The researchers looked at about three hundred stars using the Keck Observatory in Hawaii, with follow-up completed at the Fairborn Observatory in Arizona and the McDonald Observatory in Texas. They focused their research on what are called “retired” stars. These A-type stars are more than one and a half times more massive than the sun, and are just past the prime in their life, which is why they are retired. Now, they are puffing into what is called a subgiant star.

That’s right. The answer may lay in panda poo solving one of science’s hurdles in producing biofuels. Researchers hope this will help expand the use of biofuels in the near future, which will in turn help reduce the dependency on using foreign oil. They also hope it will help out with wildlife conservation.

So why panda poo and no other poo? The researchers explained that the bacteria that is found in the poo from the giant panda is the best for breaking down the difficult and hardy plant material in switch grass, corn stalks, and wood chips. This plant material, lignocellulose, just can’t be defeated by any of poo. And because of this finding, it could help with the development of cellulosic biofuels that is from these tough plant materials so that it doesn’t rely on food crops such as soybeans, corn, and sugar (which are now what is used to make biofuel).

So why does this work so well? Giant pandas have specific bacteria in their digestive system that can easily break down the cellulose in plants and make it into useful nutrients. Bamboo is rich in this cellulose, making up for about 99 percent of their diet. In fact, an adult giant panda eats about 20 to 40 pounds of bamboo each day.

To do the research, the team collected and analyzed the fresh poo of a pair of male and female pandas who were stationed at the Memphis Zoo over the course of a year. They explored and discovered several types of digestive bacteria in the panda poo, including some types that are similarly found in termites (which we know are experts at chewing through wood).

Their studies suggest that bacteria species in these giant pandas may be more efficient at breaking down plant materials than even termite bacteria can. As well, the panda poo may prove to combat this in a way that is better for biofuel manufacturing purposes.

The researchers estimate that under specific conditions these gut bacteria can convert approximately 90 percent of plant biomass into simple sugars. The enzymes that are found in the bacteria are highly active substances which speed up chemical reactions, and are so powerful do not have the need for high heat, harsh acids and high pressures– all of which are currently used in biofuel production processes. Because the current processes for creating biofuel is also time intensive and takes a lot of energy, the panda bacteria is also a quicker and cheaper option.

The scientists are continuing their research by trying to figure out every intestinal bacterium that is found in the giant panda. That way, they can isolate the most powerful digestive enzymes, use them for biofuel production and create them into yeasts. These yeasts can then create the enzymes and be grown on a commercial scale to create the large amounts of biofuel needed.

The U.S. Department of Energy, The Memphis Zoological Society, the Mississippi Corn Promotion Board, and the Southeastern Research Center at Mississippi State provided funding for this study.

See the American Chemical Society for more information.

A new study shoes that scented laundry products may emit hazardous chemicals through dryer vents.

The study outlined that air that is vented from clothes dryers using conventional, popular scented laundry detergent and scented dryer sheets contains hazardous chemicals. Two of these chemicals include toxic carcinogens.

Published online this week in the journal Air Quality, Atmosphere and Health, the research further expands on past studies that have already looked at which chemicals are released by laundry products, air fresheners, cleaners, lotions and other scented consumer products. Labeling guidelines do not require manufacturers to disclose the ingredients used in fragrances, cleaners, laundry products, and household items.

The lead is author Anne Steinemann, a University of Washington professor of civil and environmental engineering and of public affairs. She explains, “This is an interesting source of pollution because emissions from dryer vents are essentially unregulated and unmonitored. If they’re coming out of a smokestack or tail pipe, they’re regulated, but if they’re coming out of a dryer vent, they’re not.”

The recent study focuses on chemicals that are emitted through laundry vents. To do the study, researchers first purchased and pre-rinsed new, organic cotton towels as their test subjects. They then asked two homeowners to volunteer their washers and dryers, cleaned the inside of the machines with vinegar, and ran full laundry cycles using only water to eliminate as much residue as possible.

Then they got to the task at hand. At the first home, they ran a regular laundry cycle, then followed by analyzing the vent fumes. This analysis included three parts: the first load included the use of non products at all. The second load included using the leading brand of scented liquid laundry detergent. The third load used both the popular  detergent and a leading brand of scented dryer sheets.

To accurately analyze the emissions, a canister was inserted in the dryer vent opening. During each of the loads, it captured the exhaust 15 minutes into each drying cycle.

The research team then repeated the same procedure in the second home, using the different washer and dryer but the same three loads.

The canister led to the eventual analysis of the different captured gases discovered. In fact, the vents emitted more than 25 volatile organic compounds, among these seven hazardous air pollutants. Out of these compounds, two chemicals, acetaldehyde and benzene, are classified by the Environmental Protection Agency as carcinogens. The EPA says that there is no safe exposure level for these. They can affect your personal health, but also environmental health, finding their way into the air and our waterways, and, essentially, leaking out their poisons in the air we breathe and the water we drink.

The study was completed in the Seattle area, and researched have hypothesized that the acetaldehyde emissions from this brand of laundry detergent would be approximately equivalent to 3 percent of the total acetaldehyde emissions coming from automobiles. They estimate that emissions from the top five brands would total about 6 percent of automobiles’ acetaldehyde emissions.

The researchers recommend using laundry products without any fragrance or scent.

For other ways to do a greener load of laundry, check out our article “Tips for greener laundry“, which outlines ways for you to keep your laundry a little more planet (and hydro) friendly. Ditching those laundry sheets definitely makes the list.

For an alternative to laundry detergent, explore the possibility of soap nuts. Soap nuts are literally nuts from the Sapindus genus of trees, also known as soapberry trees. The shell of the nut contains saponin, a natural substance designed by Mother Nature herself for effective cleaning. It has been used for centuries around Asia for both clothing and skin. Read more in our article about soap nuts here.

Read the full report of the study: Anne C. Steinemann, Lisa G. Gallagher, Amy L. Davis, Ian C. MacGregor. Chemical emissions from residential dryer vents during use of fragranced laundry products. Air Quality, Atmosphere & Health, 2011; DOI: 10.1007/s11869-011-0156-1

With this, poor villagers could collect clean water near their homes, instead of bringing it over the course of hours from streams and wells that are farther away.

Chhatre, a doctoral candidate in chemical engineering at MIT, an MBA student at the MIT Sloan School of Management, and a fellow at MIT’s Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship, has a lot on his plate, but he is determined to work this idea through

According to the World Health Organization and UNICEF,  nearly 900 million people worldwide live without safe drinking water. The burdens falls mostly on women and children to supply for their families.

Chhatre has created a fog-harvesting device that is made of a fence-like mesh panel. This panel attracts droplets and connects to receptacles into which water drips.

Chhatre’s training as a chemical engineer has helped him build a useful prototype.

One basic principle of an efficient device is that it must have a combination of surfaces that attract and repel water.

For larger versions, mesh does the job; these harvesters captured one liter of water per one square meter of mesh, per day in their field tests. The next steps are bringing this into the community.

Read more from web.mit.edu and the full report from Science Daily.

The hole, currently located over the South Pole, has always been under scrutiny. Previous work has  found that it is changing atmospheric flow in high latitudes. However, the new research shows that it is influencing circulation from the tropical regions, and therefore, increasing rainfall at low latitudes in the Southern Hemisphere.

The paper, recently published in the April 21st issue of Science, outlines that this it he first time that ozone depletion has been linked to climate change from the South Pole all the way to the equator.

Previous reports did not even mention the ozone hole. This study, on the other hand, shows its large impact; a huge player in climate change. Like a domino effect, it is causing havoc in spite f being so far away.

This study is showing now that it is proving to be a dominant source of the circulation changes. As well, carbon isn’t the only problem.

The ozone layer absorbs most of the sun’s  ultraviolet rays, created mostly from chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) breaking it down. Global CFC production has since almost completely ceased; in turn, so did the depletion.

By using two different climate models to show the ozone hole effect, the team calculated the atmospheric changes in the models produced by creating an ozone hole. Next, they took both of these changes and compared them with the ones observed in the last few decades. They found the connection to the Southern Hemisphere.

This study was funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation to Columbia University.

Read more: S. M. Kang, L. M. Polvani, J. C. Fyfe and M. Sigmond. Impact of Polar Ozone Depletion on Subtropical Precipitation. Science, 21 April 2011 DOI: 10.1126/science.1202131

Lucky for us, researchers have found a genetic circuit that helps them make their decision.  

The researchers found that several genes have natural variations which how quickly a worm will leave its food. One of the genes, tyra-3, produces a receptor that is activated by adrenaline.

“What’s encouraging to us about this story is that molecules related to adrenaline are implicated in arousal systems and in decision-making across a lot of different animals, including humans,” explains Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator Cornelia Bargmann of Rockefeller University in New York, who was the mentor of the work of graduate student Andres Bendesky.

This suggests that because there are different species that react in different ways, the decision-making ability is linked to the genetic make-up.

These worms, Caenorhabditis elegans, live in agricultural areas, such as orchards and crops. They feed on bacteria that comes from rotting produce. However, they might find some of these bacteria toxic or difficult to nosh on, so they need the ability to determine if they can use this bacteria or move on to the next.

The worms have only 302 neurons (as opposed to the human brain’s billions), and research has connected these neurons and their mapping throughout the worm’s nervous system. It was an easier study, due to the worm’s 20,000 or so genes, that have equivalents to human’s. What’s more, most of the worm’s 20,000 genes have equivalents in the human genome. Studying C. elegans made it easier to make connections between those levels.

The new study investigates how different changes in genes can change a worm’s behaviour. They placed hundreds of strains of the worms in Petri dishes lined with bacteria and tallied the rate they left the lawn.

From here, they connected with HHMI investigator Leonid Kruglyak and his postdoc Matt Rockman do “quantitative trait locus analysis”, which could analyze the specific genetic make-up of each strain. They they connected it with how often  each strain left its lawn.

Their findings helped them discover that the tyra-3 receptor is produced in sensory neurons. These neurons help determine external cues which can be connected to internal cues. In addition to their findings, the team also found another natural genetic variation in tyra-3. Basically, they found particular genetic variants lead to specific behaviors in reality.

The findings appeared online March 16, 2011, in the journal Nature.

Lucky for them, researchers at Teesside University may have a solution to their growing waste problem.

In fact, the research team  could help the United Kingdom to avoid paying £180m if they don’t devise a plan by 2020.

The team received £1.76m to find innovative uses for waste in North East England. Both industrial and household waste will be explored, as well as looking at curbside waste.

The money was funded to the Industrial Symbiosis team within the University’s Clean Environment Management Centre (CLEMANCE). This money will help them reach their target goal of reducing CO₂ by over 250,000 tonnes and preventing 250,000 tonnes of waste going to landfill. It will also help provide assistance to 40 enterprises each year.

The money will allow CLEMANCE to explore new uses for everything from household waste to plastics.

CLEMANCE Senior Practitioner Kirk Bridgewood explained that “the study was prompted by the recent collapse in the market for recycled items, which could potentially give councils a major problem if they are unable to sell the collected materials. In addition, there were stories about materials being stockpiled because no one wanted to buy. We want to find out ways of making sure that does not happen again and we will also be looking at the amount of materials exported to places like China.

“We want to see if there are ways in which materials can be recycled in the North East of England instead. Plastics are a good example. There are companies in this area that could use discarded plastics as raw materials.”

Read more from Teesside University and their ongoing projects and research.

Source

Image courtesy of euinfrastructure.com

Plant carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin are found in corn and leafy greens vegetable such as kale, broccoli, and spinach, with an ability to protect us from chronic diseases. Among these are age-related macular degeneration, cancer, and cardiovascular disease.

Recent research has  shown that broccoli has even more to offer. With more carotenoids than any other members of its food family,  scientists have discovered why this just is.

Mark W. Farnham of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Charleston, South Carolina, and Dean A. Kopsell from the Plant Sciences Department, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, studied the cruciferous vegetable and found some interesting information.

Their research confirmed that broccoli contains a large amount of lutein, an antioxidant that we often associate with eyes and skin. Other carotenoids, such as beta-carotene, were also found, but lutein  levels were the most significant.

The team also found that when breeding broccoli, the lutein levels were linked to the plant’s genetics; the environment had little effect.

The study is published in HortScience.

So eat more broccoli. Simple as that. If you don’t know how to make it so you love it, we guarantee you’ll dig Imagine Foods’ Creamy Broccoli Organic Soup, and get inspired by The New Enchanted Broccoli Forest by Mollie Katzen.

Source: ScienceDaily.com

Image courtesy of herbalextractsplus.com

The name  ‘DaisySL’, for Daisy seedless is an exciting venture for the folks behind the development. It’s claimed to be seed-free with an easy peel – along with great taste.

It will be released in September 2009 ‘ for propagation by California citrus nurseries that have purchased licenses to propagate and sell the variety, but you won’t see it for about five years in the grocery shelves.

It takes about two years for the industry to develop enough for commercial budding, another year to produce a tree, and an additional two to three years to produce the first fruit.

But, we can still look forward to it: its only about 2.7 inches (68 mm) in diameter and about 2.4 inches (60 mm) in height. Each fruit has 10-11 segments, a juicy interior, and weighs about 135 grams. If any, there is about 2.2 seeds, although a lower count is expected.

Adapted from materials provided by University of California – Riverside.

Image courtesy of T. Williams, Roose lab, UC Riverside.

The team of researchers – including OSU, as well as University of Washington, and McGill University, collected samples from 96 municipalities across Oregon. They tested them for evidence of drugs, among them cocaine and ecstasy.

These 96 municipalities represent approximately 65% of Oregon’s population; within the samples they discovered index loads of  benzoylecgonine (BZE, a cocaine metabolite) were significantly higher in urban levels,  methamphetamine was present in all areas, and MDMA (ecstasy) was higher in urban areas, although less than half of the communities qualified.

Because current measures of drug testing are limited from costs and methodological issues, the researchers believe this measure may provide some open doors towards measuring community drug use.  Public health officials could use this form of testing to identify patterns of drug abuse within multiple municipalities.

The study was published last week in the journal Addiction, although because of the team’s look at a single sample, more testing would be completed before ensuring its validity of an accurate testing process. They do strongly feel, however, the potential dramatic improvement in testing possibilities.

Source: Oregon State University

Image courtesy of oregon.gov