Fresh in Biological News

Keeping golf courses green when fresh water is limited

LAS VEGASExplosive population growth in southern Nevada has placed increasing demands on available water resources. In 2007, 80% of the state's residents lived in southern Nevada, where the population approached two million people. The dual concerns of this population boom and a climate that featu...

Analysis of fresh strawberries reveals consumer preferences

WINTER HAVEN, FLFresh strawberries. Just the mention of this iconic spring and early summer fruit can elicit mouthwatering memories of shortcake, fruity drinks and sweet desserts. Researchers interested in learning more about this evocative fruit have determined that "sensory quality" of strawberr...

Extending the life of fresh cranberries

KENTVILLE, NOVA SCOTIA Cranberries are tart, tiny fruits packed with powerful antioxidants. The small, red berries offer a wide variety of health benefits. Not only are cranberries a healthy, low-calorie snack, but they can also play a significant role in preventing urinary tract infections, redu...

Children born from frozen embryos weigh more and do better than those born after fresh transfer

This release is available in Spanish . Barcelona, Spain: Children born after a frozen, thawed embryo has been replaced in the womb have higher birth weight than those born where fresh embryos were used, Danish scientists reported to the 24th annual conference of the European Society of H...

Pharmaceutical compounds found in nation's fresh water

According to a study in the May/June 2007 issue of the journal Ground Water, pharmaceuticals are being found in septic tanks and, consequentially, ground water due to incomplete human metabolism and excretion into the waste stream or by disposal of unused medications in the toilet or down the sink....

Ghost protein leaves fresh tracks in the cell

Spectrin and ankyrin are two essential proteins acting like bricks and mortar to shape and fortify cell membranes. But distinguishing which protein is the brick and which is the mortar has turned out to be difficult. New evidence suggests that spectrin can do both jobs at once. Ron Dubreuil, asso...

Aging cells, aging body: Fresh evidence for a connection

Brown University biologists have uncovered intriguing evidence to support the theory that old cells help make old bodies. In a study of baboons, scientists showed that as these animals age, the number of aging cells in their skin significantly increases. Over time, cells lose their ability to div...

Relic of life in that Martian meteorite? A fresh look

Since the mid-1990s a great debate has raged over whether organic compounds and tiny globules of carbonate minerals imbedded in the Martian meteorite Allan Hills 84001 were processed by living creatures from the Red Planet. The materials have been under intense scrutiny ever since. Scientists at...

New research puts a fresh spin on current thinking of speech evolution in humans

A study, published today in the prestigious journal Nature by Dr. Michael Petrides and colleagues at the Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI) at McGill University, challenges current thinking that speech developed as a result of new structures that evolved in the human brain. Dr. Petrides and coll...

Detecting cold, feeling pain: Study reveals why menthol feels fresh

Scientists have identified the receptor in cells of the peripheral nervous system that is most responsible for the body's ability to sense cold. The finding, reported on-line in the journal "Nature" (May 30, 2007), reveals one of the key mechanisms by which the body detects temperature sensation...

UBC researchers find first-ever 'wanderlust gene' in tiny bony fish

...findings are published today in the journal Biology Letters . "Contrary to our assumption, the low-armour allele is not linked to a preference for fresh water, or low salinity," says Barrett. "Instead, we found a strong association between having the allele and the fish's inclination to move into diff...

Family planning a major environmental impact

...ance." Murtaugh noted that their calculations are relevant to other environmental impacts besides carbon emissions for example, the consumption of fresh water, which many feel is already in short supply. ...

'Microfluidic palette' may paint clearer picture of biological processes

...se channels deliver test chemicals to the chamber. Fluid flow in and out of the short arms of each Y at constant pressure assures a constant stream of fresh chemicals. Because the pressure in the chamber is balanced by filling it previously with a buffer solution, the test chemicals that migrate from the c...

The value of variation: Ecologists consider the causes and consequences

... KNOXVILLE, Tenn. Consider the case of the three-spine stickleback. These tiny fish that thrive in oceans and in fresh water might appear to be the same, yet ecologists are finding that they are actually a diverse collection of very specialized individuals. Underst...

Researchers achieve major breakthrough with water desalination system

... deployed to various locations and used to produce fresh water in emergency situations. "The M3's 's...ld, where many communities are facing shortages in fresh water supplies and are becoming more reliant on sa...ants can be constructed to augment the diminishing fresh water supply. The system could also be used in the...

Toxin detection as close as an inkjet printer

... If that office inkjet printer has become just another fixture, it's time to take a fresh look at it. Similar technology may soon be used to develop paper-based biosensors that can detect certain harmful toxins that can cause food poisonin...

Methane-eating microbes can use iron and manganese oxides to 'breathe'

...se sulfates to convert methane for energy exist in marine sediments. Recently other researchers have identified microbes that use forms of nitrogen in fresh water environments to convert methane. "People had speculated that iron and manganese could be used, but no one had shown that it occurred by incub...

UH team analyzes Hurricane Ike's effects on waterways, fish contamination

...appropriate. With this year's storm season under way, the UH engineering team's project is entering a new phase as participants collect and analyze fresh samples from Galveston Bay and related waterways. Cullen College of Engineering professor Hanadi Rifai, who has studied pollution in Houston-area ...

Study finds role for parasites in evolution of sex

...io works on mathematical models, but there have been few attempts to see if it holds in nature. Enter Potamopyrgus antipodarum , a snail common in fresh water lakes in New Zealand. What makes these snails interesting is that there are sexual and asexual versions. They provide scientists with an opportu...

International team of students and scientists on month-long field course in Siberian Arctic

...Arctic before traveling to Siberia last year. Yet, that change is just likely beginning. I'm excited to return this year and to see this anew with the fresh crop of students. They are the luckiest undergraduates in the country." While in Siberia, the students and scientists will be based at the Northeas...

Single thawed embryo transfer after PGD does not affect pregnancy rates

...iod was compared with the period before the single embryo transfer policy was introduced for PGD couples, the multiple pregnancy rate in the cycles of fresh PGD dropped from 36% to 10% with no reduction in pregnancy rates. Dr Khalaf said: "This research suggests that responsible clinical decisions do no...

Ovarian transplantation: New technique gives greatly improved results in this delicate operation

... used in transplants with the same success rate as fresh tissue, a researcher told the 25th annual conferen...) viability was almost identical with that seen in fresh oocytes. Dr. Silber and colleagues used standar...o determine the loss or preservation of oocytes in fresh and frozen ovarian tissue of 15 young women underg...

Rosenstiel students come out on top

...using pupfish, Cyprinodon sp. , as a model organism to comparatively investigate the sodium transport mechanisms fish have evolved to osmoregulate in fresh water environments. Brix entered the Ph.D. program at the Rosenstiel School after earning his degree in Biology from the University of North Florida, ...

IUPUI study finds living near fast food outlet not a weighty problem for kids

...ers contradicts the conventional wisdom that living near a fast food outlet increases weight in children and that living near supermarkets, which sell fresh fruit and vegetables as well as so called junk food, lowers weight. The IUPUI investigators in economics, pediatrics, geography and urban planning...

Fossil teeth of browsing horse found in Panama Canal earthworks

...ts who move in following dynamite blasts to map and collect exposed fossils. "This is one of very few places in the tropics where we have access to fresh outcrops before they are washed away by torrential rains or overgrown by vegetation, and we expect the fossils that we have been salvaging to resolve ...

American Chemical Society's Weekly PressPac -- June 3, 2009

...ering News , ACS' weekly newsmagazine. C&EN senior editor Steve Ritter explains that metals are limited natural resources, just like crude oil and fresh water. He described copper, zinc, platinum, and certain other metals as "endangered species," which could be depleted by the end of this century. That...

Stanford's Woods Institute awards new round of Environmental Venture Projects

...uccessful proposal," Kennedy said. "We are especially keen on engaging researchers from outside the usual environmental sciences who can bring to bear fresh perspectives on environmental issues." The EVP Symposium will include time for faculty to pitch research ideas to their colleagues, followed ...

American Chemical Society's Weekly PressPac -- May 20, 2009

...ring a sustainable future for our children; and improving human health. Launched in 2008, this award-winning series continues in 2009 with updates and fresh content. Subscribe to Global Challenges using iTunes or listen and access other resources at the ACS web site www.acs.org/GlobalChallenges . ...

American Chemical Society's Weekly PressPac -- May 13, 2009

...ring a sustainable future for our children; and improving human health. Launched in 2008, this award-winning series continues in 2009 with updates and fresh content. Subscribe to Global Challenges using iTunes or listen and access other resources at the ACS web site www.acs.org/GlobalChallenges . ...

Key protein regulating inflammation may prove relevant to controlling sepsis

...he National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) and entitled, "Phosphorylation of p53 by IκB kinase 2 promotes its degradation by β-TrCP," provides fresh insight about how cells that have become inflamed due to exposure to high IKK2 activity, can become more susceptible to tumour development. "Our r...

River delta areas can provide clue to environmental changes, Texas A&M prof says

...or not used through time, the authors say. The world's largest 25 rivers drain about one-half of the Earth's surface and transport 50 percent of the fresh water and 40 percent of particulate materials into the ocean, they confirm. The Mississippi River, the largest in the U.S., drains about 40 percent ...

River delta areas can provide clue to environmental changes, Texas A&M prof says

...or not used through time, the authors say. The world's largest 25 rivers drain about one-half of the Earth's surface and transport 50 percent of the fresh water and 40 percent of particulate materials into the ocean, they confirm. The Mississippi River, the largest in the U.S., drains about 40 percent ...

Managing Douglas-fir forests for diversity

...hardwoods were removed than where some hardwoods were retained. The disease is known to be spread during precommercial thinning operations because the fresh slash from thinning is colonized by insects, which carry the disease. It is unknown how long these stand structures will persist given future competi...

Photoselective film proves effective for controlling height in potted gardenia plants

...rooting benches and under the low tunnels. Plant growth indicators (including main shoot length and leaf area and lateral shoot number, leaf area, and fresh and dry weight) were determined along the growth cycle. According to Kittas, "The research revealed that photoselective plastic films with high va...

People of higher socioeconomic status choose better diets -- but pay more per calorie

... The energy density of the diet (i.e. available energy per unit weight) is one indicator of diet quality. Lean meats, fish, low-fat dairy products and fresh vegetables and fruit provide fewer calories per unit weight than do fast foods, sweets, candy and desserts. Energy dense foods provide more calories p...

Regional partnership to develop algal biofuels gets backing of San Diego leaders

... the use of arable land required for production of food crops. Algae can be grown in salt or brackish water, so they will not adversely impact limited fresh water resources. They can be grown at very large scale, the same as agricultural crops, and because they use nutrients efficiently and can extract the...

American Chemical Society's Weekly PressPac -- April 22, 2009

...ring a sustainable future for our children; and improving human health. Launched in 2008, this award-winning series continues in 2009 with updates and fresh content. Subscribe at iTunes or listen and access other resources at the ACS web site www.acs.org/GlobalChallenges . Bytesize Science, a new...

Winners announced in the Elsevier Grand Challenge

...members of the community to co-develop tools to improve scientific communication, we can create some very innovative solutions together. It's quite a fresh approach." "The most amazing outcome of the challenge, I believe, is that it has actually helped produce some very good science," commented Anita d...

Indigenous peoples at world summit to share climate change observations, coping techniques

...e canary in the mine whose condition warned of danger, many Indigenous Peoples are starting to confront dire circumstances in terms of access to food, fresh water and natural resources needed for the survival of themselves, their unique cultures and their spiritual wellbeing. "The clear voice of Indigen...

Stevens hosts 'Green Building: The Bottom Line,' April 8

...) certifications of gold and platinum, respectively, from the US Green Building Council. Both buildings include HVAC systems that condition and filter fresh air to every unit, an onsite water recycling plant that reduces the use of potable water by 50 percent, and photovoltaic cells integrated into the bui...