Gizmorama
September 22, 2010
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Good Morning,
Scientists are condensing the official list of plant life in
order to increase its accuracy. Read all the details on this
exciting publication in the second article.
Until Next Time,
Erin
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Chemistry of oyster 'glue' identified
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Identifying the "glue" oysters use to
stick together to form large reefs could provide advances for
fisheries, boating and in medicine, U.S. researchers say.
Researchers at Purdue University say they've uncovered the
chemical components of the oysters' adhesive, which could
help those trying to boost dwindling oyster populations, lead
to creation of materials to keep boat hulls clean without
harming the environment, and aid researchers in creating wet-
setting adhesives for use in medicine and construction, a
university release said Monday. "With a description of the
oyster cement in hand, we may gain strategies for developing
synthetic materials that mimic the shellfish's ability to set
and hold in wet environments," Jonathan Wilker, a Purdue pro-
fessor of chemistry and materials engineering, said. "Dent-
istry and medicine may benefit from such a material. For
instance, it would be great to have a surgical adhesive that
could replace staples and sutures, which puncture healthy
tissue and create potential sites for infection." Researchers
found the adhesive produced by oysters had almost five times
the amount of protein and more water than what is found in
oyster shells. "The adhesive material differed significantly
in composition from the shell, which indicates that the
oyster produces a chemically distinct substance for sticking
together," Wilker said. Oysters stick together to reproduce
and to protect themselves from predators and large waves.
The reefs they create can stretch for miles and filter large
volumes of water, prevent erosion and create a storm wall
that strengthens coastlines, researchers said.
New list of world plant names prepared
LONDON - A catalog of the world's plants has cut the list by
600,000 species, as names are pared down for many plants
given multiple names, British researchers say. With so many
species having been named more than once, scientists have
spent two years streamlining the old list into an accurate
record of the world's plants, the BBC reported Monday. Brit-
ish and U.S. researchers say the ongoing effort should yield
a final global Plant List of around 400,000 species. The
list, aimed at helping plant conservation, will be published
this year. "Without accurate names -- authoritatively deter-
mined -- understanding and communication about global plant
life would descend into inefficient chaos," Stephen Hooper,
director of the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew, said. In part-
nership with the Missouri Botanical Gardens, researchers at
Kew have been taking records of existing plant databases and
removing duplications and errors to produce a single, global
inventory. "It's been a rollercoaster of a project, and the
results will be far from perfect but it will be the most
comprehensive list to date," Kew's head of science policy and
co-ordination, Eimear Nic Lughadha, said. "It will include
almost all scientific names at species level that have been
published for plants."
Moon water could affect telescope plans
ROME - A recent discovery of water on the moon does not bode
well for proposals to build astronomical telescopes on the
lunar surface, a Chinese scientist says. A study concludes
molecules of moon water vaporizing in sunlight could scatter
and heavily distort observations taken by any telescopes
built on the moon, SPACE.com reported Monday. The research
will be presented at the upcoming European Planetary Science
Congress in Rome. "Last year, scientists discovered a fine
dew of water covering the moon," astronomer Zhao Hua, a sci-
entist with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said. "This
water vaporizes in sunlight and is then broken down by ultra-
violet radiation, forming hydrogen and hydroxyl molecules."
Those lunar hydroxyl molecules may be present in levels high
enough to pose an interference or contamination risk to any
telescopes on the moon's surface, researchers say. Lunar-
based telescopes could have several advantages over ground-
based telescopes on Earth, including a cloudless sky and low
seismic activity, scientists say. But in 2009 observations
by several spacecraft from NASA, Japan and India returned
definitive proof of the chemical signature for water as well
as water ice at the moon's poles. This has implications for
China's unmanned Chang'e 3 moon lander mission, currently
scheduled to launch in 2013. The lander is intended to oper-
ate on the moon's sunlit surface and be equipped with a solar-
powered ultraviolet telescope. "At certain ultraviolet wave-
lengths, hydroxyl molecules cause a particular kind of scat-
tering where photons are absorbed and rapidly re-emitted,"
Zhao said. "Our calculations suggest that this scattering
will contaminate observations by sunlit telescopes."
In-water power generators to be studied
SEATTLE - A U.S. study will take a look at how renewable
energy devices placed in America's rivers and coastal waters
might affect marine life, researchers say. Scientists at the
U.S. Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Lab-
oratory will test whether a variety of fish and invertebrates
change their behavior after exposure to an electromagnetic
field similar to those produced by marine and hydrokinetic
power devices that capture energy from ocean waves, tides,
currents and rivers, a laboratory release said. "The ocean's
natural ebb and flow can be an abundant, constant energy
source," Andrea Copping, an oceanographer at the laboratory,
said. "But before we can place power devices in the water,
we need to know how they might impact the marine environ-
ment." The laboratory will use large electromagnetic coils
to examine how fields may affect wildlife. Several different
technologies can use wave or river current movement to gen-
erate electricity that travels through cables that connect
the device with a land power line. Researchers want to know
what effect the devices and their cables might have on marine
life. "We really don't know if the animals will be affected
or not," Jeff Ward, a marine ecologist at the laboratory,
said. "There's surprisingly little comprehensive research to
say for sure."
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