Toxins drove evolution of human taste sense, global study reveals
...y and represent a key limitation in increasing the nutrient content of plant foods. "While this gene variant may have been advantageous in our past through avoidance of natural toxins, one might speculate that it may now contribute to increasing disease risk through lowered intake of such beneficial compounds...Study explores plant phenotypic plasticity belowground
... by growing more roots in response to locally high nutrient levels. One of the most widely accepted explanati...er, the ability to forage precisely in response to nutrient patches is completely unrelated to plant size. Surprisingly, most species grew bigger when soil reso...Researchers explore ecological issues at annual meeting
...ow individual fish species contribute to aggregate nutrient cycling and thus how eroding biodiversity may affe...or changes to the habitat, can significantly alter nutrient cycling in these ecosystems. "The implication of this work is that human modification of the make-up...Earth from space: bloom in the Baltic
...but also to local environmental variations such as nutrient levels, temperature, currents and winds. Favourable conditions lead to concentrated 'blooms' like the one we see here. Monitoring phytoplankton is important because they form the base of the marine food web sometimes known as 'the grass of the sea'...Census of Marine Life explorers surprised by diversity, density of Arctic creatures
...gical communities, water temperature, salinity and nutrient loads. The scientists operated around the clock to maximize expensive ship time, sampling at 14 locations in all; five involved depths 3,300 meters and more below ice. The explorers employed a suite of tools to conduct "gentle sampling," includin...Folic acid link with low birth weight, shows pioneering study
...influences birth weight because it is an essential nutrient for growth and gene expression in the foetus. Smoking is likely to reduce a women's folate levels because it is a significant source of oxidative stress and may alter the ability of the cell to metabolise and ultimately store the vitamin. The best ...The ecological effects of the Chernobyl disaster
...utation rates, to plant and animal communities, to nutrient cycling. Sergey Gaschak (International Radioecology Laboratory, Ukraine) will open the session with his presentation, "Determinants of levels of 90Sr and 137Cs in birds in Chernobyl." Studying 228 birds of 23 different species captured in Chernobyl, ...Field tested: Grasslands won't help buffer climate change as carbon dioxide levels rise
...perimentally controlled atmospheric, climatic, and nutrient conditions. (This study examines the experiment's first five years.) To quantify the grassland response to these treatments, the authors estimated net primary production, or NPP (the amount of carbon left over after cellular respiration) by measuring...Nutrition scientists take a look at cataract prevention
...s provide added support for a relationship between nutrient intake and cataracts," says Jacques. However, since there is inconsistency among studies of fat intake and cataracts, he cautions that more research is needed. Jacques adds, "finding ways to delay age-related cataract formation through diet, or even ...Nitrogen in the air feeds the oceans
...rogen is a building block of life and an essential nutrient forphytoplankton and other aquatic life. Biologists have long knownthat as dead organic matter decomposes in the depths of the ocean,nitrogen breaks free and drifts upward. The problem is that not nearly enough nitrogen rises up to nourishall of the ...Highlights from the September Journal of the American Dietetic Asociation
...ls maintain a healthy body mass index and adequate nutrient intake. Using data from the National Heart, Lung a...eal consumption had positive effects on the girls' nutrient intake, particularly in higher levels of calcium and fiber and lower levels of fat and cholesterol. ...Illinois research zeroing in on optimum soil nitrogen rates
...Although corn roots grow to a depth of seven feet, nutrient needs are often assessed by sampling only the upper seven inches of soil. "And fertilizer is seldom applied below this depth," Mulvaney said. "So I worry that we are depleting the subsoil, where the crop really needs the fertility, while we concentra...Can ancient rocks yield clues about catastrophes like Hurricane Katrina?
...the processes and feedbacks controlling carbon and nutrient cycling in the modern world and during past periods of extreme warmth is therefore critical to separate human impact on climate from natural variability and underpins the ability to adapt to future conditions,' he said....Methane gyrations last 2,000 years show human influnece on atmosphere
...n is when humans began influencing the climate and nutrient system," he said. "We are in an unusually long interglacial period right now, and another interesting but unresolved question is whether humans, without forethought, have inadvertently kept Earth out of the next ice age by altering its energy budget...Hidden sponges determine coral reef's nutrient cycle
...s sponges, play an extremely important role in the nutrient cycle of coral reefs. Indeed they probably play th...heffers investigated a lesser-studied subject: the nutrient cycle on the coral reef and the role that organisms living in cavities, such as sponges, play in thi...Leafy green vegetables may help keep brains sharp through aging
...nnaires, and took blood samples in order to see if nutrient levels in the diet and the blood were related to changes in cognitive performance." In an earlier study with the same NAS group, which corroborated the findings of other investigators, the Tufts research team observed that high homocysteine--a kno...Study in Royal Society journal on first observation of giant squid in the wild
...rates, hummingbirds must rely partially on passive nutrient absorption to meet their high metabolic demands. These findings are an interesting revision to our understanding of how energy absorption occurs in hummingbirds, widely studied as models of energy balance. Contact: Dr. TJ McWhorter, Wildlife Ecology...Duke scientists explain gaps in nutrient availability within North Atlantic
...c circulation zone can have a large variability in nutrient supplies needed to sustain ocean plants and, by ex..., with minimum readings corresponding with the low nutrient concentrations, according to the Duke team. Depressed nutrient levels ultimately limit the "primary ...A new angle on flowers: Fish are players in pollination
...es and other predators to reducing mountain stream nutrient levels. The fish-flower research shows the same potential for human impacts at a far more local and everyday level. People may never notice, but when they create, fill or drain a pond, or stock it, the ecological ripples lap onto shore. "The presence...DURHAM, N.C. An immature egg's internal nutrient supply is critical to its survival, an insight tha... frog oocytes, the Duke researchers found that the nutrient storehouse, or yolk, plays a key role in regulating the survival of these cells. Depleting the nutri...