ScienceDaily Environment Headlines
for Wednesday, July 14, 2010
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Nearly 5 percent exposed to dengue virus in Florida's Key West, report suggests (July 14, 2010) -- An estimated 5 percent of the Key West, Fla., population -- over 1,000 people -- showed evidence of recent exposure to dengue virus in 2009, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Florida Department of Health. ... > full story
NASA's 3-D animation of Typhoon Conson's heavy rainfall and strong thunderstorms (July 14, 2010) -- Imagine seeing a typhoon from space, and seeing it in three dimensions. That's what the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite can do with any typhoon, and just did with Typhoon Conson. TRMM's 3-D look at tropical cyclones provide scientists with information on the height of towering thunderstorms and the rate of rainfall in them, and Conson has high thunderstorms and heavy rainfall. ... > full story
Facial recognition at first glance: Humans and monkeys perceive faces of kin immediately (July 14, 2010) -- We meet a multitude of people on a daily basis: the nice waitress in the coffee shop around the corner, the bus driver or the colleagues at the office. Without the ability to recognize faces at first glance we would not be able to distinguish between people. Monkeys also possess the remarkable ability to differentiate faces of group members and to extract the relevant information about the individual directly from the face. ... > full story
What secrets are stored in the roots of corn plants? (July 14, 2010) -- With corn being a critical US crop expected to help feed livestock and people around the world and also be a source for the production of clean energy, plant breeders are continually seeking ways to make the plants more productive. To better understand the role corn roots play in this regard, an agricultural engineer and a crop scientist have teamed up to examine corn root complexity and how it impacts corn development. ... > full story
NASA releases GOES-13 satellite movie of the life and times of Hurricane Alex (July 14, 2010) -- NASA's GOES Project has just released a "movie" of satellite imagery showing the life and times of 2010's only June hurricane. From birth to death, the GOES-13 satellite kept an eye on the life and times of Hurricane Alex for two weeks in June 2010. ... > full story
Sea levels rising in parts of Indian Ocean; Greenhouse gases play role, study finds (July 13, 2010) -- Newly detected rising sea levels in parts of the Indian Ocean, including the coastlines of the Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea, Sri Lanka, Sumatra and Java, appear to be at least partly a result of human-induced increases of atmospheric greenhouse gases, according to a new study. ... > full story
Viscosity at the nanoscale: Intriguing 50-year-old puzzle solved (July 13, 2010) -- At a snail's pace – this is how proteins should move inside living cells where viscosity of environment exceeds the viscosity of water by a million times. However, proteins move not much slower than in water. While looking for a solution to this puzzle, scientists from Poland have discovered a new principle of physics. ... > full story
Report on controlling NASA mission costs (July 13, 2010) -- NASA should develop a broad, integrated strategy to contain costs and maintain schedules as earth and space science missions are planned and designed, says a new report by the National Research Council. ... > full story
Why you should never arm wrestle a saber-toothed tiger (July 13, 2010) -- Saber-toothed cats may be best known for their supersized canines, but they also had exceptionally strong forelimbs for pinning prey before delivering the fatal bite, says a new study. ... > full story
Whisker stimulation prevents strokes in rats; Stimulating fingers, lips and face may also work in humans (July 13, 2010) -- Talk about surviving by a whisker. The most common type of stroke can be completely prevented in rats by stimulating a single whisker, according to a new study. In people, stimulating the fingers, lips or face in general could all have a similar effect, researchers suggest. ... > full story
Salmon in hot water (July 13, 2010) -- Rearing juvenile salmon at the relatively high temperature of 16 C causes skeletal deformities in the fish. Researchers investigated both the magnitude and mechanisms of this effect, which occurs when salmon farmers use warmed water to increase fish growth rates. ... > full story
Fly's brain -- a high-speed computer: Neurobiologists use state-of-the-art methods to decode the basics of motion detection (July 13, 2010) -- The minute brains of flies process visual movements in only fractions of a second. Just how the brain of the fly manages to perceive motion with such speed and precision is predicted quite accurately by a mathematical model. ... > full story
New system to reduce heating costs in cold climates (July 13, 2010) -- A new type of heat pump under development could allow residents in cold climates to cut their heating bills in half. ... > full story
Africa's national parks hit by mammal declines (July 13, 2010) -- African national parks like Masai Mara and the Serengeti have seen populations of large mammals decline by up to 59 percent, according to a new study. ... > full story
Biofuel quest: Genome signatures enable tracking of algal complexity (July 13, 2010) -- Researchers have presented the 138-million-nucleotide genome of the multicellular alga Volvox carteri. Scientists are researching the complex mechanisms present in photosynthetic organisms to better understand how they convert sunlight to energy and how photosynthetic cells control their metabolic processes so that this information can inform the production of renewable biofuels. ... > full story
Baby brain growth mirrors changes from apes to humans (July 13, 2010) -- A study undertaken to help scientists concerned with abnormal brain development in premature babies has serendipitously revealed evolution's imprint on the human brain. Scientists found that the human brain regions that grow the most during infancy and childhood are nearly identical to the brain regions with the most changes when human brains are compared to those of apes and monkeys. ... > full story
Salsa and guacamole increasingly important causes of foodborne disease (July 13, 2010) -- Nearly one out of every 25 restaurant-associated food-borne outbreaks with identified food sources between 1998 and 2008 can be traced back to contaminated salsa or guacamole, more than double the rate during the previous decade, according to new research. ... > full story
Staggering tree loss from 2005 Amazon storm (July 13, 2010) -- A single, huge, violent storm that swept across the whole Amazon forest in 2005 killed half a billion trees, a new study shows. ... > full story
Plant 'breathing' mechanism discovered (July 13, 2010) -- A tiny, little-understood plant pore has enormous implications for weather forecasting, climate change, agriculture, hydrology, and more. Scientists have now overturned the conventional belief about how these important structures called stomata regulate water vapor loss from the leaf -- a process called transpiration. They found that radiation is the driving force of physical processes deep within the leaf. ... > full story
Eating foods rich in vitamin E associated with lower dementia risk (July 13, 2010) -- Consuming more vitamin E through the diet appears to be associated with a lower risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease, according to a new study. ... > full story
Researchers witness overnight breakup, retreat of Greenland glacier (July 13, 2010) -- NASA-funded researchers monitoring Greenland's Jakobshavn Isbrae glacier report that a 7 square kilometer (2.7 square mile) section of the glacier broke up on July 6 and 7, as shown in a new image. ... > full story
Antidepressants make shrimps see the light (July 12, 2010) -- Rising levels of antidepressants in coastal waters could change sea-life behavior and potentially damage the food-chain, according to a new study. ... > full story
Oldest written document ever found in Jerusalem discovered (July 12, 2010) -- A tiny clay fragment -- dating from the 14th century B.C.E. -- that was found in excavations outside Jerusalem's Old City walls contains the oldest written document ever found in Jerusalem, say researchers in Israel. The find, believed to be part of a tablet from a royal archives, further testifies to the importance of Jerusalem as a major city in the Late Bronze Age, long before its conquest by King David, they say. ... > full story
Bars, restaurants see no significant employment change under smoking bans in two cities (July 12, 2010) -- The passage of smoking bans in two large Minnesota cities was not associated with job losses at bars and may in fact have contributed to higher employment in restaurants, according to new research. The study is the first to examine the economic effects of clean indoor air policies on bars and restaurants as independent types of businesses, the researchers said. ... > full story
Sewage overflow promotes spread of West Nile virus (July 12, 2010) -- Sewage that overflows into urban creeks and streams during periods of heavy rain can promote the spread of West Nile virus, a study finds. The analysis of six years of data showed that people living near creeks with sewage overflows in lower-income neighborhoods of Southeast Atlanta had a seven times higher risk for West Nile virus than the rest of the city. ... > full story
Mouse stem cell study offers new insights into body fat distribution (July 12, 2010) -- New research shows that adding fat to mouse stem cells grown in the lab affects their response to the signals that push them to develop into one or other of the main types of fat storage cells -- subcutaneous (under the skin) or visceral (around the organs). ... > full story
Penguin males with steady pitch make better parents (July 12, 2010) -- Courtship calls help penguin females decide which males are likely to be devoted dads, according to a new study. By listening to male courtship calls, a female can tell how fat a male is and what kind of father he'll be. Fatter males make better fathers because they have the energy reserves to endure long fasts, so are less likely to leave the nest and desert their chicks. ... > full story
Dogs may help collar Chagas disease: Researchers propose new ways to combat prevalent public health challenge (July 12, 2010) -- Chagas disease affects 10 to 12 million people in Latin America, killing more than 15,000 a year. It is caused by a parasite that roams with only limited control among the rural poor in Latin America. Researchers have found that dogs are important vectors in both the spread of the disease and the potential to help control it, and can make good sentinels for health officials monitoring T. cruzi transmission. ... > full story
North Pacific: Global backup generator for past climate change (July 12, 2010) -- Toward the end of the last ice age, a major reorganization took place in the current system of the North Pacific with far-reaching implications for climate. About that time, the North Pacific branch of the conveyor belt changed drastically. The reconstructed changes in the North Pacific current system may have buffered the global impacts of the collapsed circulation in the Atlantic and possibly prevented further cooling of the Northern hemisphere. ... > full story
Mexican salamander helps uncover mysteries of stem cells and evolution (July 12, 2010) -- Scientists have been using a Mexican aquatic salamander called an axolotl to study the evolution and genetics of stem cells -- research that supports the development of regenerative medicine to treat the consequences of disease and injury using stem cell therapies. ... > full story
'Dawning of a new age' in bacteria research (July 12, 2010) -- Lowly bacteria are turning out to be much more complex than previously thought. Researchers describe an example of bacterial complexity, called "protein acetylation," which once was thought to be rare in bacteria. ... > full story
DNA through graphene nanopores (July 12, 2010) -- Researchers in the Netherlands have developed a new type of nanopore devices that may significantly impact the way we screen DNA molecules, for example to read off their sequence. The scientists report a novel technique to fabricate tiny holes in a layer of graphene (a carbon layer with a thickness of only 1 atom) and they managed to detect the motion of individual DNA molecules that travel through such a hole. ... > full story
Earliest archaeological evidence of pet tortoises discovered (July 12, 2010) -- An archaeologist has discovered a bone belonging to a late 19th-century tortoise from Stafford Castle, Staffordshire - believed to be the earliest archaeological evidence of a tortoise kept as a family pet. ... > full story
Honey as an antibiotic: Scientists identify a secret ingredient in honey that kills bacteria (July 12, 2010) -- Sweet news for those looking for new antibiotics: new research explains for the first time how honey kills bacteria. Specifically, the research shows that bees make a protein that they add to the honey, called defensin-1, which could one day be used to treat burns and skin infections and to develop new drugs that could combat antibiotic-resistant infections. ... > full story
First preliminary profile of proteins in bed bugs' saliva (July 12, 2010) -- With bed bugs reemerging as a nuisance in some parts of the country, scientists are reporting the first preliminary description of the bug's sialome -- the saliva proteins that are the secret to Cimex lectularius' ability to suck blood from its human victims and escape to bite again with risking a lethal slap. The findings could have medical applications in diagnosing bed bug bites and preventing the itch. ... > full story
Wet breathing system filters transmit harmful bacteria and yeast, hospitals warned (July 12, 2010) -- UK doctors have highlighted potential problems with the breathing system filters used in anesthesia, including intensive care units, after demonstrating that they don’t provide protection from harmful bacteria and yeast when they become wet. A new study shows that when they were wet, six commonly available filters allowed substantial passage of Candida albicans (a yeast infection linked to a range of chronic illnesses) and coagulase-negative staphylococci (a common hospital-acquired bacterial infection). ... > full story
Breakthrough in terahertz remote sensing: Unique THz 'fingerprints' will identify hidden explosives from a distance (July 12, 2010) -- A major breakthrough in remote wave sensing by a team of researchers opens the way for detecting hidden explosives, chemical, biological agents and illegal drugs from a distance of 20 meters. ... > full story
Surprisingly regular patterns in hurricane energy discovered (July 12, 2010) -- Researchers in Spain have discovered a mathematical relation between the number of hurricanes produced in certain parts of Earth and the energy they release. ... > full story
Geo-neutrinos: Discovery of subatomic particles could answer deep questions in geology (July 12, 2010) -- An international team has detected subatomic particles -- geo-neutrinos -- deep within Earth's interior. The discovery could help geologists understand how reactions taking place in the planet's interior affect events on the surface such as earthquakes and volcanoes. Someday, scientists may know enough about the sources and flow of heat in Earth to predict events like the recent volcanic eruption in Iceland. ... > full story
Red hot chili peppers arrive in sub-zero Arctic Seed Vault (July 12, 2010) -- A new collection of some of North America's hottest foods -- an eclectic range of New World chili peppers -- were delivered to the cool Arctic Circle environs of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault this week, where their exotic tongue-scorching qualities can be kept safe for centuries. ... > full story
What’s killing farmed salmon? New virus may also pose risk to wild salmon (July 12, 2010) -- Epidemics of infectious disease are threatening the farmed fish industry, including one of its most popular products: farmed Atlantic salmon. A team of scientists has found evidence that the disease may be caused by a previously unknown virus. ... > full story
Big picture: Lipid ordering visualized in a living vertebrate organism (July 12, 2010) -- Scientists have obtained the first visualization of the inherent arrangement of lipid molecules in different tissues of a whole, living vertebrate organism. The research validates earlier studies done with primary cells and may lead to a new understanding of the physiological significance of plasma membrane organization. ... > full story
Computing power cracks egg shell problem (July 12, 2010) -- Researchers in the UK have applied computing power to crack a problem in egg shell formation. The work may also give a partial answer to the age old question "what came first the chicken or the egg?" ... > full story
Source of essential nutrients for mid-ocean algae discovered (July 12, 2010) -- For almost three decades, oceanographers have been puzzled by the ability of microscopic algae to grow in mid-ocean areas where there is very little nitrate, an essential algal nutrient. In a new study, researchers show that mid-ocean algae obtain nitrate from deep water, as much as 250 meters below the surface. This finding will help scientists predict how open-ocean ecosystems could respond to global warming. ... > full story
Majority of fevers in African children are not caused by malaria, study finds (July 12, 2010) -- In 2007, an estimated 656 million fevers occurred in African children aged 0-4 years, with 78 million children of the 183 million attending a public health care facility likely to have been infected with P. falciparum (range 60-103 million), the parasite that causes the most dangerous form of malaria. These findings come from a modelling system devised by experts from the Malaria Atlas Project. ... > full story
Archeologists explore rural Galilee and find ancient synagogue (July 12, 2010) -- Among various important discoveries, the 2010 Kinneret Regional Project discovered an ancient synagogue, in use at around 400 AD. This year’s archeological focus is the first systematic excavation on Horvat Kur, a village inhabited from the Early Roman through the Early Medieval periods located on a gentle hill two kilometers west of the Lake of Galilee. Thirty volunteers – mostly students of theology, religious studies, and archeology – and staff from the Netherlands, Finland, Switzerland, Romania, Belgium, Spain, Israel, and Germany explore the material remains of the village life in Galilee, a region that features very prominently in Early Christian and Rabbinic tradition. ... > full story
Healthy made up over half of UK swine flu admissions and inpatient deaths in first wave (July 12, 2010) -- Over half of UK swine flu hospital admissions and inpatient deaths occurred in people with no underlying health problems or obvious risk factors, new research reveals. ... > full story
Green goes mainstream: Biodiversity is climbing the corporate agenda (July 12, 2010) -- One in four global CEOs sees biodiversity loss as a strategic issue for business growth: Latin American and African CEOs are most concerned about impacts of biodiversity loss on business growth prospects; European CEOs are least concerned, according to a new report. ... > full story
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