ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

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• Water tractor beam: Complex waves generate flow patterns to manipulate floating objects
• Like cling wrap, new biomaterial can coat tricky burn wounds, block out infection

• Carbon dioxide 'sponge' could ease transition to cleaner energy

• Pregnant women, fetuses exposed to antibacterial compounds face potential health risks 

• Lead linked to obesity in mice exposed by mothers
• Natural light in office boosts health
• Immediate aftermath of an oil spill
• Lipids boost the brain, study finds
• Phthalate compounds contaminating your glass of wine
• Air traffic growth set to outpace carbon reduction efforts
• Can probiotics reduce severity of C. difficile infections?
• Gasification of oil palm biomass to produce clean producer gas for heat, power generation
• Fruit flies used to unlock mysteries of human diabetes
• The typhoid fever pathogen uses a cloaking mechanism to evade neutrophil neutralization
• Finding genetic culprits that drive antibiotic resistance: Genome-wide association study
• Can a new species of frog have a doppelganger? Genetics say yes
• Asian carp could establish in Lake Erie with little effect to fishery
• Cheese still laden with salt, despite many products meeting reduction targets
• Gut microbiome analysis improved noninvasive colorectal cancer screening
• Collateral damage to cultural heritage of the past
• Could protecting your skin from sun be as easy as popping a pill?

Water tractor beam: Complex waves generate flow patterns to manipulate floating objects Posted: 10 Aug 2014 06:42 PM PDT Physicists have created a tractor beam on water, providing a radical new technique that could confine oil spills, manipulate floating objects or explain rips at the beach.

Like cling wrap, new biomaterial can coat tricky burn wounds, block out infection Posted: 10 Aug 2014 09:42 AM PDT Wrapping wound dressings around fingers and toes can be tricky, but for burn victims, guarding them against infection is critical. Today, scientists are reporting the development of novel, ultrathin coatings called nanosheets that can cling to the body's most difficult-to-protect contours and keep bacteria at bay. The materials has to date been tested on mice.

Carbon dioxide 'sponge' could ease transition to cleaner energy Posted: 10 Aug 2014 09:42 AM PDT A plastic sponge that sops up the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) might ease our tranisition away from polluting fossil fuels to new energy sources like hydrogen. A relative of food container plastics could play a role in President Obama's plan to cut CO2 emissions. The material might also someday be integrated into power plant smokestacks.

Pregnant women, fetuses exposed to antibacterial compounds face potential health risks Posted: 10 Aug 2014 09:41 AM PDT As the Food and Drug Administration mulls over whether to rein in the use of common antibacterial compounds that are causing growing concern among environmental health experts, scientists are reporting that many pregnant women and their fetuses are being exposed to these substances. The compounds are used in more than 2,000 everyday products marketed as antimicrobial, including toothpastes, soaps, detergents, carpets, paints, school supplies and toys, the researchers say.

Lead linked to obesity in mice exposed by mothers Posted: 08 Aug 2014 01:33 PM PDT When we think of ill effects from lead exposure various neurologic problems usually come to mind. Now researchers say another health impact can be added to the list: obesity. Even at low levels, lead is associated with obesity in mice whose mothers were exposed to the chemical, researchers found. Specifically male mice exposed to lead had an 8-10 percent increase in weight.

Natural light in office boosts health Posted: 08 Aug 2014 09:40 AM PDT Office workers with more natural light exposure at the office had longer sleep duration, better sleep quality, more physical activity and better quality of life compared to office workers with less light exposure in the workplace, a study shows. "There is increasing evidence that exposure to light, during the day, particularly in the morning, is beneficial to your health via its effects on mood, alertness and metabolism," said the senior study author.

Immediate aftermath of an oil spill Posted: 08 Aug 2014 08:19 AM PDT The fate of oil during the first day after an accidental oil spill is still poorly understood, with researchers often arriving on the scene only after several days. New findings from a field experiment carried out in the North Sea provide valuable insight that could help shape the emergency response in the immediate wake of disasters.

Lipids boost the brain, study finds Posted: 08 Aug 2014 08:08 AM PDT Consuming oils with high polyunsaturated fatty acid content, in particular those containing omega-3s, is beneficial for the health. But the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon are poorly known. Researchers have investigated the effect of lipids bearing polyunsaturated chains when they are integrated into cell membranes. Their work shows that the presence of these lipids makes the membranes more malleable and therefore more sensitive to deformation and fission by proteins.

Phthalate compounds contaminating your glass of wine Posted: 08 Aug 2014 08:07 AM PDT Alcohol may be even more damaging to your health then you first thought, researchers report. Phthalate compounds are extremely widespread in our environment, and have major potential as hormone disruptors. The use of phthalates is regulated on an international level and includes those likely to come into contact with food and drink packaging. A study has analysed phthalate concentrations in a variety of French wines and spirits.

Air traffic growth set to outpace carbon reduction efforts Posted: 07 Aug 2014 06:55 PM PDT Carbon reduction efforts in the airline industry will be outweighed by growth in air-traffic, even if the most contentious mitigation measures are implemented, according to new research. Even if proposed mitigation measures are agreed upon and put into place, air traffic growth-rates are likely to out-pace emission reductions, unless demand is substantially reduced. "There is little doubt that increasing demand for air travel will continue for the foreseeable future," says a co-author and travel expert.

Can probiotics reduce severity of C. difficile infections? Posted: 07 Aug 2014 06:55 PM PDT Probiotics have shown promise for treating patients with recurrent Clostridium difficile infections. However, their safety and quality control requires further study – especially in immunocompromised patients, concludes a review paper. Probiotics – beneficial microorganisms deliberately introduced into the body – have been used in some patients as an adjunct treatment with some success. However, a detailed investigation on the use of probiotics for infected patients is still needed to determine their real efficacy.

Gasification of oil palm biomass to produce clean producer gas for heat, power generation Posted: 07 Aug 2014 06:55 PM PDT A new technology can simultaneously remove impurities and produce clean gas for heat and power generation from waste biomass, researchers report. Currently available gasification technologies and processes produce gas with unusually high concentration of impurities such as tar, dust and acidic gases which render it difficult to be used widely.

Fruit flies used to unlock mysteries of human diabetes Posted: 07 Aug 2014 11:57 AM PDT The tiny fruit fly can be used to study how mutations associated with the development of diabetes affect the production and secretion of the vital hormone insulin, researchers report for the first time. The advance is due to a new technique that allows scientists to measure insulin levels in the insects with extremely high sensitivity and reproducibility.

The typhoid fever pathogen uses a cloaking mechanism to evade neutrophil neutralization Posted: 07 Aug 2014 11:57 AM PDT Typhoid fever is caused by systemic infection with Salmonella enterica Typhi. In contrast, infection with the closely related bacterium Salmonella enterica Thyphimurium is usually limited to the gut and causes less serious diarrheal disease. Research comparing the two pathogens reveals how S. Typhi avoids recognition and elimination by patrolling immune cells called neutrophils, allowing it to disseminate throughout the patient's body.

Finding genetic culprits that drive antibiotic resistance: Genome-wide association study Posted: 07 Aug 2014 11:56 AM PDT A powerful new tool has been developed that could help in developing more effective treatment and control strategies for antibiotic resistance within the next decade. Researchers used a genome-wide association study (GWAS) to find the single-letter changes in the DNA of Streptococcus pneumoniae that enable it to evade antibiotic treatment. Until now, GWAS has been able to identify only general areas where DNA changes have occurred. However, by using a rich data set of over 3,000 samples, researchers have been able to get precise data on the locations of changes that cause resistance.

Can a new species of frog have a doppelganger? Genetics say yes Posted: 07 Aug 2014 09:21 AM PDT Two look-alike frogs were shown by researchers to be separate species through genetic analysis. Recently, a Malaysian herpetologist puzzled over an unfamiliar orange-striped, yellow-speckled frog she'd live-caught in swampland on the Malay Peninsula. She showed the frog to a fellow herpetologist pursuing his doctorate in the United States. They wondered -- was this striking frog with an appearance unlike others nearby in the central peninsula an unidentified species?

Asian carp could establish in Lake Erie with little effect to fishery Posted: 07 Aug 2014 09:18 AM PDT If bighead and silver carp were to establish in Lake Erie, local fish biomass is not likely to change beyond observations recorded in the last 3 decades, according to scientists. "Bighead and silver carp will continue to have access to the Great Lakes -- it is important understand what the consequences could be if they were to establish" the paper's lead author said. Since 1995 at least three bighead carp have been recovered from Lake Erie. There is no evidence to date whether bighead or silver carp are established in the lake.

Cheese still laden with salt, despite many products meeting reduction targets Posted: 07 Aug 2014 07:56 AM PDT The salt content of cheese sold in British supermarkets remains high, despite many products meeting the recommended government targets on salt reduction, finds research. And salt content varies widely, even within the same type of cheese, the findings show, prompting the researchers to call for much tougher targets on salt lowering.

Gut microbiome analysis improved noninvasive colorectal cancer screening Posted: 07 Aug 2014 07:52 AM PDT Analysis of the gut microbiome more successfully distinguished healthy individuals from those with precancerous adenomatous polyps and those with invasive colorectal cancer compared with assessment of clinical risk factors and fecal occult blood testing, according to data. "If our results are confirmed in larger groups of people, adding gut microbiome analysis to other fecal tests may provide an improved, noninvasive way to screen for colorectal cancer," researchers explained.

Collateral damage to cultural heritage of the past Posted: 07 Aug 2014 07:47 AM PDT Countless lives have been lost due to civil wars, political instability, and conflict in the Middle East. While the world's attention is quite naturally focused on the human toll, the destruction of cultural heritage goes largely unreported.

Could protecting your skin from sun be as easy as popping a pill? Posted: 07 Aug 2014 07:36 AM PDT From lotions to sprays to sticks, consumers have a myriad of options to choose from when selecting a sunscreen. Now, several additional sun protection tools have become available, including sunscreen pills, drinkable sunscreen, and ultraviolet (UV) monitoring bracelets. "One in five Americans will get skin cancer in their lifetime, and sun exposure is the most preventable risk factor for skin cancer. While taking a pill sounds like a more convenient way to protect the skin, seeking shade, wearing protective clothing and applying a broad-spectrum, water-resistant sunscreen are still the most reliable methods of sun protection," one expert says.

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