ScienceDaily Environment Headlines -- for Tuesday, August 30, 2011 ~ techdeck

ScienceDaily Environment Headlines

for Tuesday, August 30, 2011

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Mind-altering microbes: Probiotic bacteria may lessen anxiety and depression (August 30, 2011) -- Probiotic bacteria have the potential to alter brain neurochemistry and treat anxiety and depression-related disorders, according to a new study by researchers in Ireland and Canada. ... > full story

Females choose mates for their personalities, zebra finch study shows (August 30, 2011) -- Adventurous females choose mates with similar personalities, regardless of the male's appearance and other assets, according to new research in birds. This is the first study to show that the non-sexual behavior or personalities of both mates influences partner choice in non-humans. The study focused on a population of more than 150 zebra finches. ... > full story

Mysteries of ozone depletion continue 25 years after the discovery of the Antarctic ozone hole (August 30, 2011) -- Even after many decades of studying ozone and its loss from our atmosphere, plenty of mysteries and surprises remain, including an unexpected loss of ozone over the Arctic this past winter, an authority on the topic has said. She also discussed chemistry and climate change, including some proposed ideas to "geoengineer" the Earth's climate to slow down or reverse global warming at a recent meeting. ... > full story

Meiosis: Oocytes have intracellular stream to push chromosomes off center for cell division (August 29, 2011) -- Most cells rely on structural tethers to position chromosomes in preparation for cell division. Not so oocytes. Instead, a powerful intracellular stream pushes chromosomes far-off the center in preparation for the highly asymmetric cell division that completes oocyte maturation upon fertilization of the egg, report researchers. ... > full story

Species share perceptual capabilities that affect how communication evolves, research finds (August 29, 2011) -- New research reveals that two entirely different species show similar perception of auditory cues that drive basic biological functions; that these perceptions may be universally shared among animals; and that such perception may also limit the evolution of communication signals. ... > full story

Black Death bacterium identified: Genetic analysis of medieval plague skeletons shows presence of Yersinia pestis bacteria (August 29, 2011) -- A team of German and Canadian scientists has shown that today's plague pathogen has been around at least 600 years. The Black Death claimed the lives of one-third of Europeans in just five years from 1348 to 1353. Until recently, it was not certain whether the bacterium Yersinia pestis -- known to cause the plague today -- was responsible for that most deadly outbreak of disease ever. ... > full story

Wastewater recycling can multiply greenhouse gas emissions (August 29, 2011) -- New research shows that wastewater recycling processes may generate more greenhouse gases than traditional water-treatment processes. Despite this finding, there are good reasons to continue keep wastewater recycling among the water-resource tools for urban areas. ... > full story

New roles emerge for non-coding RNAs in directing embryonic development (August 29, 2011) -- Scientists have discovered that a mysterious class of large RNAs plays a central role in embryonic development, contrary to the dogma that proteins alone are the master regulators of this process. The research reveals that these RNAs orchestrate the fate of embryonic stem cells by keeping them in their fledgling state or directing them along the path to cell specialization. ... > full story

Geometry of sex: How body size could lead to new species (August 29, 2011) -- Different species of scincid lizards, commonly known as skinks, rarely interbreed, but it's not for lack of trying. According to new research, different species of skinks in western North America will often try to mate with each other when given the opportunity, but mechanical difficulties caused by differing body sizes can cause these encounters to fail. ... > full story

Filling the pantry for the first voyages to the Red Planet (August 29, 2011) -- A green thumb and a little flair as a gourmet chef may be among the key skills for the first men and women who travel to the Red Planet later this century, according to one scientist. ... > full story

Virus attacks childhood cancers (August 29, 2011) -- Researchers are looking to a virus from the same family as the rabies virus to fight a form of cancer primarily found in children and young adults. ... > full story

Ancient clams yield new information about greenhouse effect on climate (August 29, 2011) -- Ancient fossilized clams that lived off the coast of Antarctica some 50 million years ago have a story to tell about El Niño, according to new research. ... > full story

Giant claw helps fiddler crabs stay cool in more ways than one (August 29, 2011) -- A male fiddler crab's oversized claw not only looks cool to the ladies, but new research suggests it literally helps crabs to stay cool. Researchers placed crabs under a hot light and took their temperatures. They found that the temperatures of crabs missing their large claw rose faster and reached a higher maximum than intact crabs. ... > full story

Nano-thermometers show first temperature response differences within living cells (August 29, 2011) -- Using a modern version of open-wide-and-keep-this-under-your-tongue, scientists today reported taking the temperature of individual cells in the human body, and finding for the first time that temperatures inside do not adhere to the familiar 98.6 degree Fahrenheit norm. ... > full story

New method detects emerging sunspots deep inside the sun, provides warning of dangerous solar flares (August 29, 2011) -- Sunspots spawn solar flares that can cause billions of dollars in damage to satellites, communications networks and power grids. But researchers have now developed a way to detect incipient sunspots as deep as 65,000 kilometers inside the sun, providing up to two days' advance warning of a damaging solar flare. ... > full story

New imaging method sheds light on cell growth (August 29, 2011) -- Researchers developed a new imaging method that can measure cell mass using two beams of light, offering new insight into the much-debated problem of whether cells grow at a constant rate or exponentially. They found that mammalian cells show clear exponential growth only during the G2 phase of the cell cycle. This information has great implications not only for basic biology, but also for diagnostics, drug development and tissue engineering. ... > full story

Detailed map of gene activity in mouse brain completed (August 29, 2011) -- A new atlas of gene expression in the mouse brain provides insight into how genes work in the outer part of the brain called the cerebral cortex. A new article describes the activity of more than 11,000 genes in the six layers of brain cells that make up the cerebral cortex. ... > full story

Stopping dengue fever with bacteria and math (August 29, 2011) -- It may be possible to eliminate the deadly dengue fever by infecting mosquitoes with a bacterium called Wolbachia that prevents the mosquitoes from transmitting the dengue virus to humans. A new mathematical model may be helpful in getting the bacteria established in mosquito populations. ... > full story

Arabidopsis: Thanks to its flexible genome, the plant can adapt to various environmental conditions (August 28, 2011) -- The plant Arabidopsis thaliana is found throughout the entire northern hemisphere. But how does this small, inconspicuous plant deal with all these different extremes of environmental conditions? In order to discover the whole-genome sequence variation, the 1001 Genomes Project was launched in 2008. Researchers have now found that the Arabidopsis plant can adapt to various environmental conditions because of a very flexible genome. ... > full story

In cell culture, like real estate, the neighborhood matters (August 28, 2011) -- Ever since scientists first began growing human cells in lab dishes in 1952, they have focused on improving the chemical soup that feeds the cells and helps regulate their growth. But surfaces also matter, research shows. ... > full story

NASA satellite shows a mean Irene's fury (August 28, 2011) -- After pounding North Carolina and Virginia on Aug. 27, Hurricane Irene made a second landfall near Little Egg Inlet, N.J., early Sunday morning, Aug. 28, still as a category one hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (120 kilometers per hour). It then weakened slightly before making a third landfall over Coney Island, N.Y. as a 65-mph (100-kilometer-per-hour) tropical storm. Irene's heavy rains, winds and storm surge are causing widespread problems throughout the U.S. mid-Atlantic and Northeast. ... > full story

Research from Everest: Can leucine help burn fat and spare muscle tissue during exercise? (August 28, 2011) -- Research on Mt. Everest climbers is adding to the evidence that an amino acid called leucine -- found in foods, dietary supplements, energy bars and other products -- may help people burn fat during periods of food restriction, such as climbing at high altitude, while keeping their muscle tissue. ... > full story

Eradicating dangerous bacteria may cause permanent harm (August 28, 2011) -- In the zeal to eliminate dangerous bacteria, it is possible that we are also permanently killing off beneficial bacteria as well, an expert warns. ... > full story

Cholera pandemic's source discovered (August 28, 2011) -- Researchers have used next generation sequencing to trace the source and explain the spread of the latest cholera pandemic. Their work reveals that the current pandemic can be traced back to an ancestor organism that appeared 40 years ago in the Bay of Bengal. From this ancestor, cholera has spread repeatedly to different parts of the world in multiple waves. The team also show antibiotic resistance was first acquired around 1982. ... > full story

Little plant tells big stories: Researchers capture codes to genetic variation in 'model' plant (August 28, 2011) -- An international collaboration of researchers compared genetic data from 19 different strains of a humble plant called Arabidopsis thaliana. The genome sequences of these strains, 18 of which are presented in the study, will now make it easier to study plants' surprisingly wide trait variation that underlies their adaptability. ... > full story

Genome of mesopolyploid crop Brassica rapa sheds new light on the study of genome evolution (August 28, 2011) -- An international team of researchers comprising the Brassica rapa Genome Sequencing Project Consortium has completed the genome sequence and analysis of the mesopolyploid crop B. rapa, a Chinese cabbage. ... > full story

Possible biological control discovered for pathogen devastating amphibians (August 27, 2011) -- Zoologists have discovered that a freshwater species of zooplankton will eat a fungal pathogen which is devastating amphibian populations around the world. It could provide a desperately needed tool for biological control of this deadly fungus. ... > full story

Novel control of Dengue fever (August 27, 2011) -- The spread of Dengue fever in northern Australia may be controlled by a bacterium that infects mosquitoes that harbor the virus, researchers report. ... > full story

Molecular chaperones traffic signaling proteins between cells in plant stem-cell maintenance pathway (August 27, 2011) -- Plant biologists have discovered that proteins called chaperonins are an indispensable factor in making possible cell-to-cell trafficking of signals that maintain stem cells and enable plants to grow. ... > full story

Wide gap in immune responses of people exposed to the flu (August 27, 2011) -- Why do some folks who take every precaution still get the flu, while others never even get the sniffles? It comes down to a person's immune system response to the flu virus, according to new research. In one of the first known studies of its kind, researchers used genomics to begin to unravel what in our complex genomic data accounts for why some get sick while others don't. ... > full story

Florida's reefs cannot endure a 'cold snap' (August 27, 2011) -- Florida's corals dropped in numbers due to unseasonably cold weather conditions in 2010. The chilly January temperatures caused the most catastrophic loss of corals within the Florida Reef Tract, which spans 160 miles (260 kilometers) from Miami to the Dry Tortugas and is the only living barrier reef in the continental U.S. ... > full story

Summer drought limits the positive effects of CO<sub>2</sub> and heat on plant growth in future climate (August 27, 2011) -- Summer drought limits the positive effects of carbon dioxide and heat on plant growth in future climate. Although the rain this summer has been pouring down over Denmark, most scientists agree that global temperature increases will intensify periods with summer drought already in 2075. ... > full story

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

Slim down by targeting the hormone uroguanylin (August 25, 2011) -- The number of people who are obese and suffer one or more of its associated health problems is escalating dramatically. Researchers are seeking to identify new targets for therapeutics that could limit appetite and thereby obesity. Researchers have now uncovered one new potential target (uroguanylin) by studying the molecular control of appetite in mice. ... > full story

Single vaccines to protect against both rabies and Ebola (August 25, 2011) -- Researchers have developed single vaccines to protest against both rabies and the Ebola virus. ... > full story

Darwin's butterflies? Spectacular species radiation in the Caribbean studied with 'DNA barcoding' (August 25, 2011) -- In one of the first taxonomic revisions of Neotropical butterflies that utilizes "DNA barcoding," biologists have uncovered a spectacular degree of evolutionary divergence within the satyrine butterfly genus Calisto. ... > full story

Malaria mosquito is disappearing, but it is not necessarily just good news (August 25, 2011) -- The incidence of malaria in many African countries south of the Sahara is falling rapidly, shows new research. Scientists have discovered that the mosquito carrying the malaria parasite has practically disappeared from villages without organized mosquito control, and they do not know why. Since the researchers can discount mosquito nets, the question is whether the mosquitoes have succumbed to disease, or communities have been using pesticides, or whether the fall is due to the chaotic new precipitation patterns. ... > full story

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