Tag Archives: salmon

Best Acne Eluding Diet

Think pimples are something just teenagers get?  If you say yes, then you are incorrect. More than 20 percent of women/men suffer from acne late into their twenties and thirties. Acne is an inflammatory skin condition, caused by the production of excess sebum, which clogs the pores and leads to pimples. Breakouts can occur all over the body, but are most commonly found on the face, back and chest. The cause could be anything from stress to hormonal fluctuation and more.

Over the counter products and antibiotics for clear skin are such a pain in terms of money and time. Many of them turn out to be harmful instead of being beneficial. So what is that harmless way to save us from acne breakouts and it’s after effects? (more…)

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From flounders to seahorses: Evolutionary success of spiny-rayed fishes detailed

Even as the dinosaurs were becoming extinct 66 million years ago, the ancient ancestor of spiny-rayed fishes flourished, eventually giving rise to tens of thousands of species that can now be found in home aquariums or on dinner plates. Using modern genetic tools and information from the fossil record, a team led by researchers at Yale University, University of Oxford, and University of California-Davis have constructed a detailed evolutionary history of the 18,000 species of spiny-rayed fishes existing today, a diverse group that includes basses, pufferfishes, and cichlids, and that comprises a large portion of the vertebrate tree of life.

The findings published the week of July 15 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences show surprisingly close evolutionary relationships between lineages of fish species such as tunas and seahorses, and suggest some fish lineages — like cichlids, the tiny gobies, and little-studied snailfishes — are experiencing high rates of new species origination. (more…)

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Tracking Sediments’ Fate in Largest-Ever Dam Removal

Salmon are beginning to swim up the Elwha River for the first time in more than a century. But University of Washington marine geologists are watching what’s beginning to flow downstream — sediments from the largest dam-removal project ever undertaken.

The 108-foot Elwha Dam was built in 1910, and after decades of debate it was finally dismantled last year. Roughly a third of the 210-foot Glines Canyon Dam still stands, holding back a mountain of silt, sand and gravel. (more…)

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Ancient Lamprey DNA Decoded

When it comes to evolution, humans can learn a thing or two from primeval sea lampreys.

In the current issue of Nature Genetics, a team of scientists has presented an assembly of the sea lamprey genome – the first time the entire sequence has been decoded. The data is compelling as the sea lamprey is one of the few ancient, jawless species that has survived through the modern era.

The paper not only sheds light on how the venerable invasive species adapted and thrived, but it also provides many insights into the evolution of all vertebrates, species with backbones and spinal cords, which includes humans, said Weiming Li, Michigan State University fisheries and wildlife professor, who organized and coordinated the team. (more…)

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Yale Study Reveals New Family Tree for Ray-Finned Fish

The most common lineages of fish found today in oceans, lakes, and rivers evolved about the same time as mammals and birds, a new Yale University-led study shows.

The comparative genetic analysis of more than 200 fish species, reported the week of Aug. 6 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, gave an earlier than expected evolutionary birthday to well-known teleost — or ray-finned — fish such as salmon, bass, or tuna.

The analysis also shows that the very earliest lineages of living teleost fish were eels and bonefishes, not tropical freshwater bonytongue fish as some scientists had proposed. (more…)

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Too Few Salmon is Far Worse Than Too Many Boats for Killer Whales

Not having enough Chinook salmon to eat stresses out southern resident killer whales in the Pacific Northwest more than having boatloads of whale watchers nearby, according to hormone levels of whales summering in the Salish Sea.

In lean times, however, the stress level normally associated with boats becomes more pronounced, further underscoring the importance of having enough prey, according to Katherine Ayres, an environmental and pet-behavior consultant who led the research while a University of Washington doctoral student in biology. Ayres is lead author of a paper appearing online June 6, in the journal PLoS ONE.

In a surprise finding, hormone levels show that southern resident killer whales are best fed when they come into the Salish Sea in the late spring, Ayres said. The Salish Sea includes Puget Sound and the straits of Georgia, Haro and Juan de Fuca. Once there they get a necessary boost later in the summer while eating Chinook salmon at the height of the Fraser River run. (more…)

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Researchers Determine Vitamin D Blood Level for Reducing Major Medical Risks in Older Adults

In testing older patients’ blood vitamin D levels, there’s uncertainty about where the dividing line falls between enough and not enough. The threshold amount has become controversial as several scientific societies set different targets.

To help resolve this debate, University of Washington researchers conducted an observational study. They wanted to learn how much vitamin D must be circulating in the blood to lower the risk of a major medical event. This category included heart attack, hip fracture, diagnosis of cancer, or death. (more…)

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Omega-3 Reduces Anxiety and Inflammation in Healthy Students

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A new study gauging the impact of consuming more fish oil showed a marked reduction both in inflammation and, surprisingly, in anxiety among a cohort of healthy young people.

The findings suggest that if young participants can get such improvements from specific dietary supplements, then the elderly and people at high risk for certain diseases might benefit even more. (more…)

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