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Selbst Bakterien vermeiden den Ausstoß des Treibhausgases Methan

By Guest PostFebruary 27, 2014Environment, Scienceandreas kappler, angewandte geowissenschaften, annette piepenbrock, bodenbakterien, Chile, die huminstoffe, energie, eth, geomikrobiologe, klaus holger knorr, klima, kohlendioxid, laura kluepfel, methan, michael sander, moore, patagonien, sauerstoff, treibhausgas, universitaet tuebingen, zentrum

Geomikrobiologen messen dem Humus im Boden große Bedeutung für die bakterielle Atmung und das Klima bei

Methan ist ein Treibhausgas, das dem Klima 25 Mal so stark zusetzt wie Kohlendioxid. Es entsteht unter anderem in Böden, wenn den Bodenbakterien kein Sauerstoff zur Verfügung steht. Solche Bedingungen finden sich zum Beispiel in vielen Mooren, die dafür jedoch reich an Zersetzungsprodukten von Pflanzen und Lebewesen sind, den sogenannten Huminstoffen. Die Geomikrobiologen Professor Andreas Kappler und Dr. Annette Piepenbrock vom Zentrum für Angewandte Geowissenschaften der Universität Tübingen haben zusammen mit den Umweltchemikern Dr. Michael Sander und Laura Klüpfel von der ETH Zürich im Rahmen eines von Seiten der ETH geleiteten Projekts ein solches Stoffwechselsystem genauer untersucht. Sie stellten fest, dass die Bodenbakterien unter Sauerstoffmangel in weit größerem Ausmaß als bisher bekannt Huminstoffe in ihren Stoffwechsel einbeziehen können. Dies kommt dem Klima zugute, weil dabei kein Methan entsteht. Nach Schätzungen der Forscher lässt sich in Mooren über diesen Weg die Bildung von rund 3000 Kilo Methan pro Quadratkilometer und Jahr verhindern – ein bedeutender Betrag. (more…)

Spitzer Stares into the Heart of New Supernova in M82

By Guest PostFebruary 27, 2014Sciencecigar galaxy, galaxy m82, heart, m82, mansi kasliwal, NASA, new supernova, sn 2014j, spirits, spitzer, spitzer space telescope, standard candles, stellar explosion, theoretical models

The closest supernova of its kind to be observed in the last few decades has sparked a global observing campaign involving legions of instruments on the ground and in space, including NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope. With its dust-piercing infrared vision, Spitzer brings an important perspective to this effort by peering directly into the heart of the aftermath of the stellar explosion.

Dust in the supernova’s host galaxy M82, also called the “Cigar galaxy,” partially obscures observations in optical and high-energy forms of light. Spitzer can, therefore, complement all the other observatories taking part in painting a complete portrait of a once-in-a-generation supernova, which was first spotted in M82 on Jan. 21, 2014. A supernova is a tremendous explosion that marks the end of life for some stars. (more…)

Scientists Chip Away at the Mystery of What Lives in Our Mouths

By Guest PostFebruary 27, 2014Scienceantibiotics, bacterium, biological dark matter, chip, clifford beall, daniel dayeh, DNA, eugene leys, forsythia, genome, mouths, mystery, pathogen, periodontitis, scientists, tannerella bu063, tannerella forsythia

Sequencing of harmless oral bacterium offers insights about its disease-causing relative

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Scientists have pieced together sections of DNA from 12 individual cells to sequence the genome of a bacterium known to live in healthy human mouths.

With this new data about a part of the body considered “biological dark matter,” the researchers were able to reinforce a theory that genes in a closely related bacterium could be culprits in its ability to cause severe gum disease. (more…)

Yale prepares for atom smasher’s farewell, sets stage for new physics era

By Guest PostFebruary 26, 2014Scienceaccelerator, anti matter, atom smasher, dark matter, edwards street, george bush, jeff ashenfelter, karsten heeger, multi gap tank, new physics era, nuclear astrophysics, nuclear structure laboratory, steven girvin, united states, university of michigan, van de graaf, whitney avenue, wright, wright lab, yale, yale university

Yale University has begun a multi-phase renovation of the former Wright Nuclear Structure Laboratory that will reinvent the landmark nuclear physics lab for a new era in physics research.

Expected to take at least three years, the project will transform the bunker-like home of what once was the world’s most powerful atom smasher of its kind into a site for teaching, research, and development related to two of the hottest topics in 21st-century physics — the study of neutrinos and the hunt for dark matter. (more…)

NASA Responds to California’s Evolving Drought

By Guest PostFebruary 26, 2014Sciencebay area, california, central valley, drought, dwr, earth, evolving drought, flood control, freshwater, groundwater, icesat 2, jeanine jones, michael freilich, NASA, nasa satellite, san francisco, san joaquin valley, usgs, water cycle

NASA is partnering with the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) to develop and apply new technology and products to better manage and monitor the state’s water resources and respond to its ongoing drought.

NASA scientists, DWR water managers, university researchers and other state resource management agencies will collaborate to apply advanced remote sensing and improved forecast modeling to better assess water resources, monitor drought conditions and water supplies, plan for drought response and mitigation, and measure drought impacts. (more…)

Damals in den Bäumen: Dynamischer Lebensraum formte die frühen Menschenartigen

By Guest PostFebruary 25, 2014Scienceafrika, baylor university, daniel peppe, geologie, hominoiden, insel rusinga, jason brougham, miozaen, naturforschung, palaeoanthropologen, palaeobotanikern, palaeontologen, proconsul, savanne, senckenberg gesellschaft, texas, thomas lehmann, usa, viktoriasee

Wechselnde Umweltbedingungen üben einen starken Selektionsdruck auf Arten aus. Im frühen Miozän, vor ca. 18 Mio. Jahren, gab es in Afrika noch keine Savanne, unterschiedliche Lebensräume waren Triebkraft für die Entstehung der Menschenartigen. Auf der Insel Rusinga im Viktoriasee untersucht ein internationales Wissenschaftlerteam unter Beteiligung von Senckenberg-Säugetierspezialist Dr. Thomas Lehmann den Lebensraum einiger der frühesten Menschenartigen. Erstmals konnten die Forscher beweisen, dass diese schwanzlosen Affen wenigstens zeitweise in einem sehr dichten Wald lebten. Die Ergebnisse wurden jetzt im Fachjournal Nature Communications veröffentlicht.

Als die ersten Menschenartigen entstanden und sich ausbreiteten, begann der Ostafrikanische Graben sich zu öffnen. Über Millionen von Jahren hin entstand dadurch zeitgleich eine Vielzahl unterschiedlicher Lebensräume. Da sich ändernde Umweltbedingungen einen starken Selektionsdruck auf Arten ausüben, waren diese variablen Lebensbedingungen auch eine Triebkraft für die Evolution von Affen und Frühmenschen. (more…)

For older hypertension patients, an unwelcome tradeoff

By Guest PostFebruary 25, 2014Scienceblood pressure, chronic conditions, fall injury, functional loss, heart attack, jama internal medicine, ling han, mary tinetti, medications, mortality, older hypertension patients, risk, stroke

Medications used by many older people to control their blood pressure also increase the risk of serious fall injuries by 30% to 40% — injuries that have a similar effect on mortality and functional loss as the strokes and heart attacks the blood pressure drugs are meant to prevent — according to a new study by Yale School of Medicine researchers in the Feb. 24 issue of JAMA Internal Medicine.

Clinicians have long assumed that blood pressure medications are safe and effective in all older adults. That is probably true in healthy older adults, but the same might not be true in a more typical population of older adults, who commonly have several other chronic conditions, note the researchers. (more…)

Study reveals workings of working memory

By Guest PostFebruary 25, 2014Health, Scienceanterior premotor cortex, bluetooth headset, brown university, christopher chatham, david badre, dorsal, journal neuron, michael frank, mri, output gating, output gating behavior, phenomenon, planning motion, snowflakes, stars, study, typographical symbols, working memory, workings

Brown University cognitive scientists have identified specific brain regions that work together to allow us to choose from among the options we store in working memory. Findings appear in the journal Neuron.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Keep this in mind: Scientists say they’ve learned how your brain plucks information out of working memory when you decide to act. (more…)

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