ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

To treat or to tolerate (pathogens), that is the question

Posted: 16 Jun 2022 10:52 AM PDT

Scientists have used Xenopus laevis tadpoles to tease out the genetic and biological mechanisms that enhance disease tolerance, and have identified drugs that can keep the tadpoles alive even in the presence of lethal bacteria. Many of the same mechanisms are also found in mammals, suggesting that humans and other animals could one day be treated for disease by increasing their tolerance to pathogens rather than killing the pathogens themselves.

Research extends the lifetime of molecules in organic flow batteries to practical values

Posted: 16 Jun 2022 09:16 AM PDT

Researchers have developed a new method to dramatically extend the lifetime of organic aqueous flow batteries, improving the commercial viability of a technology that has the potential to safely and inexpensively store energy from renewable sources such as wind and solar.

New solution for stem cell manufacturing

Posted: 16 Jun 2022 07:19 AM PDT

Researchers have developed a unique 3D printed system for harvesting stem cells from bioreactors.

Olive trees were first domesticated 7,000 years ago, study finds

Posted: 16 Jun 2022 07:19 AM PDT

A new study has unraveled the earliest evidence for domestication of a fruit tree, researchers report. The researchers analyzed remnants of charcoal from the Chalcolithic site of Tel Zaf in the Jordan Valley and determined that they came from olive trees. Since the olive did not grow naturally in the Jordan Valley, this means that the inhabitants planted the tree intentionally about 7,000 years ago.

Wildfire smoke exposure negatively impacts dairy cow health

Posted: 16 Jun 2022 07:19 AM PDT

Increasing frequency and size of wildfires in the United States over the past several decades affect everything from human life and health to air quality, biodiversity, and land use. The US dairy industry is not exempt from these effects. The Western states, where wildfires are especially prevalent, are home to more than two million dairy cows that produce more than 25% of the nation's milk. A new report examines how dairy cattle in the Western United States may be affected by unique air pollutants from wildfire smoke.

Can a parasitic wasp save your fruit crops?

Posted: 16 Jun 2022 07:19 AM PDT

Researchers developed a toolkit for investigating the molecular mechanisms governing the parasitic nature of the wasp species Asobara japonica. They first used DNA and RNA-sequencing-based techniques to identify genes controlling the wasp's body color, as well as the putative toxic components in its venom. They used RNA interference to block expression of the body color gene, darkening its appearance. Future experiments will use this technique to better understand the venom components' functions.

Scientists fail to locate once-common CA bumble bees

Posted: 16 Jun 2022 07:19 AM PDT

Several species of California bumble bees have gone missing in the first statewide census of the fuzzy pollinators in 40 years.

Dynamic rearrangement and autophagic degradation of the mitochondria during plant spermiogenesis

Posted: 16 Jun 2022 07:19 AM PDT

Researchers have reported that in the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha, the number of mitochondria in the spermatozoid (sperm) is controlled by autophagy during spermiogenesis.

Global warming is threatening the health of people in Britain

Posted: 16 Jun 2022 07:19 AM PDT

Heatwaves are making more people in rural areas of England severely ill today than they were in the 1980s, according to new research.

Nanochannels light the way towards new medicine

Posted: 16 Jun 2022 07:19 AM PDT

To develop new drugs and vaccines, detailed knowledge about nature's smallest biological building blocks -- the biomolecules -- is required. Researchers are now presenting a groundbreaking microscopy technique that allows proteins, DNA and other tiny biological particles to be studied in their natural state in a completely new way.

Plastic pollution in ocean may harbor novel antibiotics

Posted: 15 Jun 2022 06:13 PM PDT

Plastic pollution in the ocean, which can support microbial communities, may serve as a source for novel antibiotics, according to a new student-led study conducted in collaboration with the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

Biotechnology platforms enable fast, customizable vaccine production

Posted: 15 Jun 2022 06:13 PM PDT

An examination of the COVID-related transition to biotechnology platform-based techniques for vaccine development concludes that such smart manufacturing techniques could in the future be applied to other viruses, potentially allowing vaccine development to keep pace with constantly evolving pathogens.

Unique Viking shipyard discovered at Birka

Posted: 15 Jun 2022 06:13 PM PDT

Archaeologists have located a unique Viking Age shipyard site at Birka on Björkö in Lake Mälaren. The discovery challenges previous theories about how the maritime activities of the Viking Age were organized.

Inspired by palm trees, scientists develop hurricane-resilient wind turbines

Posted: 15 Jun 2022 06:12 PM PDT

New results from real-world tests of a downwind turbine could inform and improve the wind energy industry in a world with intensifying hurricanes and a greater demand for renewable energy.

Co-existing mangrove-coral habitats have a new global classification system

Posted: 15 Jun 2022 11:57 AM PDT

By coexisting more closely with mangroves, tropical coral species may have found an alternative habitat where they can thrive in the face of climate change.

Mechanism of expanding bacteria revealed

Posted: 15 Jun 2022 08:32 AM PDT

The process that allows bacteria to expand and grow while maintaining the strength of the cell walls has been identified as offering a potential new target for antibiotics.