The EDGE: ScienceDaily Environment Headlines -- for Sunday, June 19, 2011

ScienceDaily Environment Headlines

for Sunday, June 19, 2011

Welcome to another edition of ScienceDaily's email newsletter. You can change your subscription options or unsubscribe at any time.

More evidence vitamin D boosts immune response (June 18, 2011) -- Laboratory-grown gingival cells treated with vitamin D boosted their production of an endogenous antibiotic, and killed more bacteria than untreated cells, according to a new study. The research suggests that vitamin D can help protect the gums from bacterial infections that lead to gingivitis and periodontitis. Periodontitis affects up to 50 percent of the US population, is a major cause of tooth loss, and can also contribute to heart disease. Most Americans are deficient in vitamin D. ... > full story

New clues about protein linked to Parkinson's disease: Structural biologists measure energy difference between protein variants (June 18, 2011) -- Researchers have uncovered structural clues about the protein linked to Parkinson's disease, which ultimately could lead to finding a cure for the degenerative neurological disorder. ... > full story

Dawn of agriculture took toll on health (June 18, 2011) -- When populations around the globe started turning to agriculture around 10,000 years ago, regardless of their locations and type of crops, a similar trend occurred: the height and health of the people declined. The pattern holds up across standardized studies of whole skeletons in populations, say researchers in the first comprehensive, global review of the literature regarding stature and health during the agriculture transition. ... > full story

Ocean's harmful low-oxygen zones growing, are sensitive to small changes in climate (June 18, 2011) -- Scientists report a connection between climate fluctuations and the habitability of marine ecosystems by modeling the expansion and contraction of low-oxygen zones that are dangerous for ocean life. The team found that the size of low-oxygen ocean regions is extremely sensitive to changes in their depth caused by oscillations in climate. ... > full story

Tapeworm drug inhibits colon cancer metastasis (June 17, 2011) -- A compound that for about 60 years has been used as a drug against tapeworm infection is also apparently effective against colon cancer metastasis, as studies using mice have shown. The compound silences a gene that triggers the formation of metastases in colon cancer. Researchers in Germany made this discovery in collaboration with researchers in the U.S. Plans are already underway to conduct a clinical trial. ... > full story

Size matters -- in virulent fungal spores -- and suggests ways to stop a killer (June 17, 2011) -- Scientists have found that larger fungal spores can be more lethal. Their findings about two different spore sizes of the fungus Mucor circinelloides, a pathogen that kills half or more of its victims, could help to develop new treatments and fight other types of fungal infections. Mucor infection is in the news as an environmental fungus contracted by people who had trauma in the wake of tornadoes in Joplin, Mo. ... > full story

Nitrogen-fixing bacterial symbiont promises trove of natural products (June 17, 2011) -- Soil-dwelling bacteria of the genus Frankia have the potential to produce a multitude of natural products, including antibiotics, herbicides, pigments, anticancer agents, and other useful products, according to new research. ... > full story

How the immune system fights back against anthrax infections (June 17, 2011) -- Scientists have uncovered how the body's immune system launches its survival response to the notorious and deadly bacterium anthrax. The findings describe key emergency signals the body sends out when challenged by a life-threatening infection. ... > full story

Gatekeepers: How microbes make it past tight spaces between cells (June 17, 2011) -- There are ten microbial cells for every one human cell in the body, and microbiology dogma holds that there is a tight barrier protecting the inside of the body from outside invaders, in this case bacteria. Bacterial pathogens can break this barrier to cause infection and researchers wondered how microbes get inside the host and circulate in the first place. They tested to see if microbes somehow weaken host cell defenses to enter tissues. ... > full story

Where have all the flowers gone? High-mountain wildflower season reduced, affecting pollinators like bees, hummingbirds (June 17, 2011) -- It's summer wildflower season in the Rocky Mountains, a time when high-peaks meadows are dotted with riotous color. But for how long? Once, wildflower season in montane meadow ecosystems extended throughout the summer months. But now scientists have found a fall-off in wildflowers at mid-season. ... > full story

Heightened immunity to colds makes asthma flare-ups worse, study suggests (June 17, 2011) -- People often talk about "boosting" their immunity to prevent and fight colds. Nutritional supplements, cold remedies and fortified foods claim to stave off colds by augmenting the immune system. But new research suggests that tempering the immune response -- rather than enhancing it -- in asthma patients might be a better strategy when combating cold symptoms. ... > full story

Lyme disease bacteria take cover in lymph nodes (June 17, 2011) -- The bacteria that cause Lyme disease appear to hide out in the lymph nodes, triggering a significant immune response, but one that is not strong enough to rout the infection, report researchers. ... > full story