ScienceDaily Environment Headlines -- for Sunday, November 20, 2011

ScienceDaily Environment Headlines

for Sunday, November 20, 2011

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Protection from severe malaria explained (November 19, 2011) -- Why do people with a hereditary mutation of the red blood pigment hemoglobin (as is the case with sickle-cell anemia prevalent in Africa) not contract severe malaria? Scientists have now solved this mystery. ... > full story

Great Plains river basins threatened by pumping of aquifers (November 19, 2011) -- Suitable habitat for native fishes in many Great Plains streams has been significantly reduced by the pumping of groundwater from the High Plains aquifer – and scientists analyzing the water loss say ecological futures for these fishes are "bleak." ... > full story

Corn gene boosts biofuels from switchgrass (November 19, 2011) -- Introducing a special corn gene into switchgrass was found to significantly boost the viability of the switchgrass biomass as a feedstock crop for advanced biofuels. The gene, a variant of the Corngrass1 gene, holds the switchgrass in a perpetual juvenile state, more than doubling its starch content and making it easier to convert its polysaccharides into fermentable sugars. ... > full story

Nanoparticles used as additives in diesel fuels can travel from lungs to liver (November 18, 2011) -- Recent studies have demonstrated that nanoparticles of cerium oxide -- common diesel fuel additives used to increase the fuel efficiency of automobile engines -- can travel from the lungs to the liver and that this process is associated with liver damage. ... > full story

New 'smart' material could help tap medical potential of tissue-penetrating light (November 18, 2011) -- Scientists are reporting development and successful initial testing of the first practical "smart" material that may supply the missing link in efforts to use in medicine a form of light that can penetrate four inches into the human body. The new polymer or plastic-like material has potential for use in diagnosing diseases and engineer new human tissues in the lab. ... > full story

How Legionnaires' bacteria proliferate, cause disease (November 18, 2011) -- Scientist have determined for the first time how the bacterium that causes Legionnaires' disease manipulates our cells to generate the amino acids it needs to grow and cause infection and inflammation in the lungs. ... > full story

Squid mystery in Mexican waters unraveled by biologist and a class of students (November 18, 2011) -- Marine biologists are studying Humboldt squid in Mexico's Sea of Cortez, where the creatures have been spawning at a much younger age and a far smaller size than normal. El Niño is apparently to blame. ... > full story

Rehabilitating vacant lots improves urban health and safety (November 18, 2011) -- Greening of vacant urban land may affect the health and safety of nearby residents. In a decade-long comparison of vacant lots and improved vacant lots, greening was linked to significant reductions in gun assaults across most of Philadelphia and significant reductions in vandalism in one section of the city. Vacant lot greening was also associated with residents in certain sections of the city reporting significantly less stress and more exercise. ... > full story

Date and rate of Earth's most extreme extinction pinpointed: Results stem from largest ever examination of fossil marine species (November 18, 2011) -- Through the analysis of various types of dating techniques on well-preserved sedimentary sections from South China to Tibet, researchers determined that the mass extinction peaked about 252.28 million years ago and lasted less than 200,000 years, with most of the extinction lasting about 20,000 years. The conclusion of this study says extinctions of most marine and terrestrial life took place at the same time. ... > full story

Soybean adoption came early by many cultures, archaeologists say (November 18, 2011) -- Human domestication of soybeans is thought to have first occurred in central China some 3,000 years ago, but archaeologists now suggest that cultures in even earlier times and in other locations adopted the legume. ... > full story

NASA's TRMM satellite sees deadly tornadic thunderstorms in southeastern U.S. (November 18, 2011) -- Tornadoes are expected to accompany severe storms in the springtime in the US, but this time of year they also usually happen. When a line of severe thunderstorms associated with a cold front swept through the US southeast on Nov. 16, TRMM collected rainfall data on the dangerous storms from space. ... > full story

A new technique makes it possible to reduce by half the amount of salt in already desalted cod (November 18, 2011) -- Researchers have achieved a 50% reduction in the amount of salt in already desalted cod, thus obtaining a final product that preserves all its sensory properties and is particularly suitable for persons with hypertension. ... > full story