http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. The interaction between a Hessian fly's saliva and the wheat plant it is attacking may be the key to whether the pest eats like a king or dies like a starving pauper, according to a study done at Purdue University. http://phys.org/news227286860.html Biology Tue, 14 Jun 2011 16:15:15 EST news227286860 Soil chemistry plays an important role in the composition of surface waters. In areas with limited human activities, properties of catchment soils directly relate to the exported nutrients to surface waters. Phosphate sorption research is common in agricultural and forest soils, but data from alpine areas are limited. http://phys.org/news227280234.html Space & Earth Tue, 14 Jun 2011 14:24:09 EST news227280234 An article published in the June issue of BioScience describes the early scale-up stage of a new biotechnology with environmental benefits and possible commercial potential. Algal turf scrubbers are field-sized, water-treatment systems that can extract excess nutrients from streams, canals, and lakes polluted by agricultural, domestic, and some industrial runoff. They use sunlight as their principal source of energy and simultaneously restore oxygen levels. The devices work by pulsing contaminated water across algae that are allowed to grow on screens. Algal turf scrubbers produce waste suitable for use as a nitrogen- and phosphorus-rich fertilizer and for conversion to biofuel or high-value nutraceuticals. Some algal turf scrubbers can even operate in open water, thus minimizing loss of agricultural land to the systems. http://phys.org/news226118967.html Biology Wed, 01 Jun 2011 04:16:51 EST news226118967 On May 27TH the top cell biology journal, Cell, will publish its latest issue with multimedia components directly attached to the print version. The issue uses QR code technology to connect readers to the journal's multimedia formats online thereby improving the conceptualization of a paper's scientific content and enhancing the reader's overall experience. http://phys.org/news225632971.html Biology Thu, 26 May 2011 12:50:19 EST news225632971 A team of European researchers has succeeded in revealing how a family of proteins work, which until now remained a mystery, according to a new study published in the journal Nature. http://phys.org/news225617870.html Biology Thu, 26 May 2011 08:42:24 EST news225617870 A team of 21 researchers from 11 nations, including professor Robert "JJ" Orth of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, has completed the first-ever study of the risk of extinction for individual seagrass species around the world. http://phys.org/news225540689.html Biology Wed, 25 May 2011 11:11:50 EST news225540689 (AP) -- Chocolate milk has long been seen as the spoonful of sugar that makes the medicine go down, but the nation's childhood obesity epidemic has a growing number of people wondering whether that's wise. http://phys.org/news224132293.html Medicine & Health Mon, 09 May 2011 03:59:55 EST news224132293 (PhysOrg.com) -- In a paper published in Nature, Japanese researcher Masaki Kamakura describes a process he used to determine that the protein royalactin, is at least one of the components responsible for turning an ordinary female bee, into a queen. In a simple process of elimination experiment, Kamakura, was able to separate the different substances that comprise royal jelly, which then allowed him to feed those substances individually to a female bee to see which caused her to take on queen bee traits. http://phys.org/news223131123.html Biology Wed, 27 Apr 2011 13:53:06 EST news223131123 Chemical changes in tree leaves subjected to warmer, drier conditions that could result from climate change may reduce the availability of soil nutrients, according to a Purdue University study. http://phys.org/news221237032.html Biology Tue, 05 Apr 2011 15:44:14 EST news221237032 We all know the adage: A little bit of a good thing can go a long way. Now researchers in London are reporting that might also be true for a large protein associated with wound healing. http://phys.org/news220107152.html Chemistry Wed, 23 Mar 2011 13:52:58 EST news220107152 Rhizanthella gardneri is a cute, quirky and critically endangered orchid that lives all its life underground. It even blooms underground, making it virtually unique amongst plants. http://phys.org/news216379975.html Biology Tue, 08 Feb 2011 10:10:01 EST news216379975 In the search for life on Mars or any planet, there is much more than the presence of carbon and oxygen to consider. Using Earth's biogeochemical cycles as a reference point, elements like nitrogen, iron and sulfur are just as important for supporting life. As explored in studies published in February's open-access Special Issue of Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, the most basic elements work together to support an extraordinary diversity of life. http://phys.org/news215885193.html Space & Earth Wed, 02 Feb 2011 16:06:49 EST news215885193 (PhysOrg.com) -- Creatures that live in the muddy sediments of estuaries have given Aberdeen scientists new insights into how critical the relationship between organisms, and the structure of the habitat they live in, is for the maintenance of a healthy ecosystem. http://phys.org/news214067081.html Biology Wed, 12 Jan 2011 15:04:59 EST news214067081 Israeli researchers have demonstrated that krill and jellyfish, as tiny as they may be, play a big role in ocean mixing. http://phys.org/news214050323.html Space & Earth Wed, 12 Jan 2011 10:26:13 EST news214050323 Every hour, an enormous quantity and variety of manmade chemicals, having reached the end of their useful lifespan, flood into wastewater treatment plants. These large-scale processing facilities, however, are designed only to remove nutrients, turbidity and oxygen-depleting human waste, and not the multitude of chemicals put to residential, institutional, commercial and industrial use. So what happens to these chemicals, some of which may be toxic to humans and the environment? Do they get destroyed during wastewater treatment or do they wind up in the environment with unknown consequences? http://phys.org/news212161020.html Space & Earth Tue, 21 Dec 2010 13:37:43 EST news212161020 (PhysOrg.com) -- New research has found that the mating habits of the dairy yeast depends on the levels of nutrients available as well as the availability of cells of the opposite "sex." http://phys.org/news211788454.html Biology Fri, 17 Dec 2010 07:50:02 EST news211788454 Continued eutrophication of the Baltic Sea, combined with an ever thinner ozone layer, is favouring the toxic cyanobacterium Nodularia spumigena, reveals research from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. http://phys.org/news210857390.html Biology Mon, 06 Dec 2010 11:30:08 EST news210857390 (PhysOrg.com) -- The discovery by UCLA biochemists of a new method for preventing oxidation in the essential fatty acids of cell membranes could lead to a new class of more effective nutritional supplements and potentially help combat neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's disease and perhaps Alzheimer's. http://phys.org/news210494268.html Chemistry Thu, 02 Dec 2010 06:38:17 EST news210494268 Soft drink companies are well-positioned to help combat child malnutrition in developing countries because of their expanding business and extensive distribution routes. UCSF experts are advocating for these companies to implement public health programs that exploit their access to remote markets by producing healthier products, such as bottled water fortified with essential nutrients. http://phys.org/news208692035.html Medicine & Health Thu, 11 Nov 2010 10:01:25 EST news208692035 A study by researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies revealed that stem cells can sense a decrease in available nutrients and respond by retaining only a small pool of active stem cells for tissue maintenance. When, or if, favorable conditions return, stem cell numbers multiply to accommodate increased demands on the tissue. http://phys.org/news208098186.html Biology Thu, 04 Nov 2010 14:03:24 EST news208098186 The capacity of trees to counter rising carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere may not be as great as previously thought, according to a new study with significant implications for predicting future climate change. http://phys.org/news207390391.html Space & Earth Wed, 27 Oct 2010 09:26:52 EST news207390391 Nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium -- there are valuable nutrients contained in wastewater. Unfortunately, these essential nutrients are lost in conventional wastewater treatment plants. This is the reason why researchers at Fraunhofer have been working on processes for regaining these nutrients in the form that can be used for agriculture. They are showcasing their work at Fraunhofer's stand at the IFAT ENTSORGA fair (Sept. 13-17 in Munich, Germany). http://phys.org/news203080769.html Space & Earth Tue, 07 Sep 2010 12:40:01 EST news203080769 (PhysOrg.com) -- Ants are not out of their weight class when defending trees from the appetite of nature's heavyweight, the African elephant, a new University of Florida study finds. http://phys.org/news202651455.html Biology Thu, 02 Sep 2010 13:04:25 EST news202651455 One of the human body's most powerful defensive tools, the blood-brain barrier is a chemical labyrinth that prevents toxins and viruses in the bloodstream from reaching the brain. This foolproof security system, however, limits the ability of physicians to deliver drugs directly to the brain, making it difficult to treat brain tumors. Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute are endeavoring to solve this problem by investigating new methods for bypassing the blood-brain barrier and combating the spread of brain cancer. http://phys.org/news199456607.html Medicine & Health Tue, 27 Jul 2010 14:00:02 EST news199456607 Improving the quality of local water increases the resistance of coral reefs to global climate change, according to a study published in June in Marine Ecology Progress Series. Florida Institute of Technology coral reef ecologist Robert van Woesik and his student Dan Wagner led the study, which provides concrete evidence for a link between environmental health and the prospects for reefs in a rapidly changing world. http://phys.org/news197639332.html Space & Earth Tue, 06 Jul 2010 13:20:01 EST news197639332 (PhysOrg.com) -- Research at the University of Exeter in the UK has revealed that farmers in the Amazon are lighting more fires in areas with reduced deforestation, and thereby threatening to cancel out carbon savings achieved by United Nations (UN) measures. Naturally occurring fires are rare in the Amazon, but Brazilian farmers frequently burn agricultural land every three to five years to improve soil nutrients and keep the land at an optimal level to produce food. The research, funded by the UK's National Environment Research Council (NERC), was presented in the journal Science. http://phys.org/news197113995.html Space & Earth Wed, 30 Jun 2010 11:30:01 EST news197113995 A one-time tillage has no adverse effects on yield or soil properties on no-till land, according to field research conducted at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Although tillage is another expense for farmers and generally increases the risk of soil erosion, a one-time tillage may be performed to correct some problem, such as a perennial weed problem. http://phys.org/news196857023.html Space & Earth Mon, 28 Jun 2010 00:00:03 EST news196857023 A University of Alberta research team has discovered that a plant's strategy to capture nutrients in the soil is the result of integration of different types of information. http://phys.org/news196605683.html Biology Thu, 24 Jun 2010 14:00:01 EST news196605683 One way that geologists try to decipher how cells functioned as far back as 3 billion years is by studying modern microbial mats, or gooey layers of nutrient-exchanging bacteria that grow mostly on moist surfaces and collect dirt and minerals that crystallize over time. Eventually, the bacteria turn to stone just beneath the crystallized material, thereby recording their history within the crystalline skeletons. Known as stromatolites, the layered rock formations are considered to be the oldest fossils on Earth. http://phys.org/news193318282.html Space & Earth Mon, 17 May 2010 15:00:03 EST news193318282 Americans who fall short in meeting their daily fruit and vegetable intakes based on government guidelines are also likely to fall short in common bone-building nutrients like calcium and vitamin D, according to a newly released report by the Nutrilite Health Institute called America's Phytonutrient Report: Bone Health by Color. "It's like a double impact - if you fail to eat enough fruits and vegetables, you are also likely not getting enough bone-building nutrients like calcium and vitamin D from all food sources in your total diet either," said Keith Randolph, Ph.D., Technology Strategist for Nutrilite. http://phys.org/news192356638.html Medicine & Health Thu, 06 May 2010 09:50:09 EST news192356638