ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

---

• Mechanism elucidated: How smell perception influences food intake
• New pain target, discovery for bacterial infections
• Flat-pack lens boosts solar power: Fresnel lens concentrates solar without bulk
• New maps reveal locations of species at risk as climate changes
• Wheat: Genetic discovery to keep crops disease-free
• Clues to cancer pathogenesis found in cell-conditioned media
• Eucalypt in Ethiopian highlands: Increasing productivity of important tree
• Cultural construction of nudes in Roman mosaics examined
• Defect in Ikaros gene mimics human B cell leukemia
• Measuring wind turbines remotely using new information technology
• Oil composition boost makes hemp a cooking contender
• Smart grids to help optimize utilization of power grids
• Cow's milk protein measurement standard expanded for greater consumer protection, harmonized trade
• Coffee growing: More biodiversity, better harvest
• Aquatic Insects: Tremendous potential for research on diversification
• Genetic origins of high-altitude adaptations in Tibetans
• NASA completes radar study of Icelandic glacier winter movement
• Fight or flight? Vocal cues help deer decide during mating season
• Invasive 'demon shrimp' threaten British marine species
• Seven new genetic regions linked to type 2 diabetes
• Pacific trade winds stall global surface warming ... for now
• Genome editing goes hi-fi: Innovative stem cell technique
• Breakthrough approach to quickly identify new drug candidates from genome sequence
• Largest evolutionary study of sponges sheds new light on animal evolution

Mechanism elucidated: How smell perception influences food intake Posted: 10 Feb 2014 08:45 AM PST A research team has succeeded in elucidating how the endocannabinoid system controls food intake through its effects on the perception of smells.

New pain target, discovery for bacterial infections Posted: 10 Feb 2014 08:45 AM PST Components in the outer wall of bacteria directly activate pain sensors, triggering immediate pain and inflammatory responses. This finding by a multinational team of researchers sheds new light on pain associated with bacterial infections and reveals a new target for drugs designed to treat them.

Flat-pack lens boosts solar power: Fresnel lens concentrates solar without bulk Posted: 10 Feb 2014 07:19 AM PST Micro-machining could be used to create almost flat, Fresnel lenses, that boost the electrical efficiency of solar panels, according to new research.

New maps reveal locations of species at risk as climate changes Posted: 10 Feb 2014 06:54 AM PST An international team of scientists has produced global maps showing how fast and in which direction local climates have shifted.

Wheat: Genetic discovery to keep crops disease-free Posted: 10 Feb 2014 06:54 AM PST Researchers have found a way to breed disease-resistant wheat with no downside, potentially bringing multi-million dollar savings to Australia's agricultural industry.

Clues to cancer pathogenesis found in cell-conditioned media Posted: 10 Feb 2014 05:32 AM PST Primary effusion lymphoma (PEL) is a rare B-cell neoplasm distinguished by its tendency to spread along the thin serous membranes that line body cavities without infiltrating or destroying nearby tissue. By growing PEL cells in culture and analyzing the secretome (proteins secreted into cell-conditioned media), investigators have identified proteins that may explain PEL pathogenesis, its peculiar cell adhesion, and migration patterns. They also recognized related oncogenic pathways, thereby providing rationales for more individualized treatment.

Eucalypt in Ethiopian highlands: Increasing productivity of important tree Posted: 10 Feb 2014 05:32 AM PST Researchers are collaborating in a eucalypts breeding program in the Ethiopian highlands which will increase this species productivity.

Cultural construction of nudes in Roman mosaics examined Posted: 10 Feb 2014 05:31 AM PST The female nudes in Roman mosaics exalt beauty, the carnality and eroticism, while male bodies reflect determination, strength and power. This is one of the conclusions of research that analyzed the cultural construction and ideological implications of these artistic representations in which female predominate as compared to those of males.

Defect in Ikaros gene mimics human B cell leukemia Posted: 10 Feb 2014 05:31 AM PST Researchers investigated the differentiation of stem cells to mature B cells, and now present, for the first time, molecular details on the role of the Ikaros gene during early B cell development. A defect in Ikaros function causes an early block in B-lymphopoiesis and prevents the development of mature B cells. The cells stay in an aberrant state, which closely resembles that of cells in B-ALL, a special form of human B cell leukemia.

Measuring wind turbines remotely using new information technology Posted: 10 Feb 2014 05:31 AM PST The rotor and mast of a wind turbine can oscillate even in normal operation. The analysis of these oscillations plays an important role when the equipment is being developed and maintained. Up to now, this analysis has only been possible at discrete points located directly on equipment. Researchers have now demonstrated that using modern information technology to remotely measure the oscillatory pattern over the entire structure of the facility is possible from several hundred meters away.

Oil composition boost makes hemp a cooking contender Posted: 10 Feb 2014 05:31 AM PST Scientists report the development of hemp plants with a dramatically increased content of oleic acid. The new oil profile results in an attractive cooking oil that is similar to olive oil in terms of fatty acid content, having a much longer shelf life, as well as greater heat tolerance and potentially more industrial applications.

Smart grids to help optimize utilization of power grids Posted: 10 Feb 2014 05:31 AM PST Germany's power grids are not yet well prepared for the current consequences of the country's Energiewende, wide fluctuations in the supply of electricity from renewable sources, which conflict with patterns of demand. Smart grids that manage electricity demand at the local -- microgrid -- level may help to reduce the transmission of electricity over long distances to balance regional over- and undersupply. In the GreenCom project, international partners from industry and research develop and evaluate such a "Smart Energy Management System".

Cow's milk protein measurement standard expanded for greater consumer protection, harmonized trade Posted: 10 Feb 2014 05:30 AM PST IDF and ISO have joined forces to expand the scope of an international standard used worldwide in the dairy industry to measure the protein content of cow's milk. The Kjeldahl method now encompasses milk from other species as well as internationally traded dairy products covered by Codex standards. The revised standard reconfirms the crucial role of the Kjeldahl method in trade harmonization and enhances consumer protection safeguards.

Coffee growing: More biodiversity, better harvest Posted: 10 Feb 2014 05:30 AM PST Bees, birds and bats make a huge contribution to the high yields produced by coffee farmers around Mount Kilimanjaro -- an example of how biodiversity can pay off. This effect has been described as result of a study now published, conducted by tropical ecologists.

Aquatic Insects: Tremendous potential for research on diversification Posted: 10 Feb 2014 05:30 AM PST Inland waters cover less than 1% of the Earth's surface yet harbor 10% of all known animal species, 60% of them being aquatic insects. Nearly 100,000 species from 12 orders spend one or more life stages in freshwater. Still today, little is known on how this remarkable diversity arose. Scientists therefore investigated the potential of aquatic insects for research on diversification and outline their findings in a new publication.

Genetic origins of high-altitude adaptations in Tibetans Posted: 10 Feb 2014 05:29 AM PST Genetic adaptations for life at high elevations found in residents of the Tibetan plateau likely originated around 30,000 years ago in peoples related to contemporary Sherpa. These genes were passed on to more recent migrants from lower elevations via population mixing, and then amplified by natural selection in the modern Tibetan gene pool, according to a new study. The transfer of beneficial mutations between human populations and selective enrichment of these genes in descendent generations represents a novel mechanism for adaptation to new environments.

NASA completes radar study of Icelandic glacier winter movement Posted: 09 Feb 2014 04:58 PM PST The cold of an Icelandic winter did not stop one NASA science aircraft from completing a mission to map glaciers on the island during the past week. NASA's C-20A, based at the Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility in Palmdale, Calif., flew four radar missions from Keflavik International Airport near Reykjavik, Iceland.

Fight or flight? Vocal cues help deer decide during mating season Posted: 09 Feb 2014 04:23 PM PST Male fallow deer are sensitive to changes in the groans that rivals make during mating season when competing for the attention of female deer, and can assess the level of threat other males pose simply from vocal cues, according to new research.

Invasive 'demon shrimp' threaten British marine species Posted: 09 Feb 2014 04:23 PM PST A species of shrimp, dubbed the 'demon shrimp,' which was previously unknown in British waters, is attacking and eating native shrimp and disrupting the food chain in some of England's rivers and lakes. The problem is contributing to the cost of Invasive non-native species (INNS) to the British economy, which is estimated at a total annual cost of approximately £1.7 billion.

Seven new genetic regions linked to type 2 diabetes Posted: 09 Feb 2014 12:24 PM PST Seven new genetic regions associated with type 2 diabetes have been identified in the largest study to date of the genetic basis of the disease. DNA data was brought together from more than 48,000 patients and 139,000 healthy controls from four different ethnic groups.

Pacific trade winds stall global surface warming ... for now Posted: 09 Feb 2014 12:24 PM PST Heat stored in the western Pacific Ocean caused by an unprecedented strengthening of the equatorial trade winds appears to be largely responsible for the hiatus in surface warming observed over the past 13 years. The strongest trade winds have driven more of the heat from global warming into the oceans; but when those winds slow, that heat will rapidly return to the atmosphere causing an abrupt rise in global average temperatures, scientists say.

Genome editing goes hi-fi: Innovative stem cell technique Posted: 09 Feb 2014 12:24 PM PST Scientists have found a way to efficiently edit the human genome one letter at a time -- not only boosting researchers' ability to model human disease, but also paving the way for therapies that cure disease by fixing these so-called "bugs" in a patient's genetic code.

Breakthrough approach to quickly identify new drug candidates from genome sequence Posted: 09 Feb 2014 12:23 PM PST In research that could ultimately lead to many new medicines, scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have developed a potentially general approach to design drugs from genome sequence.

Largest evolutionary study of sponges sheds new light on animal evolution Posted: 07 Feb 2014 05:38 AM PST Most genes involved in complex processes are present in sponges, new research shows. Sponges or Porifera -- there are over 8,000 species currently recognised -- are the most basal phylum of metazoans. They represent a rich animal diversity found throughout the world, from tropical climates to the arctic poles, and they are an excellent model to study metazoan evolution.

You are subscribed to email updates from Top Environment News -- ScienceDaily To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610