Warmer oceans could raise mercury levels in fish

Dartmouth, other researchers report global warming may boost fishes' metabolism and accumulation of toxic metal

2013-10-04

(Press-News.org) Rising ocean surface temperatures caused by climate change could make fish accumulate more mercury, increasing the health risk to people who eat seafood, Dartmouth researchers and their colleagues report in a study in the journal PLOS ONE.

Until now, little has been known about how global warming may affect mercury bioaccumulation in marine life, and no previous study has demonstrated the effects using fish in both laboratory and field experiments. Mercury released into the air through industrial pollution can accumulate in streams and oceans and is turned into methylmercury in the water.

The researchers studied killifish under varying temperatures in the lab and in salt marsh pools in Maine. Fish in the marshes ate insects, worms and other natural food sources, while the lab fish were fed mercury-enriched food. Results showed the fish in warmer waters ate more but grew less and had higher methylmercury levels in their tissues, suggesting increases in their metabolic rate caused the increased uptake of the toxic metal.

INFORMATION:

Broadcast studios: Dartmouth has TV and radio studios available for interviews. For more information, visit: http://www.dartmouth.edu/~opa/radio-tv-studios/

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Researchers find that bright nearby double star Fomalhaut is actually a triple

2013-10-04

The nearby star system Fomalhaut – of special interest for its unusual exoplanet and dusty debris disk – has been discovered to be not just a double star, as astronomers had thought, but one of the widest triple stars known. In a paper recently accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journal and posted today to the preprint server arXiv, researchers show that a previously known smaller star in its vicinity is also part of the Fomalhaut system. Eric Mamajek, associate professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Rochester, and his collaborators found ...

Cancer survivors in rural areas forgo health care because of cost

2013-10-04

PHILADELPHIA — Older cancer survivors living in rural areas were more likely to forgo medical and dental care because of financial concerns compared with older cancer survivors living in urban areas, according to a study published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. Data analysis showed cancer survivors in rural areas who were aged 65 or older were 66 percent more likely to forgo medical care and 54 percent more likely to forgo dental care because of cost, compared with their urban counterparts. "This ...

Walking can reduce breast cancer risk

2013-10-04

PHILADELPHIA — Postmenopausal women who were very active or walked for at least seven hours a week had a reduced risk for breast cancer, according to a study published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. Women who engaged in at least an hour of vigorous physical activity every day had a 25 percent lower risk for breast cancer, and those who walked for at least seven hours a week had a 14 percent lower risk for breast cancer, in this study of 73,615 postmenopausal women. "We examined whether recreational ...

Study links moderate activity to lower breast cancer risk

2013-10-04

ATLANTA -- October 4, 2013 -- A large new American Cancer Society study adds to increasing evidence that physical activity reduces the risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women. Researchers say moderate recreational activity was associated with a 14 percent lower risk and high physical activity with a 25 percent lower risk of breast cancer compared to women who were active at the lowest level. The study appears early online in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers, and Prevention. A large body of evidence shows that women taking part in regular physical activity have an ...

Laying down a discerning membrane

2013-10-04

One of the thinnest membranes ever made is also highly discriminating when it comes to the molecules going through it. Engineers at the University of South Carolina have constructed a graphene oxide membrane less than 2 nanometers thick with high permeation selectivity between hydrogen and carbon dioxide gas molecules. The selectivity is based on molecular size, the team reported in the journal Science. Hydrogen and helium pass relatively easily through the membrane, but carbon dioxide, oxygen, nitrogen, carbon monoxide and methane permeate much more slowly. "The hydrogen ...

Rutgers scientists discover molecules that show promise for new anti-flu medicines

2013-10-04

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. – A new way to attack flu viruses is taking shape in laboratories at Rutgers University, where scientists have identified chemical agents that block the virus's ability to replicate itself in cell culture. These novel compounds show promise for a new class of antiviral medicines to fight much-feared pandemic influenzas such as the looming "bird flu" threats caused by the H5N1 influenza A virus and the new H7N9 virus responsible for a 2013 outbreak in China. Timely production of a vaccine is difficult when a pandemic flu strikes. A viable alternative ...

HydroEye(R) benefits post-menopausal dry eye sufferers in new clinical research

2013-10-03

HOUSTON, TX—October 2, 2013—Study findings published in the October issue of Cornea show that daily dietary supplementation with a unique combination of omega fatty acids (GLA, EPA and DHA) for six months is effective in improving ocular irritation symptoms and halting the progression of inflammation that characterizes moderate to severe dry eye. The multi-center, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial evaluated 38 post-menopausal women with tear dysfunction in both eyes. HydroEye® (ScienceBased Health®) was found to improve ocular irritation symptoms, ...

Why blame feels hard to take

2013-10-03

When something we do produces a positive result, we actually perceive it differently than we would if that same action yielded a negative result. In particular, people feel a greater connection between voluntary actions and their outcomes if those outcomes are good than if they are bad. The discovery, reported on October 3 in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication, yields important insight into notions about personal responsibility. "Our result suggests that people may really experience less responsibility for negative than for positive outcomes," says Patrick Haggard ...

A metabolic means to preserving egg supply and fertility

2013-10-03

The stresses that come with aging, chemotherapy treatments, and environmental exposures all threaten fertility. But what if there were a way to preserve women's limited egg supply? Researchers reporting on studies conducted in frog and mouse eggs in the Cell Press journal Molecular Cell on October 3rd may have found a way. The findings come at an important time when many women are waiting longer and longer to have children, renewing interest in the development of strategies to preserve oocytes—immature egg cells. "Our work provides insight into how oocyte viability ...

Leading experts offer advice on generating human induced pluripotent stem cell banks

2013-10-03

The ability to make induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from mature cells in the body holds great potential for improved drug screening, disease modeling, and medical treatments for numerous conditions. Establishing well-characterized panels of iPSC lines that reflect the diversity of the human population and include samples from patients with a wide range of diseases will be key to tapping into the potential of iPSCs. In the October 3 issue of the Cell Press journal Cell Stem Cell, leading experts in the field publish several opinion pieces on emerging issues related ...

China, the world's largest tea producer, is predicted to experience increases in land suitable for tea-growing under climate change, with the overall range shifting northwards, per AI modeling study

Bears and pandas in captivity develop significantly different gut microbiomes compared to their wild counterparts, and giant pandas in particular have less diverse microbiomes than their wild counterp

Warmer oceans could raise mercury levels in fish

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: