PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

'Dark oxidants' form away from sunlight in lake and ocean depths, underground soils

New findings overturn understanding of light-dependent environmental oxidants

2013-05-03
(Press-News.org) Breathing oxygen... can be hazardous to your health?

Indeed, our bodies aren't perfect. They make mistakes, among them producing toxic chemicals, called oxidants, in cells. We fight these oxidants naturally, and by eating foods rich in antioxidants such as blueberries and dark chocolate.

All forms of life that breathe oxygen--even ones that can't be seen with the naked eye, such as bacteria--must fight oxidants to live.

"If they don't," says scientist Colleen Hansel of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts, "there are consequences: cancer and premature aging in humans, death in microorganisms."

These same oxidants also exist in the environment. But neutralizing environmental oxidants such as superoxide was a worry only for organisms that dwell in sunlight--in habitats that cover a mere 5 percent of the planet.

That was the only place where such environmental oxidants were thought to exist.

Now researchers have discovered the first light-independent source of superoxide. The key is bacteria common in the depths of the oceans and other dark places.

The bacteria breathe oxygen, just like humans. "And they're everywhere--literally," says Hansel, co-author of a paper reporting the results and published in this week's issue of the journal Science Express.

The result expands the known sources of superoxide to the 95 percent of Earth's habitats that are "dark." In fact, 90 percent of the bacteria tested in the study produced superoxide in the dark.

"Superoxide has been linked with light, such that its production in darkness was a real mystery," says Deborah Bronk of the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Division of Ocean Sciences, which co-funded the research with NSF's Division of Earth Sciences.

"This finding shows that bacteria can produce superoxide in the absence of light."

The bacteria are found "miles beneath the seafloor, in hot fluids coming from underwater volcanoes, in every type of underground soil and throughout deep lake and ocean waters," Hansel says.

The number of these bacteria in a thimble of seawater or soil is greater than the human population of San Francisco. And they're all releasing large amounts of superoxide.

On Earth's surface, "superoxide can kill corals, turning them white," says Hansel. "It can also produce huge fish kills during red tides. But it's not always bad."

It also helps ocean microorganisms acquire the nutrients they need to survive. And superoxide may remove the neurotoxin mercury from the sea, keeping it out of fish and off dinner plates.

The bacteria that produce superoxide could account for the total amount of the chemical in the oceans, Hansel and colleagues say, and are likely the main source in dark environments.

"That's a paradigm shift that will transform our understanding of the chemistry of the oceans, as well as of lakes and underground soils," says Hansel, "and of the life forms that live in and depend on them."



INFORMATION:



Co-authors of the paper are Julia Diaz and Chantal Mendes of Harvard University, Peter Andeer and Tong Zhang of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Bettina Voelker of the Colorado School of Mines.

-NSF-



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Mathematicians help to unlock brain function

2013-05-03
Mathematicians from Queen Mary, University of London will bring researchers one-step closer to understanding how the structure of the brain relates to its function in two recently published studies. Publishing in Physical Review Letters the researchers from the Complex Networks group at Queen Mary's School of Mathematics describe how different areas in the brain can have an association despite a lack of direct interaction. The team, in collaboration with researchers in Barcelona, Pamplona and Paris, combined two different human brain networks - one that maps all ...

Carnegie Mellon Research shows self-affirmation improves problem-solving under stress

2013-05-03
PITTSBURGH—It's no secret that stress increases your susceptibility to health problems, and it also impacts your ability to solve problems and be creative. But methods to prevent associated risks and effects have been less clear – until now. Published in PLOS ONE, new research from Carnegie Mellon University provides the first evidence that self-affirmation can protect against the damaging effects of stress on problem-solving performance. Understanding that self-affirmation — the process of identifying and focusing on one's most important values — boosts stressed individuals' ...

Gray hair and vitiligo reversed at the root

2013-05-03
Bethesda, MD—Hair dye manufacturers are on notice: The cure for gray hair is coming. That's right, the need to cover up one of the classic signs of aging with chemical pigments will be a thing of the past thanks to a team of European researchers. In a new research report published online in The FASEB Journal (http://www.fasebj.org) people who are going gray develop massive oxidative stress via accumulation of hydrogen peroxide in the hair follicle, which causes our hair to bleach itself from the inside out, and most importantly, the report shows that this massive accumulation ...

George Washington University biologist discovers new dinosaur in China

2013-05-03
WASHINGTON – Fossil remains found by a George Washington University biologist in northwestern China have been identified as a new species of small theropod, or meat-eating, dinosaur. The discovery was made by James Clark, the Ronald B. Weintraub Professor of Biology, in the Department of Biological Sciences of GW's Columbian College of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Clark, along with his then doctoral student Jonah Choiniere and a team of international researchers, found the dinosaur specimen in a remote region of Xinjiang in China in 2006. In a research paper published ...

Fleeing Facebook: Study examines why people quit -- and come back -- to the 'global aquarium'

2013-05-03
ITHACA, N.Y. – With more than a billion active accounts worldwide, it can be easy to forget that some people don't use Facebook. A study by Cornell University researchers presented this week in Paris suggests that "non-use" of the social networking site is fairly common – a third of Facebook users take breaks from the site by deactivating their account, and one in 10 completely quit. Study: https://cornell.box.com/FleeingFacebook Of 410 people who responded to an online questionnaire, 46 reported that they had deleted their Facebook account. More than 90 percent ...

Monkey math

2013-05-03
VIDEO: A University of Rochester study with a troop of zoo baboons and lots of peanuts shows that the ability to understand numbers is shared by man and his primate cousins. Click here for more information. Opposing thumbs, expressive faces, complex social systems: it's hard to miss the similarities between apes and humans. Now a new study with a troop of zoo baboons and lots of peanuts shows that a less obvious trait—the ability to understand numbers—also is shared by ...

The Garage : Hottest Musical Webseries To Hit The Internet!

2013-05-03
Follow the path teen pop group, POV, and solo singer, Austin Powell, on their journey to stardom as they meet some of the entertainment industries zaniest talent agents, choreographers, producers and others.. Using a semi- scripted/semi-reality format, POV and Austin encounter those professionals who would probably be listed at the top of Hollywood's "less likely to succeed"! These "odd" industry pros are portrayed by veteran actors who have the opportunity to create the character of their dreams, making each episode funnier than the last! Throughout ...

Patty Briguglio Named To Advanced Energy Board

2013-05-03
Robert Buhler, president of MMI Public Relations (http://www.mmipublicrelations.com), a full-service public relations firm, has announced that Patty Briguglio, CEO of MMI Public Relations, has been appointed to serve as a member of the Advanced Energy board of directors. The Advanced Energy board of directors is made up of eight members appointed to represent public interests, four directors appointed by the member utilities, one legislative member and one member appointed by the North Carolina Utilities Commission. Appointed by former North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue, ...

Champlain College Ranked Best Online Bachelor's Programs US News & World Report

2013-05-03
Champlain College (http://www.champlain.edu) a private, baccalaureate institution that offers professionally focused programs balanced by an interdisciplinary core curriculum, has been ranked in the top tier of best online colleges in the country by the US News & World Report. This ranking places Champlain College in the top 25 percent of regionally accredited for-profit, private and public colleges and universities that grant bachelor's degrees through online programs. In a pool of more than 230 participating colleges, US News considered retention rates, graduation ...

Sound Theory Live to Relaunch on Wynwood Radio May 10, 2013

2013-05-03
After four years of broadcasting on local jazz station WDNA, the musical performance and interview program Sound Theory Live has found a new home: Wynwood Radio. "We're excited about resuming Sound Theory Live with our new media partners Wynwood Radio and look forward to bringing the global listening public even more compelling programming and music," says founder and host Carlos F. Garcia, who also owns the show's brick and mortar venue, The Stage Miami. "We invite everyone to celebrate with us at The Stage on Friday, May 10th, 2013 beginning at 7 p.m. ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Signs identified that precede sudden arrhythmic death syndrome in young people

Discovery of bacteria's defence against viruses becomes a piece of the puzzle against resistance

Pre-eclampsia is associated with earlier onset and higher incidence of cardiovascular risk factors

Warwick astronomers discover doomed pair of spiralling stars on our cosmic doorstep

Soil conditions significantly increase rainfall in world’s megastorm hotspots

NK cells complexed with bispecific antibody yield high response rates in patients with lymphoma

Planetary health diet and mediterranean diet associated with similar survival and sustainability benefits

Singapore launches national standard to validate antimicrobial disinfectant products

Molecular stool test could improve detection of tuberculosis in adults with HIV

Suspected fibrocartilaginous embolus in Asian small-clawed otter (Aonyx cinereus)

Enhancing heat transfer using the turbulent flow of viscoelastic fluids

Exercise as an anti-ageing intervention to avoid detrimental impact of mental fatigue

UMass Amherst Nursing Professor Emerita honored as ‘Living Legend’

New guidelines aim to improve cystic fibrosis screening

Picky eaters by day, buffet by night: Butterfly, moth diets sync to plant aromas

Pennington Biomedical’s Dr. Leanne Redman honored with the E. V. McCollum Award from the American Society for Nutrition

CCNY physicists uncover electronic interactions mediated via spin waves

Researchers’ 3D-printing formula may transform future of foam

Nurture more important than nature for robotic hand

Drug-delivering aptamers target leukemia stem cells for one-two knockout punch

New study finds that over 95% of sponsored influencer posts on Twitter were not disclosed

New sea grant report helps great lakes fish farmers navigate aquaculture regulations

Strain “trick” improves perovskite solar cells’ efficiency

How GPS helps older drivers stay on the roads

Estrogen and progesterone stimulate the body to make opioids

Dancing with the cells – how acoustically levitating a diamond led to a breakthrough in biotech automation

Machine learning helps construct an evolutionary timeline of bacteria

Cellular regulator of mRNA vaccine revealed... offering new therapeutic options

Animal behavioral diversity at risk in the face of declining biodiversity

Finding their way: GPS ignites independence in older adult drivers

[Press-News.org] 'Dark oxidants' form away from sunlight in lake and ocean depths, underground soils
New findings overturn understanding of light-dependent environmental oxidants