news: ScienceDaily Environment Headlines -- for Tuesday, January 5, 2010

ScienceDaily Environment Headlines

for Tuesday, January 5, 2010

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Winter, Nighttime Tornadoes Pose Greatest Risk, National Weather Service Warns (January 5, 2010) -- Shrouded in darkness, nighttime tornadoes can be deadly, especially during the winter season when people are not accustomed to such severe weather. Given the dangers, forecasters with NOAA's National Weather Service are increasing efforts to alert people of a potential threat in their area before they go to sleep. ... > full story

Researchers identify scaffold regulating protein disposal (January 5, 2010) -- How does a cell manage to identify and degrade the diverse types of defective proteins and thus protect the body against serious diseases? Researchers have found a crucial piece in this puzzle. In an enzyme complex that plays a critical role in the quality control of proteins, they discovered a scaffold regulating the identification and disposal of various defectively produced proteins. ... > full story

Highway Barriers Stifle Sound, Sight, and Soot (January 5, 2010) -- Highway barriers erected along roadways to block the sound and sight of traffic for the adjoining neighborhoods may also be reducing the amount of pollutants, such as soot from diesel exhaust, reaching area residents. ... > full story

How precursors of gene-regulating small RNAs are sorted by cellular machinery (January 5, 2010) -- A team of scientists has determined a hierarchical set of criteria that explain how the molecular precursors of gene-regulating small RNAs are sorted by the cellular machinery. ... > full story

Ecosystem, vegetation affect intensity of urban heat island effect (January 5, 2010) -- Researchers studying urban landscapes have found that the intensity of the "heat island" created by a city depends on the ecosystem it replaced and on the regional climate. Urban areas developed in arid and semi-arid regions show far less heating compared with the surrounding countryside than cities built amid forested and temperate climates. ... > full story

New Evidence Of Culture In Wild Chimpanzees (January 4, 2010) -- A new study of chimpanzees living in the wild adds to evidence that our closest primate relatives have cultural differences, too. The study shows that neighboring chimpanzee populations in Uganda use different tools to solve a novel problem: extracting honey trapped within a fallen log. ... > full story

Protection of organic products taken to next level (January 4, 2010) -- Ready-to-eat, organic processed pork products look similar to conventionally cured meats. The organic versions have become popular among consumers as processors work to meet the demand. Although the natural and organic processed meat products are manufactured to simulate traditionally cured meat products as closely as possible, they're not exactly alike. ... > full story

Scientists identify target that may inhibit HIV infectivity (January 4, 2010) -- Scientists have discovered a new agent that might inhibit the infectivity of HIV. The agent, surfen, impairs the action of a factor in semen that greatly enhances the viral infection. Surfen might be used to supplement current HIV microbicides to greatly reduce HIV transmission during sexual contact. ... > full story

Licorice root: Trip to the candy store might help ward off rare, but deadly infections (January 4, 2010) -- As it turns out, children were not the only ones with visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads over this past holiday season. In a new study, scientists show how a compound from licorice root might be an effective tool in battling life-threatening, antibiotic-resistant infections resulting from severe burns. ... > full story

Finally, an excuse for pregnant women to eat bacon and eggs (January 4, 2010) -- If you're pregnant and looking for an excuse to eat bacon and eggs, now you've got one: new research shows that choline plays a critical role in helping fetal brains develop regions associated with memory. Choline is found in meats, including pork, as well as chicken eggs. ... > full story

GDP is misleading measure of wealth, says top economist (January 4, 2010) -- The most commonly used measure of overall economic output is misleading and inaccurate, according to one of the world's leading economists, who says Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ignores the value of natural ecosystems -- an essential component of wealth. Aquifers, ocean fisheries, tropical forests, estuaries and the atmosphere, should but are not used to estimate nations’ wealth, he argues. ... > full story

Roe of marine animals is best natural source of omega-3 (January 4, 2010) -- The roe of hake, lumpsucker and salmon is the best dietary source of omega-3, according to a new study. The scientists analyzed the eggs, or roe, of 15 marine animals, and found all of these contained high levels of these fatty acids, which are essential to the human body. ... > full story

Demonstration of pH-regulating protein (January 4, 2010) -- Researchers have identified the protein mechanism that senses bicarbonate fluctuations and adjusts blood pH levels. Scientists have now achieved the first demonstration of the process in a whole animal. The researchers found that the protein adenylyl cyclase sensed and then regulated the pH blood levels in a dogfish shark following feeding. ... > full story

Veterinarians lead way in disaster response for animals (January 4, 2010) -- Most people can picture the first responders who come to the rescue in the wake of a natural disaster. But who provides emergency help for the dogs, cats and horses that people love? Veterinarians are helping to fill the need through a unique initiative that requires all of its students to receive disaster training, providing a new generation of leaders in veterinary medicine and disaster response. ... > full story

Microorganisms cited as missing factor in climate change equation (January 4, 2010) -- Those seeking to understand and predict climate change can now use an additional tool to calculate carbon dioxide exchanges on land, according to a new article. ... > full story

Brooding fishes take up nutrients from their own children (January 4, 2010) -- In the pipefish, the male cares for the offspring. Apart from the ones he sucks the life out of. Researchers have just discovery filial cannibalism in the pipefish. ... > full story

Loss of sea ice stirs up Arctic waters (January 4, 2010) -- The Arctic Ocean is generally considered a remarkably quiet ocean, with very little mixing, because a cover of sea ice prevents wind from driving the formation of internal waves. To study this effect and investigate how melting sea ice might affect ocean mixing in the Arctic, researchers analyzed data from moorings in the northern Chukchi Sea. ... > full story

Using modern sequencing techniques to study ancient humans (January 4, 2010) -- DNA that is left in the remains of long-dead plants, animals or humans allows a direct look into the history of evolution. ... > full story

Fault weaknesses, the center cannot hold for some geologic faults (January 4, 2010) -- Some geologic faults that appear strong and stable, slip and slide like weak faults. Now geologists have provided laboratory evidence showing why some faults that "should not" slip are weaker than previously thought. ... > full story

To a mosquito, matchmaking means 'singing' in perfect harmony (January 4, 2010) -- Researchers have new insight into the sex lives of the much-maligned mosquitoes that are responsible for the vast majority of malaria deaths, according to a new study. In finding a partner of the right species type, male and female mosquitoes depend on their ability to "sing" in perfect harmony. Those tones are produced and varied based on the frequency of their wing beats in flight. ... > full story

How ubiquitin chains are added to cell-cycle proteins: May lead to targeted cancer therapies (January 4, 2010) -- Researchers have been able to view in detail, and for the first time, the previously mysterious process by which long chains of a protein called ubiquitin are added by enzymes called ubiquitin ligases to proteins that control the cell cycle. Ubiquitin chains tag target proteins for destruction by protein-degrading complexes in the cell. ... > full story

Cross-border conservation efforts can yield better results at less cost (January 4, 2010) -- Coordination of conservation efforts across national boundaries could achieve significantly higher results and at less cost than conservation actions planned within individual states, researchers have found. ... > full story

Geosciences: Melt rises to Earth's surface up to 25 times faster than previously assumed (January 4, 2010) -- Scientists have successfully determined the permeability of the asthenosphere in the Earth's upper mantle and thus the rate at which melt rises to the Earth's surface: it flows up to 25 times faster than previously assumed. Thermo-mechanical and geochemical models on melt flows in volcanoes now have to be reconsidered. ... > full story

Multitasking may be Achilles heel for hepatitis C (January 4, 2010) -- Despite its tiny genome, the hepatitis C virus packs a mean punch. The virus is a microcosm of efficiency, and each of its amino acids plays multiple roles in its survival and ability to sidestep attack. But new research suggests that this fancy footwork and multitasking could be the key to bringing down the virus. The work, which focuses on a once-ignored protein, provides insights on how drug therapy for sufferers of the disease might be improved. ... > full story

Scientists visualize how a vital hepatitis C virus protein moves along its nucleic acid substrate (January 4, 2010) -- By taking three conformational snapshots of a hepatitis C virus motor protein in association with its substrate, researchers have provided the first structural explanation of how a representative superfamily 2 helicase moves unidirectionally along nucleic acid, suggesting new ways that drug designers could block virus replication. ... > full story

Three new alkaloids found in winter snowdrop plants (January 4, 2010) -- Scientists have identified 17 bioactive compounds in winter snowdrops, the earliest flowering plants in Europe. Out of the alkaloids identified, three are new to science and belong to a group with potential applications in treating malaria and Alzheimer's disease. ... > full story

Evolution caught in the act: Scientists measure how quickly genomes change (January 3, 2010) -- Mutations are the raw material of evolution. Scientists have now been able to measure for the first time directly the speed with which new mutations occur in plants. Their findings shed new light on a fundamental evolutionary process. They explain, for example, why resistance to herbicides can appear within just a few years. ... > full story

Mutant gene lessens devastation of flesh-eating bacteria (January 3, 2010) -- Scientists recently discovered a simple gene mutation that decreases the chance people will get a flesh-eating disease called necrotizing fasciitis. Further, they proved that inactivating this section of the gene lessens the devastating disease in humans. ... > full story

Carbon nanotubes show promise for high-speed genetic sequencing (January 3, 2010) -- Scientists have demonstrated the potential of a new DNA sequencing method in which a single-stranded ribbon of DNA is threaded through a carbon nanotube. ... > full story

Two proteins act as molecular tailors in DNA repair (January 3, 2010) -- Every day tiny segments of our DNA are chipped or fragmented or get stuck together when they should really be pulled apart. But what our genome necessarily lacks in stability it makes up for with a phalanx of guards that monitor and repair the damage. ... > full story

'Lifeless' prions capable of evolutionary change and adaptation (January 3, 2010) -- Scientists have determined for the first time that prions, bits of infectious protein devoid of DNA or RNA that can cause fatal neurodegenerative disease, are capable of Darwinian evolution. ... > full story

Whiskers hold secrets of invasive minks (January 3, 2010) -- Details of the lifestyle of mink, which escaped from fur farms and now live wild in the UK, have been revealed through analysis of their whiskers. New research reveals more about the diet of this invasive species and provides a clue to its whereabouts. There are now plans to use the findings to eradicate it from environments where it can be devastating to native species. ... > full story

Indian Ocean climate event recurs quicker with global warming (January 3, 2010) -- The Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD), an oscillation of sea surface temperatures in the Indian Ocean, has become a major influence on the weather variations in the Indian Ocean region. During positive IOD events, abnormally warm sea surface temperatures in the western Indian Ocean are accompanied by severe droughts over the Indonesian region and heavy rainfall over east Africa. ... > full story

Tasmanian devil facial tumor disease: Nervous culprit found (January 3, 2010) -- Cells that protect nerves are the likely origin of the devil facial tumor disease that has been devastating Australia's Tasmanian devil population, an international team of scientists has discovered. ... > full story

Scientists identify DNA that regulates antibody production (January 3, 2010) -- Performance enhancers are the currency of a competitive society. But there's one that we have always had: For millions of years, segments of our DNA have improved the performance of our genome, revving up protein production at those times we need it most. New research now show that these genome enhancers regulate how our bodies make germ-fighting antibodies, molecules that keep savvy viruses and bacteria at bay. ... > full story

Fungus contaminant in corn, peanuts, soybeans: Chlorophyll effective against aflatoxin (January 3, 2010) -- A new study has found that chlorophyll and its derivative chlorophyllin are effective in limiting the absorption of aflatoxin in humans. Aflatoxin is produced by a fungus that is a contaminant of grains including corn, peanuts and soybeans; it is known to cause liver cancer -- and can work in concert with other health concerns, such as hepatitis. ... > full story

How the Moon gets its exosphere (January 2, 2010) -- Several decades ago scientists discovered that the Moon, long thought to have no atmosphere, actually does have an extremely thin exosphere. Scientists generally believe that the ions that make up the lunar exosphere are generated at the Moon's surface by interaction with solar photons, plasma in the Earth's magnetosphere, or micrometeorites. However, scientists have been uncertain about which processes are the main contributors of lunar exosphere ions. ... > full story

High fat diet increases inflammation in the mouse colon (January 2, 2010) -- Colorectal cancer, the third most common type of cancer worldwide, has been linked to an increased prevalence of the Western diet: one high in fat and low in fiber, vitamin D and calcium. Now, scientists have shown what happens to colon tissue when mice are fed such a diet: an inflammatory response that could be the trigger for carcinogenic processes. ... > full story

Imaging study shows HIV particles assembling around genome of infected cell (January 2, 2010) -- HIV is a wily and lethal replicator. In less than 25 years, it's killed more than 25 million people. Scientists are exploring exactly how this virus reproduces because they would like to find a way to abort the process. Now, just two years after scientists witnessed the birth of a single HIV particle in real time, the same team has zoomed in for a closer look at how the virus packages its genetic material as it assembles beneath the surface of an infected cell. ... > full story

Elusive protein points to mechanism behind hearing loss (January 2, 2010) -- A serendipitous discovery of deaf zebra fish larvae has helped narrow down the function of an elusive protein necessary for hearing and balance. The work suggests that hearing loss may arise from a faulty pathway that translates sound waves into electrical impulses the brain can understand. ... > full story

Will higher global temperatures make it easier for viruses to jump species? (January 2, 2010) -- Scientists soon will begin investigating whether viruses that have adapted to higher temperatures -- similar to increases due to global warming -- can jump species more easily. ... > full story

Major offshore quake could surge inland to Seattle area (January 2, 2010) -- Large megathrust earthquakes occur on average every 550 years on the northern Cascadia subduction zone, where the Juan de Fuca tectonic plate subducts underneath the North American plate off the coast of Washington State. Scientists had thought that major earthquakes were likely to occur only offshore, but a new analysis shows that a giant earthquake could extend deeper along the subduction zone, and thus farther inland. ... > full story

Final moments of bee landing tactics revealed (January 2, 2010) -- When bees come into land they slow their speed as they approach, but what happens in the final instants before touch down? Using high speed video, scientists from Australia and Sweden have found that there are three stages to the final touch down: a quasi-hover, a stable hover 16mm from the surface and finally a gentle touch down. Using this approach, bees can land on surfaces ranging from the horizontal to completely inverted ceilings. ... > full story

Bacterial protein mimics its host to disable a key enzyme (January 2, 2010) -- Helicobacter pylori infects up to 90 percent of people in the developing world and causes gastric ulcers and cancers of the gut. Now scientists have revealed a subterfuge used by the bacterium to trick stomach cells into playing along. By injecting a protein into the stomach lining that mimics a native protein but has its opposite effect, the bacterium shuts down a process that helps properly structure stomach tissue, scientists say. ... > full story

Fast pace of glacier melt in the 1940s: lower aerosol pollution (January 1, 2010) -- In the 1940s Swiss glaciers were melting at an even-faster pace than at present, according to new research. This is despite the fact that the temperatures in the 20th century were lower than in this century. Researchers see the main reason for this as the lower level of aerosol pollution in the atmosphere. ... > full story

New molecule identified in DNA damage response (January 1, 2010) -- In the harsh judgment of natural selection, the ultimate measure of success is reproduction. So it's no surprise that life spends lavish resources on this feat, whether in the courtship behavior of birds and bees or replicating the cells that keep them alive. Now research has identified a new piece in an elaborate system to help guarantee fidelity in the reproduction of cells, preventing potentially lethal mutations in the process. ... > full story

Window opens into Moon's past volcanism (January 1, 2010) -- Lava tubes, underground cave-like channels through which lava once flowed, are commonly found on Earth. Scientists have debated whether these tubes could form on the Moon as well, but no studies have yet conclusively identified features that indicate the presence of lunar lava tubes. ... > full story

Student sleuths using DNA reveal zoo of 95 species in NYC homes -- and new evidence of food fraud (January 1, 2010) -- Two New York City high school students exploring their homes using the latest high-tech DNA analysis techniques discover a veritable zoo of 95 animal species surrounding them, in everything from fridges to furniture, from sidewalks to shipping boxes, and from feather dusters to floor corners. ... > full story

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