ScienceDaily Environment Headlines
for Tuesday, August 19, 2008
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Plastics Suspect In Lobster Illness (August 19, 2008) -- The search for what causes a debilitating shell disease affecting lobsters from Long Island Sound to Maine has led one Marine Biological Laboratory visiting scientist to suspect environmental alkyphenols, formed primarily by the breakdown of hard transparent plastics. ... > full story
Molecular Sleuths Track Evolution Through The Ribosome (August 19, 2008) -- A new study of the ribosome, the cell's protein-building machinery, sheds light on the oldest branches of the evolutionary tree of life and suggests that differences in ribosomal structure between the three main branches of that tree are "molecular fossils" of the early evolution of protein synthesis. ... > full story
Invasion Of Comb Jellyfish (August 19, 2008) -- In the waters surrounding Woods Hole, Massachusetts, the warty comb jelly, Mnemiopsis ledyi, lives out its days, bumping against eel grass and collecting small crustaceans with its sticky tentacles. The delicate creature, which resembles a small jellyfish without the stinger, is just another member of the food web here on the Western Atlantic coast. ... > full story
Towards Understanding Bluetongue Outbreaks (August 19, 2008) -- Scientists report the identification of a bluetongue virus strain that caused the northern European Bluetongue outbreak in 2006. Comparison of the virus strain with the sequences of other previously isolated strains showed that it originated in sub-Saharan Africa, rather than from vaccine strains or strains circulating in southern Europe. ... > full story
Synthetic Molecules Could Add Spice To Fight Against Cancer (August 18, 2008) -- Seeking to improve on nature, scientists used a spice-based compound as a starting point and developed synthetic molecules that, in lab settings, are able to kill cancer cells and stop the cells from spreading. The researchers are combining organic chemistry, computer-aided design and molecular biology techniques in developing and testing pharmaceutical compounds that can fight breast and prostate cancer cells. The synthetic molecules are derived from curcumin, a naturally occurring compound found in the spice turmeric. ... > full story
Leishmaniasis Parasites Evade Death By Exploiting Immune Response To Sand Fly Bites (August 18, 2008) -- Cutaneous leishmaniasis, a disease characterized by painful skin ulcers, occurs when the parasite Leishmania major, or a related species, is transmitted to a mammalian host by the bite of an infected sand fly. In a new study, scientists have discovered L. major does its damage by not only evading but also by exploiting the body's wound-healing response to sand fly bites. ... > full story
New Robot Scouts Best Locations For Components Of Undersea Lab (August 18, 2008) -- Like a deep-sea bloodhound, Sentry -- the newest in an elite group of unmanned submersibles able to operate on their own in demanding and rugged environments -- has helped scientists pinpoint locations for two observation sites of a pioneering seafloor laboratory being planned off Washington and Oregon. Successful selection of the two sites is a crucial step in developing an extensive sensor network above and below the seafloor on the Juan de Fuca Plate. ... > full story
Toxoplasmosis Found More Severe In Brazil Compared To Europe (August 18, 2008) -- Newborns in Brazil are more susceptible to toxoplasmosis than those in Europe, according to a recent study. Researchers based in Austria, Brazil, Denmark, France, Italy, Poland, Sweden and the United Kingdom studied the disease's ocular effects in children from birth to four years of age. ... > full story
Extinction Most Likely For Rare Trees In Amazon Rainforest (August 18, 2008) -- Common tree species in the Amazon will survive even grim scenarios of deforestation and road-building, but rare trees could suffer extinction rates of up to 50 percent, predict scientists in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. ... > full story
Call For Better Protection Of Older People From Climate Change Impact (August 18, 2008) -- A new report calls on government and public authorities to take action to better protect older people from the future effects of climate change. ... > full story
Key Photosynthesis Step Replicated: Scientists Learn From Nature To Split Water Into Hydrogen And Oxygen (August 18, 2008) -- Chemists have used chemicals found in plants to replicate a key process in photosynthesis paving the way to a new approach that uses sunlight to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. ... > full story
Trees, Forests And The Eiffel Tower Reveal Theory Of Design In Nature (August 18, 2008) -- What do a tree and the Eiffel Tower have in common? According to a Duke University engineer, both are optimized for flow. In the case of trees, the flow is of water from the ground throughout the trunk, branches and leaves, and into the air. The Eiffel Tower's flow carries stresses throughout the structure without collapsing under its own weight or being downed by the wind. ... > full story
Robot Vehicle Surveys Deep Sea Off Pacific Northwest (August 18, 2008) -- The first scientific mission with Sentry, a newly developed robot capable of diving as deep as 5,000 meters (3.1 miles) into the ocean, has been successfully completed. ... > full story
Newly Detected Air Pollutant Mimics Damaging Effects Of Cigarette Smoke (August 18, 2008) -- A previously unrecognized group of air pollutants could have effects remarkably similar to harmful substances found in tobacco smoke, according to a new report. Inhaling those pollutants exposes the average person up to 300 times more free radicals daily than from smoking one cigarette, the researchers added, noting that the study could help explain why nonsmokers develop tobacco-related diseases like lung cancer. ... > full story
Engineers Build Mini Drug-producing Biofactories In Yeast (August 18, 2008) -- Researchers have developed a novel way to churn out large quantities of drugs, including antiplaque toothpaste additives, antibiotics, nicotine, and even morphine, using mini biofactories -- in yeast. ... > full story
Energy Storage For Hybrid Vehicles (August 18, 2008) -- Hybrid technology combines the advantages of combustion engines and electric motors. Scientists are developing high-performance energy storage units, a prerequisite for effective hybrid motors. ... > full story
Fruit Flies Provide Insight Into Bacterial Infections In Humans (August 18, 2008) -- Researchers have used a fruit fly (Drosophila) model of infection to provide new insight into the molecular mechanisms underlying the virulence of the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which is a major cause of infections in individuals who are hospitalized, have burn wounds, or have cystic fibrosis. ... > full story
Climate Change Threatens One In Five Plant Species In Germany (August 18, 2008) -- One in five of Germany's plant species could lose parts of its current range, a new study reveals. Species distributions will be rearranged as a result of climate change; this could have a dramatic impact particularly on the vegetation in southwestern and eastern Germany. ... > full story
Water Is No Passive Spectator Of Biological Processes: It Is An Active Participant (August 18, 2008) -- Researchers have been able to detect changes in the protein -- water network during protein folding in real time using kinetic terahertz absorption. ... > full story
Maelstrom Quashes Jumping Genes (August 18, 2008) -- Scientists have known for decades that genes called transposons can jump around the genome in a cell. This jumping can be dangerous, especially when it arises in cells that produce eggs and sperm. Although nature developed a mechanism to quash this genetic scrambling, how it works has remained a mystery. Now scientists have identified a key protein that suppresses jumping genes in mouse sperm and found that the protein is vital to sperm formation. ... > full story
High-Altitude Small Mammals Of The Great Basin Are Not Completely Isolated (August 18, 2008) -- New modeling research demonstrates that the "sky islands" of the Great Basin are not islands: the different populations of small mammals that inhabit mountain tops have contact with each other. ... > full story
'Virtual Archaeologist' Reconnects Fragments Of An Ancient Civilization (August 17, 2008) -- Computer scientists working with archaeologists in Greece has developed a new technology that has the potential to change the way people do archaeology. ... > full story
Surprising Details Of Evolution Of Protein Translation Revealed (August 17, 2008) -- A new study of transfer RNA, a molecule that delivers amino acids to the protein-building machinery of the cell, challenges long-held ideas about the evolutionary history of protein synthesis. ... > full story
Old Growth Giants Limited By Water-pulling Ability (August 17, 2008) -- The Douglas-fir, state tree of Oregon, towering king of old-growth forests and one of the tallest tree species on Earth, finally stops growing taller because it just can't pull water any higher, a new study concludes. ... > full story
Dying Frogs Sign Of A Biodiversity Crisis (August 17, 2008) -- Devastating declines of amphibian species around the world are a sign of a biodiversity disaster larger than just frogs, salamanders and their ilk, according to researchers from the University of California, Berkeley. The researchers argue that substantial die-offs of amphibians and other plant and animal species add up to a new mass extinction facing the planet. ... > full story
New Mushroom Study Shows The Power Of Energy Density (August 17, 2008) -- Preliminary research suggests increasing intake of low-energy density foods, specifically mushrooms, in place of high-energy-density foods, like lean ground beef, is a strategy for preventing or treating obesity. This is good news for the more than one-third of US adults age 20 and older who are obese, according to the Center for Disease Control. ... > full story
Potatoes May Hold Key To Alzheimer's Treatment (August 16, 2008) -- A virus that commonly infects potatoes bears a striking resemblance to one of the key proteins implicated in Alzheimer's disease, and researchers have used that to develop antibodies that may slow or prevent the onset of AD. ... > full story
Resistant Prions: Can They Be Transmitted By Environment As Well As Direct Contact? (August 16, 2008) -- Prions, the pathogens that cause scrapie in sheep, can survive in the ground for several years, as researchers have discovered. Animals can become infected via contaminated pastures. It is not yet known whether the pathogens that cause BSE and CWD are equally resistant. ... > full story
New Bird Species Discovered In Gabon, Africa (August 16, 2008) -- Scientists have discovered a new species of bird in Gabon, Africa, that was, until now, unknown to the scientific community. The newly found olive-backed forest robin (Stiphrornis pyrrholaemus) was named by the scientists for its distinctive olive back and rump. Adult birds measure 4.5 inches in length and average 18 grams in weight. ... > full story
Synthetic Biology Is Bearing Fruit: Blockers Against Blockers (August 16, 2008) -- Synthetic Biology is bearing fruit: the tuberculosis pathogen can be fooled by a widely used food additive. The WHO records around nine million new cases of the disease each year, and about 50 million people are infected with a strain of Mycobacterium tuberculosis that is resistant to the antibiotics Isoniazid and Rifampicin. ... > full story
Studying Volcanoes With Balloons (August 16, 2008) -- People do all kinds of crazy things in Hawaii, but flying balloons over a volcano usually isn’t one of them. Unless you’re Adam Durant, that is. ... > full story
Burmese Pythons Will Find Little Suitable Habitat Outside South Florida, Study Suggests (August 15, 2008) -- Burmese Pythons may have chosen Florida as a vacation destination, but are unlikely to expand further, according to a new study. Although the United States Geological Survey earlier this year released "climate maps" indicating that the pythons could inhabit up to 32 states in the US, new research indicates that the snakes are unlikely to expand out of Florida. ... > full story
Antarctic Climate: Short-term Spikes, Long-term Warming Linked To Tropical Pacific (August 15, 2008) -- Dramatic year-to-year temperature swings and a century-long warming trend across West Antarctica are linked to conditions in the tropical Pacific, according to an analysis of ice cores. The findings show the connection of the world's coldest continent to global warming, as well as to events such as El Niño. ... > full story
Big-brained Animals Evolve Faster (August 15, 2008) -- Ecologists and evolutionary biologists analyzed body size measures of 7,209 species of birds and found that avian families that have experienced the greatest diversification in body size tend to be those with brains larger than expected for their body size. ... > full story
Stone Age Graveyard Reveals Lifestyles Of A 'Green Sahara' (August 15, 2008) -- The largest Stone Age graveyard found in the Sahara, which provides an unparalleled record of life when the region was green, has been discovered in Niger by National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence and University of Chicago Professor Paul Sereno, whose team first happened on the site during a dinosaur-hunting expedition. ... > full story
Climate Change Caused Widespread Tree Death In California Mountain Range, Study Confirms (August 15, 2008) -- Warmer temperatures and longer dry spells have killed thousands of trees and shrubs in a Southern California mountain range, pushing the plants' habitat an average of 213 feet up the mountain over the past 30 years, a UC Irvine study has determined. ... > full story
Study Shows Continued Spread Of 'Dead Zones'; Lack Of Oxygen Now A Key Stressor On Marine Ecosystems (August 15, 2008) -- A new study shows that the number of "dead zones" -- areas of seafloor with too little oxygen for most marine life -- has increased by a third between 1995 and 2007. Dead zones are now "the key stressor on marine ecosystems" and "rank with over-fishing, habitat loss, and harmful algal blooms as global environmental problems." ... > full story
Hybrid 'Muttsucker' Has Genes Of Three Species (August 15, 2008) -- In the murky waters of an inconspicuous stream in a remote area of Wyoming, researchers detail the potential impact that an introduced fish, the white sucker, could have on the evolutionary biology of fishes. ... > full story
'Flu Vaccination' Protects Bacteria Against Virus (August 15, 2008) -- Bacteria – like people animals and plants – can become infected by a virus. Researchers have now unravelled a mechanism with which bacteria can defend themselves for a longer period against threatening viruses. Over the long term, this research offers possibilities to protect bacteria used in industrial processes against viral infections by giving them a 'flu vaccination'. ... > full story
Distinguishing Between Two Birds Of A Feather (August 15, 2008) -- The bird enthusiast who chronicled the adventures of a flock of red-headed conures in his book "The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill" knows most of the parrots by name, yet most of us would be hard pressed to tell one bird from another. While it has been known for a long time that we can become acutely attuned to our day-to-day environment, the underlying neural mechanism has been less clear. ... > full story
Structural Biology Spin-out Tackles Major Diseases (August 15, 2008) -- A spin off company from basic structural biology has led to new technology that provides a way of creating therapeutic proteins to tackle major diseases such as cancer, diabetes and infertility. ... > full story
Managing the Conch Fishery (August 15, 2008) -- Massachusetts fisherman once considered the New England whelk or “conch” as nothing more than bycatch. Although demand existed for the large-shelled snail, traditionally used for cooking in East Asian cultures, it could more easily be trawled in the waters around South America, the Caribbean and Asia, making conch unprofitable in the Northeast. This turned around in the 1980s, however, when overfishing of whelk quickly transformed the small New England conch fishery into a multi-million dollar industry. ... > full story
Drinking Water In Gaza Strip Contaminated With High Levels Of Nitrate (August 14, 2008) -- Scientists have recommended to the authorities in the Gaza Strip that they take immediate measures to combat excessive nitrate levels in the drinking water. 90 per cent of their water samples were found to contain nitrate concentrations that were between two and eight times higher than the limit recommended by the World Health Organization. ... > full story
Oil And Gas Projects In Western Amazon Threaten Biodiversity And Indigenous Peoples (August 14, 2008) -- According to a new study, over 180 oil and gas "blocks" -- areas zoned for exploration and development -- now cover the megadiverse western Amazon, which includes Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and western Brazil. These oil and gas blocks stretch over 688,000 km2 (170 million acres), a vast area, nearly the size of Texas. ... > full story
How Flesh-eating Bacteria Attack The Body's Immune System (August 14, 2008) -- "Flesh-eating" or "Strep" bacteria are able to survive and spread in the body by degrading a key immune defense molecule. The finding could aid in development of new treatments for serious infections in human patients. ... > full story
Researchers Solve Structure Of An Enzyme Vital For DNA Repair (August 14, 2008) -- When dividing cells copy their DNA, mistakes can -- and do -- occur. To compensate, cells have a built-in system to correct these errors. That correction process isn't thoroughly understood, but researchers are piecing it together bit by bit. ... > full story
Exploring Sichuan Fault (August 14, 2008) -- Scientists are to explore the fault lines that caused the May 12th earthquake in China that killed 69,000 people. ... > full story
Solar Collector Could Change Asphalt Roads Into Renewable Energy Source (August 14, 2008) -- Scientists have found a way to use asphalt's heat-soaking property for an alternative energy source by developing a solar collector that could turn roads and parking lots into ubiquitous -- and inexpensive sources of electricity and hot water. ... > full story
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