Nitrogen is an essential component of all living systems, playing important roles in everything from proteins and nucleic acids to vitamins. It is the most abundant element in Earth's atmosphere and is literally all around us, but in its gaseous state, N2,, it is inert and useless to most organisms. Something has to convert, or "fix," that nitrogen into a metabolically usable form, such as ammonia. Until about 100 years ago when an industrial-scale technique called the Haber-Bosch process was developed, bacteria were almost wholly responsible for all nitrogen fixation on ...

Boulder, Colo., USA - Mountain glaciers represent one of the largest repositories of fresh water in alpine regions. However, little is known about the processes by which water moves through these systems. In this study published in Geology on 24 Oct. 2014, David S. Heeszel and colleagues use seismic recordings collected near Lake Gornersee in the Swiss Alps to look for signs of water moving through fractures near the glacier bed. Analysis of these recordings reveals, for the first time, that harmonic tremor occurs within mountain glaciers and that individual icequakes at ...

BEER-SHEVA, Israel, October 28, 2014... A lack of sufficient punishment for deception facilitates "flopping" in basketball, according to new research from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU), which revealed that two-thirds of the falls were found to be intentional. Based on the research, the authors believe that players and teams are unaware of the cost/benefit analysis of "flopping" or the negative effect of falling if no offensive foul is awarded, which is indeed the case 90 percent of the time. In the study, published recently in the Journal of Economic Behavior ...

Farmland is vanishing in part because the salinity in the soil is rising as a result of climate change and other man-made phenomena. In an Opinion piece publishing in the Cell Press journal Trends in Plant Sciences, researchers propose a new concept for breeding salt- tolerant plants as a way to contribute to global efforts for sustainable food production. "We suggest that we should learn from nature and do what halophytes, or naturally salt-loving plants, are doing: taking up salt but depositing it in a safe place—external balloon-like structures called salt bladders," ...

A large analysis of over 40,000 individuals on statin treatment has identified two new genetic variants which influence how 'bad' cholesterol levels respond to statin therapy. Statins are widely prescribed to patients and have been shown to lower bad cholesterol levels by up to 55%, making them a highly effective method of reducing risk of heart disease. However, despite this success, patient response can vary widely. The study, led by Queen Mary University of London and published in Nature Communications, is the largest to date and involved analysing data from six ...

We're more likely to punish wrongdoing as a third party to a non-violent offense than when we're victimized by it, according to a new study by New York University psychology researchers. The findings, which appear in the journal Nature Communications, may offer insights into how juries differ from plaintiffs in seeking to restore justice. Their study, conducted in the laboratory of NYU Professor Elizabeth Phelps, also shows that victims, rather than seeking to punish an offender, instead seek to restore what they've lost. "In our legal system, individuals are presented ...

HOUSTON – (Oct. 28, 2014) – A Japanese mushroom extract appears to be effective for the eradication of human papillomavirus (HPV), according to a pilot clinical trial at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) Medical School. The results were presented at the 11th International Conference of the Society for Integrative Oncology in Houston today by principal investigator Judith A. Smith, Pharm.D., associate professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at the UTHealth Medical School. Ten HPV-positive ...

Researchers are finding ways to understand some of the mysteries of space without leaving earth. Using high-intensity lasers at the University of Rochester's OMEGA EP Facility focused on targets smaller than a pencil's eraser, they conducted experiments to create colliding jets of plasma knotted by plasma filaments and self-generated magnetic fields, reaching pressures a billion times higher than seen on earth. In two related experiments, researchers used powerful lasers to recreate a tiny laboratory version of what happens at the beginning of solar flares and stellar ...

INDIANAPOLIS -- Indiana University cancer researchers have found that a simple blood test might help diagnose pancreatic cancer, one of the most deadly forms of the disease. In research published today in the American Journal of Gastroenterology, Murray Korc, M.D., the Myles Brand Professor of Cancer Research at the Indiana University School of Medicine and a researcher at the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center, and colleagues found that several microRNAs – small RNA molecules -- circulate at high levels in the blood of pancreatic cancer patients. ...

For magnetic fusion energy to fuel future power plants, scientists must find ways to control the interactions that take place between the volatile edge of the plasma and the walls that surround it in fusion facilities. Such interactions can profoundly affect conditions at the superhot core of the plasma in ways that include kicking up impurities that cool down the core and halt fusion reactions. Researchers have improved plasma performance by applying lithium coatings to the walls of fusion facilities. But a complete understanding of the mechanism behind this improvement ...

Each second, the sun hurls millions of tons of hot, charged plasma gas into space. This volatile "solar wind" buffets the magnetosphere, the magnetic field that surrounds the Earth, and can whip up geomagnetic storms that disrupt cell phone service, damage satellites and blackout power grids. Precise predictions of such outbursts could prompt measures to cope with them, just as forecasts here on Earth warn of approaching hurricanes and thunderstorms. Researchers throughout the United States are using laboratory experiments to uncover important physics behind this space ...

Philadelphia, PA, October 28, 2014 – Canadian health organizations are calling upon governments to take a leadership role in creating healthy food environments. They say that implementing strategies that facilitate access to affordable healthy foods and beverages in places where Canadians work, live, and play could play a key role in preventing diet-related disease and health risk such as obesity and hypertension, and ultimately improve cardiovascular health, This call for action is published in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology. In 2010, unhealthy eating was identified ...

WASHINGTON, D.C., October 28, 2014 – Some of mankind's earliest and most mysterious artistic achievements—including prehistoric cave paintings, canyon petroglyphs and megalithic structures such as Stonehenge—may have been inspired by the behaviors of sound waves being misinterpreted as "supernatural." During the 168th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America (ASA), to be held October 27-31, 2014 at the Indianapolis Marriott Downtown Hotel, Steven J. Waller, of Rock Art Acoustics, will describe several ways virtual sound images and absorbers can ...

WASHINGTON, D.C., October 28, 2014 – If you've ever gone for a spin in a luxury car and felt your back being warmed or cooled by a seat-based climate control system, then you've likely experienced the benefits of a class of materials called thermoelectrics. Thermoelectric materials convert heat into electricity, and vice versa, and they have many advantages over more traditional heating and cooling systems. Recently, researchers have observed that the performance of some thermoelectric materials can be improved by combining different solid phases -- more than one ...

Experiments on the DIII-D tokamak that General Atomics operates for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) have demonstrated the ability of lithium injections to transiently double the temperature and pressure at the edge of the plasma and delay the onset of instabilities and other transients. Researchers conducted the experiments using a lithium- injection device developed at the DOE's Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL). Lithium can play an important role in controlling the edge region and hence the evolution of the entire plasma. For example, researchers have ...

NASA's Terra satellite passed over Tropical Storm Hanna on Oct. 27 when it made landfall near the northern Nicaragua and southern Honduras border. On Oct. 27 at 16:00 UTC (12 p.m. EDT) the MODIS instrument aboard NASA's Terra satellite captured a visible image of Tropical Storm Hanna straddling the border between Honduras and Nicaragua. The image, created by NASA's MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, showed strong thunderstorms on both sides of the border, bringing heavy rainfall to those area. At 10 a.m. EDT on Oct. ...

Scientists from North America, Europe and China have published a paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that reveals important details about key transitions in the evolution of plant life on our planet. From strange and exotic algae, mosses, ferns, trees and flowers growing deep in steamy rainforests to the grains and vegetables we eat and the ornamental plants adorning our homes, all plant life on Earth shares over a billion years of history. "Our study generated DNA sequences from a vast number of distantly related plants, and we developed new ...

NOAA's GOES-West satellite captured an image of post-tropical cyclone Ana's remnant clouds raining on British Columbia, Canada today, Oct. 28. Wind warnings along some coastal sections of British Columbia continued today as the storm moved through the region. NOAA's GOES-West satellite gathered infrared data on Ana's remnant clouds and that data was made into an image by NASA/NOAA's GOES Project at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. In the image the remnant clouds resemble a frontal system. Environment Canada's Meteorological Service continued ...

Asthma, which inflames and narrows the airways, has become more common in recent years. While there is no known cure, asthma can be managed with medication and by avoiding allergens and other triggers. A new study by a Tel Aviv University researcher points to a convenient, free way to manage acute asthmatic episodes — catching some rays outside. According to a paper recently published in the journal Allergy, measuring and, if need be, boosting Vitamin D levels could help manage asthma attacks. The research, conducted by Dr. Ronit Confino-Cohen of TAU's Sackler Faculty ...

Recent fusion experiments on the DIII-D tokamak at General Atomics (San Diego) and the Alcator C-Mod tokamak at MIT (Cambridge, Massachusetts), show that beaming microwaves into the center of the plasma can be used to control the density in the center of the plasma, where a fusion reactor would produce most of its power. Several megawatts of microwaves mimic the way fusion reactions would supply heat to plasma electrons to keep the "fusion burn" going. The new experiments reveal that turbulent density fluctuations in the inner core intensify when most of the heat goes ...

When researchers at General Electric Co. sought help in designing a plasma-based power switch, they turned to the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL). The proposed switch, which GE is developing under contract with the DOE's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, could contribute to a more advanced and reliable electric grid and help to lower utility bills. The switch would consist of a plasma-filled tube that turns current on and off in systems that convert the direct current (DC) coming from long-distance power lines to the ...

One out of every five new cancer patients is diagnosed with a rare cancer, yet the clinical evidence needed to effectively treat these rare cancer patients is scarce. Indeed, conventional cancer clinical trial methodologies require large numbers of patients who are difficult to accrue in the situation of rare cancers. Consequently, building clinical evidence for the treatment of rare cancers is more difficult than it is for frequent cancers. Dr. Jan Bogaerts, EORTC Methodology Vice Director, points out, "For rare cancers, we need alternative ways to conceive study designs ...

A study by the University of Southampton has found there are far fewer women studying economics than men, with women accounting for just 27 per cent of economics students, despite them making up 57 per cent of the undergraduate population in UK universities. The findings suggest less than half as many girls (1.2 per cent) as boys (3.8 percent) apply to study economics at university, while only 10 per cent of females enrol at university with an A level in maths, compared to 19 per cent of males. "This underrepresentation of women economics degrees could have major implications ...

A solution to one of the key challenges in the development of quantum technologies has been proposed by University of Sussex physicists. In a paper published today (28 October) in Nature Communications, Professor Barry Garraway and colleagues show how to make a new type of flexibly designed microscopic trap for atoms. Quantum technology devices, such as high-precision sensors and specialised superfast computers, often depend on harnessing the delicate interaction of atoms. But the methods for trapping these tiny particles are hugely problematic because of the atoms' ...

Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a technique that co-opts an immune system already present in bacteria and archaea to turn off specific genes or sets of genes – creating a powerful tool for future research on genetics and related fields. "This should not only expedite scientific discovery, but help us better engineer microbial organisms to further biotechnology and medicine," says Dr. Chase Beisel, an assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at NC State and senior author of a paper on the work. "For example, this ...