ScienceDaily Environment Headlines
for Thursday, April 21, 2011
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Protein-patterned fibers: Researchers combine active proteins with material derived from fruit fly (April 20, 2011) -- Researchers have discovered a way to pattern active proteins into bio-friendly fibers. The "eureka" moment came about because somebody forgot to clean up the lab one night. The new work simplifies the process of making materials with fully functional proteins. Such materials could find extensive use as chemical catalysts and biosensors and in tissue engineering, for starters. ... > full story
Air pollution exposure affects chances of developing premenopausal breast cancer, study finds (April 20, 2011) -- Exposure to air pollution early in life and when a woman gives birth to her first child may alter her DNA and may be associated with pre-menopausal breast cancer later in life, researchers have shown. ... > full story
How TRIM5 fights HIV: Scientists discover mechanism of protein that makes certain monkeys resistant (April 20, 2011) -- Thanks to a certain protein, rhesus monkeys are resistant to HIV. Known as TRIM5, the protein prevents the HI virus from multiplying once it has entered the cell. Researchers in Switzerland have now discovered the protein's mechanism. This also opens up new prospects for fighting HIV in humans. ... > full story
Breakthrough in malaria treatment in the run up to World Malaria Day (April 20, 2011) -- Ahead of World Malaria Day (25 April), researchers have discovered that drugs originally designed to inhibit the growth of cancer cells can also kill the parasite that causes malaria. They believe this discovery could open up a new strategy for combating this deadly disease, which infected around 225 million and killed nearly 800,000 people worldwide in 2009. ... > full story
Scientists prove new technology to control malaria-carrying mosquitoes (April 20, 2011) -- Scientists have taken an important step towards developing control measures for mosquitoes that transmit malaria. In a new study, researchers have demonstrated how some genetic changes can be introduced into large laboratory mosquito populations over the span of a few generations by just a small number of modified mosquitoes. ... > full story
Using the energy in oil shale without releasing carbon dioxide in a greenhouse world (April 20, 2011) -- New technology that combines production of electricity with capture of carbon dioxide could make billions of barrels of oil shale -- now regarded as off-limits because of the huge amounts of carbon dioxide released in its production -- available as an energy source in a greenhouse world of the future, according to a new report. ... > full story
Evolution of human 'super-brain' tied to development of bipedalism, tool-making (April 20, 2011) -- Scientists seeking to understand the origin of the human mind may want to look to honeybees -- not ancestral apes -- for at least some of the answers, according to a University of Colorado Boulder archaeologist. ... > full story
Ends of chromosomes protected by stacked, coiled DNA caps (April 20, 2011) -- Researchers are delving into the details of the complex structure at the ends of chromosomes. Recent work describes how these structures, called telomeres, can be protected by caps made up of specialized proteins and stacks of DNA called G-quadruplexes, or "G4 DNA." ... > full story
Hundreds of barrier islands newly identified in global survey (April 20, 2011) -- Earth has 657 more barrier islands than previously thought, according to a new global survey by researchers. ... > full story
Antibiotics cure anthrax in animal models (April 20, 2011) -- In the absence of early antibiotic treatment, respiratory anthrax is fatal. The 2001 bioterrorism attacks in the US killed four people, out of 22 infected (10 of them with respiratory anthrax), despite massive antibiotic administration, probably because therapy did not begin until the disease had reached the fulminant stage. But a multi-agent prophylaxis initiated within 24 hours post-infection prevented development of fatal anthrax respiratory disease, and treatment combining antibiotics with immunization with a protective antigen-based vaccine conferred long-term protective immunity against reestablishment of the disease, according to a new study. ... > full story
How peppermint helps to relieve irritable bowel syndrome (April 20, 2011) -- Researchers in Australia have shown for the first time how peppermint helps to relieve irritable bowel syndrome, which affects up to 20 percent of the population. In a new paper, they explain how peppermint activates an "anti-pain" channel in the colon, soothing inflammatory pain in the gastrointestinal tract. ... > full story
Antibiotics disrupt gut ecology, metabolism (April 20, 2011) -- Humans carry several pounds of microbes in our gastro-intestinal tracts. Recent research suggests that this microbial ecosystem plays a variety of critical roles in our health. Now, working in a mouse model, researchers from Canada describe many of the interactions between the intestinal microbiota and host, and show that antibiotics profoundly disrupt intestinal homeostasis. ... > full story
Professor notices Abe Lincoln's signature on a picture hanging in his office (April 20, 2011) -- When a professor looked a bit closer at a picture that had been hanging in his office for a few years, he noticed what looked like a signature belonging to the nation's 16th president. Curiosity got the better of him, so he contacted a Lincoln authority. The signature turned out to be authentic. ... > full story
Right-handedness prevailed 500,000 years ago (April 20, 2011) -- Markings on fossilized front teeth show that right-handedness goes back a half-million years in the human family. ... > full story
Propeller turbulence may affect marine food webs, study finds (April 20, 2011) -- A new study shows that turbulence from boat propellers can and does kill large numbers of copepods -- tiny crustaceans that are an important part of marine food webs. ... > full story
Canola oil protects against colon cancer, study suggests (April 20, 2011) -- A study of canola oil finds that it reduces the size and incidence of colon tumors in laboratory animals, a scientist says. ... > full story
Biologically inspired catalysts being developed (April 20, 2011) -- A research team is developing biologically-inspired catalysts. The work is based on organic catalytic framework made sturdy by the replacement of carbon-hydrogen bonds with a combination of aromatic and aliphatic carbon-fluorine bonds. ... > full story
Collecting the sun's energy: Novel electrode for flexible thin-film solar cells (April 20, 2011) -- Conventional silicon-based rigid solar cells generally found on the market are not suitable for manufacturing moldable thin-film solar cells, in which a transparent, flexible and electrically conductive electrode collects the light and carries away the current. A new woven polymer electrode has now produced first results which are very promising, indicating that the new material may be a substitute for indium tin oxide coatings. ... > full story
Mercury on the rise in endangered Pacific seabirds (April 20, 2011) -- Using 120 years of feathers from natural history museums in the United States, researchers have been able to track increases in the neurotoxin methylmercury in the black-footed albatross (Phoebastria nigripes), an endangered seabird that forages extensively throughout the Pacific. ... > full story
New biosensor microchip could speed up drug development, researchers say (April 20, 2011) -- A new biosensor microchip that could hold more than 100,000 magnetically sensitive nanosensors could speed up drug development markedly, researchers say. The nanosensors analyze how proteins bond -- a critical step in drug development. The ultrasensitive sensors can simultaneously monitor thousands of times more proteins than existing technology, deliver results faster and assess the strength of the bonds. ... > full story
One year later, oil spill’s impact on Gulf not fully understood (April 19, 2011) -- One year after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill began on April 20, 2010, two experts comment on the known and unknown impacts to wildlife -- in the air, on the land and in the sea. ... > full story
LED efficiency puzzle solved by theorists using quantum-mechanical calculations (April 19, 2011) -- Researchers say they've figured out the cause of a problem that's made light-emitting diodes (LEDs) impractical for general lighting purposes. Their work will help engineers develop a new generation of high-performance, energy-efficient lighting that could replace incandescent and fluorescent bulbs. ... > full story
Pronghorn tracked by satellite (April 19, 2011) -- The pronghorn were captured in a helicopter netting operation on February 28, fitted with the collars, and released. The collars are scheduled to "drop off" of the animals at a future date through an automated release mechanism. ... > full story
Gene necessary for successful repair of muscle damage identified (April 19, 2011) -- Scientists are a step closer to treating, and perhaps preventing, muscle damage caused by neurodegenerative disorders and other forms of disease. They have discovered that the gene polymerase I and transcript release factor, or PTRF, is an essential component of the cell process that repairs damaged muscle tissue. This discovery has the potential to lead to development of therapeutic treatment for patients who suffer from severe complications of diseases such as muscular dystrophy, cardiovascular disorders and other degenerative conditions. ... > full story
Nearly 3,000 new Walt Whitman papers discovered (April 19, 2011) -- As a clerk in the U.S. Attorney General's Office in the 1860s and 1870s, Walt Whitman had a firsthand view of the legal, cultural and ideological challenges facing the nation after the Civil War. That experience, most believe, shaped his later works of poetry and prose. Now, a university researcher has discovered nearly 3,000 previously unknown Whitman documents from that era -- a trove of information that sheds new light on the legendary poet's post-war thinking, as well as on Whitman's published reflections on the state of the nation that soon followed. ... > full story
Marine organisms with eternal life can solve the riddle of aging (April 19, 2011) -- Animals that reproduce asexually by somatic cloning have special mechanisms that delay aging provide exceptionally good health. Scientists in Sweden have shown how colony-forming ascidians (or sea squirts) can activate the enzyme telomerase, which protects DNA. This enzyme is more active also in humans who attain an advanced age. ... > full story
Could black trees blossom in a world with two suns? (April 19, 2011) -- A sky with two suns is a favorite image for science fiction films, but how would a binary star system affect life evolving on an orbiting planet? A researcher suggests what plants might be like on an Earth-like planet with two or three suns and found that they may appear black or grey. ... > full story
Tibetian Terrier dogs could play key role in developing therapy for early-onset Parkinson’s (April 19, 2011) -- Researchers believe both humans and animals will benefit from their discovery that the same gene mutation found in Tibetan terrier dogs can also be found in a fatal human neurological disorder related to Parkinson's disease. ... > full story
Americans believe climate change is occurring, but disagree on why (April 19, 2011) -- Most Americans now agree that climate change is occurring, but still disagree on why, with opinions about the cause of climate change defined by political party, not scientific understanding, according to new research. ... > full story
Sugar helping map new ground against deadly bug (April 19, 2011) -- A potential vaccine against bacteria that cause serious gastric disorders including stomach cancer may be a step closer following a pioneering study. ... > full story
Bioartificial organs: Spanish researchers replace pig corneal cells with human stem cells (April 19, 2011) -- Researchers in Spain have made progress toward bioartificial organs by extracting pig corneal cells and replacing them with human stem cells. ... > full story
X‑rays shed new light on regulation of muscle contraction (April 19, 2011) -- More than 200 years ago, Luigi Galvani discovered that the muscles of a frog's leg twitch when a voltage is applied. Scientists from Italy, the UK and France have brought this textbook classic into the era of nanoscience. They used a new synchrotron X-ray technique to observe for the first time at the molecular scale how muscle proteins change form and structure inside an intact and contracting muscle cell. ... > full story
Limiting carbs, not calories, reduces liver fat faster, researchers find (April 19, 2011) -- Curbing carbohydrates is more effective than cutting calories for individuals who want to quickly reduce the amount of fat in their liver, researchers report. ... > full story
Molecular messages from moth antennae: Scientists assemble genes involved in regulating olfaction (April 19, 2011) -- Insects use their antennae for smelling and thus for locating resources in their environment. In a new study, researchers present the first complete analysis of genes involved in antennal olfaction of the tobacco hornworm Manduca sexta. Approximately 70 different receptors expressed in some 100,000 neurons allow these moths to detect a large number of odours and to perform relevant door-guided behaviours. This is the first more or less complete antennal transcriptome characterized in a non-model insect. ... > full story
Biological arms races in birds result in sophisticated defenses against cuckoos (April 19, 2011) -- New research reveals how biological arms races between cuckoos and host birds can escalate into a competition between the host evolving new, unique egg patterns (or "signatures") and the parasite new forgeries. ... > full story
Genetic study offers insight into the social lives of bees (April 19, 2011) -- Most people have trouble telling them apart, but bumble bees, honey bees, stingless bees and solitary bees have home lives that are as different from one another as a monarch's palace is from a hippie commune or a hermit's cabin in the woods. A new study of these bees offers a first look at the genetic underpinnings of their differences in lifestyle. ... > full story
Using leaves' characteristics improves accuracy measuring past climates (April 19, 2011) -- Geologists have shown that a new method that uses different size and shape traits of leaves to reconstruct past climates over the last 120 million years is more accurate than other current methods. ... > full story
Did a supernova mark the birth of the Merry Monarch? (April 19, 2011) -- The supernova remnant Cassiopeia A (Cas A) is the relic of the explosion of a massive star that took place around 11,000 years ago and is one of the brightest radio sources in the sky. Oddly, although the light from the explosion should have reached the Earth in the seventeenth century and been easily visible in the sky, it appears to have gone unnoticed. Now astronomers and historians argue that the supernova was seen -- as a 'new' star visible during the day at the birth of the future King Charles II of Great Britain. ... > full story
'Liquefaction' key to much of Japanese earthquake damage (April 18, 2011) -- The massive subduction zone earthquake in Japan caused a significant level of soil "liquefaction" that has surprised researchers with its widespread severity, a new analysis shows. The findings also raise questions about whether existing building codes and engineering technologies are adequately accounting for this phenomenon in other vulnerable locations. ... > full story
New pollutants: Flame retardants detected in peregrine falcon eggs (April 18, 2011) -- Flame retardants are chemical compounds added to fabrics and plastics to keep them from burning easily, but these can be toxic. Now a team of researchers from Spain and Canada has detected some of these emerging pollutants for the first time in peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) eggs in both countries. ... > full story
Closer look at cell membrane shows cholesterol 'keeping order' (April 18, 2011) -- Scientists have developed a way to magnify cell membranes dramatically and watch them move, revealing a surprising dependence on cholesterol within this boundary between the cell and the outside world. ... > full story
Many restaurant staff are undertrained and misinformed about food allergies, study finds (April 18, 2011) -- A new study reveals that there is no association between a restaurant worker's knowledge of food allergy and his or her confidence in being able to provide a safe meal to a food allergic customer. ... > full story
Oxygenation at a depth of 120 meters could save the Baltic Sea, researchers demonstrate (April 18, 2011) -- Oxygenation brings dead sea bottoms to life. This creates the necessary conditions for the establishment of new ecosystems that enable nature itself to deal with eutrophication. By conducting pilot studies in two fjords in Sweden, researchers have demonstrated that pumping oxygen-rich surface water down to sea bottoms is effective. A large wind-driven pump is now to be tested in open water in the Baltic. ... > full story
Oldest known toothache? Infection in jaw of ancient reptilian fossil revealed (April 18, 2011) -- A reptile that lived 275-million years ago in what is now Oklahoma is giving paleontologists a glimpse of the oldest known toothache. ... > full story
Breast cancer: Tumor marker same in dogs and humans (April 18, 2011) -- Researchers were surprised to find that dogs and humans share a common tumor marker. The researchers uncovered a molecule, the CEA (carcinoembryonic antigen) receptor, that is almost identical in the two species. The result could lead to the rapid development of new therapies for dogs and humans. ... > full story
Carbon sequestration estimate in US increased, barring a drought (April 18, 2011) -- Forests and other terrestrial ecosystems in the lower 48 states can sequester up to 40 percent of the nation's fossil fuel carbon emissions, a larger amount than previously estimated -- unless a drought or other major disturbance occurs, new research shows. ... > full story
Sugarcane cools climate, study finds (April 18, 2011) -- Brazilians are world leaders in using biofuels. About a quarter of their automobile fuel consumption comes from sugarcane, which significantly reduces carbon dioxide emissions. Now scientists have found that sugarcane has a double benefit. Expansion of the crop in areas previously occupied by other crops cools the local climate by reflecting sunlight back into space and by lowering the air temperature as the plants "exhale" cooler water. ... > full story
Probiotic may reduce rate of recurrent urinary tract infections in women, study suggests (April 18, 2011) -- Urinary tract infections are common in women and occur frequently, affecting 2 to 3 percent of all women. A depletion of vaginal lactobacilli, a type of bacteria, is associated with urinary tract infection risk, which suggests that replenishing these bacteria may be beneficial. Researchers conducted a double-blind placebo-controlled trial to investigate this theory. Their results suggest that a probiotic may reduce the rate of recurrent urinary tract infections in women prone to these infections. ... > full story
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