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Going wild could improve winged workforce

By Guest PostJune 25, 2013Environment, Naturealmonds, apples, bee, blueberries, bumble bee, bumble bee gyrations, canada, cherries, crops, flower bee interactions, flowers, going wild, jason gibbs, michigan state university, michigan team, North America, pollination, raspberries, rufus isaacs, spring, strawberries, united states, wild populations, winged workforce

Every spring in the United States, bees pollinate crops valued at about $14 billion.

A Michigan State University professor and a team of scientists are using a five-year, $8.6 million grant from the United States Department of Agriculture to keep this winged workforce operating efficiently.

Almonds, strawberries, apples, cherries, blueberries, raspberries, watermelon, cucumbers and more depend on bees to help maximize yields. But with wild honey bee populations decimated by varroa mites and other threats, farmers are dependent on beekeepers to deliver managed colonies of honey bees during peak pollination to ensure their flowers are pollinated. (more…)

Vicious cycle: Changes in brain chemistry sustain obesity

By Guest PostJune 25, 2013Healthbrain chemistry, calorie burning, diet induced obesity, obesity, obesity pathology

In a new discovery reported in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, Brown University and Lifespan researchers show that in the brain cells of rats, obesity impedes the production of a hormone that curbs appetite and inspires calorie burning. The root cause appears to be a breakdown in the protein-processing mechanism of the cells. In the lab, the researchers showed they could fix the breakdown with drugs. (more…)

Acidifying oceans could spell trouble for squid

By Guest PostJune 25, 2013Environmentacid seas, acidic seawater, acidifying oceans, atlantic longfin squid, ocean acidification, ocean ecosystem, trouble for squid

New study reveals more acid seas could alter early development of Atlantic longfin squid

Acidifying oceans could dramatically impact the world’s squid species, according to a new study led by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) researchers and just published online in the journal PLOS ONE. Because squid are both ecologically and commercially important, that impact may have far-reaching effects on the ocean environment and coastal economies, the researchers report. (more…)

Using IBM’s Crowdsourced Supercomputer, Harvard Rates Solar Energy Potential of 2.3 Million New Compounds

By Guest PostJune 24, 2013Technologyaids, alan aspuru guzik, america, basic materials data, Berkeley, boinc, bright idea, cancer, carbon compounds, cepdb database, clean energy project, crowdsourced supercomputer, cyrus wadia, diseases, harvard, harvard rates, ibm, linux computer, mac, malaria, mgi, new york university, organic, organic semiconductors, plastic bags, rare earth elements, solar cells, solar energy materials, solar energy potential, sunlight into electricity, university of california, viktors berstis, White House, windows, world community grid

White House Applauds Citizen Science, Big Data Initiative

CAMBRIDGE, MA – 24 Jun 2013: The search for more versatile and less expensive materials for solar energy received a boost today as Harvard launched a free database that catalogues the suitability of 2.3 million organic, carbon compounds for converting sunlight into electricity.

Harvard’s Clean Energy project — which screened the molecules using World Community Grid, an IBM-managed virtual supercomputer that harnesses the surplus computer power donated by volunteers — is believed to be the most extensive investigation of quantum chemicals ever performed. (more…)

Roman Seawater Concrete Holds the Secret to Cutting Carbon Emissions

By Guest PostJune 24, 2013Scienceancient roman concrete, chemical attack, durability, modern concrete, roman recipe, roman seawater concrete, seawater concrete

Berkeley Lab scientists and their colleagues have discovered the properties that made ancient Roman concrete sustainable and durable

The chemical secrets of a concrete Roman breakwater that has spent the last 2,000 years submerged in the Mediterranean Sea have been uncovered by an international team of researchers led by Paulo Monteiro of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. (more…)

Distracted Walking: Injuries Soar for Pedestrians on Phones

By Guest PostJune 24, 2013Health, Technologycell phone, cpsc, database, deaths, derek troyer, distracted driving injuries, distracted pedestrians, distracted walking, ed maceyko, emergency rooms, infographic, injuries, jack nasar, ohio state, pedestrians, phones, traffic accidents

Cell Phone Use Not Just Dangerous for Drivers, Study Finds

COLUMBUS, Ohio – More than 1,500 pedestrians were estimated to be treated in emergency rooms in 2010 for injuries related to using a cell phone while walking, according to a new nationwide study.

The number of such injuries has more than doubled since 2005, even though the total number of pedestrian injuries dropped during that time. And researchers believe that the actual number of injured pedestrians is actually much higher than these results suggest. (more…)

Fat cells in breast may connect social stress to breast cancer

By Guest PostJune 23, 2013Healthacaca, acetyl coa carboxykase, acly, aggressive breast cancer, antigen mice, atp citrate lyase, breast, carcinoma in situ, chronic stress, erin wonder, estrogen, fat cells, female mice, gene, her2, hexokinase, hk2, hormones, leptin, lumpectomy, mammary fat, mammary glands, martha mcclintock, matthew brady, maxwell skor, metabolism, metabolism of glucose, multiple tissues, paul volden, progesterone, receptor, social stress, suzanne conzen, sv40 t, triple negative, tumor growth, tumors, university of chicago

Local chemical signals released by fat cells in the mammary gland appear to provide a crucial link between exposure to unrelenting social stressors early in life, and the subsequent development of breast cancer, researchers from the University of Chicago report in the July 2013 issue of the journal Cancer Prevention Research.

Some forms of stress exposure may be associated with an increased risk of certain types of aggressive breast cancer. But the mechanisms linking the biology of social stress to cancer have been hard to identify. To unravel that mechanism, the researchers looked for differences between mice raised in small groups and those that grow up in an isolated setting—an established model of chronic stress without social supports. (more…)

Youth bullying because of perceived sexual orientation widespread and damaging

By Guest PostJune 23, 2013Culture, General, Healthamerican journal, anti bullying poster, berea, bisexual, catherine shen, consideration of suicide, depressed mood, donald patrick, early prevention efforts, female students, gay, lesbian, ohio, public health, school, school environments, self-esteem, sexual orientation, washington state survey, youth bullying

Bullying because of perceived sexual orientation is prevalent among school-aged youths, according to a study led by Donald Patrick, professor of health services at the UW School of Public Health. The study was published online May 16 in the American Journal of Public Health.

The research team analyzed responses collected in a 2010 Washington state survey of more than 24,000 public school students in grades eight through 12. The study found that 14 percent, 11 percent and 9 percent of male students in grades 8, 10, and 12 respectively reported being bullied because of perceived sexual orientation. For female students in those grades, the numbers were 11 percent, 10 percent and 6 percent respectively. (more…)

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