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ScienceDaily: Top Environment News |
| Posted: 09 Feb 2022 08:21 AM PST The fungus-derived compound neoechinulin B demonstrates promising antiviral activity. To realize its potential as an antiviral agent, however, a viable method for preparing more potent derivatives synthetically is necessary. In a recent breakthrough, scientists from Japan designed a simple route for synthesizing neoechinulin B and its derivatives under mild laboratory conditions. Neoechinulin B and six derivatives exhibited excellent antiviral activities against hepatitis C virus and SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. |
| Sewer slime can hang on to SARS-CoV-2 RNA from wastewater Posted: 09 Feb 2022 06:34 AM PST Researchers report that sewer slime can accumulate SARS-CoV-2 RNA, which could decompose or slough off later, potentially impacting the accuracy of wastewater epidemiology studies. |
| In a first for 'sonogenetics,' researchers control mammalian cells with sound Posted: 09 Feb 2022 06:34 AM PST Scientists have engineered mammalian cells to be activated using ultrasound. The method paves the way toward non-invasive versions of deep brain stimulation, pacemakers and insulin pumps. |
| Co-occurring droughts could threaten global food security Posted: 09 Feb 2022 06:33 AM PST Droughts occurring at the same time across different regions of the planet could place an unprecedented strain on the global agricultural system and threaten the water security of millions of people, according to a new study. |
| COP26 deal sparks hope for positive tipping points Posted: 08 Feb 2022 07:25 PM PST The Breakthrough Agenda agreed at COP26 could help trigger positive tipping points to tackle the climate crisis, researchers say. |
| Antarctic research reveals link between warming and fish abundance Posted: 08 Feb 2022 04:17 PM PST A long-term study in the Southern Ocean reveals a clear correlation between warming waters, decreased sea ice, and reduced abundance of Antarctic silverfish. These small, abundant fish are important prey for penguins, seals, and other regional marine life, in a role similar to that played by anchovies or sardines in more temperate waters. |
| Monkeys, like people, can 'choke under pressure' Posted: 08 Feb 2022 11:33 AM PST Being stressed about doing well on a test might not be limited to humans, according to a new study. |
| Hidden magnitude-8.2 earthquake source of mysterious 2021 global tsunami Posted: 08 Feb 2022 09:44 AM PST Scientists have uncovered the source of a mysterious 2021 tsunami that sent waves around the globe. In August 2021, a magnitude 7.5 earthquake hit near the South Sandwich Islands, creating a tsunami that rippled around the globe. The epicenter was 47 kilometers below the Earth's surface -- too deep to initiate a tsunami -- and the rupture was nearly 400 kilometers long, which should have generated a much larger earthquake. |
| Giant sponge gardens discovered on seamounts in the Arctic deep sea Posted: 08 Feb 2022 08:39 AM PST Massive sponge gardens thrive on top of seamounts in the Central Arctic Ocean, one of the most oligotrophic seas on Earth. They appear to feed on the remnants of an extinct fauna. Microorganisms support the sponges in exploiting this fluffy material as a source of food and energy. |
| Discovery could help finetune immunity to fight infections, disease Posted: 08 Feb 2022 08:39 AM PST Scientists supports a novel theory that the innate immune system can respond differently to specific pathogens. This quality, known as immunological specificity, was previously ascribed only to the adaptive immune system. The study suggests that this innate immune specificity is driven by the nervous system and identifies a neuronal protein as a critical link in the process. The findings hold early promise for the treatment of innate immune conditions and could also provide the basis for finetuning an experimental treatment that harnesses the nervous system to fight infection. The latter is particularly significant given the rapid rise in infections caused by antibiotic-resistant superbugs. |
| Identification of a unique 'switch' for blood vessel generation Posted: 08 Feb 2022 08:39 AM PST Researchers discover a 'switch' specific to transcription factors that induce the genes essential for blood vessel development in postnatal periods. Mouse models further showed that the modifiers responsible for the switch are critical for postnatal angiogenesis. |
| Gut bacteria linked to immune suppression in pancreatic cancer Posted: 08 Feb 2022 08:35 AM PST Researchers have shown how probiotic bacteria in the gut could undermine immunity in pancreatic cancer, pointing toward more personalized cancer treatments. |
| Genetic engineering can have a positive effect on the climate Posted: 08 Feb 2022 07:53 AM PST The use of genetically modified (GM) crops in agriculture remains contentious, especially in Europe. According to surveys, many people fear that these could have negative effects for human health and the environment. However, a new study shows that genetically modified crops could actually be good for the environment, and for the climate in particular. Results suggest that the adoption of GM crops in the European Union (EU) could reduce greenhouse gas emissions considerably. |
| Pink pumice key to revealing explosive power of underwater volcanic eruptions Posted: 08 Feb 2022 07:52 AM PST The presence of pink pumice in the giant pumice raft of the 2012 Havre that drifted across the southwest Pacific Ocean has led researchers to recognize the immense power of underwater volcanic eruptions. |
| Pacific Ocean as the greatest theater of bird migration Posted: 08 Feb 2022 07:52 AM PST With a surface larger than all the continents together, the Pacific Ocean is the most extreme environment a migratory bird can encounter. Yet there are several bird species that conquer this enormous body of water almost routinely. Migratory bird researchers now provide a synthesis of all the knowns, and especially the many unknowns about the extreme performances of migratory birds such as bar-tailed godwits, whimbrels and red knots, which fly over the Pacific Ocean. |
| A new multipurpose on-off switch for inhibiting bacterial growth Posted: 08 Feb 2022 07:52 AM PST Researchers have discovered an antitoxin mechanism that seems to be able to neutralize hundreds of different toxins and may protect bacteria against virus attacks. The mechanism has been named Panacea, after the Greek goddess of medicine whose name has become synonymous with universal cure. The understanding of bacterial toxin and antitoxin mechanisms will be crucial for the future success of so-called phage therapy for the treatment of antibiotic resistance infections, the researchers say. |
| Root symbiosis is regulated through nutrient status of plants Posted: 08 Feb 2022 07:52 AM PST Phosphorus is one of the most important nutrients for plants. Among other functions, it is needed to create substances for the plant's immune system, for the healthy development of seeds and for root growth. Researchers have now demonstrated how a root symbiosis with fungi is driven at the molecular level by the plant's phosphate status. |
| Golfing cockatoos reveal ability to use combined tools Posted: 08 Feb 2022 07:52 AM PST Cockatoos have shown an extraordinary ability to complete a task by combining simple tools, demonstrating that this cognitive ability is not found only in primates. |
| Arctic winter warming causes cold damage in the subtropics of East Asia Posted: 08 Feb 2022 07:52 AM PST Due to climate change, Arctic winters are getting warmer. An international study shows that Arctic warming causes temperature anomalies and cold damage thousands of kilometers away in East Asia. This in turn leads to reduced vegetation growth, later blossoming, smaller harvests and reduced CO2 absorption by the forests in the region. |
| Gabon provides blueprint for protecting oceans Posted: 08 Feb 2022 07:52 AM PST Gabon's network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) provides a blueprint that could be used in many other countries, experts say. Since announcing a new MPA network in 2014, Gabon has created 20 protected areas -- increasing protection of Gabonese waters from less than 1% to 26%. |
| Genome of Steller’s sea cow decoded Posted: 08 Feb 2022 07:52 AM PST During the Ice Age, giant mammals such as mammoths, sabre-toothed cats and woolly rhinoceroses once roamed Northern Europe and America. The cold oceans of the northern hemisphere were also home to giants like Steller's sea cow, which grew up to eight meters long and weighed up to ten tons, and has been extinct for around 250 years. Now an international research team has succeeded in deciphering the genome of this ice-age species from fossil bones. They also found an answer to the question of what the genome of this extinct species of sea cow reveals about present-day skin diseases. |
| Important step towards fasting-based therapies Posted: 08 Feb 2022 07:52 AM PST Voluntary fasting, for example interval fasting, is beneficial to health for many people, depending on their individual condition. For example, controlled periods of starvation can prevent and improve diseases such as diabetes and obesity. Researchers have now found that the immune system plays an important role in ensuring the positive effects of fasting on our bodies. The new findings will help develop more effective therapies based on fasting. |
| Unique seagrass nursery aims to help Florida's starving manatees Posted: 08 Feb 2022 07:52 AM PST More than 1,000 manatees died in 2021, due mostly to starvation. They consume about 100 pounds of seagrass a day, and this staple food is now scarce in Florida's Indian River Lagoon (IRL). A new study shows that about 7,400 acres of seagrasses were lost in the IRL between 1943 and 1994. Between 2011 and 2019, about 58 percent of seagrasses were lost. To help with recovery efforts, researchers are experimenting with growing seagrass in large tanks and then transplanting it into the IRL to try to restore some of the lost seagrass beds. |
| Lotus effect: Self-cleaning bioplastics repel liquid and dirt Posted: 08 Feb 2022 07:52 AM PST Inspired by the always immaculate lotus leaf, researchers have developed a self-cleaning bioplastic that is sturdy, sustainable and compostable. |
| Novel structural mechanism of membrane remodelling caused by the protein MakA from Vibrio cholerae Posted: 08 Feb 2022 07:49 AM PST New research has led to the discovery of a pH-induced structural mechanism of membrane remodeling caused by the protein MakA, a subunit of the recently described alpha-pore-forming toxin from the pathogenic bacterium Vibrio cholerae. |
| The perilous migratory journey of the eastern whip-poor-will Posted: 08 Feb 2022 05:50 AM PST Using GPS tags attached to the birds, researchers discovered some surprising facts about the long migrations that eastern whip-poor-wills make from their Midwest breeding grounds to where they winter in Mexico and Central America. |
| Who’s responsible for roadside rubbish? Posted: 08 Feb 2022 05:50 AM PST New research reveals that items in litter typically originate less than two miles from where they're found -- and unless humans remove them, most of these items will never leave the environment. |
| Anti-odor coating is no washout Posted: 08 Feb 2022 05:50 AM PST For the first time, researchers have found a cost-effective and convenient way to apply a silver-based antimicrobial clear coating to new or existing textiles. Their method uses polyphenols, commonly found in food items notorious for staining clothes such as wine and chocolate. A range of textile types can be treated by the researchers' method, and items can be washed multiple times without losing the antimicrobial and therefore anti-odor property. |
| Study in mice shows potential for gene-editing to tackle mitochondrial disorders Posted: 08 Feb 2022 05:50 AM PST Defective mitochondria -- the 'batteries' that power the cells of our bodies -- could in future be repaired using gene-editing techniques. Scientists have now shown that it is possible to modify the mitochondrial genome in live mice, paving the way for new treatments for incurable mitochondrial disorders. |
| Posted: 07 Feb 2022 12:57 PM PST In a landmark study of airborne microorganisms from ground level up to 3,500 meters, scientists have found that bacteria and fungi populate the planet's lower atmosphere in very specific ways, and if changed, may negatively impact human health and food supply. |
| Researchers discover repair properties of a protein critical for wound-healing in gut diseases Posted: 07 Feb 2022 12:56 PM PST An international team has discovered novel properties of the protein Gasdermin B that promotes repair of cells lining the gastrointestinal tract in people with chronic inflammatory disorders like Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. |
| Bronze Age women altered genetic landscape of Orkney, study finds Posted: 07 Feb 2022 12:56 PM PST An international team has used ancient DNA to rewrite the history of the Scottish Orkney islands to show that Orkney actually experienced large-scale immigration during the Early Bronze Age, which replaced much of the local population. |
| Fear of predators in free-living wildlife reduces population growth over generations Posted: 07 Feb 2022 12:54 PM PST The fear predators inspire can itself reduce prey population growth rates; thereby conclusively establishing that focusing solely on the number of prey predators directly kill and failing to additionally consider fear, as conventionally done, risks dramatically underestimating the total impact predators have on prey population size. |
| Survivors of weather-related disasters may have accelerated aging Posted: 07 Feb 2022 12:54 PM PST When Hurricane Maria slammed into Puerto Rico in September 2017 as a high-end category 4 storm, it left in its wake the largest catastrophe in the history of the island. Along with the human toll, the devastation impacted all the island's wildlife, including a group of free-ranging rhesus macaques living on the isolated Cayo Santiago island near Puerto Rico. Now, a team of scientists has published one of the first results that shows the effects of natural disasters may have molecularly accelerated aging in the monkeys' immune systems. |
| Chemists develop radical way to make it easier, more profitable to recycle plastic Posted: 07 Feb 2022 10:58 AM PST Very little of the plastic water bottles, milk jugs and yogurt cups we use gets recycled. But chemists now describe a radical method they used to transform tossed out plastic into a tougher, stronger material commonly used for food packaging. Through 'upcycling,' the method may make plastic easier -- and more profitable -- to recycle. |
| Posted: 07 Feb 2022 07:01 AM PST If carbon emissions continue to increase at their current rate the resilience to climate change of seafood species that are mainstays of the EU market, such as great Atlantic scallop, red mullet, and common octopus, will be weakened by the combined onslaught of overfishing, ocean warming, and mercury pollution. The population of these species will likely be reduced to a fraction of their present size by the end of the century. |
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