ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

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• Gene may predict if further cancer treatments are needed
• Ancient African cattle first domesticated in Middle East, study reveals
• Good bacteria that protects against HIV identified
• More male fish 'feminized' by pollution on Basque coast
• Revolutionary solar cells double as lasers
• Eating fruits, vegetables linked to healthier arteries later in life
• Great earthquakes, water under pressure, high risk
• New Parkinson's disease chemical messenger discovered
• Using tobacco to thwart infectious disease?
• Gulf war illness not in veterans' heads but in their mitochondria
• US clean-air efforts stay on target
• Autumn ending later in northern hemisphere, research shows
• Chronic stress in early life causes anxiety, aggression in adulthood, neurobiologists find

Gene may predict if further cancer treatments are needed Posted: 28 Mar 2014 09:10 AM PDT A new predictive tool that could help patients with breast cancer and certain lung cancers decide whether follow-up treatments are likely to help is being developed by researchers. The findings offer insight into helping patients assess treatment risk. Radiation therapy and chemotherapy that can destroy tumors also can damage surrounding healthy tissue. So with an appropriate test, patients could avoid getting additional radiation or chemotherapy treatment they may not need.

Ancient African cattle first domesticated in Middle East, study reveals Posted: 28 Mar 2014 09:10 AM PDT The genetic history of 134 cattle breeds from around the world has been completed by a group of researchers. In the process of completing this history, they found that ancient domesticated African cattle originated in the 'Fertile Crescent,' a region that covered modern day Iraq, Jordan, Syria and Israel.

Good bacteria that protects against HIV identified Posted: 28 Mar 2014 07:30 AM PDT By growing vaginal skin cells outside the body and studying the way they interact with 'good and bad' bacteria, researchers think they may be able to better identify the good bacteria that protect women from HIV infection and other sexually transmitted infections.

More male fish 'feminized' by pollution on Basque coast Posted: 28 Mar 2014 07:30 AM PDT Evidence of 'feminization' of male fish in the estuaries of Gernika, Arriluze, Santurtzi, Plentzia, Ondarroa, Deba and Pasaia has been discovered. The first cases -- 2007-2008 -- were detected in Urdaibai, and the most recent data confirm that they are also taking place in other estuaries. Pollutants acting as estrogens are responsible for this phenomenon which, among other changes, is causing ovocytes to appear in male fish.

Revolutionary solar cells double as lasers Posted: 28 Mar 2014 05:55 AM PDT Latest research finds that the trailblazing 'perovskite' material used in solar cells can double up as a laser, strongly suggesting the astonishing efficiency levels already achieved in these cells is only part of the journey.

Eating fruits, vegetables linked to healthier arteries later in life Posted: 28 Mar 2014 05:55 AM PDT Women who ate a diet high in fresh fruits and vegetables as young adults were much less likely to have plaque build-up in their arteries 20 years later compared with those who consumed lower amounts of these foods, according to research. This new finding reinforces the importance of developing healthy eating habits early in life.

Great earthquakes, water under pressure, high risk Posted: 28 Mar 2014 04:58 AM PDT The largest earthquakes occur where oceanic plates move beneath continents. Water trapped in the boundary between both plates has a dominant influence on the earthquake rupture process. Analyzing the great Chile earthquake of February, 27th, 2010, a group of scientists found that the water pressure in the pores of the rocks making up the plate boundary zone takes the key role.

New Parkinson's disease chemical messenger discovered Posted: 27 Mar 2014 07:24 PM PDT A new chemical messenger that is critical in protecting the brain against Parkinson's disease has been identified by scientists. The research team had previously discovered that mutations in two genes -- called PINK1 and Parkin -- lead to Parkinson's. Now they have made a completely unexpected discovery about the way the two genes interact, which they say could open up exciting new avenues for research around Parkinson's and offer new drug targets.

Using tobacco to thwart infectious disease? Posted: 27 Mar 2014 07:23 PM PDT A new generation of potentially safer and more cost-effective therapeutics against West Nile virus, and other pathogens has been developed by an international research group. The therapeutics, known as monoclonal antibodies and their derivatives, were shown to neutralize and protect mice against a lethal dose challenge of West Nile virus -- even as late as four days after the initial infection.

Gulf war illness not in veterans' heads but in their mitochondria Posted: 27 Mar 2014 07:22 PM PDT Veterans of the 1990-91 Persian Gulf War who suffer from "Gulf War illness" have impaired function of mitochondria – the energy powerhouses of cells, researchers have demonstrated for the first time. The findings could help lead to new treatments benefitting affected individuals -- and to new ways of protecting servicepersons (and civilians) from similar problems in the future.

US clean-air efforts stay on target Posted: 27 Mar 2014 02:00 PM PDT National efforts in the last decade to clear the air of dangerous particulate matter have been so successful that most urban areas have already attained the next benchmark, according to new research. All but one of the regions studied reported they had met the goal by deadline.

Autumn ending later in northern hemisphere, research shows Posted: 27 Mar 2014 11:00 AM PDT On average, the end of autumn is taking place later in the year and spring is starting slightly earlier, according to research. A team of researchers examined satellite imagery covering the northern hemisphere over a 25 year period (1982 - 2006), and looked for any seasonal changes in vegetation by making a measure of its 'greenness'. They examined in detail, at daily intervals, the growth cycle of the vegetation - identifying physical changes such as leaf cover, color and growth.

Chronic stress in early life causes anxiety, aggression in adulthood, neurobiologists find Posted: 27 Mar 2014 09:36 AM PDT In experiments to assess the impacts of social stress upon adolescent mice, both at the time they are experienced and during adulthood, a laboratory team conducted many different kinds of stress tests and means of measuring their impacts. The research indicates that a 'hostile environment in adolescence disturbs psychoemotional state and social behaviors of animals in adult life,' the team says.

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