ScienceDaily Environment Headlines -- for Saturday, August 6, 2011 ~ techdeck

Sabtu, 06 Agustus 2011

ScienceDaily Environment Headlines -- for Saturday, August 6, 2011

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ScienceDaily Environment Headlines

for Saturday, August 6, 2011

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Females can place limits on evolution of attractive features in males, research shows (August 5, 2011) -- Female cognitive ability can limit how melodious or handsome males become over evolutionary time, biologists have observed. Males across the animal world have evolved elaborate traits to attract females, from huge peacock tails to complex bird songs and frog calls. But what keeps them from getting more colorful feathers, longer tails, or more melodious songs? ... > full story

New field of hydrothermal vents discovered along the mid-Atlantic ridge (August 5, 2011) -- Oceanographers have discovered a previously uncharted field of hydrothermal vents along the mid-Atlantic ridge – the first to be explored north of the Azores. Researchers studied an area 3,000 meters below the surface of the sea using a remotely operated vehicle. ... > full story

Small molecules hit it big: New therapeutic approaches against viruses, bacteria, and cancer (August 5, 2011) -- Scientists have developed small molecules that inhibit the internalization of important signaling molecules but also of pathogenic organisms such as the immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and bacteria into cells. These compounds inhibit the function of the cellular scaffold protein clathrin und could thereby serve as a starting point for novel therapeutic approaches for the treatment of cancer, viral or bacterial infections, or neurological disorders. ... > full story

Innate cells shown to form immunological 'memory' and protect against viral infection (August 5, 2011) -- Researchers have demonstrated that cells of the innate immune system are capable of "memory", and of mounting rapid protection to an otherwise lethal dose of live vaccinia virus. The study challenges previous thought that only B cells and T cells can store memory to ward off future infection. The finding has potentially significant consequences for the design of future vaccines, particularly for HIV. ... > full story

Better desalination technology key to solving world's water shortage (August 5, 2011) -- Over one-third of the world's population already lives in areas struggling to keep up with the demand for fresh water. By 2025, that number will nearly double. A new Yale University study argues that seawater desalination should play an important role in helping combat worldwide fresh water shortages -- once conservation, reuse and other methods have been exhausted -- and provides insight into how desalination technology can be made more affordable and energy efficient. ... > full story

Gazpacho ingredients lose vitamin C during preparation (August 5, 2011) -- In summer, more dishes like gazpacho –- a cold soup containing raw vegetables, bread, olive oil and vinegar –- are consumed. A new study has revealed that ingredients’ vitamin C content as well as other organic acids is lower in the resulting mixture, meaning that it should be eaten immediately after preparation. ... > full story

Light shed on South Pole dinosaurs (August 5, 2011) -- Bones of South Pole dinosaurs grew like the bones of other dinosaurs, helping explain why dinosaurs were able to dominate the planet for 160 million years, new research shows. ... > full story

Researchers discover natural food preservative that kills food-borne bacteria (August 5, 2011) -- Researchers have discovered and received a patent for a naturally occurring lantibiotic -- a peptide produced by a harmless bacteria -- that could be added to food to kill harmful bacteria like salmonella, E. coli and listeria. ... > full story

Northern humans had bigger brains, to cope with the low light levels, study finds (August 5, 2011) -- The farther that human populations live from the equator, the bigger their brains, according to a new study. But it turns out that this is not because they are smarter, but because they need bigger vision areas in the brain to cope with the low light levels experienced at high latitudes. ... > full story

Screening effort turns up multiple potential anti-malaria compounds; Possible resistance-proof drug pairs found (August 5, 2011) -- Numerous potential anti-malarial candidate drugs have been uncovered by researchers. Researchers used robotic, ultra-high-throughput screening technology to test more than 2,800 chemical compounds for activity against 61 genetically diverse strains of lab-grown malaria parasites. They found 32 compounds that were highly effective at killing at least 45 of the 61 strains. ... > full story

Targeting innate immunity in malaria: Novel DNA sensing pathway linked to increased susceptibility to malaria (August 5, 2011) -- Scientists have uncovered a novel DNA-sensing pathway important to the triggering of an innate immune response for malaria. Activation of this pathway appears to stimulate production of an overabundance of type-1 interferon by the immune system that may contribute to inflammation and fever in malaria patients and could play a part in susceptibility for the most common and lethal form of malaria known as plasmodium falciparum. ... > full story

Earliest image of Egyptian ruler wearing 'white crown' of royalty brought to light (August 5, 2011) -- The earliest known image of an Egyptian ruler wearing the "White Crown" associated with Egyptian dynastic power has been brought to light by archaeologists. ... > full story