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Saturday, August 9, 2014

ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

ScienceDaily: Top Environment News


Violent solar system history uncovered by WA meteorite

Posted: 08 Aug 2014 08:19 AM PDT

Planetary scientists have shed some light on the bombardment history of our solar system by studying a unique volcanic meteorite recovered in Western Australia. Captured on camera seven years ago falling on the WA side of the Nullarbor Plain, the Bunburra Rockhole Meterorite has unique characteristics that suggest it came from a large asteroid that has never before been identified.

Northern Pacific's tropical anoxic zone might shrink from climate change

Posted: 08 Aug 2014 08:19 AM PDT

A commonly held belief that global warming will diminish oxygen concentrations in the ocean looks like it may not be entirely true. According to new research, just the opposite is likely the case in the eastern tropical northern Pacific, with its anoxic zone expected to shrink in coming decades because of climate change.

Wiggly microRNA binding implies a more complex genome regulation

Posted: 08 Aug 2014 08:19 AM PDT

Non-standard microRNA silencing interactions appear more prevalent in human biology than previously believed, suggesting more complex roles for microRNAs, and helping explain why it's been difficult to translate microRNAs into human therapy. "The findings may help explain why the microRNA field has run into difficulty when translating these powerful molecules into therapies for diseases ranging from cancer to diabetes," explains the study's senior author.

Study measures steep coastal costs of China's GDP growth

Posted: 08 Aug 2014 08:17 AM PDT

Economic reforms declared in 1978 led to a surge of growth in China, but resulting increases in human impact activities are seriously degrading the nation's coastal ecosystems, according to a newly published analysis of economic and environmental data. Some activities may have reached a turning point, but others will need policy changes, the authors project.

Hybrid-motor helps cells push their way through tissues

Posted: 08 Aug 2014 08:07 AM PDT

Research has uncovered how two cellular motors, previously thought to compete with each other, can actually work together to help cells squeezing through a crowded mass of cells. The study provides fresh understanding of how cells can combine accurate steering with a brute force mechanism in order to push through our body, essential when cells of our immune defense need to reach sites of inflammation, but detrimental during tumor metastasis or parasitic infection.

Do women and men ride differently? Horses cannot tell the difference

Posted: 08 Aug 2014 08:07 AM PDT

Scientists have analyzed how horses are affected by the sex of their riders. Various parameters of stress were determined in horses and their riders when they covered an obstacle course. The results were surprising: the level of stress on a horse is independent of whether a man or a woman is in the saddle. Furthermore, the stress responses of male and female riders are essentially the same.

Still hot inside the Moon: Tidal heating in the deepest part of the lunar mantle

Posted: 08 Aug 2014 08:07 AM PDT

Scientists have found that there is an extremely soft layer deep inside the Moon and that heat is effectively generated in the layer by the gravity of the Earth. These findings suggest that the interior of the Moon has not yet cooled and hardened, and also that it is still being warmed by the effect of the Earth on the Moon. This research provides a chance to reconsider how both the Earth and the Moon have been evolving since their births through mutual influence until now.

Wild sheep show benefits of putting up with parasites

Posted: 07 Aug 2014 11:59 AM PDT

In the first evidence that natural selection favors an individual's infection tolerance, researchers have found that an animal's ability to endure an internal parasite strongly influences its reproductive success. The finding could provide the groundwork for boosting the resilience of humans and livestock to infection.

Dynamics of microbes, nitrate revealed by study

Posted: 07 Aug 2014 11:57 AM PDT

Though we know that the environmental microbiome plays a key role in mediating the persistence of biologically usable nitrogen in the environment and that microbes can perform critically different chemistry in the process, the complexity of this environmental dynamic has prevented science from clearly defining the conditions steering microbial nitrogen mediation. A new set of controlled experiments using recently developed genomic technologies have provided conclusive evidence that three critical factors steer this hugely important environmental process.

Regulations needed to identify potentially invasive biofuel crops

Posted: 07 Aug 2014 11:56 AM PDT

If the hottest new plant grown as a biofuel crop is approved based solely on its greenhouse gas emission profile, its potential as the next invasive species may not be discovered until it's too late. In response to this need to prevent such invasions, researchers have developed both a set of regulatory definitions and provisions and a list of 49 low-risk biofuel plants from which growers can choose.

Uranium exposure, skin cancer: Study may help explain link

Posted: 07 Aug 2014 07:47 AM PDT

The varying health risks from exposure to natural uranium are well established, but now researchers have identified a new target organ for uranium exposure: skin. "Our hypothesis is that if uranium is photoactivated by UV radiation it could be more harmful to skin than either exposure alone," the lead researcher said.

Infectious prion protein discovered in urine of patients with variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease

Posted: 07 Aug 2014 07:36 AM PDT

The misfolded and infectious prion protein that is a marker for variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease – linked to the consumption of infected cattle meat – has been detected in the urine of patients with the disease. Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans and bovine spongiform encephalopathy in animals – also known as Mad Cow disease – are fatal neurodegenerative disorders. There are currently no noninvasive tools available to diagnose the disease and there are no treatments.

ScienceDaily: Most Popular News

ScienceDaily: Most Popular News


The black hole at the birth of the Universe

Posted: 07 Aug 2014 11:56 AM PDT

The big bang poses a big question: if it was indeed the cataclysm that blasted our universe into existence 13.7 billion years ago, what sparked it? Three Perimeter Institute researchers have a new idea about what might have come before the big bang. It's a bit perplexing, but it is grounded in sound mathematics and is it testable?

Dramatic growth of grafted stem cells in rat spinal cord

Posted: 07 Aug 2014 09:17 AM PDT

Scientists have reported that neurons derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells and grafted into rats after a spinal cord injury produced cells with 10s of thousands of axons extending virtually the entire length of the animals' central nervous system.

Curing rheumatoid arthritis in mice: Antibody-based delivery of IL4

Posted: 06 Aug 2014 07:28 AM PDT

With a new therapeutic product, researchers have managed to cure arthritis in mice for the first time. The scientists are now planning to test the efficacy of the drug in humans. Rheumatoid arthritis is a condition that causes painful inflammation of several joints in the body. The joint capsule becomes swollen, and the disease can also destroy cartilage and bone as it progresses. Rheumatoid arthritis affects 0.5% to 1% of the world's population.

Massive volcanic outbursts on Jupiter's moon Io: More common than thought?

Posted: 04 Aug 2014 11:10 AM PDT

Three massive volcanic eruptions occurred on Jupiter's moon Io within a two-week period in August of last year. This led astronomers to speculate that such "outbursts," which can send material hundreds of miles above the surface, might be much more common than they thought.

'Active' surfaces control what's on them: Scientists develop treated surfaces that can actively control how fluids or particles move

Posted: 01 Aug 2014 07:50 AM PDT

Researchers have developed a new way of making surfaces that can actively control how fluids or particles move across them. The work might enable new kinds of biomedical or microfluidic devices, or solar panels that could automatically clean themselves of dust and grit.

ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

ScienceDaily: Top Technology News


Photo editing algorithm changes weather, seasons automatically in your shots

Posted: 08 Aug 2014 09:40 AM PDT

A computer algorithm enables users to instantly change the weather, time of day, season, or other features in outdoor photos with simple text commands. Machine learning and a clever database make it possible.

Violent solar system history uncovered by WA meteorite

Posted: 08 Aug 2014 08:19 AM PDT

Planetary scientists have shed some light on the bombardment history of our solar system by studying a unique volcanic meteorite recovered in Western Australia. Captured on camera seven years ago falling on the WA side of the Nullarbor Plain, the Bunburra Rockhole Meterorite has unique characteristics that suggest it came from a large asteroid that has never before been identified.

Still hot inside the Moon: Tidal heating in the deepest part of the lunar mantle

Posted: 08 Aug 2014 08:07 AM PDT

Scientists have found that there is an extremely soft layer deep inside the Moon and that heat is effectively generated in the layer by the gravity of the Earth. These findings suggest that the interior of the Moon has not yet cooled and hardened, and also that it is still being warmed by the effect of the Earth on the Moon. This research provides a chance to reconsider how both the Earth and the Moon have been evolving since their births through mutual influence until now.

Pictures in five seconds: Digital x-ray imaging

Posted: 08 Aug 2014 08:07 AM PDT

Wanting to replace the medical equipment for taking X-rays, experts in Mexico have created a system of digital x-ray imaging, which replaces the traditional plaque by a solid detector, which delivers results in five seconds. Analog equipment take six minutes to develop the traditional film.

New Test Predicts Individual's Risk of Second Kidney Stone

Posted: 07 Aug 2014 03:03 PM PDT

A new tool uses 11 questions to accurately calculate the probability that a patient will have another symptomatic kidney stone at 2, 5, or 10 years after the first stone. Kidney stones are common and affect approximately 6% to 9% of the population. The greatest concern of patients who have experienced a kidney stone is whether this excruciating painful event will ever happen again. Certain dietary recommendations and medications can help prevent another kidney stone from forming, but these can be burdensome, expensive, or cause side effects.

Structure of molecular machine that targets viral DNA for destruction determined

Posted: 07 Aug 2014 12:41 PM PDT

Scientists have described the molecular blueprint of a surveillance 'machine' that protects bacteria from viral infections.

To eat or not to eat: New disposable biosensor may help physicians determine which patients can safely be fed following surgery

Posted: 07 Aug 2014 12:40 PM PDT

A disposal, plastic listening device that attaches to the abdomen may help doctors definitively determine which post-operative patients should be fed and which should not, an invention that may improve outcomes, decrease healthcare costs and shorten hospital stays, according to a study. The device could also be used to help diagnose irritable bowel syndrome and inflammatory bowel disease, in addition to helping obese people learn by the sounds from their gut when they should or shouldn't eat to help them lose weight.