Vitalona - Discover Science

A Really Inconvenient Truth: Divorce Is Not Green

December 5, 2007 – 10:15 am
The data are in. Divorce is bad for the environment. A novel study that links divorce with the environment shows a global trend of soaring divorce rates has created more households with fewer people, has taken up more space and has gobbled up more energy and water. A statistical remedy: Fall back in love. Cohabitation means less urban sprawl and softens the environmental hit. The findings of Jianguo "Jack" Liu and Eunice Yu at Michigan State University are published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "Not only the United States, but also other countries, including developing countries such as China and places with strict religious policies regarding divorce, are having more divorced households," Liu said. "The consequent increases in consumption of water and energy and using more space are being seen everywhere." Liu and his research assistant Yu started with the obvious -- that divorce rates across the globe ...

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Snapshot Clarifies How Materials Enter Cells

December 1, 2007 – 10:15 am
A group of Purdue University researchers has captured a key step in the metabolic process that allows materials, such as nutrients and drug treatments, to move in and out of cells. A research team led by Jue Chen, an associate professor of biological sciences, obtained a snapshot of the tiny protein gate complex that opens and closes pathways through the protective cellular membrane. The gates, operated by small protein machines that push them open and closed, bring nutrients into the cell and flush out waste. The Purdue-led team was the first to achieve an image of the middle step of the process, capturing the molecular interactions as material passes through the membrane. "By understanding the mechanisms of this process, researchers may be able to design more effective treatments for diseases that involve this group of proteins, such as cancer and cystic fibrosis," said Chen, who also is a member of Purdue's structural biology ...

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Bees Are The New Silkworms

November 26, 2007 – 11:22 pm
Honey bees with pupal brood cells. Honeybee larvae produce silk to reinforce the wax cells in which they pupate. (Credit: Nick Pitsas, CSIRO) Moths and butterflies, particularly silkworms, are well known producers of silk. And we all know spiders use it for their webs. But they are not the only invertebrates who make use of the strength and versatility of silk. Dr Tara Sutherland and her group from CSIRO Entomology are looking at silks produced by other insects and the results of their recent work have been published in Molecular Biology and Evolution, in the paper Conservation of Essential Design Features in Coiled Coil Silks. “Most people are unaware that bees and ants produce silk but they do and its molecular structure is very different to that of the large protein, sheet structure of moth and spider silk. The cocoon and nest silks we looked at consist of coiled coils - a protein ...

Posted in Animals, genetic, mind, scientists | No Comments »

Getting To The Root Of Caring For Your Hair At Any Age

November 20, 2007 – 8:25 am
For most people, and especially women, hair is their crowning glory that defines a significant part of their appearance and personal style. Yet, despite its delicate composition, hair is routinely subjected to significant damage from styling products, hair dyes, straightening or waving procedures and even sun exposure. Over time, hair that was once radiant can look brittle, frizzy and lackluster. Speaking November 8 at the American Academy of Dermatology’s (Academy) SKIN academy, dermatologist Zoe D. Draelos, MD, FAAD, from High Point, N.C., discussed the most common causes of hair damage, including how to prevent it and ways to maintain healthy hair as we age. “It’s important to understand that hair is nonliving and cannot be repaired once it is injured,” said Dr. Draelos. “As we get older, hair growth slows down and the cosmetic beauty of our hair decreases. Hair loss that occurs from continual hair breakage over the years is a ...

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Earliest Chocolate Drink Of The New World

November 20, 2007 – 8:18 am
The earliest known use of cacao––the source of our modern day chocolate––has been pushed back more than 500 years, to somewhere between 1400 and 1100 B.C.E., thanks to new chemical analyses of residues extracted from pottery excavated at an archaeological site at Puerto Escondido in Honduras. The new evidence also indicates that, long before the flavor of the cacao seed (or bean) became popular, it was the sweet pulp of the chocolate fruit, used in making a fermented (5% alcohol) beverage, which first drew attention to the plant in the Americas. That cacao’s popularity on the world stage began with its role in an alcoholic beverage does not surprise the researchers. “This development probably provided the impetus to domesticate the chocolate tree and only later, to prepare a beverage based on the more bitter beans,” suggested Dr. Patrick McGovern* of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. “An alcoholic beverage ...

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Massive Project Will Scour Universe For Gravity Waves

November 19, 2007 – 4:27 am
Astronomers are searching for gravitational waves in space, a feat that would literally change what we know about the cosmos. Using new tools to look at the universe, says Patrick Brady, often has led to discoveries that change the course of science. History is full of examples. "Galileo was the first person to use the telescope to view the cosmos," says Brady, a UWM professor of physics. "His observations with the new technology led to the discovery of moons orbiting Jupiter and lent support to the heliocentric model of the solar system." Just such an opportunity exists today with a unique observatory that is scanning the skies, searching for one of Einstein's greatest predictions -- gravitational waves. Gravitational waves are produced when massive objects in space move violently. The waves carry the imprint of the events that cause them. Scientists already have indirect evidence that gravitational waves exist, but have not directly detected ...

Posted in SpaceExploration, planets, research, universe | No Comments »

Hormone Of Darkness: Melatonin Could Hurt Memory Formation At Night

November 18, 2007 – 8:55 pm
What do you do when a naturally occurring hormone in your body turns against you? What do you do when that same hormone – melatonin – is a popular supplement you take to help you sleep? A University of Houston professor and his team of researchers may have some answers. Gregg W. Roman, assistant professor in the department of biology and biochemistry at UH, describes his team’s findings in Science. Frequently called “the hormone of darkness,” melatonin is a hormone the body produces that may regulate patterns of sleeping and awakening in humans. In almost all organisms tested, this antioxidant’s natural levels are high during the night and low during the day. In addition to what the body produces naturally, many people also take melatonin supplements to fight jet lag, balance out seasonal affect disorder and regulate nighttime dementia. Roman says, however, that melatonin could actually be hurting you at night, finding in ...

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Regional Variation In Warming From Sun During Solar Cycle

November 14, 2007 – 6:52 am
A NASA satellite designed, built and controlled by the University of Colorado at Boulder is expected to help scientists resolve wide-ranging predictions about the coming solar cycle peak in 2012 and its influence on Earth's warming climate, according to the chief scientist on the project.Senior Research Associate Tom Woods of CU-Boulder's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics said the brightening of the sun as it approaches its next solar cycle maximum will have regional climatic impacts on Earth. While some scientists predict the next solar cycle -- expected to start in 2008 -- will be significantly weaker than the present one, others are forecasting an increase of up to 40 percent in the sun's activity, said Woods. Woods is the principal investigator on NASA's $88 million Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment, or SORCE, mission, launched in 2003 to study how and why variations in the sun affect Earth's atmosphere and climate. ...

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Changing Environment Organizes Genetic Structure

November 14, 2007 – 6:46 am
The more modular genetic information becomes, the more complex the web of life becomes. For example, the human being above is far more complex than the singled-celled yeast used to make these loaves of bread rise, yet humans have only about four times as many genes as yeast cells do. (Credit: iStockphoto) What is the fundamental creative force behind life on Earth? It's a question that has vexed mankind for millennia, and thanks to theory and almost a year's worth of number-crunching on a supercomputer, Rice University physicist and bioengineer Michael Deem thinks he has the answer: A changing environment may organize the structure of genetic information itself. "Our results suggest that the beautiful, intricate and interrelated structures observed in nature may be the generic result of evolution in a changing environment," Deem said. "The existence of such structure need not necessarily rest on intelligent design or the anthropic principle." The information that ...

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Babies Driving Their Own Robots

November 10, 2007 – 11:58 pm
The tiny robot is ringed with sensors that can determine the obstacle-free roaming space, and will either allow infants to bump obstacles or will take control from the infant and drive around the obstacle itself. (Credit: Image courtesy of University Of Delaware) Babies driving robots. It sounds like the theme of a cartoon series but it is actually the focus of important and innovative research being conducted at the University of Delaware that could have significant repercussions for the cognitive development of infants with special needs. Two UD researchers – James C. (Cole) Galloway, associate professor of physical therapy, and Sunil Agrawal, professor of mechanical engineering – have outfitted kid-size robots to provide mobility to children who are unable to fully explore the world on their own. The work is important because much of infant development, both of the brain and behavior, emerges from the thousands of experiences each day that arise as ...

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