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Coral Reefs in Palau Surprisingly Resistant to Naturally Acidified Waters

By Guest PostJanuary 24, 2014Environment, Natureacidified waters, anne cohen, atmosphere, calcification, carbon dioxide, chemical oceanographer, CO2, coral reef ecosystem, coral reefs, creation of a plan, environmental condition, kathryn shamberger, negative change, ocean acidification, oceanographic institution, palau, perfect storm, ph, picrc, protected areas network, republic of palau, rock islands, water chemistry, western pacific ocean, whoi, woods hole, yimnang golbuu

Ocean researchers working on the coral reefs of Palau in 2011 and 2012 made two unexpected discoveries that could provide insight into corals’ resistance and resilience to ocean acidification, and aid in the creation of a plan to protect them.

The team collected water samples at nine points along a transect that stretched from the open ocean, across the barrier reef, into the lagoon and then into the bays and inlets around the Rock Islands of Palau, in the western Pacific Ocean. With each location they found that the seawater became increasingly acidic as they moved toward land. (more…)

Less Toxic Metabolites, More Chemical Product

By Guest PostNovember 17, 2013Scienceamorphadiene, antimalarial drug artemisinin, berkeley lab, biomass, chemical product, e coli, energy crops, environmental condition, escherichia coli, fuzhong zhang, jay keasling, jbei, lignin, metabolite regulatory system, microbial growth, mrna stability, nature biotechnology, renewable fuels, ribosome binding, robert dahl, toxic metabolites

The first dynamic regulatory system that prevents the build-up of toxic metabolites in engineered microbes has been reported by a team of researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI). The JBEI researchers used their system to double the production in Escherichia coli (E. coli) of amorphadiene, a precursor to the premier antimalarial drug artemisinin.

Using genome-wide transcriptional analysis, the JBEI researchers identified native regions of DNA – called “promoters” – in E. coli that respond to toxic metabolites by promoting the expression of protective genes. They then developed a system based on these promoters for regulating artificial metabolic pathways engineered into the E.coli to enable the bacterium to produce amorphadiene. (more…)

Scientists Discover Thriving Colonies of Microbes in Ocean ‘Plastisphere’

By Guest PostJuly 21, 2013Environmentartificial microbial reefs, autotrophs, cholera, colonies of microbes, degrading hydrocarbons, ecological habitat, environmental condition, erik zettler, flecks of plastic, gastrointestinal maladies, genus vibrio, heterotrophs, human made flotilla, linda amaral zettler, marine microbe, mbl, north atlantic ocean, ocean ecosystem, ocean plastisphere, plastic debris, plastic surfaces, scanning electron microscopy, sea, sea education association, suctorian ciliate, symbionts, symbiotic bacteria, synergistic relationships, tracy mincer, whoi, woods hole

Scientists have discovered a diverse multitude of microbes colonizing and thriving on flecks of plastic that have polluted the oceans—a vast new human-made flotilla of microbial communities that they have dubbed the “plastisphere.”

In a study recently published online in Environmental Science & Technology, the scientists say the plastisphere represents a novel ecological habitat in the ocean and raises a host of questions: How will it change environmental conditions for marine microbes, favoring some that compete with others? How will it change the overall ocean ecosystem and affect larger organisms? How will it change where microbes, including pathogens, will be transported in the ocean? (more…)

Early Warning System Provides Four-Month Forecast of Malaria Epidemics in Northwest India

By Guest PostMarch 9, 2013General, Healthaccurate prediction, anopheles mosquitoes, b a cash, breeding sites, climate link, environmental condition, epidemiological records, India, indicator, infected mosquitoes, malaria epidemics, malaria risk, mercedes pascual, monsoon rainfall, northwest india, plasmodium parasite, red blood cells, sea surface temperature, semi arid region, south atlantic ocean, thar desert, transmitted via bites, tropical, university of michigan, west of africa, x rodo

ANN ARBOR — Sea surface temperatures in the tropical South Atlantic Ocean can be used to accurately forecast, by up to four months, malaria epidemics thousands of miles away in northwestern India, a University of Michigan theoretical ecologist and her colleagues have found.

Colder-than-normal July sea surface temperatures in the tropical South Atlantic are linked to both increased monsoon rainfall and malaria epidemics in the arid and semi-arid regions of northwest India, including the vast Thar desert, according to Mercedes Pascual and her colleagues, who summarize their findings in a paper published online March 3 in the journal Nature Climate Change. (more…)

High Population Density is Greatest Risk Factor For Water-Linked Diseases

By Guest PostFebruary 17, 2012Healthbo lu, c k shum, central africa, dengue fever, diarrhea, disease transmission, doug alsdorf, e coli, eastern brazil, environmental change, environmental condition, gideon, global analysis, hazards, hot spots, infectious disease, insect bite, jeffrey lejeune, kun yang, latin america, legionella, malaria, model, northern india, ohio state database, population density, risk factor, routes, schistosomiasis, song liang, southeast asia, surface area, trypanosomiasis, water associated, water bodies, western europe

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Water-associated infectious disease outbreaks are more likely to occur in areas where a region’s population density is growing, according to a new global analysis of economic and environmental conditions that influence the risk for these outbreaks.

Ohio State University scientists constructed a massive database containing information about 1,428 water-associated disease outbreaks that were reported between 1991 and 2008 around the world. By combining outbreak records with data on a variety of socio-environmental factors known about the affected regions, the researchers developed a model that can be used to predict risks for water-associated disease outbreaks anywhere in the world. (more…)

Tag Archives: environmental condition

Coral Reefs in Palau Surprisingly Resistant to Naturally Acidified Waters

Less Toxic Metabolites, More Chemical Product

Scientists Discover Thriving Colonies of Microbes in Ocean ‘Plastisphere’

Early Warning System Provides Four-Month Forecast of Malaria Epidemics in Northwest India

High Population Density is Greatest Risk Factor For Water-Linked Diseases