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Here is your customized Phys.org Newsletter for March 29, 2013:
Spotlight Stories Headlines
- Researchers find surprising similarities between genetic and computer codes- Epilepsy sends differentiated neurons on the run
- Another step toward quantum computers: Using photons for memory
- Panasonic tech fixes color setbacks in low light photos (w/ video)
- Swift satellite sizes up comet ISON (w/ video)
- Making do with more: Team engineers plant cell walls to boost sugar yields for biofuels
- Mitsubishi Motors suffers fresh lithium battery setback
- New York auto showcase is venue for Mercedes-Benz EV
- Researchers track down gene responsible for short stature of dwarf pearl millet
- Higher activity levels may protect children from stress
- 'Facebook phone' may ring true April 4 (Update)
- Smart cars could break into mainstream
- Review: BlackBerry Z10 delivers, but doesn't stand out
- Study finds liquid water flowing above and below frozen Alaskan sand dunes, hints of a wetter Mars
- Head-on collisions between DNA-code reading machineries accelerate gene evolution
Space & Earth news
A balancing act for carbon stock preservation
More accurate data regarding the extent to which greenhouse gases stemming from human activity interplays with the balance of carbon stocks in Europe will soon be available to inform policies. But would that make a difference?
New requirements for ballast water dumped by ships
(AP)—The Environmental Protection Agency has issued new requirements for cleansing ballast water dumped from ships, which scientists believe has brought invasive species to U.S. waters that damage ecosystems and cost the economy billions of dollars.
Citizen science: Volunteers analyze images in crowdsourced scallop research project
They have looked at 140,000 images, identified 42,000 scallops on the bottom of the ocean and donated countless hours of their time—and the scientists that they are assisting don't even know who they are.
Battling climate change with tried-and-true methods
For decades, farmers in Montana and the Dakotas have produced impressive yields of barley and wheat. But that bounty has come at a cost. Tilling the soil in the region's crop-fallow production systems has robbed the soil of nutrients and organic matter and reduced crop yields. In fact, the region's soils have lost up to 50 percent of their organic matter in the last 50 to 100 years, and scientists say that current practices are unsustainable.
With or without you: The role of the moon on life
From encouraging the first steps of life migrating from the oceans to the land, to stabilising Earth's axial tilt against chaotic excursions, the moon is often put forth almost as a magical ingredient – a prerequisite for life.
Predicting fire activity using terrestrial water storage data
High fire activity periods in the Amazon region can be predicted months in advance on the basis of water storage data, a new study shows.
Monitoring subsidence and vent wall collapse on Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii
Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii experienced its first summit eruption in 26 years when a new vent along the east wall of Halema'uma'u Crater opened in March 2008. Since that time, the vent has become wider as parts of the wall around it became unstable and collapsed into the active lava lake within the vent, sometimes triggering small explosions.
Q&A: Europe's freezing Easter and global warming
(AP)—Is it Easter or Christmas? Many Europeans would be forgiven for being confused by winter's icy grip on lands that should be thawing in springtime temperatures by now.
China to build two more Antarctic bases
China is to build two extra research stations in Antarctica, where it currently has three facilities, the State Oceanic Administration confirmed on Friday.
Designing a better satellite
(Phys.org) —If you have ever plugged your digital camera into your desktop to download photos, then you have used what is known in computing circles as a "plug and play" interface. Basically, plug and play refers to any software program that can recognize many different hardware devices, and interface with them easily.
Trials (and tribulations) at sea can't keep carbon explorers on the beach
Somewhere between tossing Jonah overboard and hanging that albatross around the Ancient Mariner's neck, sailors acquired a reputation for superstition. It takes a clear-headed oceanographer to resist joining them, especially after a string of bad luck at sea involving the number 13.
A decade of data discloses influence of clouds on tropical energy balance
(Phys.org) —A cloud's class and status matters to the climate. That's what researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory found when they separated tropical clouds into seven categories. Clouds with low bases are more influential than high clouds because the low-base clouds have a greater effect on the amount of solar energy that reaches the ground. They also compared the clouds' effects on the tropical energy balance using data collected from ten years of ground-based observations at U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) sponsored locations in the tropical western Pacific region. Their findings show that cloud type is more important than previous satellite-based studies suggest.
Volunteers use historic US ship logbooks to uncover Arctic climate data
(Phys.org) —Citizen-scientists around the world are poring through digital versions of 19th century logbooks of mariners who sailed from Pacific Northwest and California ports to explore the Arctic and chart the newly acquired Alaskan territories.
Last letter of Captain Scott finally revealed in full—101 years on
(Phys.org) —A letter written by the dying Captain Scott - one of only two remaining in private hands - can be revealed in full for the first time after being acquired by the Scott Polar Research Institute at the University of Cambridge.
Space station crew captures Soyuz launch, as seen from orbit
Just how much activity on Earth can be seen from orbit? In the dark of night, the Soyuz rocket launch on March 29/28, 2013 was bright enough to be seen by the International Space Station crew 350 km (220 miles) above. "Soyuz Rocket Launch – the moment of ignition, as-seen from their target, the Space Station," tweeted ISS commander Chris Hadfield in sharing this image.
US to require lower-sulfur gasoline
The Obama administration is expected to propose new rules Friday that would slash the amount of sulfur in gasoline, one of the most significant steps the administration can take this term toward cutting air pollution, said people with knowledge of the announcement.
Russian spaceship docks with orbiting station (Update)
A Soyuz capsule carrying three astronauts successfully docked Friday with the International Space Station, bringing the size of the crew at the orbiting lab to six.
Study finds fungi, not plant matter, responsible for most carbon sequestration in northern forests
(Phys.org) —A new study undertaken by a diverse group of scientists in Sweden has found that contrary to popular belief, most of the carbon that is sequestered in northern boreal forests comes about due to fungi that live on and in tree roots, rather than via dead needles, moss and leaf matter. In their paper published in the journal Science, the team describes their findings after taking soil samples from 30 islands in two lakes in northern Sweden.
Study finds liquid water flowing above and below frozen Alaskan sand dunes, hints of a wetter Mars
(Phys.org) —The presence of liquid water at and beneath frozen Alaskan sand dunes during Arctic winter suggests that liquid water could also be temporarily stable (or metastable) at frost-covered sand dunes on Mars.
Swift satellite sizes up comet ISON (w/ video)
(Phys.org) —Astronomers from the University of Maryland at College Park (UMCP) and Lowell Observatory have used NASA's Swift satellite to check out comet C/2012 S1 (ISON), which may become one of the most dazzling in decades when it rounds the sun later this year.
Technology news
Quarter of US firms in China face data theft: lobby
Over a quarter of the members of a US business lobby in China have experienced data theft, the group said on Friday, after the two powers engaged in a war of words over state-sponsored hacking attacks.
HBO gives Silicon Valley the royal treatment
As HBO adapts its television empire to the digital age, it's rolling out the red carpet to Silicon Valley. The pay TV network put on showy "Game of Thrones" season premiere parties last week in Silicon Valley and Seattle, ground zero for the revolution underway in television viewing habits.
Sri Lanka auctions airwaves for 4G mobile network
Sri Lanka auctioned a block of airwaves to become the first country in South Asia to roll out a full nationwide mobile fourth-generation (4G) network, a top official said Friday.
China orders stepped-up scrutiny on Apple
Apple is to face "strengthened supervision" from China's consumer watchdogs, state media reported Friday, as the US computer giant is hit by a barrage of negative publicity and court cases in the country.
Risk and reward at the dawn of civilian drone age (Update 2)
The dawn of the age of aerial civilian drones is rich with possibilities for people far from the war zones where they made their devastating mark as a weapon of choice against terrorists.
Frustration sparks invention to keep wipers from freezing to windshield
(Phys.org) —Daniel Perlman is a senior research scientist whose work has resulted in about 100 published patents and pending patents in the field of applied research. His current work focuses on nutritionally enhanced processed food products and clinical and laboratory specialty research products crossing the fields of chemistry, physics and biochemistry.
UCLA center creates first interactive electricity-use map of Los Angeles
(Phys.org) —A new energy map of Los Angeles developed at UCLA lets residents find how much electricity the average customer in their neighborhood uses, see how a neighborhood's energy use relates to its average income level and track energy use over time.
Interested in making your own musical jams? There's an app for that!
A new smartphone app from researchers at Queen Mary, University of London will lend a helping a hand to all aspiring DJs and musicians by letting anyone create their own musical mash-ups with the aid of some talented artificial intelligence.
Sensory helmet could mean firefighters are not left in the dark
A specially-adapted 'tactile helmet', developed by researchers at the University of Sheffield, could provide fire-fighters operating in challenging conditions with vital clues about their surroundings.
Ford challenges developers to create efficiency app
Ford wants to help customers more accurately measure the fuel economy of their Ford vehicles to counter claims it has overstated the fuel economy of certain models.
Answers to your questions about massive cyberattack
Here are some answers to questions about perhaps the biggest cyberattack ever, which recently targeted Spamhaus, an anti-spam group based in Geneva and London. It ended up slowing down or blocking access to numerous Internet sites.
Digital Savant: How Vine won me over during SXSW Interactive
The chatter going into and coming out of the South by Southwest Interactive festival this year was that there were no real breakthrough apps or products to win over attendees.
Michael Dell's days as CEO may be numbered
Could Michael Dell lose it all? With a bidding war now underway for Dell, efforts by its founder to regain control of the once-mighty computer maker could be backfiring.
After upheaval, chip firm Broadcom rebounds
Scott McGregor, the chief executive of chip developer Broadcom Corp., is happy to talk about the expanding list of uses for his company's products - smart cars, for instance - and new innovations that will fuel his company's growth for years to come.
KAIST develops a low-power 60 GHz radio frequency chip for mobile devices
As the capacity of handheld devices increases to accommodate a greater number of functions, these devices have more memory, larger display screens, and the ability to play higher definition video files. If the users of mobile devices, including smartphones, tablet PCs, and notebooks, want to share or transfer data on one device with that of another device, a great deal of time and effort are needed.
Dell panel reiterates backing for founder's buyout
The special committee set up by Dell to explore a sale of the computer giant renewed its backing Friday for the buyout led by founder Michael Dell but said it would continue talks on alternate bids.
New York auto showcase is venue for Mercedes-Benz EV
(Phys.org) —Mercedes-Benz is to show off its electric car at the New York International Auto Show, open to the public from March 29 to April 7 at the Jacob Javits Center. Mercedes-Benz calls its vehicle the B-Class Electric Drive. This is an all-electric five-seater to be available for sale in the U.S. next year. What was MB thinking in coming up with such an unfortunate title for such a good-looking vehicle? Naming it B-Class Electric Drive, while indicating it is one of MB's smaller designs, in a larger context may be confused with a general perception of the letter B as signifying mediocrity, which is not the case with this vehicle. The car maker is positioning it as "the first luxury battery electric car from Mercedes-Benz in the market," one that will give its drivers "electric driving at the premium level."
TED brings innovation talk to Intel
Intel researcher Jennifer Healey stepped onto a stage decorated with a mad scientist's lab in mind and made her case for gossiping cars.
'Facebook phone' may ring true April 4 (Update)
Facebook fueled fresh talk Friday about its own mobile phone after the leading social network scheduled a press announcement for next week.
Mitsubishi Motors suffers fresh lithium battery setback
Mitsubishi Motors said Friday it had detected a new problem with lithium batteries used in its plug-in hybrid vehicle, the latest battery issue to affect the Japanese automaker in the past few days, media reports said.
Smart cars could break into mainstream
Traditionally, consumers have largely selected cars on the basis of size, color, power and price. But increasingly two new factors are influencing their choice: The kind of wireless connection it has and the kinds of mobile applications it runs.
Apple patents iPhone with wraparound display
Apple is seeking a patent for an iPhone that has a display that wraps around the edges of the device, expanding the viewable area and eliminating all physical buttons.
Panasonic tech fixes color setbacks in low light photos (w/ video)
(Phys.org) —Panasonic's new color filtering technology is in the news this week after a video from DigInfo TV presented what imaging experts at Panasonic have been up to, and that is using "micro color splitters," which achieve twice the brightness than before possible. These micro color splitters replace a traditional filter array over the image sensor. The result from the new approach is especially relevant for those working with low light photography—situations wherever there is less than daytime light outside, or any indoor photography without much ambient light. The researchers found their new approach could almost double the brightness in photos taken in low light environments. Saying no to traditional color filters, the researchers wanted a technique where light is captured without any loss.
Medicine & Health news
HIV test urged for 7,000 US dental patients
(AP)—Health officials on Thursday urged an Oklahoma oral surgeon's patients to undergo hepatitis and HIV testing, saying filthy conditions behind his office's tidy facade posed a threat to his 7,000 clients and made him a "menace to the public health."
Farm Rich products recalled over E. coli fears
(AP)—Rich Products Corp. has announced a voluntary recall of its Farm Rich Mini Quesadillas and other Farm Rich products because of a possible contamination with E. coli bacteria.
Sanofi builds $75 mn factory in Vietnam for ASEAN markets
French drugmaker Sanofi said Friday that it had begun building a new manufacturing facility in Vietnam to serve the expanding pharmaceutical market in southeast Asia.
Gaps exist in brain injury knowledge among veterans
(Medical Xpress)—Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) found that only 1 in 5 veterans reported receiving brain injury education while serving in the military. The researchers, whose findings were published this week in the Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation, believe a lack of accurate knowledge could lead to misdiagnosis or misinterpretation due to the many symptoms that can overlap among brain injury and other conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and chronic pain.
240,000 Pakistani children miss anti-polio drive (Update)
(AP)—Some 240,000 children have missed U.N.-backed vaccinations against polio because of security concerns in Pakistan's tribal regions bordering Afghanistan, a top official with the World Health Organization said Friday.
Many uninsured vets will be eligible for Medicaid under ACA
(HealthDay)—A large proportion of uninsured veterans and their spouses will be eligible for Medicaid or new subsidies for coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), according to a report published by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
CDC: 24 E. coli illnesses linked to frozen foods
(AP)—Health officials say at least 24 people have become sick from an outbreak of E. coli infections linked to frozen snack foods marketed to children.
The risk of autism is not increased by 'too many vaccines too soon'
Although scientific evidence suggests that vaccines do not cause autism, approximately one-third of parents continue to express concern that they do; nearly 1 in 10 parents refuse or delay vaccinations because they believe it is safer than following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) schedule. A primary concern is the number of vaccines administered, both on a single day and cumulatively over the first 2 years of life. In a new study scheduled for publication in The Journal of Pediatrics, researchers concluded that there is no association between receiving "too many vaccines too soon" and autism.
Low vitamin D levels common among spinal fusion patients
(HealthDay)—A substantially high number of patients undergoing spinal fusion have a vitamin D deficiency or inadequacy, according to a study published in the March 15 issue of Spine.
Valley fever fungal infection on rise in Southwest
(HealthDay)—Cases of a fungal lung infection called Valley Fever increased sharply in several southwestern states since the late 1990s, according to a report released Thursday.
Report calls for strengthening of academic psychiatry
(Medical Xpress)—Professors Shitij Kapur and Sir Simon Wessely, King's College London Institute of Psychiatry, are contributors to a major new report by the Academy of Medical Sciences - Strengthening academic psychiatry in the UK. The report calls for a breakdown of unhelpful boundaries between psychiatry and neuroscience and makes recommendations for strengthening academic psychiatry to improve the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of mental ill health.
Over-egging the chocolate this Easter: Why you should always keep an eye on what you are eating
(Medical Xpress)—Psychologists at the University of Birmingham suggest that 'attentive eating' affects how much people choose to eat.
Online screening tool to help caregivers identify at-risk older drivers
(Medical Xpress)—The University of Florida has launched a free, online tool to help caregivers and family members identify drivers age 65 and older who may be at risk for driving problems.
New study aims to prevent sports-related brain injury in youngsters
(Medical Xpress)—Ice hockey accounts for nearly half of all traumatic brain injuries among children and youth participating in organized sports who required a trip to an emergency department, according to a new study out of St. Michael's Hospital.
Breakthrough in deafness and ovarian failure syndrome
(Medical Xpress)—Researchers from Manchester Biomedical Research Centre at Saint Mary's Hospital and the University of Manchester have identified a new gene, which increases our understanding of the rare inherited disorder Perrault syndrome.
Mobile app turns iPhone into a biologically inspired hearing aid
Researchers at the University of Essex have developed a free mobile app that turns an iPhone or iPod into a hearing aid that could revolutionise the future for people with hearing loss.
Smart app gives tips for an active lifestyle
Getting enough exercise is a big challenge for a lot of people. The solution: an app that provides personal activity tips at the right times. That concludes Yuzhong Lin in her doctoral research at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e). She has developed a mobile phone app that gives users tips on ways they can get more exercise, based on their location and lifestyle. Test subjects said they felt much more active after using the app. Lin defends her thesis at TU/e on Tuesday 2 April.
Air pollutants linked to higher risk of birth defects, researchers find
(Medical Xpress)—Breathing traffic pollution in early pregnancy is linked to a higher risk for certain serious birth defects, according to new research from the Stanford University School of Medicine.
New metabolite-based diagnostic test could help detect pancreatic cancer early
A new diagnostic test that uses a scientific technique known as metabolomic analysis may be a safe and easy screening method that could improve the prognosis of patients with pancreatic cancer through earlier detection.
Children with sleep apnea have higher risk of behavioral, adaptive and learning problems
A new study found that obstructive sleep apnea, a common form of sleep-disordered breathing (SDB), is associated with increased rates of ADHD-like behavioral problems in children as well as other adaptive and learning problems.
Smoking immediately upon waking may increase risk of lung and oral cancer
The sooner a person smokes a cigarette upon waking in the morning, the more likely he or she is to acquire lung or oral cancer, according to Penn State researchers.
Monosaturated fats reduce metabolic syndrome risk
Canola oil and high-oleic canola oils can lower abdominal fat when used in place of other selected oil blends, according to a team of American and Canadian researchers. The researchers also found that consuming certain vegetable oils may be a simple way of reducing the risk of metabolic syndrome, which affects about one in three U.S. adults and one in five Canadian adults.
Physician breaks ground in robotic cervical surgery
Performing surgery on a pregnant patient is a delicate matter. Risks to both mother and baby must be carefully weighed in every decision a surgeon makes. Recently, at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, a surgeon performed a groundbreaking robotic laparoscopic procedure on a 35-year-old pregnant patient whose cervix was too short to sustain a pregnancy.
Cervical discectomy, fusion is durable and cost-effective
(HealthDay)—Single-level instrumented anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) is durable and cost-effective after five years of follow-up, according to a study published in the March 15 issue of Spine.
Simulator can teach basic robotic-assisted surgery
(HealthDay)—About half of medical students with no experience with robotic-assisted laparoscopic surgery can learn basic skills within two sessions using a simulator, according to a study published in the March issue of Urology.
Study examines physician prescription of teen IUDs
(HealthDay)—Primary care physicians are more or less likely to prescribe long-acting reversible contraception such as intrauterine devices (IUDs) to adolescents based on their knowledge, skills, clinical environment, and attitudes, according to research published in the March/April issue of the Annals of Family Medicine.
Fringe therapy may help heart patients, study finds
A treatment that removes heavy metals from the body has long been touted as an alternative therapy to combat hardening arteries. Now a 10-year, $31 million clinical trial has found that chelation therapy does help heart attack patients slightly reduce their risk of serious heart problems - but not enough for the researchers to encourage mainstream cardiologists to offer it to their patients.
Estrogen plus progestin use linked with increased breast cancer incidence and mortality
Estrogen plus progestin use is linked with increased breast cancer incidence. In addition, prognosis is similar for both users and nonusers of combined hormone therapy, suggesting that mortality from breast cancer may be higher for hormone therapy users as well, according to a study published March 29 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
US OKs first-of-its-kind diabetes drug (Update)
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved a first-of-its-kind diabetes drug from Johnson & Johnson that uses a new method to lower blood sugar—flushing it out in patients' urine.
Researchers discover that errors in RNA splicing lead to a class of neurological disorders
(Medical Xpress)—Researchers have found that missteps in a basic cellular process, RNA splicing, is the culprit behind a class of rare neurological disorders manifested by intellectual disability and stunted development.
Higher activity levels may protect children from stress
(HealthDay)—Children with lower levels of daytime physical activity (PA) have higher hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis (HPAA) activity in response to psychosocial stress, suggesting that PA may help children cope with stressful situations, according to research published online March 7 in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
Epilepsy sends differentiated neurons on the run
(Medical Xpress)—The smooth operation of the brain requires a certain robustness to fluctuations in its home within the body. At the same time, its extraordinary power derives from an activity structure poised at criticality. In other words, it is highly responsive to many low-threshold events. When forced beyond its comfort zone in parameter space—its operating temperature, electrolytes, sugars, blood gas or even sensory input— the direct result is seizure, coma, or both. It would appear that anything rendered too hot or cold, too concentrated or scarce, precipitates seizure. In those genetically predisposed, or compromised by head trauma, the seizing tends toward full-blown epilepsy. A group in Hamburg, led by Michael Frotscher has been chipping away at the causes of common form a epilepsy, temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). Their latest research published in the journal, Cerebral Cortex, takes a closer at differentiated neurons in the dentate gryus of mouse hippocampu! s. Once thought to be completely immobilized by virtue of their broadly integrated dendritic trees, these neurons are now shown to become migratory once again in direct response to seizure activity.
Biology news
Eliminating the fly or the disease?
Cattle in Burkina Faso affected by animal trypanosomosis contracts the disease not only via the tsetse fly, but also via other bloodsucking insects. The findings of a new study at the Institute of Tropical Medicine and the Ghent University indicate that campaigns focused on the eradication of tsetse flies only might be eliminating the fly, but not the disease. Animal trypanosomosis is the counterpart of human sleeping sickness.
Spontaneous synchronized tapping to an auditory rhythm observed in chimpanzee
A Kyoto University research team has revealed that a chimpanzee spontaneously synchronized her tapping to an auditory rhythm. The results are reported in Scientific Reports, a journal published by Nature group, on March 28, 2013.
Gene discovery may yield lettuce that will sprout in hot weather
(Phys.org) —A team of researchers, led by a University of California, Davis, plant scientist, has identified a lettuce gene and related enzyme that put the brakes on germination during hot weather—a discovery that could lead to lettuces that can sprout year-round, even at high temperatures.
Study documents decimation of critically endangered forest elephant
African forest elephants are being poached out of existence. A study just published in the online journal PLOS ONE and supported in part by San Diego Zoo Global shows that a staggering 62% of all forest elephants have been killed across their range in central Africa, for their ivory over the past decade. The severe decline indicates what researchers fear is the eminent extinction of this species.
DNA: How to unravel the tangle
A research coordinated by the scientists at SISSA of Trieste has now developed and studied a numeric model of the chromosome that supports the experimental data and provides a hypothesis on the bundle's function.
Black bears: Here, gone, and back again
A new study from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) has pieced together the last 150 years of history for one of the state's most interesting denizens: the black bear.
The splendid Skadar Lake (Montenegro and Albania), surprises with new species of snails
The Gastropoda, more commonly known as snails and slugs, are a large group of animals within the phylum Mollusca. GastropŠ¾ds species are extremely diverse in forms and sizes, ranging from microscopic to large. About 50 species of snails are currently considered to inhabit Skadar Lake, the largest on the Balkan Peninsula. The Bojana River connects the lake with the Adriatic Sea, and the Drin River provides a link with the Ohrid Lake.
New quest to study 'living fossil' coelacanth
French and South African biologists will dive to deep-sea caves in the Indian Ocean next month in a bid to locate the coelacanth, the "living fossil" fish whose history predates the dinosaurs, France's National Museum of Natural History said on Friday.
Biologist gets a squid's eye view (w/ video)
(Phys.org) —Pursuing the misunderstood Humboldt squid, Hopkins Marine Station's William Gilly has strapped video cameras and electronic sensors to the animals, exhaustively analyzed their habitats, tracked them with sonar and raised their eggs.
Multi-toxin biotech crops not silver bullets, scientists warn
(Phys.org) —The popular new strategy of planting genetically engineered crops that make two or more toxins to fend off insect pests rests on assumptions that don't always apply, UA researchers have discovered. Their study helps explain why one major pest is evolving resistance much faster than predicted and offers ideas for more sustainable pest control.
Head-on collisions between DNA-code reading machineries accelerate gene evolution
Bacteria appear to speed up their evolution by positioning specific genes along the route of expected traffic jams in DNA encoding. Certain genes are in prime collision paths for the moving molecular machineries that read the DNA code, as University of Washington scientists explain in this week's edition of Nature.
Making do with more: Team engineers plant cell walls to boost sugar yields for biofuels
(Phys.org) —When blessed with a resource in overwhelming abundance it's generally a good idea to make valuable use of that resource. Lignocellulosic biomass is the most abundant organic material on Earth. For thousands of years it has been used as animal feed, and for the past two centuries has been a staple of the paper industry. This abundant resource, however, could also supply the sugars needed to produce advanced biofuels that can supplement or replace fossil fuels, providing several key technical challenges are met. One of these challenges is finding ways to more cost-effectively extract those sugars. Major steps towards achieving this breakthrough are being taken by researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI).
Researchers track down gene responsible for short stature of dwarf pearl millet
While pearl millet is a major food staple in some of the fastest growing regions on Earth, relatively little is known about the drought-hardy grain.
Researchers find surprising similarities between genetic and computer codes
(Phys.org) —The term "survival of the fittest" refers to natural selection in biological systems, but Darwin's theory may apply more broadly than that. New research from the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory shows that this evolutionary theory also applies to technological systems.
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