New theory on how Earth’s crust was created
More than 90% of Earth’s continental crust is made up of silica-rich minerals, such as feldspar and quartz. But where did this silica-enriched material come from? And could it provide a clue in the search for life on other planets? Conventional theory holds that all of the early Earth’s crustal ingredients were formed by volcanic activity. Now, however, McGill University earth scientists Don Baker and Kassandra Sofonio have published a theory with a novel twist: some of the chemical components of this material settled onto Earth’s early surface from the steamy atmosphere that prevailed at the time. First, a bit of ancient geochemical history: Scientists believe that a Mars-sized planetoid plowed into the proto-Earth around 4.5 billion years ago, melting the Earth and turning it into an ocean of magma. In the wake of that impact - which also created enough debris to form the moon - the Earth’s surface gradually cooled until it was more or less solid. Baker’s new theory, like the conventional one, is based on that premise.
Segnali, scelte e conflitti: il cervello li sbroglia con attenzione
La risoluzione di conflitti cognitivi necessita di attenzione esclusiva. Ecco perché sono potenzialmente pericolosi in situazioni che richiedono un monitoraggio continuo, come la guida di un’automobile. Lo rivela un recente studio, pubblicato su Nature Scientific Reports, condotto dall’Istituto di bioimmagini e fisiologia molecolare del Cnr in collaborazione con l’Università di Milano-Bicocca. Distrazioni zero: la risoluzione di conflitti nella percezione dei segnali derivanti dal mondo esterno richiede un’attenzione esclusiva. È quanto emerge da uno studio condotto da Alberto Zani, responsabile del Laboratorio di Imaging Elettrofunzionale Cognitivo dell’Istituto di bioimmagini e fisiologia molecolare del Consiglio nazionale delle ricerche (Ibfm-Cnr), in collaborazione con Alice Mado Proverbio del NeuroMI-Milan Center for Neuroscience e docente di Neuroscienze cognitive presso l’Università di Milano-Bicocca. L’indagine ‘How voluntary orienting of attention and alerting modulate costs of conflict processing’ è stata recentemente pubblicata su Scientific Reports della piattaforma Nature.
Global bipolar disorder study reveals thinning of gray matter in brain regions responsible for inhibition and emotion
Bipolar patients tend to have gray matter reductions in frontal brain regions involved in self-control (orange colors), while sensory and visual regions are normal (gray colors). [Image courtesy of the ENIGMA Bipolar Consortium/Derrek Hibar et al.]
In the largest MRI study on patients with bipolar disorder to date, a global consortium published new research showing that people with the condition have differences in the brain regions that control inhibition and emotion. The new study, published in Molecular Psychiatry on May 2, found brain abnormalities in people with bipolar disorder. By revealing clear and consistent alterations in key brain regions, the findings shed light on the underlying mechanisms of bipolar disorder. “We created the first global map of bipolar disorder and how it affects the brain, resolving years of uncertainty on how people’s brains differ when they have this severe illness,” said Ole A. Andreassen, senior author of the study and a professor at the Norwegian Centre for Mental Disorders Research (NORMENT) at the University of Oslo.
Modified soybeans yield more in future climate conditions
Soybeans grown in fields that simulate 2050 temperatures show signs of stress. Researchers have discovered modified soybeans that yield more than current varieties in 2050 field conditions.
● By 2050—in the midst of increasing temperature and carbon dioxide levels—we will need to produce 70 percent more food to meet the demands of 9.7 billion people.
● Researchers at the University of Illinois have modified soybeans to yield more when both temperature and carbon dioxide levels increase, which suggests that we might be able to combat heat-related yield loss with genetic engineering.
● Simplistically, carbon dioxide increases yield and temperature cuts yield; however, this work illustrates that these complex factors work together to influence crop photosynthesis and productivity.
By 2050, we will need to feed 2 billion more people on less land. Meanwhile, carbon dioxide levels are predicted to hit 600 parts per million—a 150 percent increase over today’s levels—and 2050 temperatures are expected to frequently match the top 5 percent hottest days from 1950-1979. In a three-year field study, researchers proved engineered soybeans yield more than conventional soybeans in 2050’s predicted climatic conditions.
Neonicotinoid pesticide reduces egg development in wild bumblebee queens
Bombus Terrestris Bee
New research published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B has found that wild bumblebee queens are less able to develop their ovaries when exposed to a common neonicotinoid pesticide. The research was conducted by Dr Gemma Baron , Professor Mark Brown of Royal Holloway, University of London and Professor Nigel Raine, (now based at the University of Guelph). The study investigated the impact of exposure to field-realistic levels of a neonicotinoid insecticide (thiamethoxam) on the feeding behaviour and ovary development of four species of bumblebee queen.
Smog, Italia e' paese piu' colpito nella UE
Siamo al paradosso: l’Unione Europea è costretta a ricordare ad amministratori locali e regionali, nonché al governo italiano che l’inquinamento dell’aria da polveri sottili (PM10) sta provocando enormi impatti sulla salute dei cittadini italiani. La UE sottolinea che l’Italia è il Paese più colpito nella UE e l’Agenzia Europea per l’Ambiente calcola che il PM10 abbia provocato oltre 66 mila morti. Per il WWF la salvaguardia della salute dei cittadini italiani dovrebbe essere la prima preoccupazione di governi nazionali, regionali e locali, mentre mancano ancora serie politiche di sistema per affrontarne e abbatterne le cause, dal traffico all’energia e al riscaldamento. È necessario un provvedimento quadro che assegni target e compiti alle singole amministrazioni: un provvedimento concepito, da subito, in modo integrato con le politiche di decarbonizzazione che presentano un ventaglio di soluzioni che portano validi co-benefici anche per l’inquinamento (dall’uso delle fonti pulite e rinnovabili, alla elettrificazione dei trasporti, all’efficienza energetica negli edifici che diminuisce drasticamente le necessità di riscaldamento, ecc).
Phthalates increase the risk of allergies among children
Phthalates, which are used as plasticizers in plastics, can considerably increase the risk of allergies among children. This was demonstrated by UFZ researchers in conjunction with scientists from the University of Leipzig and the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) in a current study published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. According to this study, an increased risk of children developing allergic asthma exists if the mother has been particularly heavily exposed to phthalates during pregnancy and breastfeeding. The mother-child cohort from the LINA study was the starting and end point of this translational study. In our day-to-day lives, we come into contact with countless plastics containing plasticizers. These plasticizers, which also include the aforementioned phthalates, are used when processing plastics in order to make the products more flexible. Phthalates can enter our bodies through the skin, foodstuffs or respiration. "It is a well-known fact that phthalates affect our hormone system and can thereby have an adverse effect on our metabolism or fertility. But that's not the end of it," says UFZ environmental immunologist Dr Tobias Polte. "The results of our current study demonstrate that phthalates also interfere with the immune system and can significantly increase the risk of developing allergies."
Potential for Saudi Arabian coral reefs to shine
Marine surveys estimating fish population density and diversity are crucial to our understanding of how human activities impact coral reef ecosystems and to our ability to make informed management plans for sustainability. KAUST researchers recently conducted the first baseline surveys of reefs in the southern Red Sea by comparing reefs off the coast of Saudi Arabia with those of Sudan1. “A major issue is that there is no established historical record for Red Sea ecosystems,” said Dr. Darren Coker, who worked on the project with KAUST M.Sc. Alumnus Alexander Kattan and Professor Michael Berumen all of the University’s Red Sea Research Center. “This means we can only hypothesize what the natural reef environment would have looked like before human interference through fishing began.”
Rosemary aroma can aid children’s working memory
Exposure to the aroma of rosemary essential oil can significantly enhance working memory in children. This is one the findings of a study presented today, Thursday 4 May 2017, by Dr Mark Moss and Victoria Earle of Northumbria University at the British Psychological Society Annual Conference in Brighton. Dr Mark Moss said: “Our previous study demonstrated the aroma of rosemary essential oil could enhance cognition in healthy adults. Knowing how important working memory is in academic achievement we wanted to see if similar effects could be found in school age children in classroom settings.” A total of 40 children aged 10 to 11 took part in a class based test on different mental tasks. Children were randomly assigned to a room that had either rosemary oil diffused in it for ten minutes or a room with no scent.
Earliest relative of Brachiosaurus dinosaur found in France
This Vouivria herd are roaming the coast of what is now Europe.
Scientists have re-examined an overlooked museum fossil and discovered that it is the earliest known member of the titanosauriform family of dinosaurs. The fossil, which the researchers from Imperial College London and their colleagues in Europe have named Vouivria damparisensis, has been identified as a brachiosaurid sauropod dinosaur. The researchers suggest the age of Vouivria is around 160 million years old, making it the earliest known fossil from the titanosauriform family of dinosaurs, which includes better-known dinosaurs such as the Brachiosaurus. When the fossil was first discovered in France in the 1930s, its species was not identified, and until now it has largely been ignored in scientific literature. The new analysis of the fossil indicates that Vouivria died at an early age, weighed around 15,000 kilograms and was over 15 metres long, which is roughly 1.5 times the size of a double-decker bus in the UK.
Medicina
Tumore al polmone: un nuovo farmaco per fermarne la crescita
Un gruppo di ricerca internazionale guidato dall'Istituto di tecnologie biomediche...
Paleontologia
Una convivenza lunga 20.000 anni: l'altopiano persiano patria di tutti i primi eurasiatici
L’altopiano persiano, il luogo dove gli antenati di tutti i non africani hanno vissuto...
Geografia e Storia
La pelle del rettile fossile più antico d'Italia è vera? Un nuovo studio racconta la scoperta inaspettata
Tridentinosaurus antiquus Una pubblicazione sulla rivista Palaeontology getta luce su Tridentinosaurus antiquus, uno dei...
Astronomia e Spazio
Nuova mappa della calotta polare di Marte rivela informazioni sull’evoluzione climatica
Uno studio italiano coordinato dal Dipartimento di Ingegneria meccanica e aerospaziale...
Scienze Naturali e Ambiente
La strategia di sopravvivenza dei coralli tropicali al clima che cambia
Studi condotti dal Consiglio nazionale delle ricerche su esemplari di coralli...