iron in Biological News

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

Iron and manganese compounds, in addition to sulfate, may play an important role in converting methane to carbon dioxide and eventually carbonates in the Earth's oceans, according to a team of researchers looking at anaerobic sediments. These same compounds may have been key to methane reduction i...

Toward a systems biology map of iron metabolism

Blacksburg, Va. -- Scientists at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine, the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom, and the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute at Virginia Tech have taken the first steps toward constructing a systems biology map of iron metabolism. The team has put t...

Ocean islands fuel productivity and carbon sequestration through natural iron fertilization

An experiment to study the effects of naturally deposited iron in the Southern Ocean has filled in a key piece of the puzzle surrounding iron's role in locking atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) in the ocean. The research, conducted by an international team led by Raymond Pollard of the National Oce...

Researchers iron out new role for serotonin

Vanderbilt University Medical Center investigators have found a surprising link between brain iron levels and serotonin, a neurotransmitter involved in neuropsychiatric conditions ranging from autism to major depression. Appearing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences this week...

LOHAFEX: An Indo-German iron fertilization experiment

Bremerhaven, January 13th 2008. The German research vessel Polarstern is currently on its way to the Southwest Atlantic Sector of the Southern Ocean. The team of 48 scientists (30 from India) on board left Cape Town on 7th January to carry out the Indo-German iron fertilization experiment LOHAFEX ...

Syracuse University scientists discover how some bacteria may steal iron from their human hosts

Like their human hosts, bacteria need iron to survive and they must obtain that iron from the environment. While humans obtain iron primarily through the food they eat, bacteria have evolved complex and diverse mechanisms to allow them access to iron. A Syracuse University research team led by Ro...

Worldwide mission to solve iron deficiency

A University of Adelaide researcher will lead an Australian project to help address the world's biggest nutritional deficiency lack of iron. Dr Alex Johnson has been awarded nearly $300,000 to work with the Bill Gates-funded HarvestPlus Challenge Program to increase iron content in rice and ot...

Montana State University researchers map iron transport protein

Montana State University scientists in the Department of Chemistry and Bio-chemistry published new research this week that could one day affect the lives of millions around the world who suffer from blood iron disorders. The paper, which will appear in the Proceedings of the National Academy of...

Bloodless worm sheds light on human blood, iron deficiency

Using a lowly bloodless worm, University of Maryland researchers have discovered an important clue to how iron carried in human blood is absorbed and transported into the body. The finding could lead to developing new ways to reduce iron deficiency, the worlds number one nutritional disorder. Wit...

A genetic cause for iron deficiency

The discovery of a gene for a rare form of inherited iron deficiency may provide clues to iron deficiency in the general population particularly iron deficiency that doesnt respond to iron supplements - and suggests a new treatment approach. The finding was published online by the journal Nature ...

Scientists develop a fast system to detect metal concentrations in iron and steel industry workers

This release is available in Spanish . Researchers from the Department of Legal Medicine, Toxicology and Psychiatry of the University of Granada ( UGR ) developed a new method to detect metal concentrations in iron and steel industry workers. Continuous exposure to certain elements const...

Scientists discover novel way to remove iron from ferritin

November 2, 2007 - Oakland, CA -- A new study led by Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute senior scientist, Elizabeth Theil, Ph.D., is the first to suggest that a small protein or heptapeptide (seven amino acids wrapped into one unit) could be used to accelerate the removal of iron from ...

Scientists, policymakers and industry leaders gather to discuss ocean iron fertilization

On September 26-27, scientists at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) will host an international, interdisciplinary conference on the proposed iron fertilization of the ocean as a means to combat rising concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Several times over the pa...

A green future for scrap iron

Take a close look at that cheap piece of scrap iron before you toss it in the trash. Wei-xian Zhang has a good use for it. Someday soon, much of the world might also. Zhang, a professor of civil and environmental engineering, recently concluded a five-year research project in which he and hi...

Widely used iron nanoparticles exhibit toxic effects on neuronal cells

Researchers at UC San Diego have discovered that iron-containing nanoparticles being tested for use in several biomedical applications can be toxic to nerve cells and interfere with the formation of their signal-transmitting extensions. "Iron is an essential nutrient for mammals and most life f...

Study finds that nutritionally enhanced rice reduces iron deficiency

Breeding rice with higher levels of iron can have an important impact on reducing micronutrient malnutrition, according to a new study in the Journal of Nutrition. The research, conducted by scientists from the Philippines and the United States, is a major step forward in the battle against iron de...

Surprising findings reported about iron overload

UAB and international scientists studying iron-overload disorders have made the unexpected discovery that Asians and Pacific Islanders have the highest levels of iron in their blood of all racial/ethnic groups who were screened. Individuals who develop hemochromatosis/iron overload absorb an exce...

Scientists find missing enzyme for tuberculosis iron scavenging pathway

Scientists have discovered that a protein that was originally believed to be involved in tuberculosis antibiotic resistance is actually a "missing enzyme" from the biosynthetic pathway for an agent used by the bacteria to scavenge iron. The research appears as the "Paper of the Week" in the April...

Symposium to discuss geoengineering to fight climate change at the ESA Annual Meeting

... Another large-scale geoengineering scheme is fertilizing the oceans with iron to increase carbon uptake from the atmosphere. Charles Miller of Oregon Sta...nes in the oceans. In addition, he says, the maximum possible rate of ocean iron fertilization could only offset a small fraction of the current rate of car...

August 2009 Geology and GSA Today media highlights

... Homoky et al. highlights the potential utility of iron isotopes for addressing important questions in oce...sotopic "fingerprints." Of specific interest here, iron isotopes in sediment pore fluids may be a unique t...acterial processes that contribute to the input of iron to seawater; an important process contributing to ...

Iron isotopes as a tool in oceanography

...hampton (NOCS) highlights the potential utility of iron isotopes for addressing important questions in oce...ng would rapidly accelerate. The natural supply of iron to such 'High Nutrient Low Chlorophyll (HNLC) regi...minant of climate. The importance of dissolved iron in seawater derived from bottom (benthic) sediment...

Researchers team up to provide new hope for childhood hunger

...et or exceeded all targets: The levels of beta-carotene have been increased 30X. The levels of protein have been increased 10X. The levels of iron have been increased 4X. Led by GHA scientists, teams will field-test improved cassava varieties in Kenya and Nigeria during the next five years. ...

Munich researchers discover new target for tailored antibiotics

...ts suggested that the active core must be an iron-sulfur cluster with three iron and four sulfur atoms. But other researchers questioned the results, and fo...nd mutagenic analyses ultimately confirmed the unusual arrangement of three iron and four sulfur atoms in the central cavity, just as proposed years ago. ...

Contaminated site remediation: Are nanomaterials the answer?

...or soil and groundwater remediation, covering seven countries and 12 U.S. states. Most of the materials discussed are a form of nano-scale zero-valent iron that are injected into the ground in a slurry which provide a reducing environment that enables the breakdown of contaminants. To coincide with th...

Iron and biological production in the high-latitude North Atlantic

...scientists have demonstrated an unexpected role of iron in regulating biological production in the high-la...' helps prevent runaway global climate warming. iron is an essential micro nutrient for phytoplankton g...ic regions, phytoplankton growth is limited by low iron availability. Classical HNLC regions, which accoun...

Powe Award supports research on how enzymes enable the pathogenicity of 2 human disease organisms

...rado will support his research on the mechanism of iron acquisition by Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Aspergillus fumigatus . iron is essential for all life. M. tubercuolis and A. fumigatus need iron in order to replicate. The level of free...

Nutricia launches Nutra Neocate, weaning product designed for cows’ milk protein allergy

... potentially missing from a dairy-free diet and contains a child's full dietary requirements of calcium and two thirds of their daily requirements for iron and vitamin D*. This helps to ensure valuable nutrition for healthy bones, growth and development throughout the weaning stage and beyond. "The we...

Researchers create freestanding nanoparticle films without fillers

...forces to bind the particles together. So far the Dickerson group has used the technique to make films out of two different types of nanoparticles iron oxide and cadmium selenide and they believe the technique can be used with a wide variety of other nanoparticles. "The technique is liberating bec...

Breakthrough made in assessing marine phytoplankton health

... of the ocean are limited in their productivity by iron deficiency as this study just showed the Indian O...e northern Indian Ocean during the summer are also iron limited a phenomenon that had been suggested by s...h may also explore how the oceans might respond to iron enrichment. ...

NASA satellite detects red glow to map global ocean plant health

...n emit more solar energy as fluorescence than when iron is sufficient. The fluorescence data from MODIS...hed or iron-limited, and to observe how changes in iron influence plankton. The iron needed for plant growth reaches the sea surface on...

First 'nanorust' field test slated in Mexico

...merica, South America and Europe. CBEN's arsenic-removing technology is based on the unique properties of particles called "nanorust," tiny bits of iron oxide that are smaller than living cells. In 2006, Colvin and CBEN colleague Mason Tomson, professor in civil and environmental engineering, published...

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

...sion of the book, encoded in 1986, failed within 20 years. The researchers describe development of an experimental memory device consisting of an iron nanoparticle (1/50,000 the width of a human hair) enclosed in a hollow carbon nanotube. In the presence of electricity, the nanoparticle can be shuttl...

Two-pronged model could help foil tough cystic fibrosis infections

...ramycin dosage was needed. They were also studying iron overload in CF lungs. Airway cells with the CF ge...release more iron, and the bacteria depend on that iron to form their resilient biofilms, the investigator... by the Federal Drug Administration to treat acute iron poisoning or overload can enhance the ability of t...

G. Unger Vetlesen Foundation funds purchase of state-of-the-art equipment for UM's Rosenstiel School

...ch as carbonates and sandstones; construction and composition of centuries-old stromatolites some of Earth's oldest living fossils; concentrations of iron and other trace elements in seawater; and how organisms utilize these elements. The Rosenstiel School is working with the National Climatic Data C...

Unlikely life thriving at Antarctica's Blood Falls

... research, which appears in the April 17 issue of Science, suggests that over the past 1.5 million years the microbes adapted to manipulate sulfur and iron compounds to survive. In place of photosynthesis, the microbes converted Fe(III) to Fe(II) to create food and energy. The study was led by Jill Mi...

Ancient ecosystem thrives millions of years below Antarctic glacier

...vived millions of years by transforming sulfur and iron compounds for growth. Described in the April 17...teria that thrive in cold, salty water loaded with iron and sulfur. The water averages 14 degrees Fahrenhe...aid. The bacteria cycle sulfur compounds to access iron in the bedrock. The ecosystem-- because it has ...

American Chemical Society Weekly PressPac -- April 8, 2009

...rs conducted a detailed chemical analysis of the protective outer coating of the byssus in a common species of marine mussel. They found that removing iron and calcium from the coating resulted in a 50 percent decrease in hardness, demonstrating that these metals play a key role in maintaining its integri...

Magnetic nano-'shepherds' organize cells

...ther strategies using magnetism. "Others have tried using magnetic particles either within or on the surface of the cells," Erb said. "However, the iron in the nanoparticles can be toxic to cells. Also, the process of removing the nanoparticles afterward can be harmful to the cell and its function." ...

Stanford scientists find new solutions for the arsenic-poisoning crisis in Asia

...from the Himalayas sticks to rust particles called iron oxides. Upon reaching the river delta, these arsen...g rust and arsenic. As the bacteria metabolize the iron and arsenic, they convert it to a form that readil...through an anaerobic metabolism that dissolves the iron minerals and the arsenic with it," Fendorf said. "...

Deep-sea rocks point to early oxygen on Earth

... formed near the water's surface or in the depths. iron compounds exposed to ultra violet light can form f... happen if the deep ocean contained oxygen and the iron rich fluids came into contact at high temperatures...e found today at hydrothermal vents, converted the iron compounds into hematite using oxygen dissolved in ...