The EDGE: ScienceDaily Environment Headlines -- for Thursday, December 8, 2011

ScienceDaily Environment Headlines

for Thursday, December 8, 2011

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

Lessons learned from yeast about human leukemia: The power of basic model organisms in human health (December 8, 2011) -- The trifecta of biological proof is to take a discovery made in a simple model organism like baker's yeast and track down its analogs or homologs in "higher" creatures right up the complexity scale to people, in this case, from yeast to fruit flies to humans. In a pair of related studies, scientists have hit such a trifecta, closing a circle of inquiry that they opened over a decade ago. ... > full story

Why does the same mutation kill one person but not another? (December 7, 2011) -- The vast majority of genetic disorders (schizophrenia or breast cancer, for example) have different effects in different people. Moreover, an individual carrying certain mutations can develop a disease, whereas another one with the same mutations may not. This holds true even when comparing two identical twins who have identical genomes. But why does the same mutation have different effects in different individuals? ... > full story

Sewage treatment plants may contribute to antibiotic resistance problem (December 7, 2011) -- Water discharged into lakes and rivers from municipal sewage treatment plants may contain significant concentrations of the genes that make bacteria antibiotic-resistant. That's the conclusion of a new study on a sewage treatment plant on Lake Superior in the Duluth, Minn., harbor. ... > full story

Long non-coding RNA prevents the death of maturing red blood cells (December 7, 2011) -- A long non-coding RNA prevents programmed cell death during one of the final stages of red blood cell differentiation, according to Whitehead Institute researchers. Preventing normal cell death is a key step in the development of leukemias and other cancers. Because of its role in red blood cell apoptosis, this lncRNA or the pathways through which it exerts its anti-apoptotic effects may represent potential therapeutic targets. ... > full story

Supercomputer reveals new details behind drug-processing protein model (December 7, 2011) -- Supercomputer simulations are giving scientists unprecedented access to a key class of proteins involved in drug detoxification. ... > full story

Researchers suggest unconventional approach to control HIV epidemics (December 7, 2011) -- A new weapon to prevent HIV infection, called pre-exposure prophylaxis, Because PrEP is based on the same drugs used to treat HIV-infected individuals, the big public health scare is that the dual use of these drugs will lead to skyrocketing levels of drug resistance. In fact, say researchers in a new study, that is not the case and indeed, the exact opposite is likely to happen. ... > full story

Specific bacteria that precede autoimmune diabetes identified: New potential avenues for early disease detection and prevention (December 7, 2011) -- A study by researchers in Finland suggests that autoimmune diabetes is preceded by diminished gut microbial diversity of the Clostridium leptum subgroup, elevated plasma leptin and enhanced glucose-stimulated insulin secretion. ... > full story

Shedding light on why it is so 'tough' to make healthier hot dogs (December 7, 2011) -- In part of an effort to replace animal fat in hot dogs, sausages, hamburgers and other foods with healthier fat, scientists are reporting an advance in solving the mystery of why hot dogs develop an unpleasant tough texture when vegetable oils pinch hit for animal fat. ... > full story

World's first super predator had remarkable vision (December 7, 2011) -- Scientists working on fossils from Kangaroo Island, South Australia, have found eyes belonging to a giant 500 million-year-old marine predator that sat at the top of the earth's first food chain. ... > full story

Novel drug wipes out deadliest malaria parasite through starvation (December 7, 2011) -- An antimalarial agent proved effective at clearing infections caused by the malaria parasite most lethal to humans -- by literally starving the parasites to death. ... > full story

New method to quickly separate and identify thousands of protein molecules (December 7, 2011) -- Scientist have developed a new "top-down" method that can separate and identify thousands of protein molecules quickly. The researchers were able to identify more than 3,000 protein forms created from 1,043 genes from human HeLa cells. Many have been skeptical that such an approach, where each protein is analyzed intact instead of in smaller parts, could be done on such a large scale. ... > full story

Butterfly wings inspire design of water-repellent surface (December 7, 2011) -- Researchers mimic the many-layered nanostructure of blue mountain swallowtail wings to make a silicon wafer that traps both air and light. ... > full story

Geneticists help show bitter taste perception is not just about flavors (December 7, 2011) -- Long the bane of picky eaters everywhere, broccoli's taste is not just a matter of having a cultured palate; Some people can easily taste a bitter compound in the vegetable that others have difficulty detecting. Now a team researchers has helped uncover the evolutionary history of one of the genes responsible for this trait. Beyond showing the ancient origins of the gene, the researchers discovered something unexpected: Something other than taste must have driven its evolution. ... > full story

Fruits and vegetables reduce risks of specific types of colorectal cancers, study finds (December 7, 2011) -- The effects of fruit and vegetable consumption on colorectal cancer (CRC) appear to differ by site of origin. Researchers found that within the proximal and distal colon, brassica vegetables (Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli) were associated with decreased risk of these cancers. A lower risk of distal colon cancer was associated with eating more apples, however an increased risk for rectal cancer was found with increasing consumption of fruit juice. ... > full story

Sandeels with a full stomach swim for a longer time (December 7, 2011) -- Researchers have shed light on the peculiar behavior of the commercially and ecologically valuable sandeel. ... > full story

How old yeast cells send off their daughter cells without the baggage of old age (December 7, 2011) -- The accumulation of damaged protein is a hallmark of aging that not even the humble baker's yeast can escape. Yet, aged yeast cells spawn off youthful daughter cells without any of the telltale protein clumps. Now, researchers may have found an explanation for the observed asymmetrical distribution of damaged proteins between mothers and their youthful daughters. ... > full story

Is climate change altering humans' vacation plans? (December 7, 2011) -- Researchers have found peak attendance in US national parks that have experienced climate change is happening earlier, compared to 30 years ago. ... > full story

New horned dinosaur announced nearly 100 years after discovery (December 7, 2011) -- A new species of horned dinosaur was just announced by an international team of scientists, nearly 100 years after the initial discovery of the fossil. The animal, named Spinops sternbergorum, lived approximately 76 million years ago in southern Alberta, Canada. Spinops was a plant-eater that weighed around two tons when alive, a smaller cousin of Triceratops. ... > full story

Lava fingerprinting reveals differences between Hawaii's twin volcanoes (December 7, 2011) -- Hawaii's main volcano chains -- the Loa and Kea trends -- have distinct sources of magma and unique plumbing systems connecting them to the Earth's deep mantle, according to new research. ... > full story

Oxidative stress: Less harmful than suspected? (December 7, 2011) -- Oxidative stress is considered to be involved in a multitude of pathogenic processes and is also implicated in the process of aging. For the first time, scientists have been able to directly observe oxidative changes in a living organism. Their findings in fruit flies raise doubts about the validity of some widely held hypotheses: The research team has found no evidence that the life span is limited by the production of harmful oxidants. ... > full story

Timing is everything: Bacterial attachment mimics just-in-time industrial model (December 7, 2011) -- Biologists and physicists have shown that certain bacteria wait until the last minute to synthesize the glue that allows them to attach permanently to surfaces. ... > full story

New tick-borne disease discovered in Sweden (December 7, 2011) -- Researchers have discovered a brand new tick-borne infection. Since the discovery, eight cases have been described around the world, three of them in Sweden. ... > full story

Measuring living cells' mechanical properties: Technology could diagnose human disease, shed light on biological processes (December 7, 2011) -- Researchers are making progress in developing a system that measures the mechanical properties of living cells, a technology that could be used to diagnose human disease and better understand biological processes. ... > full story

Earthquakes: Water as a lubricant (December 7, 2011) -- Geophysicists have established a mode of action that can explain the irregular distribution of strong earthquakes at the San Andreas Fault in California. The scientists examined the electrical conductivity of the rocks at great depths, which is closely related to the water content within the rocks. From the pattern of electrical conductivity and seismic activity they were able to deduce that rock water acts as a lubricant. ... > full story

Early Earth may have been prone to deep freezes, study finds (December 6, 2011) -- Researchers who have adapted a three-dimensional, general circulation model of Earth's climate to a time some 2.8 billion years ago when the sun was significantly fainter than present think the planet may have been more prone to catastrophic glaciation than previously believed. ... > full story

Veterinarians find infections faster by monitoring blood compound; Blood test for dogs could lead to similar human test (December 6, 2011) -- In pets and people, the time it takes to diagnose an infection may mean life or death. Now, a veterinarian is identifying ways to diagnose pet infections in approximately a third of the current diagnosis time. ... > full story

Climate changes faster than species can adapt, rattlesnake study finds (December 6, 2011) -- The ranges of species will have to change dramatically as a result of climate change between now and 2100 because the climate will change more than 100 times faster than the rate at which species can adapt, according to a newly published study that focuses on North American rattlesnakes. ... > full story

Global sea surface temperature data provides new measure of climate sensitivity over the last half million years (December 6, 2011) -- Scientists have developed important new insight into the sensitivity of global temperature to changes in Earth's radiation balance over the last half million years. ... > full story

Ancient meat-loving predators survived for 35 million years (December 6, 2011) -- A species of ancient predator with saw-like teeth, sleek bodies and a voracious appetite for meat survived a major extinction at a time when the distant relatives of mammals ruled the earth. ... > full story

Scientists rediscover rarest U.S. bumblebee: Cockerell's Bumblebee was last seen in the United States in 1956 (December 6, 2011) -- A team of scientists recently rediscovered the rarest species of bumblebee in the United States, last seen in 1956, living in the White Mountains of south-central New Mexico. Known as "Cockerell's Bumblebee," the bee was originally described in 1913 from six specimens collected along the Rio Ruidoso, with another 16 specimens collected near the town of Cloudcroft, and one more from Ruidoso, the most recent being in 1956. ... > full story

Acquired traits can be inherited via small RNAs (December 6, 2011) -- Researchers have found the first direct evidence that an acquired trait can be inherited without any DNA involvement. The findings suggest that Lamarck, whose theory of evolution was eclipsed by Darwin's, may not have been entirely wrong. ... > full story

Plasma-based treatment goes viral (December 6, 2011) -- Life-threatening viruses such as HIV, SARS, hepatitis and influenza, could soon be combated in an unusual manner as researchers have demonstrated the effectiveness of plasma for inactivating and preventing the replication of adenoviruses. ... > full story

Researchers evaluate rice as a source of fetal arsenic exposure (December 6, 2011) -- A new study advances our understanding of the sources of human exposure to arsenic and focuses attention on the potential for consuming harmful levels of arsenic via rice. Arsenic occurs naturally in the environment and in elevated concentrations it can be harmful to human health. Rice is susceptible to arsenic contamination due to its ability to extract arsenic from the environment into the rice plant. ... > full story

Global winds could explain record rains, tornadoes (December 6, 2011) -- Scientists have proposed a common root for an enormous deluge in western Tennessee in May 2010, and a historic outbreak of tornadoes centered on Alabama in April 2011. Both events seem to be linked to a relatively rare coupling between the polar and the subtropical jet streams. ... > full story

Young women may reduce heart disease risk eating fish with omega 3 fatty acids, study finds (December 6, 2011) -- Women who seldom or never eat fish may be increasing their risk of cardiovascular disease by 50 percent or more, according to the first population-based study among younger women. Those who ate fish most often, especially fish rich in omega 3 fatty acids, had 90 percent lower risk than those who ate little or no fish. The link with cardiovascular disease was evident, even among women in their 30s. ... > full story

Global carbon emissions reach record 10 billion tons, threatening 2 degree target (December 6, 2011) -- Global carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels have increased by 49 percent in the last two decades, according to the latest figures by an international team of scientists. ... > full story

'Label-free' imaging tool tracks nanotubes in cells, blood for biomedical research (December 6, 2011) -- Researchers have demonstrated a new imaging tool for tracking structures called carbon nanotubes in living cells and the bloodstream, which could aid efforts to perfect their use in biomedical research and clinical medicine. ... > full story

Study of strong ground motion may show need to modify building codes (December 6, 2011) -- New testing conducted in a steep, mountainous region of Utah, using mining induced events, is providing a new set of data necessary for better predictions on building codes, especially when earthquakes are a factor. ... > full story

Giant super-Earths made of diamond are possible, study suggests (December 5, 2011) -- A planet made of diamonds may sound lovely, but you wouldn't want to live there. A new study suggests that some stars in the Milky Way could harbor "carbon super-Earths" – giant terrestrial planets that contain up to 50 percent diamond. But if they exist, those planets are likely devoid of life as we know it. ... > full story

Of mice and men, a common cortical connection (December 5, 2011) -- A new study using magnetic resonance imaging data of 406 adult human twins affirms the long-standing idea that the genetic basis of human cortical regionalization -- the organization of the outer brain into specific functional areas -- is similar to and consistent with patterns found in other mammals, indicating a common conservation mechanism in evolution. ... > full story

Dust storms affect subsequent emergency hospital admissions, study finds (December 5, 2011) -- A new study reveals that dust storms have an adverse effect on emergency hospital admission for chronic lung disease, often known as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. ... > full story

'Double tsunami' doubled Japan destruction (December 5, 2011) -- Researchers discovered that the destructive tsunami generated by the March 2011 Tohoku-Oki earthquake was a long-hypothesized "merging tsunami" that doubled in intensity over rugged ocean ridges, amplifying its destructive power before reaching shore. Satellites captured not just one wave front that day, but at least two, which merged to form a single double-high wave far out at sea -- one capable of traveling long distances without losing its power. ... > full story

Defensive measures: Toward a vaccine for Ebola (December 5, 2011) -- Researchers have made progress toward a vaccine against the deadly Ebola virus. They have demonstrated that a plant-derived vaccine for Ebola provided strong immunological protection in a mouse model. If early efforts bear fruit, an Ebola vaccine could be stockpiled for use in the United States, should the country fall victim to a natural outbreak or a bioterrorism event in which a weaponized strain of the virus were unleashed on soldiers or the public. ... > full story

Marine predators in trouble (December 5, 2011) -- Iconic marine predators such as sharks, tunas, swordfish, and marlins are becoming increasingly rare under current fishing trends, say researchers. ... > full story

When the heat's on, some fish can cope: Certain tropical species have greater capacity to deal with rising sea temperatures than thought (December 5, 2011) -- Australian scientists have discovered that some tropical fish have a greater capacity to cope with rising sea temperatures than previously thought – by adjusting over several generations. The discovery sheds a ray of hope amid the rising concern over the future of coral reefs and their fish under the levels of global warming expected to occur by the end of this century. ... > full story

Antibiotics may not be only cause of community-acquired Clostridium difficile infection (December 5, 2011) -- Antibiotics may not be the only risk factor associated with community-acquired Clostridium difficile infection, indicating that other undefined causes of the potentially life-threatening infection may exist and could also predict whether or not a patient will require hospitalization, according to the results of a new study. ... > full story

Mechanisms cells use to remove bits of RNA from DNA strands (December 5, 2011) -- When RNA component units called ribonucleotides become embedded in genomic DNA, they can cause problems for cells, but not much is known about the fate of these ribonucleotides. A new study identifies two mechanisms cells use to recognize and remove ribonucleotides embedded in genomic DNA, called RNases H and the mismatch repair system. ... > full story

Unique geologic insights from 'non-unique' gravity and magnetic interpretation (December 5, 2011) -- In many fields of applied science, such as geology, there are often tensions and disagreements between scientists who specialize in analyses of problems using mathematical models to describe sets of collected data, and those that rely on on-the-ground observations and empirical analyses. ... > full story

This message was sent to jmabs1@gmail.com from:

ScienceDaily | 1 Research Court, Suite 450 | Rockville, MD 20850

Email Marketing by