ScienceDaily Environment Headlines -- for Monday, May 16, 2011

ScienceDaily Environment Headlines

for Monday, May 16, 2011

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Foot and mouth disease may spread through shedding skin cells (May 16, 2011) -- Skin cells shed from livestock infected with foot and mouth disease could very well spread the disease. A scientist has proposed that virus-infected skin cells could be a source of infectious foot and mouth disease virus aerosols. His proposal is based on the facts that foot and mouth disease virus is found in skin and that airborne skin cells are known to transmit other diseases. ... > full story

Evolutionary adaptations can be reversed, but rarely (May 16, 2011) -- Physicists' study of evolution in bacteria shows that adaptations can be undone, but rarely. Ever since Charles Darwin proposed his theory of evolution in 1859, scientists have wondered whether evolutionary adaptations can be reversed. Answering that question has proved difficult, partly due to conflicting evidence. In 2003, scientists showed that some species of insects have gained, lost and regained wings over millions of years. But a few years later, a different team found that a protein that helps control cells' stress responses could not evolve back to its original form. ... > full story

Marine ecosystems of Antarctica under threat from human activity (May 16, 2011) -- A team of scientists has warned that the native fauna and unique ecology of the Southern Ocean, the vast body of water that surrounds the Antarctic continent, is under threat from human activity. ... > full story

Crowdsourcing science: Researcher uses Facebook to identify thousands of fish (May 15, 2011) -- During a survey on Guyana's Cuyuni River, researcher Devin Bloom utilized Facebook to help identify thousands of fish specimens in less than 24 hours. ... > full story

Vitamins may one day hitch a protected ride on corn starch (May 15, 2011) -- Vitamins and medications may one day take rides on starch compounds creating stable vitamin-enriched ingredients and cheaper controlled-release drugs, according to food scientists. ... > full story

Same fungus, different strains: A comparative genomics approach for improved 'green' chemical production (May 15, 2011) -- Aspergillus niger is an integral player in the carbon cycle, it possesses an arsenal of enzymes that can be deployed in breaking down plant cell walls to free up sugars that can then be fermented and distilled into biofuel, a process being optimized by US Department of Energy researchers. This well-understood fungal fermentation process that could inform the development of a biorefinery where organic compounds replace the chemical building blocks normally derived from petroleum. ... > full story

Sense of smell: Single giant interneuron in locusts controls activity in 50,000 neurons, enabling sparse codes for odours (May 14, 2011) -- The brain is a coding machine: it translates physical inputs from the world into visual, olfactory, auditory, tactile perceptions via the mysterious language of its nerve cells and the networks which they form. Neural codes could in principle take many forms, but in regions forming bottlenecks for information flow (e.g., the optic nerve) or in areas important for memory, sparse codes are highly desirable. Scientists have now discovered a single neuron in the brain of locusts that enables the adaptive regulation of sparseness in olfactory codes. ... > full story

New algorithm offers ability to influence systems such as living cells or social networks (May 14, 2011) -- A new computational model can analyze any type of complex network -- biological, social or electronic -- and reveal the critical points that can be used to control the entire system. Potential applications of this work include reprogramming adult cells and identifying new drug targets. ... > full story

Eucalyptus tree genome deciphered: Key to new possibilities for renewable bioproducts (May 14, 2011) -- A team of international researchers has completed the genome sequence for the forest tree species Eucalyptus grandis. The completed genome sequence, which unlocks new possibilities for biofuels and forestry, is available on the Internet. ... > full story

New pathway affecting lifespan identified: Discovery advances study of diet and longevity (May 14, 2011) -- A research team has identified a new role for a biological pathway that not only signals the body's metabolic response to nutritional changes, but also affects lifespan. ... > full story

Massive tornado onslaught raises questions about building practices, code enforcement (May 14, 2011) -- There is no practical, economic way to build structures that could stand up to the savagery of EF5 tornadoes like those that ripped through the South in late April, experts say, but damage from lesser storms could be reduced by better building practices and better enforcement of existing codes. ... > full story

Scientists design new anti-flu virus proteins using computational methods (May 14, 2011) -- Scientists have demonstrated the use of computational methods to design new antiviral proteins not found in nature, but capable of targeting specific surfaces of flu virus molecules. Such designer proteins may have diagnostic and therapeutic potential in identifying and fighting viral infections. The researchers created a protein that disabled the part of the 1918 pandemic flu virus involved in invading respiratory tract cells. It did so by preventing segment from reconfiguring. This same protein also disabled a similar section of an avian flu virus. ... > full story

Satellite images display extreme Mississippi River flooding from space (May 14, 2011) -- Recent Landsat satellite data captured by the USGS and NASA on May 10 shows the major flooding of the Mississippi River around Memphis, Tenn., and along the state borders of Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri and Arkansas as seen from 438 miles above the Earth. ... > full story

How do honeybees control their flight speed to avoid obstacles? (May 13, 2011) -- Unlike humans bees have a dorsal visual field that enables them to avoid obstacles above their heads. Until now, it was not known whether this helped them to control their flight speed. Recent research confirms that it does. ... > full story

Discovery of DNA silencing mechanism reveals how plants protect their genome (May 13, 2011) -- Researchers in Japan have clarified a key epigenetic mechanism by which an enzyme in the model plant Arabidopsis protects cells from harmful DNA elements. The finding contributes to advancing our understanding of a broad range of biological processes in both plants and animals, opening the door to applications in cancer therapy and agriculture. ... > full story

On prehistoric supercontinent of Pangaea, latitude and rain dictated where species lived (May 13, 2011) -- More than 200 million years ago, mammals and reptiles lived in their own separate worlds on the supercontinent Pangaea, despite little geographical incentive to do so. Mammals lived in areas of twice-yearly seasonal rainfall; reptiles stayed in areas where rains came just once a year. Mammals lose more water when they excrete, and thus need water-rich environments to survive. ... > full story

Nuclear desalination: Fresh water from waste heat of power plants (May 13, 2011) -- Nuclear desalination uses the excess heat from a nuclear power plant to evaporate sea water and to condense the pure water. A research team from India and Italy argues that despite public concerns, the low energy costs and convenience of this latter process make it the preferred option. ... > full story

Risking one's neck for better grog: Mutinies reveal tipping points for collective unrest (May 13, 2011) -- Films depicting the 1787 mutiny aboard the HMS Bounty show sailors living cheek by jowl, being forced to dance, enduring storm-ridden Cape of Good Hope crossings to satisfy the ship captain's ego and being flogged for trivial reasons. We may not think that these harsh conditions have much relevance today. But sociologists are studying naval records of mutinies as a way to see how modern-day ill-treatment toward subordinates can lead to violence. ... > full story

Last Neanderthals near the Arctic Circle? (May 13, 2011) -- Remains found near the Arctic Circle characteristic of Mousterian culture have recently been dated at over 28,500 years old, which is more than 8,000 years after Neanderthals are thought to have disappeared. This unexpected discovery challenges previous theories. ... > full story

Bacterium found to kill malaria in mosquitoes (May 13, 2011) -- Researchers have identified a bacterium in field-caught mosquitoes that, when present, stops the development of Plasmodium falciparum, the parasite that causes malaria in humans. According to the study, the Enterobacter bacterium is part of the naturally occurring microbial flora of the mosquito's gut and kills the parasite by producing reactive oxygen species (or free radical molecules). ... > full story

Pigs susceptible to virulent ebolavirus can transmit the virus to other animals (May 13, 2011) -- A species of ebolavirus from Zaire that is highly virulent in humans can replicate in pigs, cause disease, and be transmitted to animals previously unexposed to the virus, new research shows. ... > full story

Exposing ZnO nanorods to visible light removes microbes, researchers in Thailand show (May 13, 2011) -- The practical use of visible light and zinc oxide nanorods for destroying bacterial water contamination has been successfully demonstrated by researchers in Thailand. ZnO has now been tested under solar light, instead of the traditionally used UV light, suggesting a huge potential for commercial applications. ... > full story

How a flatworm regenerates missing tissues: Pluripotent adult stem cells power planarian regeneration (May 13, 2011) -- Researchers have determined that the planarian flatworm regenerates missing tissues by using pluripotent adult stem cells. Until now, scientists could not determine whether the dividing cells in planarians, called neoblasts, are a mixture of specialized stem cells that each regenerates specific tissues, or if individual neoblasts are pluripotent and able to regenerate all tissues. ... > full story

Irritable bowel syndrome: Common gastrointestinal disorder linked to bacterial overgrowth, food poisoning (May 13, 2011) -- Researchers have reported two advances in the understanding of irritable bowel syndrome, the most common gastrointestinal disorder in the United States, affecting an estimated 30 million people. One study provides further evidence that IBS is linked to an overgrowth of bacteria in the gut. In a separate study, a mathematical model reveals the disease's link to food poisoning and shows that military personnel are at a much higher risk for the disorder than the rest of the population. ... > full story

Ancient gene gives planarians a heads-up in regeneration (May 13, 2011) -- A little-studied gene known as notum plays a key role in the planarian's regeneration decision-making process, according to scientists. At head-facing (anterior) wounds, the gene notum acts as a dimmer switch to dampen the Wnt pathway -- an ancient signaling circuit that operates in all animals -- and promote head regeneration. ... > full story

Why some genes are silenced: Researchers find clue as to how notes are played on the 'genetic piano' (May 13, 2011) -- Scientists report an epigenetic rationale as to how some genes are silenced and others aren't. By reversing this effect, it may be possible to devise therapies for cancer and other diseases. ... > full story

New method for engineering human tissue regeneration (May 13, 2011) -- If clinical trials prove successful, a discovery could represent a leap toward human tissue regeneration and engineering. In a new study, scientists provide evidence to support a paradigm shift from the idea that cells added to a graft before implantation are the building blocks of tissue, to a new belief that engineered tissue constructs can induce or augment the body's own reparative mechanisms, including complex tissue regeneration. ... > full story

Water for Mongolia: How vital resource can be efficiently managed and used (May 13, 2011) -- Clean water is a rare commodity in many countries of the world and governments often face problems ensuring its reliable supply. In Mongolia, an interdisciplinary research team is demonstrating how this vital resource can be efficiently managed and used. Specially developed software help to detect weak points in the supply system. ... > full story

Reforesting rural lands in China pays big dividends, researchers say (May 13, 2011) -- An innovative program to encourage sustainable farming in rural China has helped restore eroded forestland while producing economic gains for many farmers, according to a new study. ... > full story

Smarter treatment for killer infections (May 12, 2011) -- Sepsis is a major killer in hospital intensive care units. Researchers have found that manipulating a genetic factor that can launch or throttle the body's defenses can improve survival rates during bacterial infection. ... > full story

'Fasting pathway' points the way to new class of diabetes drugs (May 12, 2011) -- Scientists have uncovered a novel mechanism that turns up glucose production in the liver when blood sugar levels drop, pointing towards a new class of drugs for the treatment of metabolic disease. ... > full story

Action needed to manage climate change risks: U.S. response should be durable, but flexible, experts urge (May 12, 2011) -- Warning that the risk of dangerous climate change impacts is growing with every ton of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere. ... > full story

Improving photosynthesis? Solar cells beat plants at harvesting sun's energy, for now (May 12, 2011) -- In a head-to-head battle of harvesting the sun's energy, solar cells beat plants. But scientists think they can even up the playing field. Plants are less efficient at capturing the energy in sunlight than solar cells mostly because they have too much evolutionary baggage. ... > full story

Cats pass disease to wildlife, even in remote areas (May 12, 2011) -- Researchers tracking the spread of Toxoplasma gondii -- a parasite that reproduces only in cats but sickens and kills many other animals -- have found infected wildlife throughout a 1,500-acre (600-hectare) natural area in central Illinois. ... > full story

Salinity in Outer Banks wells traced to fossil seawater (May 12, 2011) -- Rising salinity in the primary source for desalinated tap water in North Carolina's Outer Banks has been traced to fossil seawater, not -- as some have feared -- to recent seawater intrusion. ... > full story

Sharing musical instruments means sharing germs (May 12, 2011) -- Disease-causing bacteria can survive for days on wind instruments and may thus contribute to sickness in people who play wind instruments, especially students who share instruments, report researchers. ... > full story

Mother and kid goat vocals strike a chord (May 12, 2011) -- Mother and kid goats recognize each other's calls soon after the mothers give birth, new research reveals. ... > full story

Whales have accents and regional dialects: Biologists interpret the language of sperm whales (May 12, 2011) -- When they dive together, sperm whales make patterns of clicks to each other known as "codas." Recent findings suggest that not only do different codas mean different things, but that whales can also tell which member of their community is speaking based on the sound properties of the codas. Just as we can tell our friends apart by the sounds of their voices and the way they pronounce their words, different sperm whales make the same pattern of clicks, but with different accents. ... > full story

Change is the order of the day in the Arctic (May 12, 2011) -- Climate change in the Arctic is occurring at a faster and more drastic rate than previously assumed, according to experts. The latest scientific data show that developments in the Arctic's climate are closely related to developments in the rest of the world. ... > full story

Marine lab research tracks pollutants in dolphins and beluga whales (May 12, 2011) -- Bottlenose dolphins and beluga whales, two marine species at or near the top of their respective food webs, accumulate more chemical pollutants in their bodies when they live and feed in waters near urbanized areas, according to scientists. ... > full story

Silver cycle: New evidence for natural synthesis of silver nanoparticles (May 12, 2011) -- Because they have a variety of useful properties, especially as antibacterial and antifungal agents, silver nanoparticles increasingly are being used in a wide variety of industrial and consumer products. This in turn has raised concerns about what happens to them once released into the environment. Now a new research paper adds an additional wrinkle: Nature may be making silver nanoparticles on its own. ... > full story

Stay-at-home parents make for a cooperative family of lizards (May 12, 2011) -- The great desert burrowing skink, a lizard living on the sandy plains of Central Australia, has been discovered to live in family groups within elaborately constructed tunnel complexes. ... > full story

Can clouds help mitigate global warming? Missing links found in biology of cloud formation over oceans (May 12, 2011) -- A new study brings the possibility of using the sulfur cycle to mitigate global warming closer with the identification of the steps in the biochemical pathway that controls how bacteria release the sulfur compound methanethiol, or MeSH, into the microbial food web in the oceans and the genes responsible for that process. ... > full story

Sugar boosters could lead to cheap, effective treatments for chronic bacterial infections (May 12, 2011) -- Researchers have discovered that a simple compound -- sugar -- dramatically boosts the effectiveness of first-line antibiotics. ... > full story

Deepwater Horizon spill threatens more species than legally protected, study finds (May 12, 2011) -- Marine species facing threats from the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico far exceed those under legal protection in the United States, a new paper finds. Researchers found 39 additional marine species beyond the 14 protected by federal law that are at an elevated risk of extinction. ... > full story

High numbers of barred owls likely in Pacific Northwest forests (May 12, 2011) -- Barred owls may be more abundant in coniferous forests of the Pacific Northwest than previously recognized, according to new research. ... > full story

Animal-like urea cycle in ocean's tiny diatoms enables marine phytoplankton to use carbon and nitrogen from their environment (May 12, 2011) -- Scientists have discovered that marine diatoms, tiny phytoplankton abundant in the sea, have an animal-like urea cycle, and that this cycle enables the diatoms to efficiently use carbon and nitrogen from their environment. The research team believes that the cycle could be a reason for the domination of diatoms in marine environments, especially after upwelling events -- the upward movement of nutrient rich waters from the deep ocean to the surface. ... > full story

2,300-year climate record suggests severe tropical droughts as northern temperatures rise (May 12, 2011) -- A 2,300-year climate record that researchers recovered from an Andes Mountains lake reveals that as temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere rise, the planet's densely populated tropical regions will most likely experience severe water shortages as the crucial summer monsoons become drier. The research team found that equatorial regions of South America already are receiving less rainfall than at any point in the past millennium. ... > full story