Reef Fish FInd It's Too Hot to Swin

Commercially important fish, like coral trout, are being affected by global warming because of the increasing ocean temperatures. The hot water is making them not want to swim. They need to swim for survival, like catching food and reproduction, instead they are resting at the bottom. The fish from the northern region of the Great Barrier Reef are handling these conditions much better than the southern region though.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/11/131127110613.htm

Gene Found Responsible for Susceptibility to Panic DIsorder

Researchers from the Centre of Genomic Regulation found a gene, called NTRK3, that is important for the formation of the brain and is responsible for the panic disorder gene. NTRK3 causes issues in the brain developement and cause problems in the fear-related memory system. It makes your brain focus and process more things that are fear related and cause panic attacks.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/11/131128133921.htm

Rise in ADHD

There has recently been a rise in children being diagnosed with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.) Throughout the years they realize the rise in children getting diagnosed and are wondering the causes and what to do. More children now are being prescribed medicine to control it. Some feel that doctors are misdiagnosing their children when in fact the doctors are right. The rise is now at 11% and will continue to rise. Doctors are actually please in the number of treated children with the disorder only because that actually means the child are getting the help they need instead of "dealing with it" on their own.



http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2013/11/22/adhd-diagnoses-rise-to-11-of-kids/

How Flu Evolves to Escape Immunity

Scientists have recentally been studying on how to improve flu vaccines for the future. They believe they have came up with a way to improve the vaccines by just simply substituting an amino acid. Every 3 to 4 years the outer coat of the flu (Made of amino acids) evolves. This prevents antibodies from recognizing the flu. They found that seasonal flu escapes immunity and develops into new strains typically by just a single amino acid substitution. Until now, it was widely believed that in order for seasonal flu to escape the immunity individuals acquire from previous infections or vaccinations, it would take at least four amino acid substitutions. They also found that such single amino acid changes occurred at only seven places on its surface -- all located near the receptor binding site (the area where the flu virus binds to and infects host cells). This is a huge breakthrough in understanding the flu and eventually scientists hope to be able to predict when the flu is going to change. The flu is responsible for half a millon deaths and many more hospitiziled.

Family with the flu. Scientists have identified a potential way to improve future flu vaccines after discovering that seasonal flu typically escapes immunity from vaccines with as little as a single amino acid substitution. (Credit: © Creativa / Fotolia)

 

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/11/131121142305.htm

Does Obesity Reshape Our Sense of Taste?

This is a study that was originally conducted on mice. Mice who where severly overwight had an impaired ability to taste sweets. Compared with the slimmer mice the obese mice had fewer taste cells that responded to sweets. This is important because taste plays a huge factor in our appetite. It is proven that the mice have trouble detecting sweets, however it is still unclear as to why these plays a role in people gaining weight. A past study proves that obese people yearn for sweet and savory foods. So scientists believe that obese people need to eat more sweets than thinner people to get the  same effect. I really think that this could be a breakthrough study on obese people in America, and could possibly lower the obesity rate of Americans.

Taste cells under a microscope, expressing green fluorescent protein. A new University at Buffalo study finds that obese mice had fewer taste cells capable of detecting sweetness than mice with slimmer physiques. The white bar is 20 microns. (Credit: Kyle Hacker)

 

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/11/131121154944.htm

Colossal New Predatory Dino Terrorized Early Tyrannosaurs

A new species of carnivorous dinosaur was discovered. It is said to be one of the three largest dinosours ever discovered in North America. Siats meekerorum, is the newly discovered species and is believed to have kept Tyrannosaurs from assuming the top predatory role for millons of years. Siats is only the second carcharodontosaur to be discovered in North America. Acrocanthosaurus, discovered in 1950, was the first. From the remains it is believed to be abour 30 feet long and weight at least 4 tons, and this one was only a juvinile. This is amazing to me that at one time on Earth there where huge 30 foot long animals killing each other everywhere. This was definitly a very intresting article.

This is an illustration of Siats meekerorum. (Credit: Artwork by Jorge Gonzales)

 

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/11/131122084241.htm

Expert Assessment: Sea-Level Rise Could Exceed One Meter in This Century

Experft believe that in a scenario with unmitigated emissons, that the sea level could rise 200-300 centimeters by the year 2300. However in a scenario with reduced emissons experts believe there will only be about 40-60 centimeters by 2100 and 60-100 centimeters by 2300. The high emissons scenario could threaten the lives of costal cities or low-lying islands. Sea level rise is a very hard area to project due to there being so many factors that could change it, such as glaciers melting, and pumping water for irrigation purposes. It is so hard to predict that the experts numbers from 2007 had to be changed upwards by 60 percent! This is an area that definitly needs to be addressed in my opinion, because in could drastically change the futre of planet Earth if not dealt with properally.

Sea-level rise in this century is likely to be 70-120 centimeters by 2100 if greenhouse-gas emissions are not mitigated, a broad assessment of the most active scientific publishers on that topic has revealed. (Credit: © Thierry Hoarau / Fotolia)

 

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/11/131122103853.htm

Powerful Tool for Genetic Engineering

Scientists from the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig have now shown that the dual-RNA guided enzyme Cas9, which is involved in the process, has developed independently in various strains of bacteria. This enhances the potential of exploiting the bacterial immune system for genome engineering. CRISPR is short for Clustered Regularly Interspaced Palindromic Repeats, whereas Cas simply stands for the CRISPR-associated protein. Throughout evolution, this molecule has developed independently in numerous strains of bacteria.The CRISPR-Cas-system is not only valuable for bacteria but also for working in the laboratory. It detects a specific sequence of letters in the genetic code and cuts the DNA at this point. Thus, scientists can either remove or add genes at the interface. By this, for instance, plants can be cultivated which are resistant against vermins or fungi. This is very cool because it goes along with what we are learning in class and I just find it very intresting. I also believe that this is a pretty big break through for biology because it shows first-hand how a bacteria could actually evolve.

Streptococcus pyogenes is one of the bacteria in which the HZI scientists have studied the CRISPR-Cas system. (Credit: © HZI / M. Rohde)

 

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/11/131122112721.htm

Ancient Minerals: Which Gave Rise to Life?

According to Carnegie's Robert Hazen as of right now there are no more than 420 minerals on Earth today. This is about 8 percent of nearly 5,000 species on Earth. Hazen believes that most of these 420 minerals of the Haden Eon formed from magma. Thousands of mineral species known today are the direct result of growth by living organisms, such as shells and bones, as well as life's chemical byproducts, such as oxygen from photosynthesis. Lithium, beryllium, and molybdenum appear to have taken atleast a billion years to form so they are excluded from the times of lifes origin. Several questions remain unanswered and offer opportunities for further study of the paleomineralogy of the Hadean Eon. For example, the Hadean Eon differs from today in the frequent large impacts of asteroids and comets -- thousands of collisions by objects with diameters from a mile up to 100 miles. Such impacts would have caused massive disruption of Earth's crust, with extensive fracture zones that were filled with hot circulating water. Such hydrothermal areas could have created complex zones with many exotic minerals. Hazen believes that Mars is just like Hadean Earth and may be limited to only about 400 minerals also.

The magnesium silicate forsterite was one of the most abundant minerals in the Hadean Eon, and it played a major role in Earth's near-surface processes. The green color of this mineral (which is also known as the semi-precious gemstone peridot, the birthstone of August) is caused by small amounts iron. The iron can react with seawater to promote chemical reactions that may have played a role in life's origins. (Credit: Robert Downs, University of Arizona, Ruff Project)

 

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/11/131125164814.htm

Arctic Seafloor Methane Releases Double Previous Estimates

The seafloor off the coast of Northern Serbia is now realeasing twice as much methane gas as previously estimated. Currently it is releasing about 17 teragrams of methane into the atmosphere each year. A teragram is equal to 1 millon tons. Methane is a greenhouse gas that is 30 times more potent than carbon dioxide. As long as the subsea permafrost stays frozen, the methane gas will stay trapped beneath the surface, but the ice is starting to melt in some areas. As the climate warms more and more gas will be let out and the gas will cause the climate to warm even more. Methane traps heat and is a very important factor in global climate change.

Methane burns as it escapes through a hole in the ice in a lagoon above the East Siberian Arctic Shelf. (Credit: Photo courtesy of Natalia Shakhova)

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/11/131125172113.htm

Eat nuts to live longer!

They are saying now a days, that by eating nuts you will live a longer life. They are linked to a longer life because they are high in saturated fat, proteins and vitamins. They are linked to lowering heart desease which is linked to the cause of many deaths. They found that if you ate nuts seven plus times a week, you had a 20% less chance of death than people who do not eat nuts. This does not mean if you eat nuts you will live longer, but it is saying they have many bonuses to eating them and could help you live longer.



http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/21/health/nuts-longevity-time/index.html?hpt=he_t3

Is bottled water better for you?

People are debating on weather bottled water is safer than tap. They are saying that it really isn't, it may taste and look better, taste better and be more portable than tap but that doesn't mean it is overall better for you. Bottled water according to the National Sanitation foundation, bottled water is regulated by the FDA, which than created water-quality requirements that bottled water must meet. There is a system called the EPA for public water and the FDA's regulations are close to the EPA, but both are not required by either agency to be 100% free of contaminants. Tap water can also carry pollutants with it in the pipes carrying led. You can also always get your pipes tested. Basically every water you drink weather it be from a bottle, a filter, or a sink should be safe. I feel that this article is very important because water is a very important intake for humans to help us function. We do not want to be drinking something that could potentially harm us.




http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/19/health/upwave-bottled-water/index.html?hpt=hp_bn13

Princeton Meningitis Vaccines debate

Princeton was debating on offering the school vaccines for meningitis due to the couple break outs that had occurred on campus. The vaccine targets meningitis type B and made by Novartis but not yet approved by the United States. It is a rare disease but had different side effects such as hearing impairment, light reaction, stiff neck, confusion, ect... and is a bacterial form. Scientists and officials are asking the question of why this outbreak is happening and how to stop it until the vaccine gets approved.



http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/16/health/princeton-meningitis-outbreak/index.html?hpt=hp_bn13

Birth Control pill may double in Glaucoma risk

Researchers have been doing a study on over 3,000 women who are on birth control. A recent study has shown that 1 and 2 percent of women who are a bit older, in their forties or so are becoming more likely to get Glaucoma. It is blindness in the eyes. They realized that these risks come in to play after being on birth control for more than 3 years. This is can either help women so that doctors can fix the problem or make it worse and more women will be likely to get it. Doctors however want to stop it now, and researchers from the University of California-San Francisco, Duke University and Third Affiliated hospital of Nanchang University presented this risk to the American Association of Ophthalmology. Researchers say that young women on the pill should not be worried, but once on it for three plus years, talk to your doctor about the risk.




http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2013/11/18/birth-control-pills-may-double-glaucoma-risk/

1 in 7 Students Have Dabbled in 'Smart' Drugs

American and European studies show that students have used legal or illegal drugs and medication to enhance their learning level. They mostly take them during the exam preparation period, not during the actual exam. Scientists came up with neuroenhancement to see if it would enhance students during the learning period as well. 94 percent of students had already heard of neuroenhancement. The effect they attended worked only on a small portion of the students that tried it.

http://www.biologynews.net/archives/2013/11/14/1_in_7_students_has_dabbled_in_smart_drugs.html

Cells offer Hope to type 1 Diabetes

This article is explaining how cells are now being offered to help people diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. People with type 1 diabetes can not produce insulin and now doctors are finding out new ways to fix it! Islet cells contain beta cells that produce insulin, as well as alpha cells that produce a hormone called glucagon. Both are used to regulate the body's glucose, or sugar level. Patients can now undergo a surgery to fix it. Researchers have been trying to improve the survival rate of the cells during transplantation. Most patients who undergo the process are now in need of two infusions or islet cells to maintain normal glucose levels long - term. this procedure has been performed in other countries this far, and are showing that patients will stop using insulin and their bodies will begin to start producing it all on their own in five to ten years.



Summary by:
Cassidy Greenberg

http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/06/health/islet-cell-transplantation-diabetes/index.html?hpt=he_t2

Megamouth Shark

The mega-mouth shark has been identified as a new species. Scientist's have recently discovered the name of a shark that they have been searching for for years.Scientist had the teeth of the shark that were being and they were being held for many years in a Los Angeles museum. The shark would feed off of plankton as well as other shrimp-like creatures. The shark would only come to the shallow surfaces of the water to feed and specifically only during the night time. This is a very ancient shark and we have not seen one in many years.
This article really interests me considering there is so much life out there than is just now being discovered. There is a whole undersea world out there to still be discovered and identified.

http://www.nbcnews.com/science/extinct-megamouth-shark-species-finally-identified-8C11522442