EurekAlert! Public News List

Public Release: 30-Nov-2012

Human Factors
Preventing 'Cyber Pearl Harbor'
A new study shows computer network security analysts are not prepared for drawn out cyber attacks.

Public Release: 30-Nov-2012
ORNL develops lignin-based thermoplastic conversion process
Turning lignin, a plant's structural "glue" and a byproduct of the paper and pulp industry, into something considerably more valuable is driving a research effort headed by Amit Naskar of Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Public Release: 30-Nov-2012

Lancet
Emerging vector-borne diseases create new public health challenge
Human activities are advancing the spread of vector-borne, zoonotic diseases such as West Nile virus, Lyme disease and dengue fever, report scientists publishing a series of papers today in the journal the Lancet.

National Science Foundation

Public Release: 30-Nov-2012
NASA sees 'hot towers' in intensifying Typhoon Bopha
Bopha intensified into a typhoon today, Nov. 30, as it continues to affect the islands in Micronesia in the western North Pacific Ocean. NASA's TRMM satellite captured rainfall data of Bopha and noticed "Hot Tower" thunderstorms as it was intensifying from a tropical storm into a typhoon.

NASA

Public Release: 30-Nov-2012

2012 AGU Fall Meeting
Geoscientists cite 'critical need' for basic research to unleash promising energy resources
Developers of renewable energy and shale gas must overcome fundamental geological and environmental challenges if these promising energy sources are to reach their full potential, according to a trio of leading geoscientists. Their findings will be presented on Dec. 4, at 5:15 pm (PT), at the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco in Room 102 of Moscone Center West.

Stanford University, Cornell University, Colorado School of Mines

Public Release: 30-Nov-2012

Journal of Gerontology Series A: Biological and Medical Sciences
Vitamin D tied to women's cognitive performance
Two new studies appearing in the Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences show that vitamin D may be a vital component for the cognitive health of women as they age.

Public Release: 30-Nov-2012

Proceedings of the National Acadamy of Sciences
Ancient microbes survive beneath the icy surface of Antarctic lake
Researchers funded by the National Science Foundation describe in a new publication a viable community of bacteria that ekes out a living in a dark, salty and subfreezing environment beneath nearly 20 meters of ice in one of Antarctica's most isolated lakes.

National Science Foundation

Public Release: 30-Nov-2012

Lancet
Emerging vector-borne diseases create new public health challenges
West Nile virus, Lyme disease, dengue fever, and plague are examples of "vector-borne zoonotic diseases," caused by pathogens that naturally infect wildlife and are transmitted to humans by vectors such as mosquitoes or ticks. Land-use change, globalization of trade and travel, and social upheaval are driving the emergence of such diseases in many regions.

National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health

Public Release: 30-Nov-2012

Genetics
Native Americans and Northern Europeans more closely related than previously thought
Using genetic analysis, scientists have discovered that Northern European populations descend from a mixture of two very different ancestral populations, and one of these populations is related to Native Americans. This discovery helps fill gaps in scientific understanding of both Native American and Northern European ancestry, while providing an explanation for some genetic similarities among what would otherwise seem to be very divergent groups.

National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health

Public Release: 30-Nov-2012

Journal of Climate
UI researcher predicts more intense North Atlantic tropical storms
Tropical storms that make their way into the North Atlantic, and possibly strike the East Coast of the United States, likely will become more intense during the rest of this century. That's the prediction of one University of Iowa researcher and his colleague as published in an early online release in the prestigious Journal of Climate, the official publication of the American Meteorological Society.

Iowa Flood Center

Public Release: 30-Nov-2012

Ecological Indicators
Making sustainability policies sustainable
Sweeping environmental policies come with hidden challenges -- not only striving to achieve sustainability and benefit the environment -- but over time ensuring the program itself can endure. Scientists at Michigan State University and their colleagues in China are examining China's massive Grain to Green Program -- an effort to persuade farmers to return cropland to forest through financial incentives. Their results were reported in this week's journal Ecological Indicators.

National Science Foundation, National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Public Release: 30-Nov-2012

Plant Physiology Preview
Carbon dioxide could reduce crop yields
High-yielding dwarf plant varieties lose their advantage due to increasing carbon dioxide concentration.

Public Release: 30-Nov-2012

Crime and Justice
Latest volume of Crime and Justice series brings role of prosecutors into focus
The latest volume in the Crime and Justice series presents research that critically examines the role of prosecutors within the United States and cross-nationally, asking the question: Can policy makers look across national boundaries to find ways to improve their own national systems?

Public Release: 30-Nov-2012

Journal of Urban Health
Penn Study finds residents believe vacant land threatens community, physical and mental health
As public health researchers continue efforts to understand the effects of neighborhood conditions on health, residents themselves can provide valuable insights regarding public health issues and potential solutions. A new study from researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania uses in-depth interviews with local residents to examine perspectives on how vacant land affects community, physical, and mental health. The study highlights the importance of community engagement in promoting urban revitalization.

Public Release: 30-Nov-2012

PLOS One
Researchers discover how C. diff red lines immune response
Virginia Tech researchers have discovered how a common diarrhea-causing bacterium sends the body's natural defenses into overdrive, actually intensifying illness while fighting infection. Using computational and mathematical modeling in combination with RNA-sequencing and mouse studies, scientists examined an important regulatory pathway during Clostridium difficile infection. They found the severity of the C. difficile infection can be reduced by using an existing diabetes drug. More studies are needed before the drug can be tested in patients.

NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Public Release: 30-Nov-2012

Environmental Pollution
Gulf of Mexico clean-up makes 2010 spill 52-times more toxic
If the 4.9 million barrels of oil that spilled into the Gulf of Mexico during the 2010 Deep Water Horizon spill was a ecological disaster, the two million gallons of dispersant used to clean it up apparently made it even worse -- 52-times more toxic. That's according to new research from the Georgia Institute of Technology and Universidad Autonoma de Aguascalientes, Mexico.

Public Release: 30-Nov-2012

Ecology Letters
How native plants and exotics coexist
Exotic plants in many ecosystems may be better competitors, but in a study in Ecology Letters researchers at Winthrop University and Brown University found that exotics can be kept in check by herbivory.

Brown University Environmental Change Initiative

Public Release: 30-Nov-2012

Journal of Dairy Science
People not hooked on fish could get omega-3 through fortified milk
Food science researchers at Virginia Tech may have reeled milk into the fish oil delivery system, showing it is possible to incorporate omega-3 fatty acids into milk and dairy-based beverages in amounts sufficient to promote heart health, without destroying the milk's taste. The innovation may be a way to help people who do not eat fish get some of the heart-healthy benefits of fish oil.

Public Release: 30-Nov-2012

Computers and Electronics in Agriculture
A digital portrait for grapes indicates their ripeness
Researchers at the University of Seville (Spain) have developed a technique for estimating grape composition and variety using computer imaging. They have also put forward an index for identifying the ripeness of seeds without the need for chemical analysis. This new method can help to decide the best moment for picking.

Public Release: 30-Nov-2012

EMBO Molecular Medicine
Molecular knock-out alleviates Alzheimer's symptoms in mice
Researchers at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases and the University Medical Center Göttingen have identified an enzyme as a possible target for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. The protein known as HDAC6 impairs transport processes within the nerve cells. The scientists observed only mild symptoms of the disease in mice if the enzyme was not produced. They propose to block its activity in a targeted fashion to treat the disease.

Public Release: 30-Nov-2012

American Journal of Infection Control
Hospital cleaning protocol ineffective against A. baumannii
Current hospital cleaning protocol may be inadequate to rid patient rooms of multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii, according to a study in the December issue of the American Journal of Infection Control, the official publication of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology.

Public Release: 30-Nov-2012

Disease Markers
Biomarker progress offers hope for early autism spectrum disorder detection
Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are neurodevelopmental disorders typically characterized by difficulties in social interactions and delayed or abnormal language development. Although ASD reportedly affects 1 in 88 people in the United States, to date there have been no distinctive biomarkers to diagnose the disease. In a special themed issue of Disease Markers, investigators report on the current understanding of ASD genetics and the possibilities of translating genetic research toward biomarker development in ASD.

Public Release: 30-Nov-2012

Academic Medicine
New study finds what makes a good mentor and mentee
How-to books are full of advice on what makes a good mentor. But what makes a good mentee and what chemistry is needed to make the relationship work?

Public Release: 30-Nov-2012

Science
Clearest evidence yet of polar ice losses
After two decades of satellite observations, an international team of experts brought together by ESA and NASA has produced the most accurate assessment of ice losses from Antarctica and Greenland to date. This study finds that the combined rate of ice sheet melting is increasing.

Public Release: 30-Nov-2012
Help for European children to resist unhealthy temptations
It is easy for children and teenagers in Europe to get their hands on sweets and other unhealthy foods. A major European research project has therefore developed a range of tools that children and teenagers can use to ward off temptation.


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