ScienceDaily: Top Environment News |
- Bacterial gut biome may guide colon cancer progression
- Work with small peptide chains may revolutionize study of enzymes, diseases
- Scientists unmask the climate uncertainty monster
- More Earthquakes for Chile? Seismic gap has not been closed
- Mechanism that makes tumor cells sugar addicted discovered
- Some long non-coding RNAs are conventional after all
- 'Like a giant elevator to the stratosphere:' Newly discovered atmospheric layer may impact earth's climate
- Tracking sperm whales' ecology through stomach contents
- Bacteria get new badge as planet's detoxifier
- Part of hagfish slime mystery solved
- Extinctions reduce speciation
- Light-guiding gels provide new avenues for drug detection, delivery
- Don't move a mussel (or a clam, or a snail)
| Bacterial gut biome may guide colon cancer progression Posted: 04 Apr 2014 11:04 AM PDT Gut bacteria can change the microenvironment in a way that promotes the growth and spread of tumors, research demonstrates. The results suggest that bacterial virulence proteins may suppress DNA repair proteins within the epithelial cells that line the colon. "There is a drastic, unmet need to look at new ways to define exactly how colon cancer forms in the gut and what triggers its progression into a lethal form," said the lead researcher. "We suggest that some bacterial proteins can promote genetic changes that create conditions in the gut that would favor the progression of colon cancer."  |
| Work with small peptide chains may revolutionize study of enzymes, diseases Posted: 04 Apr 2014 11:04 AM PDT Chemists, for the first time, have created enzyme-like activity using peptides that are only seven amino acids long. The breakthrough may revolutionize the study of modern-day enzymes, whose chains of amino acids usually number in the hundreds, and of neurological diseases, such as Alzheimer's, which are usually characterized by small clumps of misshapen proteins called amyloids.  |
| Scientists unmask the climate uncertainty monster Posted: 04 Apr 2014 11:03 AM PDT Increasing uncertainty in the climate system compels a greater urgency for climate change mitigation, according to new research. Scientists have shown that as uncertainty in the temperature increase expected with a doubling of CO2 from pre-industrial levels rises, so do the economic damages of increased climate change. Greater uncertainty also increases the likelihood of exceeding 'safe' temperature limits and the probability of failing to reach mitigation targets. The authors highlight this with the case of future sea level, as larger uncertainty in sea level rise requires greater precautionary action to manage flood risk.  |
| More Earthquakes for Chile? Seismic gap has not been closed Posted: 04 Apr 2014 11:00 AM PDT After the strong earthquake that struck Chile on April 2 (CEST), numerous aftershocks, some of them of a considerable magnitude, have struck the region around Iquique. Seismologists doubt that the strong earthquake closed the local seismic gap and decreased the risk of a large earthquake. On the contrary, initial studies of the rupture process and the aftershocks show that only about a third of the vulnerable zone broke.  |
| Mechanism that makes tumor cells sugar addicted discovered Posted: 04 Apr 2014 06:29 AM PDT Cancer cells feel a special appetite for a type of sugar called glucose, research demonstrated nearly a hundred years ago. The tumor uses glucose like a sports car uses gasoline -- it depends on it to burn faster, to grow and to multiply rapidly. In cancer cells, glucose superaccelerates cell division in what is known as the Warburg effect. New research shows that in one in four human tumors, there is an excess of glucose receptors in the external face of the cell membrane and this protein acts as a magnet attracting all the glucose from the bloodstream.  |
| Some long non-coding RNAs are conventional after all Posted: 04 Apr 2014 06:29 AM PDT Researchers have come full circle and predicted that some long non-coding RNAs can give rise to small proteins that have biological functions. A recent study describes how researchers have used ribosome profiling to identify several hundred long non-coding RNAs that may give rise to small peptides.  |
| Posted: 04 Apr 2014 06:29 AM PDT An international team of researchers has discovered a previously unknown atmospheric phenomenon over the tropical West Pacific. Like in a giant elevator to the stratosphere, many chemical compounds emitted at the ground pass unfiltered through the so-called 'detergent layer' of the atmosphere, known as the 'OH shield.' The newly discovered phenomenon over the South Seas boosts ozone depletion in the polar regions and could have a significant influence on the future climate of the Earth.  |
| Tracking sperm whales' ecology through stomach contents Posted: 04 Apr 2014 06:29 AM PDT While studying pygmy and dwarf sperm whales, a researcher involved in a new project stated that 'understanding what resources support populations of these incredibly rare animals is important to conservation. If there are changes in the environment or their prey, we can now hope to better anticipate the potential impacts. There had been quite a knowledge gap about these animals, but this work gives us an idea of their ecological niche and requirements in the current environment.'  |
| Bacteria get new badge as planet's detoxifier Posted: 04 Apr 2014 05:58 AM PDT Amino acids, the fundamental building blocks of life, come in two forms that, like our left and right hand, have identical parts. But the two forms are not the same from a three dimensional perspective. One is the mirror image of the other. Proteins and enzymes in Earth organisms, without exception, all use L-forms. New evidence has demonstrated that Earth bacteria can do something that is quite unusual. Despite the fact that these bacteria are made of left-handed (L) amino acids, they are able to grow on right-handed (D) amino acids. The study takes a closer look at what these implications mean for studying organisms on Earth and beyond.  |
| Part of hagfish slime mystery solved Posted: 04 Apr 2014 05:58 AM PDT Some of the inner workings of slime produced by one of nature's most bizarre creatures -- the hagfish -- have been unraveled. The super-strong and mega-long protein threads secreted by the eel-like animals are organized at the cellular level. The slime-making process has fascinated and perplexed biologists for more than 100 years, the researchers note.  |
| Posted: 04 Apr 2014 05:55 AM PDT The same factors that increase the risk of species extinctions also reduce the chance that new species are formed. We often see alarming reports about the global biodiversity crisis through the extinction of species. The reasons why species become extinct is much discussed, particularly the consequences of human activities. Less often discussed is how environmental changes affect the chances that new species are formed.  |
| Light-guiding gels provide new avenues for drug detection, delivery Posted: 04 Apr 2014 05:54 AM PDT With the ability to deliver light inside the body in a predictable manner and to host a variety of genetically engineered cells, hydrogels may help address current challenges with applying optogenetic approaches in clinical care. Optogenetics is a relatively new technique that harnesses light to activate or inhibit light-responsive proteins that control specific cell functions.  |
| Don't move a mussel (or a clam, or a snail) Posted: 02 Apr 2014 10:39 AM PDT Anyone that has spent time at a seaside pier has witnessed the destruction barnacles wreak on boat hulls. But biofouling animals are not limited to marine environments. A new paper estimates that the global management of freshwater mussels, clams, and other clinging animals costs $277 million US dollars annually.  |
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