Decoding mushroom's secrets could combat carbon, find better biofuels and safer soils
...o scientists and engineers looking to maximize the decomposition and transformation of plant material into bio fuels. The mushroom also forms an important model for carbon cycling studies. Carbon is sequestered in soils as plant organic matter. Between 12 giga tons of carbon a year are sequestered in pools on l......arried out at various temperatures, given that the decomposition of a cadaver in winter is different from that in winter. Moment of death The team has described all the larval stages of some species. These are useful in determining the time of death of the body, given that, if the larvae are found in the body ...Christian Paradis announces $4 million for renewable energies
.... Paradis. Biomethane, which is generated by the decomposition of organic waste in sanitary landfill sites, represents one of the largest sources of methane produced by human activity, at nearly 26 percent of total methane production in Canada. The biomethane harvesting project will result in reducing greenhouse...Smithsonian scientists report new carbon dioxide study
...O2. With thepriming effect of added CO2, more soil decomposition results in higherrespiration rates, an overall loss of carbon and an increase in therelease of CO2 from the soil....Cold climate produced by algae contributed to onset of multicellular life
...ls on the seafloor contributed to a more efficient decomposition of the algae-produced organic carbon, which slowed the rate of organic carbon sequestration. This in turn increased the atmospheric carbon dioxide level and ended the severe glaciations and the reign of unicellular algae, initiating the development o...Story tips from the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, January 2007
...specific volatile compounds associated with burial decomposition and narrowed these down to the top 30 in order of ...tifies the "odor signature" unique to human burial decomposition and could lead to improved cadaver dog training and possibly to a portable instrument that could hel...Nitrogen study may improve ecological predictions
... importance during an era of global warming. Plant decomposition releases more carbon each year than all of the fos...her sources, until they have all they need for the decomposition process, Harmon said. This "immobilization" of nitrogen can actually cause a reduction in available ...Rotting leaf litter study could lead to more accurate climate models
...cosystems," said Parton. "When you increase litter decomposition rates, you are enhancing carbon dioxide release to... of temperature and moisture. The slowest rates of decomposition were in cold regions, such as boreal forests and tundra, and the fastest in the warm, moist, tropica...Soil nutrients shape tropical forests, large-scale study indicates
...oils around them (through the uptake of nutrients, decomposition of leaf litter on the forest floor and through root exudates), in tropical forests local neighborhoods contain so many species that the ability of individual species to influence soil properties is likely to be small. "We interpret these plant-soil ...Dinosaurs -- stones did not help with digestion
...ive system must have used other methods, since the decomposition of large amounts of material which is difficult to digest requires the assistance of bacteria in the digestive system. The smaller the pieces are, the better they can break down the food. Possibly, the scientists conclude, the intestines of the sauro...Researchers study role of natural organic matter in environment
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The decomposition of plant, animal and microbial material in soil and water produces a variety of complex organic molecules, collectively called natural organic matter. These compounds play many important roles in the environment. By studying the molecular mechanism...Professional fasters deep under the sea floor
... by radioactive radiation, which arises during the decomposition of naturally occurring potassium, thorium and uranium isotopes. This process (radiolysis) creates hydrogen and oxygen. Estimates of the energy balance show that this process can supply sufficient energy for the microorganisms. This would make life fo...... fluids contain chemical compounds produced by the decomposition of organic materials or by inorganic chemical reactions which occur at high temperatures and pressures. Near cold seeps in the Eastern Mediterranean, Sbastien Duperron from Universit Pierre et Marie Curie in France has found unique bacterial symbi...Two miles underground, strange bacteria are found thriving
...drogen needed for their respiration comes from the decomposition of water by radioactive decay of uranium, thorium and potassium." Because the groundwater the team sampled to find the bacteria comes from several different sources, it remains difficult to determine specifically how long the bacteria have been isol...Bacteria that use radiated water as food
...ated through biological processes, but rather from decomposition of water exposed to radiation from uranium-bearing...ture allows for the formation of hydrogen gas from decomposition of water and formation of sulfate from decomposition of sulfur minerals. Hydrogen gas is highly ener...Otherworldly bacteria discovered two miles down
...n (H2) needed for their respiration comes from the decomposition of water (H2O) by radioactive decay of uranium, thorium, and potassium." Humans and most other land-dwelling organisms ultimately get their energy from the Sun, with photosynthetic plants forming the base of the food web. But in dark places where...Northern bogs may have helped kick-start past global warming
...e bogs release methane gas as a byproduct of plant decomposition that takes place without oxygen. Like carbon dioxide, methane is a greenhouse gas. But, molecule for molecule, it is said to be up to 23 times more potent as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. So while peatlands do sequester carbon, their methane ......ia eaters, nematodes play an important role in the decomposition process in the soil. They are also easy to study in the laboratory. The researcher discovered that how nematodes respond to pollution is related to their life cycle. Sexually-reproducing strains are more pollution sensitive than hermaphroditic stra...... major food used by the deep biosphere. During its decomposition by microbes, acetate--the ionic form of acetic acid--is formed. We think that bacteria use hydrogen to convert acetate into ethane. Addition of inorganic carbon and hydrogen provides a route to propane." In support of their hypothesis for a biologi......ue reactions and better define the timeline of its decomposition and drug release. He says that human clinical trials may be two or more years away depending on approvals from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration....