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Categories: Biology: Microbiology, Geoscience: Geography
Published Maize genes control little helpers in the soil
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Tiny organisms such as bacteria and fungi help to promote the health and function of plant roots. It is commonly assumed that the composition of these microbes is dependent on the properties of the soil. However, researchers have now discovered when studying different local varieties of maize that the genetic makeup of the plants also helps to influence which microorganisms cluster around the roots.
Published Decoding the plant world's complex biochemical communication networks
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A research team has begun translating the complex molecular language of petunias. Their grammar and vocabulary are well hidden, however, within the countless proteins and other compounds that fill floral cells. Being rooted to the ground, plants can't run away from insects, pathogens or other threats to their survival. But plant scientists have long known that they do send warnings to each other via scent chemicals called volatile organic compounds.
Published A new way to quantify climate change impacts: 'Outdoor days'
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source 'Outdoor days,' a new measure, describes climate change impacts by noting the number of days per year that outdoor temperatures are comfortable enough for normal outdoor activities.
Published Satellite data assimilation improves forecasts of severe weather
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source In 2020, a line of severe thunderstorms unleashed powerful winds that caused billions in damages across the Midwest United States. A new technique that incorporates satellite data could improve forecasts -- including where the most powerful winds will occur -- for similar severe weather events.
Published Forest, stream habitats keep energy exchanges in balance, global team finds
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Forests and streams are separate but linked ecosystems, existing side by side, with energy and nutrients crossing their porous borders and flowing back and forth between them. For example, leaves fall from trees, enter streams, decay and feed aquatic insects. Those insects emerge from the waters and are eaten by birds and bats. An international team has now found that these ecosystems appear to keep the energy exchanges in balance -- a finding that the scientists called surprising.
Published Deep Earth electrical grid mystery solved
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source To 'breathe' in an environment without oxygen, bacteria in the ground beneath our feet depend upon a single family of proteins to transfer excess electrons, produced during the 'burning' of nutrients, to electric hairs called nanowires projecting from their surface.
Published Bacteria subtype linked to growth in up to 50% of human colorectal cancers
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have found that a specific subtype of a microbe commonly found in the mouth is able to travel to the gut and grow within colorectal cancer tumors. This microbe is also a culprit for driving cancer progression and leads to poorer patient outcomes after cancer treatment. The findings could help improve therapeutic approaches and early screening methods for colorectal cancer, which is the second most common cause of cancer deaths in adults in the U.S. according to the American Cancer Society.
Published Sea surface temperature research provides clear evidence of human-caused climate change
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Claims that climate change is natural are inconsistent with new oceanic temperature trends.
Published Craving snacks after a meal? It might be food-seeking neurons, not an overactive appetite
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Psychologists have discovered a circuit in the brain of mice that makes them crave food and seek it out, even when they are not hungry. When stimulated, this cluster of cells propels mice to forage vigorously and to prefer fatty and pleasurable foods like chocolate over healthier foods like carrots.
Published Researchers investigate how freshwater diatoms stay in the light
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers sought to understand how diatoms -- microscopic, photosynthetic algae that make up an estimated 20 percent of global carbon sequestration and oxygen production -- are able to bloom in an ice-covered Lake Erie and how ice decline across the Great Lakes is impacting the algae.
Published Fish fed to farmed salmon should be part of our diet, too, study suggests
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists found that farmed salmon production leads to an overall loss of essential dietary nutrients. They say that eating more wild 'feed' species directly could benefit our health while reducing aquaculture demand for finite marine resources.
Published Experts warn climate change will fuel spread of infectious diseases
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Infectious diseases specialists call the medical field to be ready to deal with the impact of climate change on spreading diseases, such as malaria, Valley fever, E. coli and Lyme disease.
Published Fiber, genes and the gut microbiome: Study reveals possible triggers for inflammatory bowel disease
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study finds a complex interplay between diet, genes, and the gut microbiota that could explain why IBD develops.
Published From the Mediterranean into the Atlantic: The Gibraltar arc is migrating to the west
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Oceans are subject to continuous change, mostly over extremely vast periods of time running into millions of years. Researchers have now used computer simulations to demonstrate that a subduction zone originating in the Western Mediterranean will propagate into the Atlantic under the Strait of Gibraltar. According to their model, this will create a new Atlantic subduction zone 50 million years into the future, which will then move down into the Earth's mantle. The new geodynamic model explains the evolution of the Gibraltar subduction zone and its likely development, which will contribute to the renewal of the Atlantic Ocean floor.
Published There are large accumulations of plastics in the ocean, even outside so-called garbage patch
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source When plastic ends up in the ocean, it gradually weathers and disintegrates into small particles. If marine animals ingest these particles, their health can be severely affected. Large accumulations of plastic can therefore disrupt the biological balance of marine ecosystems. But which areas are particularly affected?
Published A protein found in human sweat may protect against Lyme disease
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Human sweat contains a protein that may protect against Lyme disease. About one-third of the population carries a genetic variant of this protein that is associated with Lyme disease in genome-wide association studies.
Published Climate change alters the hidden microbial food web in peatlands
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source To better understand a carbon sink in danger, scientists are turning to tiny organisms that have long been overlooked.
Published Genes identified that allow bacteria to thrive despite toxic heavy metal in soil
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Some soil bacteria can acquire sets of genes that enable them to pump the heavy metal nickel out of their systems, a study has found. This enables the bacteria to not only thrive in otherwise toxic soils but help plants grow there as well. A research team pinpointed a set of genes in wild soil bacteria that allows them to do this in serpentine soils which have naturally high concentrations of toxic nickel. The genetic discovery could help inform future bioremediation efforts that seek to return plants to polluted soils.
Published Industrial societies losing healthy gut microbes
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Our eating habits in industrialized societies are far removed from those of ancient humans. This is impacting our intestinal flora, it seems, as newly discovered cellulose degrading bacteria are being lost from the human gut microbiome, especially in industrial societies.
Published New discovery concerning occurrence of antibiotic resistance
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study shows how heteroresistance, a transient resistance common in many bacteria, can act as a precursor to the development of antibiotic resistance.