Tag Archives: Environment

Evolution picks up hitchhikers

By Guest PostAugust 5, 2013Scienceandrew murray, bacteria, bioinformatics, daniel rice, data analysis, david botstein, Environment, evolution, fittest, functions, genetic hitchhikers, genome, gregory lang, harvard university, hitchhikers, michael desai, mutation, princeton university, resist chemotherapeutics, resistance to antibiotics, survival, tumors

In a twist on “survival of the fittest,” researchers have discovered that evolution is driven not by a single beneficial mutation but rather by a group of mutations, including ones called “genetic hitchhikers” that are simply along for the ride. These hitchhikers are mutations that do not appear to have a role in contributing to an organism’s fitness and therefore its evolution, yet may play an important role down the road.

Researchers from Princeton University found in a study of 1,000 generations of adaptation in 40 yeast populations that about five to seven specific mutations, rather than just a one, are needed for an organism to succeed. The knowledge of how mutations drive evolution can inform our understanding of how tumors resist chemotherapeutics and how bacteria evolve resistance to antibiotics. The study was published July 21 in the journal Nature. (more…)

Study investigates extraordinary trout with tolerance to heavily polluted water

By Guest PostAugust 1, 2013Environmentaccumulation of metals, aquatic ecosystems, brown trout, concentrations of metals, cornwall, eduarda santos, Environment, extraordinary trout, gene encoding, genetic diversity, heavily polluted water, history, human activities, kidney, liver, metal content, metallothionein, mining activity, n bury, nerc, protein, river hayle, signs of toxicity, university of exeter, unpolluted sites, uren webster

New research from the University of Exeter and King’s College London has shown how a population of brown trout can survive in the contaminated waters of the River Hayle in Cornwall where metal concentrations are so high they would be lethal to fish from unpolluted sites.

The team believe this is due to changes in the expression of their genes. The research was funded by NERC and the Salmon and Trout Association.

The researchers compared the trout living in the River Hayle with a population living in a relatively clean site in the River Teign. The results showed that the accumulation of metals in the kidney and liver – where metals are stored and detoxified – were 19 and 34 times higher in the Hayle trout, respectively. In the gill, concentrations averaging 63 times higher were present in the Hayle fish, but there were no differences in metal content in the gut. This accumulation of metals in the Hayle fish highlights their extraordinary tolerance of the extreme metal concentrations in their environment. (more…)

Further destabilisation in the Middle East possible according to new report

By Guest PostJuly 10, 2013Politicsaleppo, arab gulf states, assad, China, crisis in egypt, damascus, destabilization, east west stand, Environment, ex cathedra manner, gareth stansfield, geopolitical flux, hizbullah, homs, interests of israel, iranian nuclear targets, Iraq, jordan, lebanon, levantine neighbours, michael clarke, middle east, neo imperialist, proximity to europe, proxy, proxy war, region wide war, revolutionary guard, rusi, russia, saudi arabia, sectarian hatreds, security council, security institute, south lebanon, strategy, sunni islamist militants, syrian civil war, turkey, un, university of exeter, western capitals

The crisis in Egypt is already having a negative effect on the Syrian civil war and contributing to further destabilisation of the wider Middle East according to a major new report.

Professor Gareth Stansfield from the University of Exeter’s Strategy and Security Institute and the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies wrote the report, for the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), an independent think-tank for defence and security which advises governments and the wider policy community.

‘The Remaking of Syria, Iraq and the Wider Middle East’ report suggests that important as events in Cairo are, they distract Western attention from the much bigger game being played out in Syria which significantly risks changing the Levant after a century of relative territorial stability. Professor Stansfield who is also an RUSI’s senior associate fellow analysed the impact the Syrian civil war could have on the future of the Middle East state system across the Levant. (more…)

Particle Accelerator That Can Fit on a Tabletop Opens New Chapter for Science Research

By Guest PostJune 21, 2013Scienceaustin, charged particles, conventional accelerator, electrons, Environment, factor, gev, gev electron beam, gigaelectronvolts, laser plasma accelerator, laser pulse, mike downer, motorboat, multi gigaelectronvolt, particle accelerator, physicist, physicists, puff of gas, science research, space charge fields, tabletop, Technology, texas petawatt laser, toshiki tajima, university of texas, xray source

AUSTIN, Texas — Physicists at The University of Texas at Austin have built a tabletop particle accelerator that can generate energies and speeds previously reached only by major facilities that are hundreds of meters long and cost hundreds of millions of dollars to build.

“We have accelerated about half a billion electrons to 2 gigaelectronvolts over a distance of about 1 inch,” said Mike Downer, professor of physics in the College of Natural Sciences. “Until now that degree of energy and focus has required a conventional accelerator that stretches more than the length of two football fields. It’s a downsizing of a factor of approximately 10,000.” (more…)

Life underground

By Guest PostJune 14, 2013Environmentactive bacteria, beneath, bioinformatician, carbon, deep biosphere, ecosystem, Environment, fungi, genetic material, heavy pressure, jennifer biddle, life underground, messenger rna, metatranscriptome, microbes, microscopic organisms, million year old, mrna, nucleus containing cells, nutrient sources, ocean, ocean drilling program, oxygen, seafloor, sediment, teresa messmore, university of delaware, virginia edgcomb, volcano, whoi, william orsi

Active microbes discovered far beneath seafloor in ancient ocean sediment

Microbes are living more than 500 feet beneath the seafloor in 5 million-year-old sediment, according to new findings by researchers at the University of Delaware and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI).

Genetic material in mud from the bottom of the ocean — called the deep biosphere —revealed an ecosystem of active bacteria, fungi and other microscopic organisms at depths deeper than a skyscraper is high. The findings were published in Nature on June 12. (more…)

Tactics of new Middle East virus suggest treating by altering lung cells’ response to infection

By Guest PostJune 7, 2013Healthacute, antiviral reaction, China, DNA, Environment, flu virus, h7n9 influenza virus, host, human coronavirus, human coronavirus emc, immune response, killing the virus, laurence josset, lisa e gralinski, lung cell gene, lung cells, mbio, michael g katze, middle east virus, pathogen interactions, respiratory syndrome virus, response to infection, rna, sars, sudhakar agnihothram, tactics, university of washington, vineet d menachery, virologist

A new virus that causes severe breathing distress and kidney failure elicits a distinctive airway cell response to allow it to multiply. Scientists studying the Human Coronavirus-Erasmus Medical Center, which first appeared April 2012 in the Middle East, have discovered helpful details about its stronghold tactics.

Their findings predict that certain currently available compounds might treat the infection. These could act not by killing the virus directly but by keeping lung cells from being forced to create a hospitable environment for the virus to reproduce. The researchers caution that their lab and computer predictions would need to be tested to see if the drugs work clinically. (more…)

UCLA study shows warming in central China greater than most climate models indicated

By Guest PostJune 1, 2013Environmentaradhna tripati, atmospheric fronts, atmospheric phenomena, Beijing, calcium carbonate, carbon dioxide, central, central china, climate models, clumped isotope thermometry, Environment, greenhouse gases, ipsl model, jet stream, last ice age, loess, loess plateau, Mississippi, model, nebraska, numerous factors, past climate change, precipitation patterns, robert eagle, soil carbonates, space sciences, sustainability, temperature, ucla researchers, water cycling, wind blown dust

Temperatures in central China are 10 to 14 degrees Fahrenheit hotter today than they were 20,000 years ago, during the last ice age, UCLA researchers report — an increase two to four times greater than many scientists previously thought.

The findings, published on May 14, 2013, in the early online edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could help researchers develop more accurate models of past climate change and better predict such changes in the future. (more…)

Building the intelligent car of the future

By Guest PostMay 7, 2013Technologyauto pc, automotive industry, babe ruth, california, carmakers, clarion, data, david kelley, david walker, death valley, duke ellington, Environment, environmental conditions, future, intelligent car, jay loney, john hendricks, melissa quintanilha, Microsoft, microsoft tbox, model, northern sweden, pranish kumar, promised land, Technology, windows embedded automotive, windows update

Microsoft: Working with automotive industry to design an updateable car that’s easier to use and responds to the driver’s needs.

Microsoft’s Pranish Kumar and his team work to develop reliable in-car experiences, not by sitting at a desk but by working behind the wheel of a fleet of test vehicles. (more…)