Pack rat middens give unique view on evolution and climate change in past million years
...osky and Bell extracted teeth from 10 recognizable layers of cave sediment, comparing fossils of 154 first l...ush vole had only recently evolved. Later sediment layers showed varying proportions of four-and five-triangle teeth, with the balance tipping toward five tri...How many fish in the sea? Census of Marine Life launches first report
...l debris that sift slowly downwards from the upper layers of the ocean. Scientists suspect that fishes in...and filmed large schools of arctic cod between the layers of pack ice. Normally bottom feeders, these cod were filmed grazing on upside-down algal pastures. ...Purdue team solves structure of West Nile virus
... As West Nile develops inside a host cell, several layers of protein molecules assemble themselves around the genetic material, forming a protective shell. The outer layer of proteins is often arranged in an intricate pattern of interlocked molecules that can give the particle's surface the appearance of a ...Antarctic penguins thrive in ocean 'oases'
...ined with shallow coastal waters, provides the top layers of the ocean with added sunlight, so polynyas offer ideal conditions for phytoplankton blooms. Because the ice around polynyas is thin in the early spring when the long Austral day begins, they are the first areas to get strong sunlight. The open wat...Don't drink the water: Texas A&M researcher conducting study of polluted Mexican lake
...ons, seasonal changes in the water flow, different layers of the lake from the bottom to the surface, water flowing into the lake, various pollutants and other factors. The collected data from the study is being analyzed and when completed will be sent to Mexican officials, Anis says. The study is co-fund...Livestock health sensors and wireless data storage in the works
...o be capable of accumulating and aggregating three layers of data, be economically feasible for producers, and protect the confidentiality of their herd health information while still allowing data access for epidemiological analysis, Andresen said. The telemedicine system will gather health data for an ani...Ocean plant life slows down and absorbs less carbon
...20 years. Warmer water creates more distinct ocean layers and limits mixing of deeper nutrient-rich cooler water with warmer surface water. The lack of rising nutrients keeps phytoplankton growth in check at the surface. The North Atlantic and North Pacific experienced major increases in sea surface temper...Stem cells delivered into back of eye hold promise for people with retinitis pigmentosa
...ining the rods and cones as well as other neuronal layers degenerate within a few weeks after birth. Most of...retinal degeneration the two deeper retinal vessel layers completely degenerate by about one month after birth. In humans with retinitis pigmentosa, a very s...Story tips from the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, September 2003
... kernel of fissile/fertile materials surrounded by layers of carbon and silicon carbide ceramic for protection and containment. Coated particle fuel has additional benefits such as its abilities to operate at high temperatures, to achieve high burn-up and to survive accident conditions. [Contact: Ron Walli...Army awards up to $50 million to establish Institute for Collaborative Biotechnologies
...into an electronic structure, which can consist of layers of different semiconducting materials or different phases of the same material or some combination of both. At Caltech David Tirrell has gained wide recognition for a series of experiments showing that the molecular recognition of the cell's protein ...New tool helps researchers bone up on osteoporosis
...stimated U.S. annual economic loss because the egg layers aren't used for meat products is $18 million, Hester said. Other researchers involved in the study include: Diane Moody, Purdue assistant professor of animal sciences; graduate students Melissa Schreiweis and Helenice Mazzuco; animals scientists Jose...Development of hair depends on development of the hair channel
...s a malfunctioning set of channels: the three cell layers which form the channel were nearly completely absent. But in addition to the channel defects, the hair shaft of the grafted skin was affected: hairs grew abnormally short and thick. According to the researchers, these hair shaft irregularities were c...Envisat focuses on carbon-rich peat swamp forest fires
...burn. Lowland tropical peat swamps are formed from layers of woody debris too waterlogged to fully decompose. Slowly deposited over thousands of years, the carbon-rich peat strata have been known to reach a thickness of up to 20 metres. By rights these humid peat swamps shouldn't be vulnerable to flame but...New approach to gene knockouts reveals the 'master planners' of the skeleton
...le genes will enable scientists to "peel away" the layers of redundant gene function to more closely discern the true developmental roles of specific members of the Hox gene families. The 13 sets of Hox genes, each with multiple members, have long been known to be "transcriptional regulators" that contr...Nanotech strategy could create new organs
...er (researchers expect it could take from 30 to 50 layers to represent a fully functioning liver) so it did not replace the existing liver. Kaazempur-Mofrad and his colleagues plan investigate if this approach works in higher level animals next. "So far we have succeeded in making individual, functioning u...Lead-based paint is poisoning albatross chicks at Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge
...ending on the source of the lead sample. Different layers of paint on the buildings at Midway had different isotope signatures, and the blood samples and soil samples also varied widely in their isotope compositions. To identify the source of exposure, the researchers had to use a "case study" approach, loo...The science of summer haircuts
...or that heat to escape the head. Thick overlapping layers of hair "insulate the scalp," says Desmond Tobin of Bradford University in England. "Short hair will reduce this during hot weather," he says. Things get even better if the hair is not totally flat. Curly hair, such as an afro, is 'raised' above ...Alien earthworms changing ecology of Northeast forests
...ng into the atmosphere. "The leaf litter and duff layers consist almost entirely of stored carbon, so when the worms eat and process the litter and duff, they release carbon dioxide and possibly methane in their burrows," Amador said. "We're not predicting catastrophe, of course, since the total amount of ...Volcanologist Richard S. Fiske receives award
...to cracks in the Kilauea volcano to search for ash layers between lava flows. These days, he can be found in a small submersible unit in the waters off the coast of Japan to explore recently active undersea craters. Besides his major research projects, Dr. Fiske finds ways to convey his enthusiasm for vol...160,000-year-old fossilized skulls from Ethiopia are oldest modern humans
...versity in Ohio used the chemistry of the volcanic layers to correlate the dated layers. The Middle Awash team consists of more than 45 scientists from 14 different countries who specialize in geology, archaeology and paleontology. In this single study area, the team has found fossils dating from the presen...