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

Insights into plant growth could curb need for fertilizers

2014-11-12
(Press-News.org) New insights into how plants regulate their absorption of an essential nutrient could help avoid pollution caused by excess use of fertiliser.

The findings could lead to the development of crop varieties that need less of the primary nutrient - nitrogen - than conventional crops. It could also inform how much nitrogen should be added to plant feed.

This would allow optimum plant growth without producing excess nitrogen in run-off from fields, which is a major source of water pollution.

Agricultural fertilisers typically contain high levels of nitrogen that boost plant growth and yield even on poor soils. This helps plants avoid the typical characteristics of nitrogen deficiency - stunted growth and pale or yellow leaves.

The study, by researchers at the University of Edinburgh and the University of Campinas in Brazil, examined how nitrogen is absorbed and converted into cellular building blocks in plants.

They found that when nitrogen is absorbed, plant cells produce nitric oxide, which acts as a signalling molecule. This nitric oxide fine-tunes how much nitrogen is used for growth, by signalling to the plant's cells when to limit its uptake.

The scientists say that because nitric oxide plays important roles in shaping the development of plants, and how plants respond to environmental stress, these insights highlight key considerations of how nitrogen-based fertilisers should be used in agriculture.

Their study, published in Nature Communications, was funded by the Royal Society and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council.

Dr Steven Spoel of the University of Edinburgh's School of Biological Sciences, who led the study, said: "Understanding nitrogen absorption better will ultimately allow us to breed crop varieties that need less fertiliser, and therefore are better for the environment."

INFORMATION:



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Scientists unveil new targets, test to develop treatments for memory disorder

Scientists unveil new targets, test to develop treatments for memory disorder
2014-11-12
JUPITER, FL, November 12, 2014 - In a pair of related studies, scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have identified a number of new therapeutic targets for memory disorders and have developed a new screening test to uncover compounds that may one day work against those disorders. The two studies, one published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the other in the journal ASSAY and Drug Development Technologies, could lead new approaches to some of the most problematic diseases facing a rapidly aging ...

Understanding natural compounds

2014-11-12
Medicine is drifting towards a major problem. An increasing number of bacteria is no longer sensitive to known antibiotics. Doctors urgently need to find new ways of fighting these multi-resistant pathogens. To address the problem, pharmaceutical research is turning back to the source of most of our drugs: nature. Although hundreds of thousands of known active agents are found in nature, exactly how most of them work is unclear. A team of researchers from ETH Zurich has now developed a computer-based method to predict the mechanism of action of these natural substances. ...

Bilingual brains better equipped to process information

2014-11-12
Speaking more than one language is good for the brain, according to new research that indicates bilingual speakers process information more efficiently and more easily than those who know a single language. The benefits occur because the bilingual brain is constantly activating both languages and choosing which language to use and which to ignore, said Northwestern University's Viorica Marian, the lead author of the research and a professor in the department of communication sciences and disorders in the School of Communication. When the brain is constantly exercised ...

New 'care bundle' achieves drop in death rate for emergency abdominal surgery patients

2014-11-12
Four UK hospitals have achieved a huge reduction in the number of patients dying following emergency abdominal surgery, after adopting a 'care bundle' devised by patient safety specialists. The care bundle was developed at the Royal Surrey County Hospital in Guildford and implemented in the Royal United Hospital Bath, Torbay Hospital and the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital. The results were analysed by academics at the University of Bradford Over the study period, the overall death rate for patients undergoing emergency abdominal surgery fell from 16 per cent to 10 ...

Mothers nurture emotions in girls over boys, new study finds

2014-11-12
A new study published today in The British Journal of Developmental Psychology has found that conversations mothers have with their daughters tend to contain more emotional words and content, than the conversations they have with their sons. The researchers from the University of Surrey also found that as mothers use more emotional words than fathers, they are also unconsciously reinforcing gender stereotypes to their children. They suggest that these findings could explain why women are generally more emotionally intelligent than men. 65 Spanish mothers and fathers ...

Scientists discover new properties of microbes that cause common eye infection

2014-11-12
BOSTON (Nov. 12, 2014) - Scientists from Massachusetts Eye and Ear/Harvard Medical School Department of Ophthalmology have used the power of new genomic technology to discover that microbes that commonly infect the eye have special, previously unknown properties. These properties are predicted to allow the bacterium -- Streptococcus pneumoniae -- to specifically stick to the surface of the eye, grow, and cause damage and inflammation. Researchers are now using this information to develop new ways to treat and prevent this bacterium, which is becoming increasingly resistant ...

Oral cancer-causing HPV may spread through oral and genital routes

2014-11-12
Oral human papillomavirus (HPV) infections were more common among men who had female partners with oral and/or genital HPV infection, suggesting that the transmission of HPV occurs via oral-oral and oral-genital routes, according to a McGill University study published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. "HPV is the most common sexually transmitted disease in the world, and is a risk factor for several cancers, including cervical, vaginal, vulvar, oropharyngeal [throat/tonsil], anal, and penile cancer," ...

Psychotropic drug prescriptions: Therapeutic advances or fads?

2014-11-12
This news release is available in French. Why are psychotropic drugs such as antidepressants, psychostimulants, anxiolytics, and antipsychotics are increasingly prescribed in North America? Drawing a parallel between the dilemmas facing medicine in the nineteenth century and those that currently exist in the field of mental health, the sociologist and historian Johanne Collin, a professor at the Université de Montréal's Faculty of Pharmacy, believes this increase in prescriptions is partly explained by the therapeutic reasoning of physicians. "There is an ...

Heart attack, stroke survivors' care needs may be much greater than experts thought

2014-11-11
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- A record number of people are surviving heart attacks and stroke but those who do may experience a sharp decline in physical abilities that steadily accelerates over time, according to a new nationally-representative study led by the University of Michigan. Heart attack and stroke were associated with a rapid decline in survivors' ability to take care of themselves over the next 10 years, many requiring long-term assistance for daily activities like dressing, bathing, grocery shopping and managing finances. Stroke survivors also appeared to be at ...

How to secure the entrepreneurial future of a family business

2014-11-11
This news release is available in French. Montreal, November 11, 2014 -- Regardless of whether a business has been in the family for one year or one thousand, the person in charge typically hopes that handing the reins to a close relative will ensure security for future generations. But that's easier said than done, given that 30 per cent of firms make it to the second generation of family ownership, and only 12 per cent make it to the third. Concordia University management professor Peter Jaskiewicz believes there's hope for business owners who stay current by focusing ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

“Molecular bodyguard” helps infections persist

Japan’s first nationwide survey highlights gaps in patient engagement for allergy research

World’s first pig-to-human liver xenotransplant in a living recipient reported in the Journal of Hepatology

The Lancet: Tens of thousands of children aged under five suffering acute malnutrition in Gaza, recent estimates suggest

Prostate testing may not target those most likely to benefit, warn experts

Global analysis shows hidden damage from men’s alcohol use

DRI recognizes Ashley Cornish as the 2025 Peter B. Wagner Memorial Award Winner for Women in Atmospheric Sciences

Unlocking the blueprint for a powerful plant-based drug

Bringing modern science to vitamin biology: Isha Jain wins NIH Transformative Research Award

University of Houston scientists learn that rare bacterium ‘plays dead’ to survive

Introduced animals change how island plants spread, new global study finds

Mayo Clinic researchers discover ‘traffic controller’ protein that protects DNA, and may help kill cancer cells

Protein sidekick exhibits dual roles in stress granule assembly and disassembly

New hope for MS

Kennesaw State professor receives grant to study cancer origins

Pain and antidepressant drug combo linked to increased seizure risk in older adults

Cancer researchers shape new strategies for immunotherapy

Physical exercise can ‘train’ the immune system

Calm red brocket deer can learn to "Come" and other commands - but the flightiest, most restless individuals struggle

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

Composing crews for Mars missions

Early humans butchered elephants using small tools and made big tools from their bones

1,000-year-old gut microbiome revealed for young man who lived in pre-Hispanic Mexico

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

Prenatal and postnatal support apps might not work

Dancing dust devils trace raging winds on Mars

Raging winds on Mars

Real-time biopsies uncover hidden response to glioblastoma therapy

Repeated brain tumor sampling uncovers treatment response in patients with glioblastoma

Novel immunotherapy combination destroys colorectal liver metastases

[Press-News.org] Insights into plant growth could curb need for fertilizers