#The Beauty of Millipedes (Op-Ed) This article was published originally at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Live Science's Expert Voices:
Op-Ed & Insights. I stumbled through the forest attempting to find a path I knew was there.
It didn t take that long to find the decaying bridge now being overtaken by blackberry and multiflora rose.
That is where I had marked a spot for some moist leaf litter. I crouched and dug around in the litter to find an inch-long creature chestnut-brown with pink highlights curled up on top of the dirt.
I had found my quarry. My three-week quest was in the state of Ohio in the US.
I came to collect millipedes the many-legged cousins of insects and spiders. My goal was to survey the state s species photographing
and collecting as many as possible during my stay. Ohio sits on the northwestern edge of Appalachia a hotspot of diversity for millipedes.
The southern portion of the state is known for its rolling hills and it is also where
I grew up. Millipedes aren t particularly well known by the general public or even by most scientists for that matter.
They are not as showy as birds or butterflies and millipede identification can be tricky.
Despite this lack of recognition millipedes go about their daily routines as recycling machines on the forest floor.
They power through the undergrowth with their many legs two pairs on most segments but not quite the 1000 implied by their common name bulldozing through the dirt
and feeding on dead leaves and other detritus that accumulates on the forest floor. Millipedes return nutrients to the ecosystem
and keep dead leaves from piling up in the forest. Though millipedes aren known t for their beauty perhaps they should be.
Many of the species I searched for are in the family Xystodesmidae which contains some particularly dazzling specimens.
Some species in that family called cherry millipedes can release hydrogen cyanide a poisonous chemical when disturbed by predators.
This chemical smells like cherries or almonds hence the name. Because it is released in small amounts it is mostly harmless to humans.
These millipedes sport bright colours paired with a dark brown or black to warn potential predators of their odorous defences.
The motivation for my research came partly from history and partly from hometown pride A previous study of Ohio s millipedes was published in 1928
but 86 years later is outdated. There are few introductory resources for identifying millipedes which stops amateurs from delving into researching these creatures.
and chemical use as well as energy for transporting that feed live animals and animal products. The total process for bringing such vast quantities of meat egg and dairy products to our plates comes at a substantial cost to the environment.
A Carnegie mellon University study found that eating plant-based meals even just one day a week reduces more greenhouse gases than eating exclusively local foods every day (a practice some people admirably
With more people sharing our mutual responsibility to reduce carbon footprints by shifting to plant-based meals we have reason to be hopeful for our planet's future.
In addition while maize is high in calories it contains only low concentrations of several vital nutrients such as iron calcium and B vitamins.
The scientists discovered 14 sherds with the earliest direct chemical evidence for the making of pulque in Central america.
The researchers analyzed leaf mass per area which indicates how much carbon a plant invests in growing a leaf.
The scientists also looked at leaf vein density a measure of how fast a plant takes up carbon.
There is some evidence for other primary tastes with fat most likely to be the next to be recognised.
which result in bitterness proteins with slightly different shapes. This in turn has an effect on how sensitive you are to bitterness but that s not the end of the story.
and fat (although this all depends on what you consider a healthy diet to be there seems to be a new story every week).
Rotundone is the main chemical responsible for the smell of pepper (called a character impact odorant.
So when wine experts describe a Shiraz as peppery they re not making it up it contains the same chemical as pepper.
and smell are essentially little chemistry labs that conduct loads of experiments to determine which chemicals are present in food drinks and air.
But not all chemistry labs are created equal some of us have equipment that others don t have
and can therefore detect different chemicals. And for some of us our equipment is more sensitive.
Cigarette smoke contains thousands of compounds including 69 known to be carcinogens chemicals that are involved directly in causing cancer.
or single nucleotide proteins (snips) that make up unique fingerprints of different cacao species and hybrid varieties.
and lead author of a new paper that recently appeared in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.#
for example by shared power and heat production and by linking thermal desalination to the heated oil produced by the solar power system.
The project is currently being scaled-up 100-fold to encompass a 20-hectare greenhouse complex with associated desalination and concentrated solar power systems to produce 15000 tonnes of fresh produce each year.
Today just three companies Monsanto Dupont and Syngenta account for about half of all commercial seed sales.
The use of modern DNA technologies and classification tools may allow development of bioactive compounds for medicine enhanced agricultural productivity environmental damage repair industrial applications such as biofuels
A pregnant woman needs more calcium folic acid iron and protein than a woman who is not expecting according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG.
Folic acid also known as folate when found in foods is A b vitamin that is crucial in helping to prevent birth defects in the baby's brain and spine known as neural tube defects.
It may be hard to get the recommended amount of folic acid from diet alone. For that reason the March of Dimes an organization dedicated to preventing birth defects recommends that women who are trying to have a baby take a daily vitamin supplement containing 400 micrograms of folic acid per day for at least one month before becoming pregnant.
During pregnancy they advise women to increase the amount of folic acid to 600 micrograms a day an amount commonly found in a daily prenatal vitamin.
Food sources: leafy green vegetables fortified or enriched cereals breads and pastas. Calcium is used a mineral to build a baby's bones and teeth.
Many dairy products are fortified also with Vitamin d another nutrient that works with calcium to develop a baby's bones and teeth.
For better absorption of the mineral include a good source of Vitamin c at the same meal
Protein: More protein is needed during pregnancy but most women don't have problems getting enough of these foods in their diets said Sarah Krieger a registered dietitian and spokeswoman on prenatal nutrition for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics in St petersburg Florida.
She described protein as a builder nutrient because it helps to build important organs in the baby such as the brain and heart.
Food sources: meat poultry fish dried beans and peas eggs nuts tofu. During pregnancy the goal is to be eating nutritious foods most of the time Krieger told Live Science.
fruits vegetables lean protein whole grains and dairy products. When counseling pregnant women Krieger recommends they fill half their plates with fruits
and vegetables a quarter of it with whole grains and a quarter of it with a source of lean protein and to also have a dairy product at every meal.
and filled with fiber vitamins and minerals. Lean protein: Pregnant women should include good protein sources at every meal to support the baby's growth such as meat poultry fish eggs beans tofu cheese milk and nuts Krieger said.
Whole grains are an important source of energy in the diet and they also provide fiber iron and B-vitamins.
At least half of a pregnant woman's carbohydrate choices each day should come from whole grains such as oatmeal whole-wheat pasta
which provide good dietary sources of calcium protein and Vitamin d. In addition to a healthy diet pregnant women also need a daily prenatal vitamin to obtain some of the nutrients that are hard to get from foods alone such as folic acid and iron according to ACOG.
For women who take chewable prenatal vitamins Krieger advised checking the product labels because chewables might not have sufficient iron levels in them.
Detailed information on healthy food choices and quantities to include at meals can also be found in the pregnancy section of the USDA's choosemyplate. gov. Caffeine:
Fish is a good source of lean protein and some fish including salmon and sardines also contain omega-3 fatty acids a healthy fat that's good for the heart.
It is safe for pregnant women to eat 12 ounces of cooked fish and seafood a week according to ACOG.
Methyl mercury is a toxic chemical that can pass through the placenta and can be harmful to an unborn baby's developing brain kidneys and nervous system.
Often a craving is a body's way of saying it needs a specific nutrient such as more protein
Fat was used to help create all the hairstyles Bos found something that would have helped keep the hair in one piece after death.
whether the fat was from animals. A textile found on each of the skulls may have been used to cover part of the head.
#Good Fats, Bad Fats: Their Roles in Heart Health Questioned Eating more of the good kinds of fat
and less saturated fat may not be the best way to reduce the risk of heart disease a new review suggests.
Researchers did not find a strong link that people who ate lots of the good (polyunsaturated fats found in vegetable oils
and low amounts of saturated fats found in foods such as butter and pork had reduced a risk of heart disease.
The researchers concluded their analysis did not yield clearly supportive evidence for current cardiovascular guidelines
The 3 Types of Fats Explained However the results did show a link between eating more trans fats which are hydrogenated the partially oils added to foods to keep them fresh longer and an increased risk of heart disease.
In other words the advice that people should avoid trans fats is still good advice. The new study was a meta-analysis of 72 previous studies involving more than 600000 people in 18 countries.
Our report was an attempt to do the most comprehensive assessment of fatty acids by combining data from all previous studies into a single investigation said study author Dr. Rajiv Chowdhury a cardiovascular epidemiologist
Reducing risk Chowdhury and colleagues carried out the study to shed light on the role of fat in coronary heart disease.
Some guidelines have suggested that eating more polyunsaturated fats which are found in high levels in foods such as salmon walnuts
when it came to eating specific types of fat such as linoleic acid and arachidonic acid which are both polyunsaturated fatty acids the effects of the fat on cardiovascular risk varied widely even
when the researchers looked at members of the same family of fats Chowdhury told Live Science.
Another analysis reviewed for the new study found no evidence that supplementing with omega-3 or omega-6 fatty acids could reduce heart disease risk Chowdhury said.
which are loaded with saturated fat to the diet the researchers said. Other research has suggested that
when some people attempt to eat less saturated fat they often eat more carbohydrates instead rather than making healthier food choices.
Van horn said the paper questions the strength of the evidence underlying recommendations for eating a lot of polyunsaturated fats or limiting saturated fats.
because the study does not say that saturated fat is not a problem Van horn told Live Science.
The AHA currently recommends that no more than 6 percent of a person's total daily calories come from saturated fat.
Saturated fats and trans fats should still be limited in the diet she said. And polyunsaturated fats such as safflower oil and monounsaturated fats like olive oil are still useful for cooking.
A diet high in fruits vegetables whole grains unsalted nuts and fish remains the best course of action to achieve a heart-healthy diet Van horn said.
Companies like seed producer Monsanto sometimes sue farmers who violate these agreements. Growers also worry that
Nonetheless companies such as Monsanto are unlikely to get into the pot business while the drug is still federally illegal.
or tetrahydrocannabinol the mind-altering compound in marijuana Khalatbari said. Concentrates can have levels of 85 percent to 95 percent THC.
A study in mice published last year in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry found that chlorogenic acid in green coffee bean extract didn't help prevent weight gain in mice fed a high-fat diet
and was linked to an unhealthy buildup of fat in the liver. Raspberry ketone: Oz has called raspberry ketones the No. 1 miracle fat-burner.
This compound found in raspberries has been tested in animals and in cells in the lab but never for weight loss in humans.
The extract contains a compound called hydroxycitric acid (HCA) that is touted for weight loss but studies have produced mixed results.
and low-carbon-emission that just to make a buck. But as a farmer in the last several years we are actually seeing those changes happen here on the farm.
These bodies of water tend to be saline or alkaline. Flamingos are generally nonmigratory but changes in climate or water levels in their breeding areas will cause them to relocate according to Sea world. Flamingos eat larva small insects blue-green
because the algae they consume are loaded with beta carotene an organic chemical that contains a reddish-orange pigment.
Tannin a bitter compound found in wine and tea also helps chromogens attach to tooth enamel. Additionally smoking and chewing tobacco are well-known culprits behind extrinsic stains as is poor dental hygiene
#Are saturated Fats as Bad as We Have been led to Believe?(Op-Ed) This article was published originally at The Conversation.
A US heart researcher looks set to inflame an argument over saturated fats. It has long been a health mantra that too much saturated fat like cheese
and butter contributes to higher cholesterol and an increased risk of heart disease. But an editorial published in Open Heart suggests that saturated fats aren t as bad as we have been led to believe.
Author James Dinicolantonio a cardiovascular research scientist at Saint luke s Mid America Heart Institute argues that the association between the high proportion of fat in total consumed calories
and an increased risk of degenerative heart disease was based on selective data from the 1950s that overstated the risk.
And the recommendations that it led to that we lower our intake of saturated fat and cholesterol and increase carbohydrate has given rise to the surging obesity.
when saturated fat was replaced with polyunsaturated fat. In other words saturated fat many not increase your risk (as the study found)
but substituting with a better fat could lower it. Sullivan said a Mediterranean style diet recommended by Dinicolantonio was most definitely a low saturated fat diet.#
This article rubbishes the relationship with saturated fat and CVD misrepresents the scientific evidence and then goes on to put the blame on sugar.#
There are chemical fungicides particularly copper-based fungicides such as copper oxychloride that can be used effective when during the rainy season (the fungus spreads best in rainy weather).
Olive oil's unsaturated fat reacts with certain compounds in vegetables to form a third compound that can reduce blood pressure the researchers found.
whether the compounds inhibited an enzyme that contributes to high blood pressure. The animals in the study had high blood pressure
The Mediterranean diet includes unsaturated fats found in olive oil fish and nuts as well as vegetables like spinach celery and carrots that are rich in nitrogen compounds.
Despite being high in fats which might increase the risk of heart disease the Mediterranean diet seems to prevent heart disease the researchers said.
This may be because fats are eaten together with green leafy vegetables and result in producing nitro fatty acids they said.
The researchers sifted through the soil looking for particles that were the right size to be the parasite's egg just 0. 003 inches (0. 1 millimeter) in diameter Mitchell said.
They then mixed those particles with water and placed them under a microscope. The researchers found one egg in the soil around the abdomen and pelvis of a child's skeleton.
which contain tiny hairs that produce a short-range electrostatic force (called a Van der waals force) with a surface's molecules.
Tough growing conditions and rising demand are leading some coffee producers to mix in wheat soybean brown sugar rye barley acai seeds corn twigs and even dirt.
That's why Nixdorf developed a chemical test that can spot the difference between a batch of pure coffee grounds
Nixdorf invented a new test that analyzes the chemical composition of coffee. She uses liquid chromatography a process that creates a unique fingerprint stain for each ingredient.
First brewed coffee is sent through a pressurized pump. The coffee passes through a special paper filter.
The filler ingredients have different sugar levels than the natural compounds in coffee and they leave behind distinct stains.
For now the chromatography test can be done only in a lab. Nixdorf recommended that consumers stick to whole-bean coffee
Nixdorf's research was presented at the National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society in San francisco last week.
UCS is a member of the Safer Chemicals Healthy Families Coalition which includes nearly 400 organizations and businesses.
The bears like to feast on high-protein seeds from whitebark pine cones in the fall to fatten up before hibernation time
and warned that the consequences of doing nothing to curb carbon emissions would be dire indeed.
One solution the scientists support is the U s. Environmental protection agency (EPA)' s recent proposal to limit power-plant carbon pollution.
The draft plan requires Montana industries to cut carbon emissions 21 percent by 2030. Given that coal was responsible for 53 percent of the electricity generated in Montana last year
Oil and gas jobs are even more scarce. Although there are four oil refineries in the state only 761 Montanans worked in the industry last year.
carbon emissions at the same time. That's the good news. The bad news? Despite the fact that the three companies have met already the 15 percent requirement
Negin's most recent op-ed was Carbon Controls are New But Industry Scare Tactics Aren't. This article was adapted from an article that first appeared on the Huffington Post.
fruit veggies grains protein and dairy. But when researchers studied lunches from over 600 third and fourth graders the results showed that none of the home-packed lunches contained servings from all of the food groups.
but it's also a great source of many other vitamins and minerals such as Vitamin a iron and potassium.
Oranges are known also for their Vitamin c content and can satisfy the requirement for one serving of fruit.
and more than double the recommended daily value of Vitamin c. Healthy Bites appears weekly on Live Science.
At a global level we get 20%of our calories and protein from wheat. Growing demand and limited agricultural land means that the only way to increase the amount of food we can produce is more crops per unit area of land.
Original Cheerios used to provide 25 percent of the daily value of riboflavin or Vitamin b2 per serving according to the trade publication Food Navigator.
Non-GMO Grape Nuts lack Vitamin a Vitamin d Vitamin b12 and Vitamin b2. The companies declined to explain the vitamin loss to Food Navigator
but the reason likely has to do with the difficulty of sourcing vitamins from non-genetically modified sources.
Genetically modified organisms have been altered through genetic engineering to promote certain traits such as drought resistance in corn or herbicide resistance in rice.
Vitamins are tough to certify as GMO-free however according to Food Navigator. They may be manufactured from genetically modified organisms
Johnson counted isotopes of beryllium-10 in the rocks to determine their time at the surface.
Isotopes are atoms of the same element with different numbers of neutrons. Rocks On earth's surface are bombarded by cosmic rays from outer space that create beryllium-10 isotopes at a steady rate.
The rate of thinning that we detected from our rock samples is comparable to the contemporary rate detected by satellites Johnson said.
and the pyroclastic flows of hot ash and gas that buried the city and its residents according to Rosaly Lopes a volcanologist at NASA's Jet propulsion laboratory in Pasadena Calif. Lopes was not a consultant on the film.)
A mordant is a substance that reacts with the dye changing its chemical bonds so that the dye attaches to the object being dyed.
The findings confirm that natural Amazon forests help reduce global warming by lowering the planet's greenhouse gas levels the researchers said.
When scientists account for the world's carbon dioxide their totals suggest some of the greenhouse gas disappears into land-based carbon traps.
These natural carbon sinks such as forests absorb and store carbon dioxide helping to lower the greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere.
Dead trees release their stored carbon back into the atmosphere through decay. But the model of a rainforest as carbon sink is based on small heavily-studied tree areas called test plots
which means the concept could lose its accuracy when scaled up to the size of a continent.
Trees That Dominate the Rainforest To better measure the carbon on the rainforest's breath researchers tracked tree death throughout the Amazon.
and tree counts to compare carbon consumed by living trees with emissions from dead trees.
Espã rito-Santo found that dead Amazonian trees emit an estimated 1. 9 billion tons (1. 7 billion metric tons) of carbon to the atmosphere each year.
And the big storms that blow down millions of trees at once barely budge the forest's carbon output the study found.
We found that large natural disturbances the sort not captured by plots have only a tiny effect on carbon cycling throughout the Amazon study co-author Sassan Saatchi of JPL said in a statement.
When carbs are processed key nutrients are stripped from the grain including antioxidants B vitamins and iron all of
To stay at an optimal sperm count men should be of a healthy weight keep folate levels high stop smoking
Seafood is the best source for these kinds of essential fats and there are many seafood types that do not contain a lot of mercury.
and then using a molecular clock based on the rate at which genetic changes occur during evolution to work out how much time was needed for all that diversity to evolve said Terry Brown a life sciences faculty member at the University of Manchester in England who was involved not in the study.
The sloths consume the algae which is rich in fatty compounds and gives them energy. In addition to being a tasty nutritional supplement the algae may serve as camouflage against predators from above such as the Harpy eagle.
but perhaps some beneficial compounds in the marijuana smoke cancel out the ill effects or perhaps the other health habits of marijuana smokers are different from those of cigarette smokers.
As for marijuana whose legalization for medical uses has been a matter of strong public policy debate for years there is ample evidence that beneficial compounds can be found in the plant.
Once such chemicals are in a pure form and researchers understand their effects on the body then they could be put in clinical trials for use in cancer multiple sclerosis diabetes glaucoma
#Resolve to Lose weight and Cut Carbon Emissions: Eat Less Beef (Op-Ed) Elliott Negin is the director of news and commentary at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS.
On the other hand choosing more healthful sources of protein in place of red meat can confer significant health benefits by reducing chronic disease morbidity and mortality.
Shrink Your Carbon Footprint When it comes to global warming not all meat is created equal.
and fart methane an odorless gas that is about 25 times more powerful than carbon dioxide in its ability to trap radiant heat in the atmosphere.
Globally ruminants contribute 12 percent of all anthropogenic carbon emissions and 80 percent of those emissions are from cattle.
or pork would still go a long way to shrink your carbon footprint. Boucher a biologist pointed out that
But that is still more than consumers in every other country besides Argentina Brazil and Uruguay translating into 1850 to 2600 pounds of annual carbon emissions per person.
Deuterium is an isotope of hydrogen its atoms each possess a single proton like regular hydrogen
Water molecules are made from hydrogen and oxygen. Water made with deuterium is less likely to evaporate than water made with regular hydrogen
The researchers discovered that about 170 years after temperatures fell in Europe land-plant remains had greater levels of deuterium than aquatic plant molecules did suggesting the environment became much drier.
Biofuels are a type of combustible matter holding potential energy in the form of carbon that was bonded chemically in the recent past (when considered on a geologic time scale.
or other microorganisms and then ferment it until fats formed. Combining these fats with hydrogen would create complex hydrocarbons
which are similar to traditional jet fuels. When mixed with kerosene theses hydrocarbons can be burned in jet engines.
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