, they ruled the Earth for nearly 200 million years, striking fear with every ground-shaking stride. Yet these great beasts were no match for a 6-mile wide meteor that struck near modern-day Mexico 65 million years ago, incinerating everything in its path. This catastrophic impact -- called the Cretaceous-Tertiary or K/T extinction event -- spelled doom for the dinosaurs and many other species. Some animals, however, including many small mammals, managed to survive. ... > full story
New genome sequence will aid study of important food, fuel crops (February 10, 2010) -- A global initiative has successfully sequenced the genome of the wild grass Brachypodium distachyon, which will serve as a model to speed research on improved varieties of wheat, oats and barley, as well as switchgrass, a crop of major interest for biofuel production. ... > full story
First member of the wheat and barley group of grasses is sequenced (February 10, 2010) -- A few grass species provide the bulk of our food supply and new grass crops are being domesticated for sustainable energy and feedstock production. However there are significant barriers limiting crop improvement, such as a lack of knowledge of gene function and their large and complex genomes. Now an international consortium present an analysis of the complete genome sequence of the wild grass Brachypodium distachyon. ... > full story
First wild grass species and model system for energy crops sequenced (February 10, 2010) -- As the US Department of Energy works toward developing sustainable sources of clean renewable energy, perennial grasses have emerged as major candidates for the commercial production of cellulosic biofuels from feedstocks. However, little is known about the specific biological traits of the grasses that might contribute to their usefulness for energy production, in part because such grasses typically have long lifecycles and possess large, complex genomes, making them difficult to study. ... > full story
Prion protein in cell culture (February 9, 2010) -- The fatal brain disease Creutzfeldt-Jakob in humans, BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) in cattle and scrapie in sheep are so-called prion diseases, whereby one of the body's normal proteins, the prion protein PrPc misfolds into a pathogenic form: PrPSc. In spite of several years of extensive research, little is still known about what actually happens in this process. ... > full story
Locust study promises new insights into limb control (February 9, 2010) -- New research into how the brain controls the movements of limbs could prompt major advances in understanding the human brain and the development of prosthetic limbs. ... > full story
Moss helps chart the conquest of land by plants (February 9, 2010) -- Clues to how the first land plants managed to avoid drying out might be provided by bryophytes, a group that includes the mosses, many of which retain remarkable drought tolerance. Some mosses can become so dry they crumble in the hand, but, if remoistened, will begin making proteins within minutes. ... > full story
Great tits: Birds with character (February 9, 2010) -- Gene variation is the reason that some great tit populations are more curious than others. In humans and animals alike, individuals differ in sets of traits that we usually refer to as personality. An important part of the individual difference in personality is due to variation in the underlying genes. One gene, the dopamine receptor D4 gene, however, is known to influence novelty seeking and exploration behavior in a range of species, including humans and birds. Researchers now show that the gene’s influence on birds’ behavior differs markedly between wild populations of great tits. ... > full story
Studies provide insight into key oat chemical (February 9, 2010) -- Agricultural scientists are helping to increase understanding about the environmental factors that regulate production of avenanthramides -- metabolites with potent antioxidant properties, in oat grain. ... > full story
Auto exhaust linked to thickening of arteries, possible increased risk of heart attack (February 9, 2010) -- Swiss, California and Spanish researchers have found that particulates from auto exhaust can lead to the thickening of artery walls, possibly increasing chances of a heart attack and stroke. ... > full story
Biologist solves mystery of tropical grasses' origin (February 9, 2010) -- Biologists have found that rainfall, not temperature, was the primary trigger for the evolutionary beginnings of C4 tropical grasses. ... > full story
Probing exoplanets from the ground: A little telescope goes a long way (February 9, 2010) -- NASA astronomers have successfully demonstrated that a David of a telescope can tackle Goliath-size questions in the quest to study Earth-like planets around other stars. Their work provides a new tool for ground-based observatories, promising to accelerate by years the search for prebiotic, or life-related, molecules on planets orbiting stars beyond our solar system. ... > full story
Marijuana ineffective as an Alzheimer's treatment (February 9, 2010) -- The benefits of marijuana in tempering or reversing the effects of Alzheimer's disease have been challenged in a new study. ... > full story
Mediterranean diet may lower risk of brain damage that causes thinking problems (February 9, 2010) -- A Mediterranean diet may help people avoid the small areas of brain damage that can lead to problems with thinking and memory, according to a new study. ... > full story
Beer is a rich source of silicon and may help prevent osteoporosis (February 9, 2010) -- A new study suggests that beer is a significant source of dietary silicon, a key ingredient for increasing bone mineral density. Beers containing high levels of malted barley and hops are richest in silicon. ... > full story
Blueberries counteract intestinal diseases (February 9, 2010) -- It is already known that blueberries are rich in antioxidants and vitamins. New research shows that blueberry fiber is important and can alleviate and protect against intestinal inflammations, such as ulcerative colitis. The protective effect is even better if the blueberries are eaten together with probiotics. ... > full story
Plant derivative could help refine cancer treatment (February 9, 2010) -- Researchers are seeking to refine cancer treatment with an anti-inflammatory plant derivative long used in Chinese medicine. ... > full story
Carcinogens form from third-hand smoke (February 9, 2010) -- Nicotine in third-hand smoke, the residue from tobacco smoke that clings to virtually all surfaces long after a cigarette has been extinguished, reacts with the common indoor air pollutant nitrous acid to produce dangerous carcinogens. ... > full story
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1 comment:
Not sure where to post this but I wanted to ask if anyone has heard of National Clicks?
Can someone help me find it?
Overheard some co-workers talking about it all week but didn't have time to ask so I thought I would post it here to see if someone could help me out.
Seems to be getting alot of buzz right now.
Thanks
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