Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

ScienceDaily: Plants & Animals News

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• Rare cliffhanging plant species uses unique reproductive strategy with ants
• Hands-on activities for high schoolers effectively teach about antibiotics
• New African monkey species identified: Lesula found in one of Congo's last biologically unexplored forest blocks
• Novel non-antibiotic agents against MRSA and strep infections
• Sinusitis linked to microbial diversity
• Studies shed light on how to reduce the amount of toxins in plant-derived foods
• Gut microbes help the body extract more calories from food
• Marijuana use implicated in pregnancy problems
• Cells surf through a microfluidic chip on fluid streamlines created by an oscillating plate
• Information theory helps unravel DNA's genetic code
• Detection and characterization of norovirus in outbreaks of gastroenteritis
• Old deeds, witness trees offer glimpse of pre-settlement forest in West Virginia
• Molecular switches in the cellular power plants: Researchers discover a new basic principle of the architecture of mitochondria
• Major update to Europe's 'alien' species catalogue
• Galápagos tomato provides key to making cultivated tomatoes resistant to whitefly
• Are our bones well designed? Insects and crabs have a leg up on us
• A carefully scheduled high-fat diet resets metabolism and prevents obesity, researchers find
• Genetic make-up of children explains how they fight malaria infection
• Little Ice Age led to migration of island hopping arctic foxes
• What's the main cause of obesity -- our genes or the environment?
• Responses of genes in females to sex revealed in fruit fly study

Rare cliffhanging plant species uses unique reproductive strategy with ants Posted: 12 Sep 2012 03:45 PM PDT The Borderea chouardii plant, which is critically endangered and is found only on two adjacent cliff sides in the Pyrenees, employs a unique and risky doubly mutualistic reproductive strategy with local ants, according to new research.

Hands-on activities for high schoolers effectively teach about antibiotics Posted: 12 Sep 2012 03:45 PM PDT A hands-on project to educate high schoolers about appropriate antibiotic use was highly effective, promoting more sophisticated understandings of bacteria and antibiotics and increasing understanding of the dangers of antibiotic resistance, and was even enjoyable.

New African monkey species identified: Lesula found in one of Congo's last biologically unexplored forest blocks Posted: 12 Sep 2012 03:45 PM PDT Researchers have identified a new species of African monkey, locally known as the lesula. This is only the second new species of African monkey discovered in the last 28 years.

Novel non-antibiotic agents against MRSA and strep infections Posted: 12 Sep 2012 01:19 PM PDT Medical researchers have discovered novel antivirulence drugs that, without killing the bacteria, render Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) and Streptococcus pyogenes, commonly referred to as strep, harmless by preventing the production of toxins that cause disease.

Sinusitis linked to microbial diversity Posted: 12 Sep 2012 01:19 PM PDT A common bacteria ever-present on the human skin and previously considered harmless, may, in fact, be the culprit behind chronic sinusitis, a painful, recurring swelling of the sinuses that strikes more than one in ten Americans each year, according to a new study.

Studies shed light on how to reduce the amount of toxins in plant-derived foods Posted: 12 Sep 2012 09:55 AM PDT A number of environmental toxins pose considerable health threats to humans, and the heavy metal cadmium (Cd) ranks high on the list. Most of us are exposed to it through plant-derived foods such as grains and vegetables. Now, new research offers ways in which investigators can reduce the amount of Cd found in the food we eat.

Gut microbes help the body extract more calories from food Posted: 12 Sep 2012 09:51 AM PDT In a study using zebrafish, researchers reveal how microbes in the intestine aid the uptake of fats -- and suggest how diet may influence our bodies’ microbial communities.

Marijuana use implicated in pregnancy problems Posted: 12 Sep 2012 07:18 AM PDT New research indicates marijuana-like compounds called endocannabinoids alter genes and biological signals critical to the formation of a normal placenta during pregnancy and may contribute to pregnancy complications like preeclampsia. A new study offers evidence that abnormal biological signaling by endocannabinoid lipid molecules produced by the body disrupts the movement of early embryonic cells important to a healthy pregnancy.

Cells surf through a microfluidic chip on fluid streamlines created by an oscillating plate Posted: 12 Sep 2012 06:32 AM PDT Scientists who study tissue engineering and test new drugs often need to sort, rotate, move, and otherwise manipulate individual cells. They can do this by prodding the cells into place with a mechanical probe or coaxing them in the desired direction with acoustic waves, electric fields, or flowing fluids. Techniques that rely on direct physical contact can position individual cells with a high level of precision while non-contact techniques are often faster for sorting large numbers of cells. An international team of researchers has now developed a way to manipulate cells that combines some of the benefits of both contact and non-contact methods.

Information theory helps unravel DNA's genetic code Posted: 12 Sep 2012 06:32 AM PDT “Superinformation,” or the randomness of randomness, can be used to predict the coding and noncoding regions of DNA.

Detection and characterization of norovirus in outbreaks of gastroenteritis Posted: 12 Sep 2012 06:30 AM PDT Researchers conducted a study on norovirus (NoV) in lettuces. The virus causes outbreaks of Gastroenteritis among children below age 5 in Malaysia.

Old deeds, witness trees offer glimpse of pre-settlement forest in West Virginia Posted: 12 Sep 2012 05:50 AM PDT Using old deeds and witness trees, a U.S. Forest Service scientist has created a glimpse of the composition of the forests that covered today's Monongahela National Forest before settlement and logging changed the landscape.

Molecular switches in the cellular power plants: Researchers discover a new basic principle of the architecture of mitochondria Posted: 12 Sep 2012 05:47 AM PDT A team of scientists has achieved groundbreaking new insights into the structure of mitochondria. Mitochondria are the microscopic power plants of the cell that harness the energy stored in food, thus enabling central life functions.

Major update to Europe's 'alien' species catalogue Posted: 12 Sep 2012 05:47 AM PDT The key catalogue of information on 'alien' (non-native) species in Europe has undergone a major update. The DAISIE (Delivering Alien Invasive Species Inventory for Europe) database allows the public and policymakers to get a comprehensive overview of which alien species are present in Europe, their impacts and consequences for the environment and society.

Galápagos tomato provides key to making cultivated tomatoes resistant to whitefly Posted: 12 Sep 2012 05:47 AM PDT The whitefly is a major problem for open field tomato cultivation throughout the world. Scientists in the Netherlands together with a number of partners have discovered genes for resistance to the whitefly in a wild relative of the common tomato. The scientists hope that resistant varieties can be brought to market within two years, making chemical pest control unnecessary.

Are our bones well designed? Insects and crabs have a leg up on us Posted: 12 Sep 2012 05:44 AM PDT Researchers in Ireland have recently shown that the legs of grasshoppers and crabs have the ideal shape to resist bending and compression. If human leg bones were built the same way, they could be twice as strong.

A carefully scheduled high-fat diet resets metabolism and prevents obesity, researchers find Posted: 12 Sep 2012 05:44 AM PDT New research shows that a carefully scheduled high-fat diet can lead to a reduction in body weight and a unique metabolism in which ingested fats are not stored, but rather used for energy at times when no food is available.

Genetic make-up of children explains how they fight malaria infection Posted: 12 Sep 2012 05:35 AM PDT Researchers have identified several novel genes that make some children more efficient than others in the way their immune system responds to malaria infection.

Little Ice Age led to migration of island hopping arctic foxes Posted: 11 Sep 2012 05:05 PM PDT The Little Ice Age allowed a new wave of arctic foxes to colonise Iceland, according to new research. A "bridge" of sea ice appeared during a dip in temperatures between 200 to 500 years ago allowing arctic foxes to migrate to Iceland from different Arctic regions including Russia, North America and Greenland. Researchers say their findings showed the importance of sea ice in creating and maintaining the genetic population of the arctic fox across the polar regions where the animal is found.

What's the main cause of obesity -- our genes or the environment? Posted: 11 Sep 2012 05:05 PM PDT The ongoing obesity epidemic is creating an unprecedented challenge for healthcare systems around the world, but what determines who gets fat? Two experts debate the issue.

Responses of genes in females to sex revealed in fruit fly study Posted: 11 Sep 2012 05:01 PM PDT Sex can trigger remarkable female responses including altered fertility, immunity, libido, eating and sleep patterns -- by the activation of diverse sets of genes, according to new research. Scientists studied how female Drosophila melanogaster -- or fruit flies -- respond to mating.