#Bees underwent massive extinctions when dinosaurs didfor the first time ever scientists have documented a widespread extinction of bees that occurred 65 million years ago concurrent with the massive event that wiped out land dinosaurs and many flowering plants.
Their findings published this week in the journal PLOS ONE could shed light on the current decline in bee species. Lead author Sandra Rehan an assistant professor of biological sciences at UNH worked with colleagues Michael Schwarz at Australia
's Flinders University and Remko Leys at the South australia Museum to model a mass extinction in bee group Xylocopinae or carpenter bees at the end of the Cretaceous and beginning of the Paleogene eras known as the K-T boundary.
Previous studies have suggested a widespread extinction among flowering plants at the K-T boundary and it's long been assumed that the bees who depended upon those plants would have met the same fate.
Yet unlike the dinosaurs there is a relatively poor fossil record of bees says Rehan making the confirmation of such an extinction difficult.
Rehan and colleagues overcame the lack of fossil evidence for bees with a technique called molecular phylogenetics.
Analyzing DNA sequences of four tribes of 230 species of carpenter bees from every continent except Antarctica for insight into evolutionary relationships the researchers began to see patterns consistent with a mass extinction.
#Hypoxia Issues in the Gulf of Mexicothe Mississippi river Basin is home to much of the United states'fertile crop land.
This low oxygen condition is called hypoxia. The result is dying fish and a poor ecosystem called a dead zone.
because kin-blindness benefits the colony. But it's also possible that the veil of ignorance arose for other reasons
As the gold is likely to be toxic to the plant it's moved to the leaves
or shed to the ground CSIRO geochemist Dr Mel Lintern said. The discovery is unlikely to start an old-time gold rush--the nuggets are about one-fifth the diameter of a human hair.
and environmentally friendly exploration technique Dr Lintern said. By sampling and analysing vegetation for traces of minerals we may get an idea of
and produce clear images of the traces of gold and other metals nestled within their structure principal scientist at the Australian Synchrotron Dr David Paterson said.
Andean bears are very curious animals says Dr. Lilian Painter WCS's Bolivia Country Director.
A team of researchers led by Dr. X. J. Meng University Distinguished Professor of Molecular Virology has used virus strains isolated from the ongoing outbreaks in Minnesota
and Iowa to trace the likely origin of the emergent porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) to a strain from the Anhui province in China.
There is currently no vaccine against porcine epidemic diarrhea virus in the United states . Although some vaccines are in use in Asia we do not know
whether they would work against the U s. strains of the virus. The researchers determined not only that the three U s. strains of the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus are most closely related to the Chinese strains of the virus
but also that the U s. strains likely diverged two or three years ago following an outbreak of a particularly virulent strain in China.
They published their findings on the Origin Evolution and Genotyping of Emergent Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus Strains in the United states abstract in the Oct 15 issue of the American Academy of Microbiology's journal mbio.
According to the study the U s. strains of the virus share 99.5 percent of their genetic code with their Chinese counterpart.
Allan Dickerman a co-author of the paper and research assistant professor at the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute performed the molecular clock analysis to determine that the divergence of the U s
. and Chinese virus strains coincides with a porcine epidemic diarrhea virus outbreak in China back in December of 2010.
whether the U s. strains of the virus diverged in China or in the United states. The sudden emergence of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus
and public health concerns in the United states. The ongoing outbreaks of Middle east respiratory syndrome coronavirus in humans from countries in
or near the Arabian peninsula and the historical deadly nature of the 2002 outbreaks of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus create further anxiety about the emergency of PEDV in the United states due to the lack of scientific information about the origin
and evolution of this emerging coronavirus wrote Dr. Yao-Wei Huang the first author of the paper
They did however come across additional evidence that the U s. strains share several genetic features with a bat coronavirus--findings which point to an evolutionary origin from bats and the potential for cross-species transmission.
Symptoms include acute vomiting anorexia and watery diarrhea with high mortality rates in pigs less than 10 days old.
Veterinarians need to recognize the symptoms of the disease and with the lack of a vaccine in the United states practicing strict biosecurity and good sanitation procedures on the farm are important for prevention and control of this deadly disease Meng added.
Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by Virginia Tech (Virginia Polytechnic institute and State university.
#Foot and mouth disease in Sub-saharan africa moves over short distances; wild buffalo a problemnew research shows that in Sub-saharan africa the virus responsible for foot
and mouth disease (FMD) moves over relatively short distances and the African buffalo are important natural reservoirs for the infection.
It's very clear that historically infections have moved from buffalo to cattle says corresponding author Matthew Hall of the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.
Foot and mouth disease FMD) is devastating to livestock all over the world but it's a particular problem in Africa where wildlife that harbor the virus are thought to pass it on to their domesticated cousins.
FMD strikes cloven-hoofed animals presenting as a high fever blistering in the mouth and feet decline in milk production in females and weight loss.
Although most animals recover over the course of months some die of complications from the disease.
In wild buffalo the disease is very rarely symptomatic and animals can be infected persistently for a period of several years.
That means it could take longer than previously thought to reduce nitrate contamination in groundwater including in aquifers that supply drinking water in North america
In the 1980s surveys by the U s. Environmental protection agency and the U s. Geological Survey showed that nitrate contamination had impacted probably more public and domestic water supply wells in the U s. than any other contaminant.
Mayer is recognized an internationally expert in the use of stable isotopes to track contaminants in the environment.
Nitrate contamination of aquatic ecosystems can be reduced by farmers following the 4rs of nutrient stewardship:
#Breast milk protein may be key to protecting babies from HIVA substance in breast milk that neutralizes HIV
and may protect babies from acquiring HIV from their infected mothers has been identified for the first time by researchers at Duke Medicine.
The protein called Tenascin-C or TNC had previously been recognized as playing a role in wound healing
but had not been known to have antimicrobial properties. The discovery could lead to potential new HIV-prevention strategies.
Reporting in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences during the week of Oct 21 2013 the researchers describe how the TNC protein in breast milk binds to
and neutralizes the HIV virus potentially protecting exposed infants who might otherwise become infected from repeated exposures to the virus
. Even though we have antiretroviral drugs that can work to prevent mother-to-child transmission not every pregnant woman is being tested for HIV
and less than 60 percent are receiving the prevention drugs particularly in countries with few resources said senior author Sallie Permar M d. Ph d. assistant professor of pediatrics immunology and molecular genetics and microbiology at Duke.
Worldwide in 2011 an estimated 330000 children acquired HIV from their mothers during pregnancy or birth or through breastfeeding according to UNICEF.
As international health organizations have set a goal of eliminating mother-to-child infections researchers have worked to develop safe and affordable alternatives to antiretroviral therapy that can be used to block HIV transmission to infants.
which has long been recognized as having some protective quality that inhibits mother-to-child transmission despite multiple daily exposures over months and even years of nursing.
Earlier studies had identified some antiviral properties in breast milk but the majority of the HIV-neutralizing activity of breast milk remained unexplained.
More recent studies pointed to a large protein that had yet to be identified. In their study the Duke team screened mature milk samples from uninfected women for neutralizing activity against a panel of HIV strains confirming that all of the detectable HIV-neutralization activity was contained in the high molecular weight portion.
Using a multi-step protein separation process the researchers narrowed the detectable HIV-neutralization activity to a single protein and identified it as TNC.
TNC is a component of the extracellular matrix that is integral to how tissues hold themselves together Permar said noting that co-author Harold Erickson Ph d. professor of cell biology at Duke was among the first to identify
This is a protein involved during wound healing playing a role in tissue repair. It is known also to be important in fetal development
or its antiviral properties had never been described. Further analysis described how TNC works against HIV by blocking virus entry.
The protein is uniquely effective in capturing virus particles and neutralizes the virus specifically binding to the HIV envelope.
These properties provide widespread protection against infection. It's likely that TNC is acting in concert with other anti-HIV factors in breast milk and further research should explore this Permar said.
But given TNC's broad-spectrum HIV-1-binding and neutralizing activity it could be developed as an HIV-prevention therapy given orally to infants prior to breastfeeding similar to the way oral rehydration salts are administered routinely to infants in developing regions.
Permar said TNC would also appear to be inherently safe since it is a naturally occurring component of breast milk
and it may avoid the problem of HIV resistance to antiretroviral regimens that complicate maternal/infant applications.
The discovery of the HIV inhibiting effect of this common protein in breast milk provides a potential explanation for why nursing infants born to HIV-infected mothers do not become infected more often than they do said Barton F. Haynes M d. director of the Duke
Human Vaccine Institute. It also provides support for inducing inhibitory factors in breast milk that might be even more protective such as antibodies that would completely protect babies from HIV infection in this setting.
Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by Duke university Medical center. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
Journal Reference e
#Economic assessment of mountain pine beetle timber salvagea recently published study by U s. Forest Service researchers evaluates potential revenues from harvesting standing timber killed by mountain pine beetle in the western
United states. The study shows that while positive net revenues could be produced in West Coast and Northern Rockies states with active timber markets the central Rocky mountain states of Colorado Utah and Wyoming
--which have the largest volume of standing dead timber--would not generate positive net revenues by salvaging beetle-killed timber.
A mountain pine beetle epidemic in the western United states has covered left mountainsides with dead pines especially lodgepole pine with most of the timber
and diseases and enhance overall sustainability of organic systems. In a new study the popular cover crop Vetch (Vicia sativa L.)was used in a 2-year field experiment.
on groundwater contamination. According to a study published in the August 2013 issue of Hortscience changes in growers'cultural practices
The ads emphasized personal health nutritional value taste cleaner water humane treatment of livestock community support and a combination of these egoistic and altruistic claims.
#Buying breast milk online is likely to cause illness in infantsresults from a study led by researchers at Nationwide Children's Hospital found more than three-fourths of breast milk samples purchased over the Internet contained bacteria that can cause illness
and in the November issue of Pediatrics is the first to examine the safety of selling breast milk to others over the Internet a trend that has become more frequent in the past several years.
The research team from the Center for Biobehavioral Health at The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital purchased breast milk listed for sale on public websites
and then analyzed it in the lab. The research was completed in collaboration with Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical center and The Ohio State university.
We were surprised so many samples had such high bacterial counts and even fecal contamination in the milk most likely from poor hand hygiene.
We were surprised also a few samples contained salmonella said Sarah A. Keim Phd principal investigator in the Center for Biobehavioral Health.
or storage practices screening for diseases transmissible by milk or limiting or abstaining from legal or illegal drugs.
Major milk-sharing websites post a lot of guidance about milk collection storage shipping and provider screening.
because hygiene and shipping practices were compromised often said Dr. Keim also a faculty member at The Ohio State university College of Medicine.
and the Food and Drug Administration recommends against sharing milk obtained in that way. Recipients are not able to determine for sure
or contains harmful drugs or pharmaceuticals or if the information the provider supplied about their health was truthful.
According to Dr. Keim it is difficult to know if a particular infant would be sickened by consuming any given bottle of milk
but the types of bacteria found in the online samples contained bacteria that could cause illnesses known to be linked to contaminated breast milk.
Milk banks are a safer alternative for breast milk for sick babies if the mother cannot provide milk
and the milk is pasteurized limiting the risk of bacterial illness said Dr. Keim. Human breast milk can help strengthen the immune system
and has been shown to protect against severe illnesses like necrotizing enterocolitis a potentially deadly condition affecting thousands of infants each year.
Dr. Keim said women who have extra milk should consider donating it to a milk bank where the milk can be handled properly
Milk sold online and contaminated with bacteria that causes illness can be particularly harmful for premature infants
or those with weakened immune systems who are already particularly susceptible to infection. Our research results may not apply to situations where milk is shared among friends
or relatives or donated rather than sold--the potential risks of those situations are understood less well said Dr. Keim.
Our goal is to identify infant feeding practices that optimize child and maternal health. In addition to lactation consultants who are available at hospitals
and clinics there are community-based lactation consultants and peer-support organizations where women can help each other said Dr. Keim.
We will continue to study breastfeeding in the context of contemporary society since where and how infants are fed is rapidly changing.
Click here to watch Dr. Keim discuss her research findings and hear from a mom who safely used the milk bank:
http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=-AFSHOJBETSSTORY Source: The above story is provided based on materials by Nationwide Children's Hospital.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. Journal Reference e
#Straw could supply energy to millions of householdsleipzig. Straw from agriculture could play an important role in the future energy mix for Germany.
while taking into account the humus balance stresses Prof. Daniela Thraen scientist at the DBFZ and the UFZ.
and/or combined heat and power stations but technology must be developed for an environmentally-friendly utilisation stresses Dr. Armin Vetter from TLL who has been operating a straw-fuelled power station for 17 years.
and beans may increase their chance of becoming pregnant according to dietitians at Loyola University Health System (LUHS).
and whole grains-Consume high-fat dairy instead of low-fat dairy-Take a regular women's multivitaminapproximately 40 percent of infertility issues are attributed to men according to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.
The above story is provided based on materials by Loyola University Health System. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length h
The research was led by mathematician Dr Iain Johnston from Imperial College London and plant biologist Dr Ben Williams from the University of Cambridge and is published in the journal elife.
They came together to test whether a new mathematical model of evolution could be used to unpick the evolutionary pathways that led to the advanced photosynthesis. My main interest is in using tools from maths to make some concrete progress in a problem of real biological and social value
said Dr Johnston. Encouragingly for the efforts to design super-efficient crops we found that several different pathways lead to the more efficient photosynthesis--so there are plenty of different recipes biologists could follow to develop to achieve this.
Dr Julian Hibberd from the University of Cambridge the final author on the paper added:
but sustainability studies are needed at population level to insure the protection of this beautiful species. Dracaena kaweesakii is thought to be endangered through having a limited distribution destruction of limestone for concrete and extraction of trees for gardens comments Dr Wilkin
Tracing nervous disorders in humanswhat do pigs jellyfish and zebrafish have in common? It might be hard to discern the connection
A puzzle which is itself part of a larger picture of solving the riddles of diseases in humans.
The pig the jellyfish and the zebrafish are being used by scientists at Aarhus University to among other things gain a greater understanding of hereditary forms of diseases affecting the nervous system.
This can be disorders like Parkinson's disease Alzheimer's disease autism epilepsy and the motor neurone disease ALS.
thus be used to control an expression of genes connected to hereditary versions of the aforementioned disorders.
The pig The SYN1 gene can with its specific expression in nerve cells be used for generation of pig models of neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's.
The reason scientists bring a pig into the equation is that the pig is suited well as a model for investigating human diseases.
Pigs are very like humans in their size genetics anatomy and physiology. There are plenty of them
The results of this investigation pave the way for the SYN1 gene being used in pig models for research into human diseases.
#All probiotics are not the same in protecting preemies from common, life-threatening illnesstreating premature infants with probiotics the dietary supplements containing live bacteria that many adults take to help maintain their natural intestinal balance may be effective for preventing a common
and life-threatening bowel disease among premature infants researchers at UC Davis Children's Hospital have found.
The study A comparison of two probiotic strains of bifidobacteria in premature infants was published recently online in the Journal of Pediatrics.
The bowel disease necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is the second most common cause of death among premature infants said Mark Underwood lead study author neonatologist and professor in the Department of Pediatrics at UC Davis Children
's Hospital. It affects 3 to 10 percent of premature infants; about 25 percent of those with the severe form of NEC succumb to the infection.
Underwood and his collaborators evaluated the effectiveness and safety of two types of probiotics of known purity and composition in a clinical trial that included nine breastmilk-and 12 formula-fed premature infants in the Neonatal Intensive care unit (NICU) at UC
Davis Children's Hospital. The products tested in the study were two genetically different strains of bifidobacteria normal inhabitants of the gastroentestinal tract that inhibit the growth of harmful pathogens and bacteria:
Bifidobacterium longum subspecies infantis (B. infantis) and Bifidobacterium animalis lactis (B. lactis. Laboratory analysis of bacteria of fecal samples from the infants found that B. infantis was more effective at colonizing bifidobacteria the healthy bacteria in the newborns'gastrointestinal tracts than B. lactis.
The highest fecal levels of bifidobacteria were found in the infants who were fed breastmilk and received the B. infantis probiotic Underwood said.
No side effects were identified from administration of the two probiotic strains Underwood said. One of the breastmilk-fed infants treated with B. lactis developed NEC early in the trial Underwood said indicating that B. lactis may not be as effective as B. infantis in protecting against NEC though the study was designed not to answer that question.
and Australia has demonstrated the potential benefits of probiotic therapy in preventing NEC many NICUS in the United states treat premature infants with the supplements said Underwood.
Probiotic therapy is not however the standard of care for premature infants in the United states. The American Academy of Pediatrics has established not a policy about using the products in newborns
and the U s. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) currently regards probiotics as food supplements not drugs.
The study was conducted in premature infants born between 24 to 33 weeks gestation and weighing less than 1500 grams or three pounds.
Each infant was treated with one strain for two weeks and after a one-week break received the other strain for two weeks.
In both the formula-fed and breast milk-fed newborns greater increases in fecal bifidobacteria occurred in the B. infantis groups than in the B. lactis groups.
which typically increases at the onset of NEC and can cause serious tissue-damaging infections in the gastrointestinal system lungs and other organs of the body.
The two strains of bifidobacteria used in the study were grown for UC Davis by a food-grade commercial facility to insure that the infants in the study would receive probiotics of known purity
Underwood is submitting an application for a new investigational drug to the FDA for a multi-centered second phase clinical trial to evaluate the safety
and funded by the National institutes of health Underwood and his colleagues will conduct a larger trial. Story Source:
The above story is provided based on materials by University of California-Davis Health System. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
#Barley crops affected by disease found on common wild grassa major fungal pathogen which affects barley crops is also present on a common wild grass according to a new study by leading agricultural researchers including the University
However barley is susceptible to a number of diseases the most important of which is called leaf blotch
and is caused by a fungal pathogen. This disease affects the leaves ears and stems of the barley--decreasing grain quality and reducing crop yields by up to forty per cent.
Bruce Fitt professor of plant pathology at the University of Hertfordshire said: Crops that appear to be clear of disease can suddenly develop leaf blotch symptoms unexpectedly.
The source of the disease is unclear and this has puzzled farmers and researchers alike. However our research shows that the fungal pathogen that causes barley leaf blotch can be found on wild ryegrasses which are common both as weeds within cereal crop fields and in the surrounding field margins.
In the study both DNA and plant testing showed that the leaf blotch pathogen that affects barley can be found on the wild grasses
and was virulent on commonly grown varieties of barley. Professor Fitt continued: Field margins play an important role in creating areas of habitat to support wildlife
and wild plants species. But the increasing demand for agricultural land to provide enough crops to feed
And if this pathogen species can be spread from wild grasses onto barley crops and back again further investigation is needed to identify how widespread this species is and also the role that wild grasses play as sources of disease for other crops such as wheat.
The paper Evolutionary Relationships Between Rhynchosporium lolii sp. nov. and Other Rhynchosporium Species on Grasses is published in PLOS ON.
#Maximizing broccolis cancer-fighting potentialspraying a plant hormone on broccoli--already one of the planet's most nutritious foods--boosts its cancer-fighting potential
John Juvik and colleagues explain that diet is one of the most important factors influencing a person's chances of developing cancer.
In fact eating broccoli regularly has been linked to lower rates of prostate colon breast lung and skin cancers.
and found that of the GS break-down products sulforaphane is the major contributor toward enhanced cancer-fighting enzyme levels
does not affect tastemany American diets fall short of meeting nutritional guidelines resulting in burgeoning obesity rates and health problems across the nation.
The health benefits of dietary fiber mainly found in fruits vegetables and whole grains include helping maintain a healthy weight preventing
or relieving constipation and reducing the risk of diabetes and heart disease. Soluble fiber found mainly in whole grains
and some fruits is particularly beneficial for diabetics because fiber slows sugar absorption and improves blood sugar levels.
Citrus fruits particularly their peels are rich with flavonoids a nutrient in plants that can help prevent diseases in humans such as cancer and cardiovascular diseases.
#Climate change creates complicated consequences for North americas forestsclimate change affects forests across North america--in some cases permitting insect outbreaks plant diseases wildfires
which could boost forest health and acreage timber harvests carbon storage water recycling and other forest benefits in some areas.
Tree-killing insects and plant diseases are natural elements of healthy forest ecosystems but climate change is rapidly altering the distribution and magnitude of forest pestilence and altering biodiversity and the ecosystem.
For example pine bark beetles have killed recently trees over more area of U s. forests than wildfires including in areas with little previous experience managing aggressive pests.
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