ScienceDaily Environment Headlines -- for Saturday, May 21, 2011 ~ techdeck

Sabtu, 21 Mei 2011

ScienceDaily Environment Headlines -- for Saturday, May 21, 2011

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ScienceDaily Environment Headlines

for Saturday, May 21, 2011

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Work with RNA silencing and plant stem cells may lead to controlling fruit, seed and leaves (May 20, 2011) -- Research on controlling the stem cells of plants could eventually lead to learning how to make them produce more fruit, seed and leaves, according to researchers. ... > full story

Long reach of the deep sea: Oceanographers document effect of equatorial deep currents on West African rainfall (May 20, 2011) -- Our climate is affected by the ocean in many ways. The most prominent example is the El Niño phenomenon in the Pacific, a well-documented interannual climate signal. Oceanographers from Germany and the United States have recently documented the effect of deep equatorial currents in the Atlantic on rainfall and climate over West Africa. ... > full story

Wolbachia bacteria reduce parasite levels and kill the mosquito that spreads malaria (May 20, 2011) -- Researchers found that artificial infection with different Wolbachia bacteria strains can significantly reduce levels of the human malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, in the mosquito, Anopheles gambiae. The investigators also determined that one of the Wolbachia strains rapidly killed the mosquito after it fed on blood. According to the researchers, Wolbachia could potentially be used as part of a strategy to control malaria if stable infections can be established in Anopheles. ... > full story

Record efficiency of 18.7 percent for flexible solar cells on plastics, Swiss researchers report (May 20, 2011) -- Swiss scientists have further boosted the energy conversion efficiency of flexible solar cells made of copper indium gallium (di)selenide (also known as CIGS) to a new world record of 18.7 percent -- a significant improvement over the previous record of 17.6 percent achieved by the same team in June 2010. The measurements have been independently certified. ... > full story

From gene to protein: Control is mainly in the cytoplasm, not cell nucleus (May 20, 2011) -- How do genes control us? This fundamental question still remains elusive despite decades of research. Genes are blueprints for proteins, but it is the proteins that actually carry out vital functions. But how is protein production controlled? Researchers have now comprehensively quantified gene expression for the first time and found out that control mainly occurs in the cytoplasm of the cell and not in the cell nucleus. ... > full story

Building a better mouse model to study depression (May 20, 2011) -- Researchers have developed a mouse model of major depressive disorder (MDD) that is based on a rare genetic mutation that appears to cause MDD in the majority of people who inherit it. The findings could help clarify the brain events that lead to MDD and contribute to new and better means of treatment and prevention. ... > full story

Archaeologists uncover oldest mine in the Americas (May 20, 2011) -- Archaeologists have discovered a 12,000-year-old iron oxide mine in Chile that marks the oldest evidence of organized mining ever found in the Americas, according to a new article. ... > full story

Sniff sniff: Smelling led to smarter mammals, researchers say (May 20, 2011) -- A rose by any other name would smell as sweet; the saying is perhaps a testament to the acute sense of smell that is unique to mammals. Paleontologists have now discovered that an improved sense of smell jumpstarted brain evolution in the ancestral cousins of present-day mammals. ... > full story

Localizing fruit, vegetable consumption doesn't necessarily solve environmental, health issues, study suggests (May 20, 2011) -- To an environmental studies professor it seemed as though Santa Barbara County would be a great example of what many are advocating as a solution to the problems of a conventional agrifood network -- a local food system. ... > full story

Atomic-scale structures of ribosome could help improve antibiotics: How protein-making machine bends without breaking (May 20, 2011) -- In a development that could lead to better antibiotics, scientists have derived atomic-scale resolution structures of the cell's protein-making machine, the ribosome, at key stages of its job. The structures reveal that the ribosome's ability to rotate an incredible amount without falling apart is due to the never-before-seen springiness of molecular widgets that hold it together. ... > full story

Malaria risk reduced by genetic predisposition for cell suicide, study finds (May 20, 2011) -- A human genetic variant associated with an almost 30 percent reduced risk of developing severe malaria has been identified. Scientists reveal that a variant at the FAS locus can prevent an excessive and potentially hazardous immune response in infected children. ... > full story

Can river sediment be used to repair the coast? (May 20, 2011) -- They say that time and tide wait for no man -- well, neither does the mighty Mississippi River. While near record-breaking water levels are expected any day now and safety precautions are being taken, one professor explained how the river's meandering historic path and silty contents might offer a future ray of hope. ... > full story