From hot springs to rice farms, scientists reveal new insights into the secret lives of archaea
...ed archaea as extremophiles-creatures that live in extreme conditions. Indeed, many species of archaea thrive...of researchers will present new findings about the extreme and not-so-extreme world of archaea during the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU...Origin of inherited pain disorder pinpointed
...pointed by researchers. They found that paroxysmal extreme pain disorder (PEPD) is caused by specific mutations in porelike sodium channels in peripheral nerve cellsa discovery that they said emphasizes the role of such channel disorders in inflammatory pain. Such findings of abnormal function in disease als...Stormy days ahead for coral reefs
...gers to assess the vulnerability of their reefs to extreme wave events," says Dr. Madin. "The ability to esti...d calculates whether they will be dislodged during extreme weather. The research introduces a new concept colony shape factor (CSF) to translate the myria...New moth variety disarms plants guarded by selenium
...e plants "hyperaccumulate" the element selenium to extreme levels--up to 1% of the plant's dry weight. Selenium, an element with properties similar to sulfur, is an essential trace element for many organisms, but it typically is toxic at high levels, and the function behind the intriguing tendency of some pl...Global warming increases species extinctions worldwide
...id Parmesan. "Rare species that live in fragile or extreme habitats are already being affected, and we expect that to continue." The studies Parmesan analyzed also show that some species--those with short generation times like insects--are evolving in response to climate change, but not in ways that could ...Remote latrine reconfirms the presence of Essene sect at Qumran
...hypothesis" by showing the presence of unusual and extreme toiletry and hygiene practices in the ancient comm... water appear to be the most likely causes for the extreme differences in early mortality between Qumran and the contemporary Jericho. "The people in Jericho ...Story tips from the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, November 2006
... looks at and mimics real-world situations such as extreme temperatures, humidity, air pressure, magnetic fields, electromagnetic interference, ionizing radiation, voltage variation, vibration, shock and even dust. Devices can simulate collisions, impacts and changing conditions that, in tests, can assure th...10 million people a year are affected by zoonotic viruses spread by non-human hosts
...ans" says Dr Heeney. "But it is believed that in extreme situations when certain animal viruses transmit to humans they may mutate and adapt to the new host so effectively that they may become almost exclusively spread from humans to humans. This seems to have already happened with measles and the HIV viru......which are active areas of fluid seepage, are other extreme environments discovered in the 1990s. These harsh conditions give rise to some of the most extreme and scientifically challenging environments for life to exist on the planet. Extensive fields of ...Scientists use gene therapy to improve memory and learning in animals
...ogist Robert Sapolsky, co-author of the study. "In extreme cases it's called steroid dementia. Ideally, if you could deliver this gene safely, it would protect the person from some of these cognitive side effects, while allowing the steroid to do whatever helpful thing it should be doing elsewhere in the bod...Vaccine-producing 'plant-factories'
... proteins resisted high temperatures and withstood extreme conditions, characteristics of glycosylate proteins. The discovery was unexpected because the literature written to date does not contemplate the presence of this type of protein in the chloroplast. Once the presence of this type of protein in the ...Early Earth haze may have spurred life, says University of Colorado study
... to understand early life on Earth have focused on extreme environments like hydrothermal vents, where energy and nutrients are plentiful, said Tolbert. The new study shows that such a high-energy food source could have been produced globally early in Earth's history, possibly expanding the habitable domai......hen modelling risk scenarios. 'Research shows that extreme responses may lead to a "culture of fear" in which...edgework", where people deliberately take risks in extreme sports, sexual behaviour and relationships,' they say. The recognition of the complex nature of ri...Scientists: New phylum sheds light on ancestor of animals, humans
...s share a common ancestor, a first in science. Its extreme characteristics suggest that this common ancestor one the creature shares with its sister phyla, echinoderms and hemichordates, as well as chordates -- did not have a brain or central nervous system. "It is a basal organism, which by chance preserv...Research linking Ashkenazi Jews and breast cancer genes beset by problems
...sh population as isolated, and as having undergone extreme expansions and contractions. It attributes Ashkenazi Jewish genetic uniqueness to "founder effects," the idea that genetic mutations can take hold and spread within small, geographically isolated populations, such as a group living alone on an island...The power behind insect flight: Researchers reveal key kinetic component
... in larger animals," Swank said. "By investigating extreme examples, e.g. the fastest known muscle type, the mechanisms that differentiate fast and slow muscle fiber types are more readily apparent." In general, myosin breaks down adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the chemical fuel consumed by muscles, and conv...New study warns against linking ethnic identity to breast cancer genes
...sh population as isolated, and as having undergone extreme expansions and contractions. It attributes Ashkenazi Jewish genetic uniqueness to "founder effects," the idea that genetic mutations can take hold and spread within small, geographically isolated populations, such as a group living alone on an islan...Secrets revealed in sequencing of honey bee genome
... traits that honey bees exhibit through a prism of extreme sociality." The Honey Bee Genome Project originated in 1999 when Robinson and Daniel Weaver, a commercial beekeeper in Texas, joined forces to pitch the project. Robinson organized the academic community, while Weaver sought support from the bee indu...Sunflower speciation highlights roles for transposable elements in evolution
...dapted to, and evolved in, a so-called abiotically extreme environment--two of the species are found in desert environments, while the third is adapted to salt marshes. Both hybridization and abiotic stress have been implicated as natural agents of activation and proliferation of transposable elements.......quently in potentially painful activities such as extreme sports or if they have reduced levels of pain in arthritis and other common conditions," he adds. Woolf is the Richard Kitz Professor of Anaesthesia Research at Harvard Medical School....