ScienceDaily Environment Headlines -- for Saturday, August 27, 2011 ~ techdeck

Sabtu, 27 Agustus 2011

ScienceDaily Environment Headlines -- for Saturday, August 27, 2011

02.23 technofi No comments

ScienceDaily Environment Headlines

for Saturday, August 27, 2011

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Could new drug cure nearly any viral infection? Technology shows promise against common cold, influenza and other ailments, researchers say (August 26, 2011) -- Most bacterial infections can be treated with antibiotics such as penicillin, discovered decades ago. However, such drugs are useless against viral infections, including influenza, the common cold, and deadly hemorrhagic fevers such as Ebola. Now, in a development that could transform how viral infections are treated, a team of researchers has designed a drug that can identify cells that have been infected by any type of virus, then kill those cells to terminate the infection. ... > full story

Cars could run on recycled newspaper, scientists say (August 26, 2011) -- Here's one way that old-fashioned newsprint beats the Internet. Scientists have discovered a novel bacterial strain, dubbed "TU-103," that can use paper to produce butanol, a biofuel that can serve as a substitute for gasoline. They are currently experimenting with old editions of the Times Picayune, New Orleans' venerable daily newspaper, with great success. ... > full story

Adapting to climate change with floating houses? (August 26, 2011) -- Climate change is redefining the rules by which we live and at a pace we never expected. Because of rising sea level, several areas of the globe are in danger of vanishing from the map, disappearing under water. Society must adapt and maybe, one day, live in floating houses in floating cities. ... > full story

Biological communities studied at historical WWII shipwrecks along North Carolina (August 26, 2011) -- In the waters off the North Carolina coast, historically-significant World War II submarines and shipwrecks rest on the seafloor, a testament to a relatively unknown chapter in US history. According to a new report, the shipwrecks are not only important for their cultural value, but also as habitat for a wide diversity of fishes, invertebrates and algal species. Additionally, due to their unique location within an important area for biological productivity, the shipwrecks are potential sites for examining community change. ... > full story

Heat in chili peppers can ease sinus problems, research shows (August 26, 2011) -- Hot chili peppers are known to make people "tear up," but a new study found that a nasal spray containing an ingredient derived from hot chili peppers may help people "clear up" certain types of sinus inflammation. ... > full story

Earth-bound asteroids come from stony asteroids, new studies confirm (August 26, 2011) -- Researchers got their first up-close look at dust from the surface of a small, stony asteroid after the Hayabusa spacecraft scooped some up and brought it back to Earth. Analysis of these dust particles confirms a long-standing suspicion: that the most common meteorites found here on Earth, known as ordinary chondrites, are born from these stony, or S-type, asteroids. ... > full story

Claims of drought-driven declines in plant productivity, global food security refuted: Modeling errors produced exaggerated claims (August 26, 2011) -- A new, comprehensive study refutes earlier claims that drought has induced a decline in global plant productivity during the past decade and posed a threat to global food security. ... > full story

No bones about it: Eating dried plums helps prevent fractures and osteoporosis, study suggests (August 26, 2011) -- When it comes to improving bone health in postmenopausal women -- and people of all ages, actually -- researchers has found a simple, proactive solution to help prevent fractures and osteoporosis: eating dried plums. ... > full story

Simple way to grow muscle tissue with real muscle structure (August 26, 2011) -- Researchers have found a simple way to grow muscle tissue with a real muscle structure in the laboratory. They found that the muscle cells automatically align themselves if they are subjected to tension in one direction -- this is essential for the ability of the muscle cells to exert a force. ... > full story

Could the Spanish flu devastate us again? (August 26, 2011) -- Scientists have developed a new computational method that can predict viral mutation strategies, tracking virus strains and giving researchers the tools they need to better combat these mutations with more precisely formulated vaccines. ... > full story

New model predicts environmental effect of pharmaceutical products (August 26, 2011) -- Most synthetic chemical products used in consumer goods end up unchanged in the environment. Given the risks this could pose for the environment and human health, researchers in Spain have developed a new tool to effectively predict what will happen to current and future pharmaceutical products. ... > full story

'Hidden' differences of chromosome organization become visible (August 25, 2011) -- Why do different species have dissimilar sets of chromosomes? Why do the differentiated species often conserve apparently identical chromosome complements? Furthermore, why, while chromosome rearrangements can considerably change the course of species evolution, do certain variation among individuals and populations of some species persists indefinitely? Such questions motivate researchers to compare chromosomes in closely related species. To understand the nature of chromosome changes in the voles Microtus savii, researchers launched a molecular cytogenetic study. ... > full story