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ScienceDaily: Top Environment News |
| Posted: 24 Feb 2012 12:27 PM PST By training birds to 'get rhythm', scientists uncover evidence that our capacity to move in time with music may be connected with our ability to learn speech. |
| Erosional origin of linear dunes on Earth and Saturn's moon Titan Posted: 24 Feb 2012 11:06 AM PST Linear dunes, widespread on Earth and Saturn's moon, Titan, are generally considered to have been formed by deposits of windblown sand. It has been speculated for some time that some linear dunes may have formed by "wind-rift" erosion, but this model has commonly been rejected due to lack of sufficient evidence. Now, new research indicates that erosional origin models should not be ruled out. |
| Neither birth nor death stops a flock, new theory shows Posted: 24 Feb 2012 08:11 AM PST Neither births nor deaths stop the flocking of organisms. They just keep moving, says a theoretical physicist. The notion, he says, has implications in biology and eventually could point to new cancer therapies. |
| Cunning super-parasitic wasps sniff out protected aphids and overwhelm their defenses Posted: 24 Feb 2012 08:07 AM PST In the war between parasite and host, the parasitic wasp and the pea aphid are locked in a battle for survival. New research shows that this cunning parasite sniffs out differences between protected and unprotected aphids, and alters its egg-laying strategy, in order to overwhelm aphid defenses and ensure survival of wasp offspring. The wasp lays an egg inside the pea aphid, where the egg hatches and converts the aphid's insides into a wasp nursery. The wasp larva uses the still-living aphid as a food source, eventually pupating inside the aphid and emerging as a fully-formed mature wasp. However the pea aphid is not defenseless. It is protected by a bacterial symbiont. |
| CFC substitutes: Good for the ozone layer, bad for climate? Posted: 24 Feb 2012 08:07 AM PST The Montreal Protocol led to a global phase-out of most substances that deplete the ozone layer, such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). A happy side-effect of the gradual ban of these products is that the Earth's climate has also benefited because CFCs are also potent greenhouse gases. However, now a "rebound effect" threatens to accelerate the rate of global warming. |
| Posted: 24 Feb 2012 08:06 AM PST It is well known that female sex hormones (estrogens) that end up in rivers and lakes, primarily via spillage from sewers and livestock farming, pose a threat to the environment. Some environmental toxins can also have the same impact as estrogens. One example of such substances are degradation products (metabolites) from the pollutant PCB. |
| Posted: 24 Feb 2012 08:06 AM PST The contamination caused by road traffic not only affects the air, it also seeps under the asphalt and harms the adjacent soil and plants. A chemist has delved into the subject and studied the extent of the impact of the metals emitted by cars. Likewise, he has analyzed their consequences in the short, medium and long term. |
| Mobile DNA elements can disrupt gene expression and cause biological variation, study shows Posted: 23 Feb 2012 03:26 PM PST The many short pieces of mobile DNA that exist in the genome can contribute to important biological differences between strains of mice, according to a new study. The mobile DNA, sometimes called jumping genes, can disrupt gene expression even from a distance, with the disruption influenced by the gender of the parent that supplied it. The findings reveal a mechanism of natural variation in animals and humans that may apply to cancer and other diseases. |
| 'Storm of the century' may become 'storm of the decade' Posted: 23 Feb 2012 10:32 AM PST Researchers report that projected increases in sea level and storm intensity brought on by climate change would make devastating storm surges -- the deadly and destructive mass of water pushed inland by large storms -- more frequent in low-lying coastal areas. Regions such as the New York City metropolitan area that currently experience a disastrous flood every century could instead become submerged every one or two decades. |
| For fish, fear smells like sugar Posted: 23 Feb 2012 10:30 AM PST When one fish gets injured, the rest of the school takes off in fear, tipped off by a mysterious substance known as "Schreckstoff" (meaning "scary stuff" in German). Now, researchers have figured out what that scary stuff is really made of. |
| Blue light culprit in red tide blooms Posted: 23 Feb 2012 07:34 AM PST Researchers have uncovered the specific mechanism that triggers phytoplankton to release their powerful toxins into the environment. |
| Microbes may be engineered to help trap excess carbon dioxide underground Posted: 23 Feb 2012 07:33 AM PST In H.G. Wells' classic science-fiction novel, The War of the Worlds, bacteria save Earth from destruction when the Martian invaders succumb to infections to which humans have become immune through centuries of evolution. If a team led by researchers has its way, bacteria -- with a little assist from science -- will help prevent global destruction for real by trapping underground a greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide, that threatens Earth's climate. |
| Oil sands pollution comparable to a large power plant Posted: 22 Feb 2012 12:46 PM PST In the first look at the overall effect of air pollution from the excavation of oil sands, also called tar sands, in Alberta, Canada, scientists used satellites to measure nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide emitted from the industry. |
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ScienceDaily: Top Health News |
| Memory formation triggered by stem cell development Posted: 24 Feb 2012 12:27 PM PST Researchers have discovered an answer to the long-standing mystery of how brain cells can both remember new memories while also maintaining older ones. |
| Posted: 24 Feb 2012 12:27 PM PST By training birds to 'get rhythm', scientists uncover evidence that our capacity to move in time with music may be connected with our ability to learn speech. |
| Diagnostic tool: Polymer film loaded with antibodies can capture tumor cells Posted: 24 Feb 2012 12:27 PM PST The development of polymer film loaded with antibodies that can capture tumor cells shows promise as a diagnostic tool. Cancer cells that break free from a tumor and circulate through the bloodstream spread cancer to other parts of the body. But this process, called metastasis, is extremely difficult to monitor because the circulating tumor cells (CTCs) can account for as few as one in every billion blood cells. |
| Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, certain cancers: Correct protein folding illuminated Posted: 24 Feb 2012 11:05 AM PST Using the exceptionally bright and powerful X-ray beams of the Advanced Light Source, researchers have discovered a critical control element within chaperonin, the protein complex responsible for the correct folding of other proteins. The "misfolding" of proteins has been linked to many diseases, including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and some forms of cancer. |
| Light-emitting nanocrystal diodes go ultraviolet Posted: 24 Feb 2012 11:05 AM PST Scientists have developed a process for creating glass-based, inorganic light-emitting diodes that produce light in the ultraviolet range. The work is a step toward biomedical devices with active components made from nanostructured systems. |
| Posted: 24 Feb 2012 11:05 AM PST For decades, scientists have understood that there is a genetic component to intelligence, but a new study has found both that most of the genes thought to be linked to the trait are probably not in fact related to it, and identifying intelligence's specific genetic roots may still be a long way off. |
| The genetic basis for age-related macular degeneration (AMD) Posted: 24 Feb 2012 08:07 AM PST Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is one of the leading causes of blindness worldwide, especially in developed countries, and there is currently no known treatment or cure or for the vast majority of AMD patients. New research has identified genes whose expression levels can identify people with AMD, as well as tell apart AMD subtypes. It is estimated that 6.5% of people over age 40 in the US currently have AMD. There is an inheritable genetic risk factor but risk is also increased for smokers and with exposure to UV light. |
| New strategies for treatment of infectious diseases Posted: 24 Feb 2012 08:05 AM PST The immune system protects from infections by detecting and eliminating invading pathogens. These two strategies form the basis of conventional clinical approaches in the fight against infectious diseases. Scientists now propose that a third strategy needs to be considered: tolerance to infection, whereby the infected host protects itself from infection by reducing tissue damage and other negative effects caused by the pathogen or the immune response against the invader. |
| Inflammatory circuit that triggers breast cancer uncovered Posted: 24 Feb 2012 08:05 AM PST Although it's widely accepted that inflammation is a critical underlying factor in a range of diseases, including the progression of cancer, little is known about its role when normal cells become tumor cells. Now, scientists have shed new light on exactly how the activation of a pair of inflammatory signaling pathways leads to the transformation of normal breast cells to cancer cells. |
| Novel bioactive peptides promote wound healing in vivo Posted: 24 Feb 2012 08:03 AM PST Researchers have combined bioactive peptides to stimulate wound healing. The peptides act by stimulating the growth of new blood vessels and promoting re-growth of tissue. Further development of these peptides could lead to a treatment for chronic and acute wounds. |
| Cancer therapy more potent when it hits two targets, study suggests Posted: 24 Feb 2012 08:03 AM PST Simultaneous targeting of two different molecules in cancer is an effective way to shrink tumors, block invasion, and stop metastasis, scientists have found -— work that may improve the effectiveness of combination treatments that include drugs like Avastin. |
| Mobile DNA elements can disrupt gene expression and cause biological variation, study shows Posted: 23 Feb 2012 03:26 PM PST The many short pieces of mobile DNA that exist in the genome can contribute to important biological differences between strains of mice, according to a new study. The mobile DNA, sometimes called jumping genes, can disrupt gene expression even from a distance, with the disruption influenced by the gender of the parent that supplied it. The findings reveal a mechanism of natural variation in animals and humans that may apply to cancer and other diseases. |
| Disarming the botulinum neurotoxin Posted: 23 Feb 2012 11:26 AM PST Researchers have discovered how botulinum neurotoxin, a potential bioterrorism agent, survives the hostile environment in the stomach on its journey through the human body. Their study reveals the first 3D structure of a neurotoxin together with its bodyguard, a protein made simultaneously in the same bacterium. This new information reveals the toxin's weak spot -- a point in the journey that can be targeted with new therapeutics. |
| Investigation links deaths to paint-stripping chemical Posted: 23 Feb 2012 10:32 AM PST The deaths of at least 13 workers who were refinishing bathtubs have been linked to a chemical used in products to strip surfaces of paint and other finishes. An investigation started by researchers in 2011 has found that 13 deaths since 2000 involved the use of paint-stripping products containing methylene chloride, a toxic chemical widely used as a de-greaser and paint stripper. |
| Protein assassin: Unfolded end of a protein can kill E. coli-like bacteria selectively Posted: 23 Feb 2012 07:33 AM PST Scientists find that the unfolded end of a protein can kill E. coli-like bacteria selectively. The results may one day help scientists find new, more targeted ways to kill antibiotic-resistant microbes. |
| Cancer discovery shows promise of new drugs Posted: 22 Feb 2012 12:45 PM PST Uncovering the network of genes regulated by a crucial molecule involved in cancer called mTOR, which controls protein production inside cells, researchers have discovered how a protein "master regulator" goes awry, leading to metastasis, the fatal step of cancer. |
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