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It Takes a Community of Soil Microbes to Protect Plants From Disease

By Guest PostMay 15, 2011Environment, Scienceactinobacteria, archaea, bacteria, berkeley lab, burkholderia, complex microbial network, coral reefs, deepwater horizon spill, disease, dna sequences, dutch scientists, environmental mysteries, gary andersen, gulf of mexico, immune system, mammals, pathogens, phylochip, plants, potato, psuedomonas, puerto rico, rathmann family foundation, rhizoctonia solani, rice, root fungus, soil, soil microbes, sugar beet, todd desantis, types of bacteria, vegetables, xanthomonas, yvette piceno

*Berkeley Lab scientists decipher immune system for plants beneath our feet*

Those vegetables you had for dinner may have once been protected by an immune system akin to the one that helps you fight disease. Scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the Netherland’s Wageningen University found that plants rely on a complex community of soil microbes to defend themselves against pathogens, much the way mammals harbor a raft of microbes to avoid infections.

The scientists deciphered, for the first time, the group of microbes that enables a patch of soil to suppress a plant-killing pathogen. Previous research on the phenomenon of disease-suppressive soil had identified one or two pathogen-fighting microbes at work. (more…)

“Fool’s Gold” from The Deep is Fertilizer for Ocean Life

By Guest PostMay 10, 2011Environment, Scienceamy gartman, atmospheric oxygen, bacteria, barbara ransom, carbon dioxide levels, clara chan, deep sea, fools gold, george luther, humans, hydrothermal vents, iron, iron disulfide, microscopic pyrite particles, mineral pyrite, multivitamins, mustafa yucel, nanoparticles, ocean, ocean bottom, organisms, phytoplankton, pyrite nanoparticles, pyrite particles, seawater, tiny plants, university of delaware

*Pyrite nanoparticles from hydrothermal vents are a rich source of iron in the deep sea*

Similar to humans, the bacteria and tiny plants living in the ocean need iron for energy and growth. But their situation is quite different from ours–for one, they can’t turn to natural iron sources like leafy greens or red meat for a pick-me-up.

So, from where does their iron come? (more…)

Researchers Find That Pollution Forms an Invisible Barrier for Marine Life

By Guest PostMarch 18, 2011Environmentanthropogenic factors, bacteria, chemicals, chlorinated hydrocarbons, coastal areas, coastal water ecosystems, contaminants, discharge, ecosystem based management, evolutionary trajectory, heavy metals, human impacts, human stressors, jon puritz, larvae, los angeles, marine life, municipal treatment plants, nutrients, ocean, pacific coast, petroleum hydrocarbons, plankton, pollutants, population, rob toonen, sea stars, sewage, southern california bight, species, starfish, toxic, united states, urban runoff, urban runoff plumes

Over 50 percent of the population in the United States and over 60 percent in the world live in coastal areas. Rapidly growing human populations near the ocean have massively altered coastal water ecosystems.

One of the most extensive human stressors is the discharge of chemicals and pollutants into the ocean. In the Southern California Bight, more than 60 sewage and urban runoff sources discharge over 1 billion gallons of liquid on a dry day with the two largest sources of contaminants being sewage from municipal treatment plants and urban runoff from highly modified river basins. (more…)

Pollution Triggers Genetic Resistance Mechanism in a Coastal Fish

By Guest PostFebruary 24, 20112 commentsEnvironmentacushnet river estuary, ahr2, amino acids, antibiotics, atlantic tomcod, bacteria, diana franks, Environment, evolutionary change, fish, fish populations, general electric facilities, genetic receptor, genetic resistance, hudson environment, hudson river, insecticides, insects, isaac wirgin, mark hahn, natural selection, new york, pahs, PCBs, polychlorinated biphenyls, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, protein, receptor gene, stress factors, superfund basic research, tomcod, toxicity, vertebrate population

For 30 years, two General Electric facilities released about 1.3 million pounds of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) into New York’s Hudson River, devastating and contaminating fish populations. Some 50 years later, one type of fish—the Atlantic tomcod—has not only survived but appears to be thriving in the hostile Hudson environment.

Researchers from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) have joined colleagues from New York University (NYU) and NOAA to investigate this phenomenon and report that the tomcod living in the Hudson River have undergone a rapid evolutionary change in developing a genetic resistance to PCBs. (more…)

‘Chemical Compounds in Trees Can Fight Deadly Staph Infections in Humans’

By Guest PostFebruary 23, 2011Health, Scienceacne treatment, anti bacterial, antibiotic, bacteria, brian thompson, cash crop, cedar needles, chung ho lin, evolving bacterium, farmers, george stewart, immune systems, key to fighting a deadly bacterium, little economic value, methicillin-resistant, missouri, mrsa, pneumonia, red cedar tree, resistant to most medications, skin, skin cancer, staph infections, staphylococcus aureus, superbug, toxic shock syndrome, trash tree, tree species

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Most people would never suspect that a “trash tree,” one with little economic value and often removed by farmers due to its ability to destroy farmland, could be the key to fighting a deadly bacterium. Now, a University of Missouri researcher has found an antibiotic in the Eastern Red Cedar tree that is effective against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a “superbug” that is resistant to most medications.

“I wanted to find a use for a tree species that is considered a nuisance,” said Chung-Ho Lin, research assistant professor in the MU Center for Agroforestry at the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources. “This discovery could help people fight the bacteria as well as give farmers another cash crop.” (more…)

Like Humans, Amoebae Pack a Lunch Before They Travel

By Guest PostJanuary 25, 2011Nature, Scienceagriculture, amoebae, bacteria, beneficial bacteria, biologists, david queller, debra brock, dictyostellum discoideum, farmer amoebae, george gilchrist, harmful bacteria, joan strassmann, migratory systems, slime molds, social amoebae, strains of bacteria, tracy douglas, tuberculosis bacteria

*Amoebae increase survival odds through rudimentary form of agriculture; finding has implications for human diseases*

Some amoebae do what many people do. Before they travel, they pack a lunch.

In results of a study reported in the journal Nature, evolutionary biologists Joan Strassmann and David Queller of Rice University show that long-studied social amoebae Dictyostellum discoideum (commonly known as slime molds) increase their odds of survival through a rudimentary form of agriculture. (more…)

Fireworks Produce High Levels of Toxic Particles

By Guest PostDecember 8, 2010Environment1 micrometer, aluminum, amusement park, arrhythmia, audrey smargiassi, bacteria, cardiovascular diseases, chlorine, composition, concentration, contaminants, downtown, emitted gases, every summer, explosions, fireworks, gas, health problems, heart attacks, heart troubles, international fireworks competition, ischemia, la ronde, manganese, marc averette, miami, micrometers, particles, potassium, respiratory problems, smoke, spectacular, titanium, toxic particles

Fireworks. Downtown Miami on July 4, 2007. Image credit: Marc Averette. Source: Wikipedia

Fireworks can be spectacular. However, the gas and smoke produced by the colorful explosions carry extremely high levels of toxic particles, according to a study by Audrey Smargiassi, a professor at the Université de Montreal Department of Environmental and Occupational Health.

Smargiassi conducted one of the first studies examining the composition of the emitted gases and the concentration of the particles. In addition, her study is unique as she collected her data below the fireworks display where spectators usually stand. Previous studies usually collected data from nearby rooftops.

The study was conducted in 2007 during nine separate shows presented at La Ronde amusement park where 5.7 million spectators attend an international fireworks competition every summer. (more…)

‘Undersea Methane Could be Contributor to Increased Ocean Acidity’

By Guest PostDecember 7, 2010Environmentacidity, algae, bacteria, bottom of the ocean, carbon dioxide, chris osburn, CO2, cold seeps, degradation, dissolved organic carbon, doc, fluids, marine science, methane, methane-derived doc, microbial processing, ocean, ocean acidification, oceanic microorganisms, pacific ocean, phytoplankton, seawater, sediments, undersea, undersea ecosystems

A North Carolina State University researcher is part of a team which has found that methane from “cold seeps” – undersea areas where fluids bubble up through sediments at the bottom of the ocean – could be contributing to the oceans’ increasing acidity and stressing already delicate undersea ecosystems.

Oceanic microorganisms and bacteria survive by consuming dissolved organic carbon, or DOC. A byproduct of this consumption is CO2 – carbon dioxide – which, in large enough concentrations, makes seawater more acidic. (more…)

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