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| January 14, 2014 |
 Mapping Amino Acids to Understand Life's Origins Moffett Field CA (SPX) Jan 14, 2014 - Only 20 standard amino acids are used to build proteins, but why exactly nature "chose" these particular amino acids is still a mystery. One step towards solving this is to explore the "amino acid space", the set of possible or hypothetical amino acids that might have been used instead. New research has used computer models to construct a large database of plausible amino acids, revealing thousa ... more |  |
 Fungi may determine the future of soil carbon Panama City, Panama (SPX) Jan 13, 2014 - When scientists discuss global change, they often focus on the amount of carbon in the atmosphere and vegetation. But soil contains more carbon than air and plants combined. This means that even a minor change in soil carbon could have major implications for the Earth's atmosphere and climate. New research by Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute scientist Benjamin Turner and colleagues points ... more |  |
 Radiocarbon dating suggests white sharks can live 70 years and longer Cape Cod MA (SPX) Jan 14, 2014 - Adult white sharks, also known as great whites, may live far longer than previously thought, according to a new study that used radiocarbon dating to determine age estimates for white sharks in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean. Sharks are typically aged by counting alternating opaque and translucent band pairs deposited in sequence in their vertebrae. It is unclear whether these band pairs are ... more |  |
Symbiotic fungi inhabiting plant roots have major impact on atmospheric carbon Austin TX (SPX) Jan 13, 2014 - Microscopic fungi that live in plants' roots play a major role in the storage and release of carbon from the soil into the atmosphere, according to a University of Texas at Austin researcher and his colleagues at Boston University and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. The role of these fungi is currently unaccounted for in global climate models. Some types of symbiotic fungi can ... more |  |
Climate change: How does soil store CO2? Munich, Germany (SPX) Jan 13, 2014 - Global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions continue to rise - in 2012 alone, 35.7 billion tons of this greenhouse gas entered the atmosphere*. Some of this CO2 is absorbed by the oceans, plants and soil. As such, they provide a significant reservoir of carbon, stemming the release of CO2. Scientists have now discovered how organic carbon is stored in soil. Basically, the carbon only binds to ce ... more |  |
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Researchers unveil rich world of fish biofluorescence Washington DC (SPX) Jan 14, 2014 - A team of researchers led by scientists from the American Museum of Natural History has released the first report of widespread biofluorescence in the tree of life of fishes, identifying more than 180 species that glow in a wide range of colors and patterns. Published in PLOS ONE, the research shows that biofluorescence-a phenomenon by which organisms absorb light, transform it, and eject ... more |  |
Tracking the deep sea paths of tiger sharks Brisbane, Australia (SPX) Jan 14, 2014 - Shark research scientist, Dr Jonathan Werry, has undertaken a four year study tracking the migratory patterns of tiger sharks (Galeocerdo cuvier) across the Southwest Pacific. The research, in collaboration with the French government, followed the movement of 33 tiger sharks (1.54 to 3.9 m total length) across the Coral Sea between New Caledonia and the Great Barrier Reef. The animal ... more |  |
Study explains origins of giant underwater waves Boston MA (SPX) Jan 14, 2014 - Their effect on the surface of the ocean is negligible, producing a rise of just inches that is virtually imperceptible on a turbulent sea. But internal waves, which are hidden entirely within the ocean, can tower hundreds of feet, with profound effects on the Earth's climate and on ocean ecosystems. Now new research, both in the ocean and in the largest-ever laboratory experiments to inve ... more |  |
New study finds extreme longevity in white sharks Cape Cod MA (SPX) Jan 14, 2014 - Great white sharks-top predators throughout the world's ocean-grow much slower and live significantly longer than previously thought, according to a new study led by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). In the first successful radiocarbon age validation study for adult white sharks, researchers analyzed vertebrae from four females and four males from the northwestern Atlantic O ... more |  |
Ahoy! First ocean vesicles spotted Boston MA (SPX) Jan 14, 2014 - Marine cyanobacteria - tiny ocean plants that produce oxygen and make organic carbon using sunlight and CO2 - are primary engines of Earth's biogeochemical and nutrient cycles. They nourish other organisms through the provision of oxygen and with their own body mass, which forms the base of the ocean food chain. Now scientists at MIT have discovered another dimension of the outsized role p ... more |  |
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Coral chemical warfare: Suppressing a competitor enhances susceptibility to a predator Atlanta GA (SPX) Jan 14, 2014 - Competition may have a high cost for at least one species of tropical seaweed. Researchers examining the chemical warfare taking place on Fijian coral reefs have found that one species of seaweed increases its production of noxious anti-coral compounds when placed into contact with reef-building corals. But as it competes chemically with the corals, the seaweed grows more slowly and becomes more ... more |  |
Marine bacteria to fight tough infections Copenhagen, Denmark (SPX) Jan 14, 2014 - Aggressive infections are a growing health problem all over the world. The development of resistant bacteria is rampant and, in the United States, resistant staphylococci cause more deaths than AIDS on an annual basis. Researchers from the University of Copenhagen are studying a new form of treatment based on marine bacteria. The results have been published in PLOS ONE. Staphylococci have ... more |  |
Study highlights snowball effect of overfishing Tallahassee, FL (SPX) Jan 14, 2014 - Florida State University researchers have spearheaded a major review of fisheries data that examines the domino effect that occurs when too many fish are harvested from one habitat. The loss of a major species from an ecosystem can have unintended consequences because of the connections between that species and others in the system. Moreover, these changes often occur rapidly and unexpecte ... more |  |
 Living on islands makes animals tamer Riverside CA (SPX) Jan 14, 2014 - Most of us have seen pictures and probably YouTube videos of "tame" animals on the Galapagos Islands, the biological paradise that was Charles Darwin's major source of inspiration as he observed nature and gradually developed his ideas about the importance of natural selection as a mechanism by which populations of organisms would change - evolve genetically - across generations, eventually beco ... more |  |
World's smallest water lily stolen from London's Kew Gardens London (AFP) Jan 13, 2014 - A plant thief has stolen one of the few surviving examples of the world's smallest water lily, which is extinct in the wild, from the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew in London, police said Monday. The tiny 'Nymphaea Thermarum' was stolen on Thursday from the Princess of Wales Conservatory, a giant glass house at the gardens in the southwest of the capital, a Scotland Yard statement said. "O ... more |  |
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 Hong Kong reports second H7N9 death Hong Kong (AFP) Jan 13, 2014 - A Hong Kong man infected with the deadly H7N9 bird flu died late Monday, less than a week after he was confirmed to be infected with the deadly virus, authorities said. The 65-year-old man was the second person to die from the virus in Hong Kong, and the third reported case of H7N9 infection. "The patient passed away at 7:02pm tonight," a government statement released late Monday said. ... more |  |
 Cargill invests in Ukraine grain giant Kiev (AFP) Jan 13, 2014 - US agricultural trading giant Cargill has acquired five percent of Ukraine's biggest farming producer Ukrlandfarming, as the companies team-up to boost exports to China and other emerging markets. The deal was finalised late last month, a statement from Ukrlandfarming said on Monday without providing financial terms, though the Financial Times said the stake sold for $200 million, which valu ... more |  |
West Virginia starts lifting water ban Washington (AFP) Jan 13, 2014 - West Virginia on Monday began lifting a ban on tap water imposed in the state last week after a chemical leak into a key river. Hundreds of thousands of people in the Appalachian state had been without water except for flushing toilets since Friday when officials disclosed that chemicals from a plant had been pumped into the Elk River. Water company officials on Monday said testing had s ... more |  |
 Violence Threatens to Thwart Iraqi Oil Resurgence Washington DC (SPX) Jan 14, 2014 - A wave of violence has swept parts of Iraq at the start of 2014 as the central government fights back against Al-Qaeda aligned militants in Anbar Province. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) reportedly took control of Ramadi and Fallujah, bombing police headquarters and killing dozens. On New Year's Day Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki sent in reinforcements to take back control ... more |  |
 Emperor Penguins breeding on ice shelves London, UK (SPX) Jan 13, 2014 - A new study of four Antarctic emperor penguin colonies suggest that unexpected breeding behaviour may be a sign that the birds are adapting to environmental change. Analysis of satellite observations reveals that penguin colonies moved from their traditional breeding grounds during years when the thin layer of ice (sea ice) formed later than usual to the much thicker floating ice shelves t ... more |  |
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