ScienceDaily Environment Headlines
for Sunday, August 24, 2008
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How Daughter Is Different From Mother ... In Yeast Cells (August 23, 2008) -- Scientists know how mother and daughter can be so different. Mother and daughter yeast cells, that is. The researchers have discovered a new mechanism for cell fate determination -- how one cell, the daughter, becomes dramatically different from the mother, even though they have the same genetic material. The study shows why mothers and daughters differ in how they express their genes: a certain gene regulator gets trapped in the daughter cell's nucleus. ... > full story
Rapid Test For Pathogens: Could Be Used To Detect Diseases Used By Bioterrorists (August 23, 2008) -- Dangerous disease often spreads faster than it takes to diagnose it in the lab. To remedy that, researchers at Kansas State University have developed a test to bring that time from days down to hours. ... > full story
Drier, Warmer Springs In US Southwest Stem From Human-caused Changes In Winds (August 23, 2008) -- Human-driven changes in the westerly winds are bringing hotter and drier springs to the American Southwest, according to new research from the University of Arizona in Tucson. Since the 1970s the winter storm track in the western US has been shifting north, particularly in the late winter. As a result, fewer winter storms bring rain and snow to Southern California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, western Colorado and western New Mexico. ... > full story
Pangea Conundrum (August 23, 2008) -- The existence of the supercontinent Pangea, which formed about 300 million years ago and broke up about 200 million years ago, is a cornerstone of plate tectonics, and processes resulting in its assembly and fragmentation have governed the evolution of Earth's crust for 500 million years. Over the past 20 years, evidence has been amassing that Pangea is just the latest in a series of supercontinents that formed repeatedly since the Archean, only to break up and reform again. ... > full story
Genome Of Simplest Animal Reveals Ancient Lineage, Confounding Array Of Complex Capabilities (August 23, 2008) -- The genome of the simple and primitive animal, Trichoplax adhaerens, appears to harbor a far more complex suite of capabilities than meets the eye. The findings establish a group of organisms as a branching point of animal evolution and identify sets of genes, or a "parts list," employed by organisms that have evolved along particular branches. ... > full story
Fish Cancer Gene Linked To Pigment Pattern That Attracts Mates (August 23, 2008) -- Though skin cancer is deadly to male fish, it also has one perk: The black melanoma splotches arise from attractive natural markings that lure female mates. A new study shows that the melanoma gene can be conserved in swordtail fish because of its beneficial role in sexual selection. ... > full story
New Climate Record Shows Century-long Droughts In Eastern North America (August 23, 2008) -- A stalagmite in a West Virginia cave has yielded the most detailed geological record to date on climate cycles in eastern North America over the past 7,000 years. The new study confirms that during periods when Earth received less solar radiation, the Atlantic Ocean cooled, icebergs increased and precipitation fell, creating a series of century-long droughts. ... > full story
Genes And Nutrition Influence Caste In Unusual Species Of Harvester Ant (August 23, 2008) -- Researchers trying to determine whether nature or nurture determines an ant's status in the colony have found a surprising answer. Both. Nature (that is, the ant’s genetic makeup) and nurture (what it eats, for example) play a role in determining the fate of the Florida harvester ant, Pogonomyrmex badius, a resilient creature found in many parts of the southeastern United States. ... > full story
Some Cells Self-destruct For The Greater Common Good (August 22, 2008) -- Individual cells in a population of bacteria can sacrifice their lives for others to achieve a greater common good. Biologists have described a new biological concept in which self-sacrifice and self-destruction play an important role. ... > full story
With Skate Eyes, Scientists Peer Into Human Disease (August 22, 2008) -- Paradoxically, the photoreceptor cells in our retinas release more of their neurotransmitter, glutamate, in the dark, when there is nothing to see, than they do in the light. This is doubly surprising since although glutamate is a major signaling molecule in the retina and throughout the central nervous system, it is also a potent cytotoxin that, in large doses, can kill nearby cells. ... > full story
Malaria Researchers Identify New Mosquito Virus (August 22, 2008) -- Researchers have identified a previously unknown virus that is infectious to Anopheles gambiae -- the mosquito primarily responsible for transmitting malaria. ... > full story
New And Improved Test For West Nile Virus In Horses (August 22, 2008) -- A new test for West Nile virus in horses that could be modified for use with humans and wildlife may help track the spread of the disease. ... > full story
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