The EDGE: ScienceDaily Environment Headlines -- for Sunday, June 24, 2012

ScienceDaily Environment Headlines

for Sunday, June 24, 2012

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Lichen can survive in space: Space station research sheds light on origin of life; potential for better sunscreens (June 23, 2012) -- You can freeze it, thaw it, vacuum dry it and expose it to radiation, but still life survives. Research on the International Space Station is giving credibility to theories that life came from outer space -- as well as helping to create better sunscreens. ... > full story

Pasta made from green banana flour a tasty alternative for gluten-free diets (June 23, 2012) -- People with celiac disease struggle with limited food choices, as their condition makes them unable to tolerate gluten, found in wheat and other grains. Researchers have now developed a gluten-free pasta product from green banana flour, which tasters found more acceptable than regular whole wheat pasta. The product has less fat and is cheaper to produce than standard pastas. ... > full story

Novel animal reservoir for group of tick-borne diseases discovered -- and it lives in your backyard (June 23, 2012) -- A new assay that uses mitochondrial DNA that mutates faster than nuclear DNA has allowed scientists to identify one of the major animal reservoirs for the ehlichioses, STARI and other tick-borne diseases in the southeastern United States. The animal turned out to be the eastern gray squirrel. ... > full story

Foundational concept of ecology tested: Purple loosestrife altered life in nearby ponds (June 23, 2012) -- How strong are the links in food webs? An experiment demonstrates that they're strong enough for a disturbance to propagate across four trophic levels and two ecosystems. The experiment demonstrates that invasive species such as purple loosestrife could have broad effects on surrounding plant and animal communities, many of them cryptic. ... > full story

Is your leaf left-handed? (June 23, 2012) -- The spiral pattern of leaf formation from the point of growth affects the developing leaf's exposure to the plant hormone auxin; This exposure leads to measurable left-right asymmetry in leaf development, in species previously assumed to have symmetric leaves. ... > full story

New technique allows simulation of noncrystalline materials (June 23, 2012) -- Scientists have found a new mathematical approach to simulating the electronic behavior of noncrystalline materials, which may eventually play an important part in new devices including solar cells, organic LED lights and printable, flexible electronic circuits. ... > full story

Rio+20 Summit: Earth observation for us and our planet (June 23, 2012) -- The Rio+20 summit on promoting jobs, clean energy and a more sustainable use of our planet's resources closed today after three days of talks. During the summit, the role of Earth observation in sustainable development was highlighted. ... > full story

South African daffodils may be a future treatment for depression (June 22, 2012) -- Scientists have discovered that plant compounds from a South African flower may in time be used to treat diseases originating in the brain – including depression. A number of these substances have now been tested in a laboratory model of the blood-brain barrier. ... > full story

Stonehenge was monument marking unification of Britain (June 22, 2012) -- After 10 years of archaeological investigations, researchers have concluded that Stonehenge was built as a monument to unify the peoples of Britain, after a long period of conflict and regional difference between eastern and western Britain. ... > full story

The blue blood of the emperor scorpion X-rayed (June 22, 2012) -- Biologists have successfully crystallized the hemocyanin of the emperor scorpion to shed new light on the structure and active site of the giant oxygen transport protein. ... > full story

How stress can boost immune system (June 21, 2012) -- Scientist have tracked the trajectories of key immune cells in response to short-term stress and traced, in great detail, how hormones triggered by such stress enhance immune readiness. The study, conducted in rats, adds weight to evidence that immune responsiveness is heightened, rather than suppressed as many believe, by the so-called "fight-or-flight" response. ... > full story

Greater Los Angeles to heat up an average 4 to 5 degrees by mid-century (June 21, 2012) -- A new study shows climate change will cause temperatures in the Los Angeles region to rise an average of 4-5 degrees by midcentury, tripling the number of extremely hot days in downtown L.A., and quadrupling them in the valleys and high elevations. ... > full story