Researchers discover molecular timekeeper in bone development
...strated by specialized bone cells that secrete and absorb materials as needed. First, a soft cartilage-based foundation is laid, upon which mature bone will solidify. Then, minerals containing calcium and phosphate are deposited throughout the foundation, creating a framework for the bone. Finally, this raw...New method to measure ancient land elevation developed by Field Museum scientist
...ings on the surface of leaves through which plants absorb gases, including carbon dioxide, which plants need for photosynthesis.Anyone who has climbed a mountain knows that the air gets "thinner" as you climb higher. As with oxygen, carbon dioxide is less concentrated at higher elevations. Therefore, the hi...Carbon sink or carbon source? Aerosols play role in shifts
...of photosaturation. As Niyogi explains it, "Plants absorb CO2 very efficiently. At very high levels of radia... more radiation you add, the plant is not going to absorb more CO2. But at lower levels of radiation, as is the case with diffuse radiation, any increase in r......wly formed nitrate particles is that they begin to absorb water and retain the moisture. These wet particles can scatter and absorb sunlight -- presenting climate modelers, who need to know where the energy is going, a new wild card...NASA study finds tiny particles in air may influence carbon sinks
... be changing how much carbon plants and ecosystems absorb from or release to the air. The research is impor...ze at a higher rate. During photosynthesis, plants absorb carbon from the air. In grasslands the top layers of leaves are not as dense as with crops and for...Screening for genetic disorders: Need to avoid anxiety
...the disorder. Haemochromatosis causes the body to absorb an excessive amount of iron from food, and this can lead to damage to the liver and other body tissues. The research found that identifying individuals as being at risk does not automatically mean that other potentially vulnerable members of the fam...Immune system contributes to evolution of a new fluorescent protein
...scent proteins in intact mammals, because it would absorb and emit light at red wavelengths beyond those absorbed by blood. Once they had allowed the B cells to carry out SHM on the gene for red fluorescent protein, the researchers used a cell-sorting technique based on fluorescence to separate out cells wh...Research could lead to new treatments for blindness
...eptive which tells us that this protein is able to absorb light," said Dr Rob Lucas, who led the team in Manchester. "This discovery might provide food for thought for scientists looking for ways of treating visual loss." Dr Lucas, whose research concerns the effect light has on our daily rhythms, said the ...Transgenic plants remove more selenium from polluted soil than wild plants, new tests show
...first field trial of plants genetically tweaked to absorb more contaminants, researchers found that the tran...to see if it's possible to increase its ability to absorb selenium and other pollutants ten-, one hundred-, or even one thousand- fold. This field test is the...Experimental radar provides 3-D forest view
...t significant onshore stores of carbon, helping to absorb excess carbon dioxide that would otherwise increase global warming. So the Kyoto Protocol, about to come into force, allows nations with forested areas to set them against carbon emission. Accurate quantification of total forest biomass would provide...New system can measure productivity of oceans
...ns of organic matter each year, and in the process absorb carbon dioxide and pour oxygen into the atmosphere. Their abundance dictates the location and health of most marine fisheries. They play a critical role in marine water quality issues, can help regulate climate, are affected by climate, and are respo...Scientists propose new approach to estimating global ocean productivity
...visions in estimates of how much carbon the oceans absorb from the atmosphere. It may also lead to new understanding of how shifts in phytoplankton populations echo through marine ecosystems, from the smallest bacteria to whales. Phytoplankton provide the foundation for marine fisheries and, like all plan...Novel sulfide-binding mechanism found in deep-sea tubeworms
...o most other animals. While the worms are able to absorb the oxygen and sulfide through their gills, they have no organs for capturing or digesting food. Their only known source of nutrition comes from internal bacteria, which, in turn, rely on the worm's hemoglobin for both sulfide and oxygen. The unusu...Robots walk with close-to-human efficiency
...h off, while other robots needlessly use energy to absorb work, for example in moving the limbs forward more slowly than they would naturally swing under gravity power. "In other robots the motors are fighting themselves," he says. Researchers at each of the three universities have built walking robots, dif...Plants become green Mr. Clean to combat toxic messes
...s at phytoremediation because plants can't readily absorb them. Rugh and colleagues are having success with genetic engineering to create plants that get to the root of the problem literally. The rhizosphere is the world that surrounds plant roots, encompassing the bacteria, fungi, "the zone around a plant...Growth in the sea comes down to a struggle for iron
...nd he went further than that. Since growing plants absorb carbon dioxide, a powerful greenhouse gas, he suggested that natural increases in iron inputs to the oceans during the geologic past may have removed enough carbon from the atmosphere to affect global climate, perhaps even contributing to the onset o...Tiny scaffolding allows stem cells to become working fat cells
...to complete. At that point, the cells were able to absorb lipids a hallmark task of fat cells. Researchers were able to extract RNA from the cells, just as they can from naturally occurring fat cells, and from that proved that the cells expressed the normally expected array of genes, and subsequent proteins...Forsyth scientists find blue light fights gum disease culprits
...also knew, from published reports, that porphyrins absorb blue light more readily than light that is red or green. The team employed a halogen lamp source commonly used for tooth whitening to shine broadband light comprised mainly of blue and a small percentage of green light (wavelengths ranged from 380 t...New alloy verified for safer disposal of spent nuclear energy fuel
...showed far greater ability than any other alloy to absorb the deadly radioactive neutrons emitted by nuclear waste. The researchers found that the gadolinium-nickel alloy passed an important test - it can be fabricated in large quantities using conventional ingot metallurgy and fusion welding techniques. Th...The Academy of Natural Sciences investigates effects of climate change on Delaware tidal marshes
...fer storm and floodwaters, slow shoreline erosion, absorb excess nutrients before they reach oceans and estuaries, and provide nursery habitat for fishes....