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PhysOrg.com
Discovery of plant protein holds promise for biofuel production Scientists at Michigan State University have identified a new protein necessary for chloroplast development. The discovery could ultimately lead to plant varieties tailored specifically for biofuel production. Self-assembling polymer arrays improve data storage potential (PhysOrg.com) -- A new manufacturing approach holds the potential to overcome the technological limitations currently facing the microelectronics and data-storage industries, paving the way to smaller electronic devices and higher-capacity hard drives. In the long run, exertion regulation wins the day for marathon runners Long-distance running is widely seen as one of the great physical challenges a human can undertake and as the 2008 Summer Olympics commence in Beijing on August 8, many eager sports fans will await with baited breath the last event of the Games - the men's marathon, held on August 24. For these armchair fans, how marathon runners can complete the gruelling, 42.195 km event - physically and mentally - may seem like a great mystery. Fighting ash borer: To spray or not to spray? (PhysOrg.com) -- Perhaps the only good news in the Aug. 4 announcement that emerald ash borers have been found in southeastern Wisconsin is that the invasive pest took its time getting here. Vine invasion? Ecologist looks at coexistence of trees and lianas Among the hundreds of species of woody vines that University of Wisconsin -Milwaukee ecologist Stefan Schnitzer has encountered in the tropical forests of Panama, the largest has a stalk nearly 20 inches in circumference. Evaluating ecosystem services Environmental conservation efforts have traditionally focused on protecting individual species or natural resources. Scientists are discovering, however, that preserving the benefits that whole ecosystems provide to people is more economically and environmentally valuable. At the Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America (ESA), ecologists will explore the application of ecosystem services approaches to conservation. Climate change and species distributions Scientists have long pointed to physical changes in the Earth and its atmosphere, such as melting polar ice caps, sea level rise and violent storms, as indicators of global climate change. But changes in climate can wreak havoc in more subtle ways, such as the loss of habitat for plant and animal species. In a series of talks at the Ecological Society of America (ESA) 93rd Annual Meeting, climate change scientists will discuss how temperature-induced habitat loss can spell disaster for many living things. Researcher finds that women are speaking up (PhysOrg.com) -- There's a whole industry of books and seminars that hinge on the premise that women somehow need to be "fixed" when it comes to communication and must change the way they talk and behave to advance their career. Biological fathers not necessarily the best, social dads parent well too A large number of U.S. children live or will live with a "social father," a man who is married to or cohabiting with the child's mother, but is not the biological father. A new study in the Journal of Marriage and Family examined differences in the parenting practices of four groups of fathers according to whether they were biologically related to a child and whether they were married to the child's mother. Researchers found that married social fathers exhibited equivalent or higher quality parenting behaviors than married and cohabiting biological fathers. General election campaign advertising surpasses $50 million in first two months (PhysOrg.com) -- Presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain are airing more advertisements in more media markets than their counterparts did during a comparable period in the 2004 election campaign, according to a University of Wisconsin-Madison study. ... |