Gene Discovery Could Overcome Aluminum Barrier To Higher Wheat Yields Worldwide
...rs," Gustafson said. That would offer potentially higher yields for a hungry world, he added. World population, now 5.8 billion, may grow to more than 9 billion by the year 2046, according to estimates by the U.S. Bureau of the Census. Other USDA crop research having worldwide implications includes: USDA...Scientists Identify Retrovirus-Like Components In Corn Genome
...tchhike on the host DNA replication system because higher organisms apparently don't have a good system for getting rid of DNA once it gets into their genome," Bennetzen says. "In this way, they can replicate, and thereby survive into the next generation, even if the host doesn't want them." Because this ty...Study Examines How Mechanisms Evolve To Regulate Bee Development
...same-aged drones whose levels werenot altered. The higher hormone levels, in effect, caused the drones togrow up faster. This is similar to what happens in workers; hormone treatmentcauses them to start foraging at a younger age. To test for genetic effects, the researchers created a population withouta qu......rs with the slow-acetylation genotype for NAT2 had higher levels of tobacco's carcinogenic compounds in their bloodstream, and were at higher risk of developing bladder cancer, a disease known to be associated with cigarette smoking. Compone...Medicinal Leech May Offer Clues To Neural Regeneration
... says. "But for some reason, nerve regeneration in higher systems is not complete. By analyzing how nerves regenerate in a simple system, we may find clues to facilitate regeneration in vertebrates." When activated, NOS produces nitric oxide, a gas that in recent years has been recognized to act as a signal...Impact of Meteorites, Drop in Sea Level Caused Mass Extinctions 65 Million Years Ago
...rcent of the ammonite extinctions, which is a much higher figure than some scientists had expected, but lower than others anticipated, he says. The substantial drop in sea level, which had peaked at least 10,000 years before the comet struck, accounts for between zero and 25 percent of the extinctions. In...Duke's Russian Laser Making Ultraviolet Light And Gamma Rays
...ty,the OK-4's gamma intensity could be 1,000 times higher than those availablenow. That means "instead of ge... boosted to about 150 million electronvolts, their higher intensities would "open up a whole new field forTUNL," said Tornow, who has begun a cooperative rese......ay. Shy children responded to new situations with higher than averageheart rates, blood pressure and muscle tension as well as greater pupildilation and higher levels of norepinephrine, a brain chemical producedduring stress. Twin studies are uniquel...New Sensor Provides First Instant Test For Toxic E. coli Organism
...d. The greater thecolor change in the sensor, the higher the concentration of 0157:H7 toxin. The color change is instantaneous." Up until now, no technology existed that would allow either food companies, health inspectors, or consumers to determine immediately whether E. coli 0157:H7 is present....Scientists Identify Gene For Sexual Behavior In Male Flies
...tless" ( fru ) commands male sexualbehavior. Genes higher up in the family tree act to turn off dsx and fru so that female flies do not exhibit male sex organsor male behavior. (courtesy: Bruce Baker, StanfordUniversity)Could human sexual behavior be commanded by a single gene? So far, nogene similar to ...Urbanized Watersheds More Sensitive To Climate Change
...tation, but in the Northeast, we find that with a higher population and the same precipitation, stream flow increases more," De Walle told attendees at the American Geophysical Union Conference today (Dec. 19) in San Francisco. The study looked at areas such as Saddle River, N.J., which in 1940 had 5...Prostate Cancer May Be Predicted 10 Years Before Diagnosis
...,400 deaths. Prostate cancer rates are 37 percent higher for black men than white men. Between 1980 and 1990 prostate cancer incidence rates increased 65 percent, largely due to improved detection. A free fact sheet on prostate gland changes, "Prostate Problems," is available by calling the NIA Informati...Proteins Interacting With RNA And DNA Are Surprisingly Similar
...the protein binds to is verysimilar in bacteriaand higher organisms. There must be specific features that areonly present inthe bacterial RNA, Draper said. "Those are very handy features because that means you can designdrugs totarget just bacteria and not kill the host," he said. RNA, or ribonucleic acid, ......ent of its Gross State Product to R&D in 1993, far higher than the 2.7 percent national average. Oregon's R&D for 1993 totaled $774 million. The report is being released in conjunction with the Association's 163rd Annual Meeting which has brought more than 5,000 scientists, policymakers, educators and jour...Scientists Urge Further Study Of Alarming Coral Reef Decline
...n-causedscenarios. Some scientists have implicated higher seawatertemperatures, presumably from global warming. Other scientistshave found evidence for just the opposite, cooler than normalseawater temperatures. Still other theories blame pollution, oilspills and sedimentation caused by construction and was...Prostate Cancer's Aggressiveness May Be Predicted Early By The Ratio Of Free To Total PSA
...1,800 deaths. Prostate cancer rates are 37 percent higher for black men than white men. Between 1980 and 1990 prostate cancer incidence rates increased 65 percent, largely due to improved detection. A free fact sheet on prostate gland changes, "Prostate Problems," is available by calling the NIA Informatio...Supelco Licenses ORNL Solid Sorbent Air Sampling Material
... the sorbent trap's most impressive feature is its higher thermalstability. The conventional carbon-based traps can be heated to only 400Celsius before the materials degrade. The sol-gel material, however, can beheated to 600 Celsius. Technology maturation funds from the Office of Technology Transfersupport...Hot 'Lanta: NASA, School Kids Team To Study How Trees Help Cities Keep Their Cool
...s heat is released aftersunset and forms a dome of higher temperatures over the city. But Quattrochi and co-investigator Jeffrey Luvall, also at GHCC, have found some hope in the midst of the swelteringcities. Trees can help reduce temperatures. That's part of what they want to define and study in Atlanta....Munching Microbes Make A Meal Out Of Toxic Substances
...er of benzoate-degrading organisms in the soil was higher than normal background levels. "Our conclusion is that there are more of this type of microbe at these sites because they're eating one of their favorite foods -- petroleum," Nies says. The standard method for cleaning up contaminated soil is to exca......ical benefits from physical training as women with higher iron status. "We suspect that iron-deficient wome...ot benefit from the training as much as women with higher iron status because their metabolic responses to exercise are impaired," Haas predicted. Now that th...