Amid environmental change, lakes surprisingly static

In recent decades, change has defined our environment in the United States. Agriculture intensified. Urban areas sprawled. The climate warmed. Intense rainstorms became more common. But, says a new University of Wisconsin–Madison study, while those kinds of changes usually result in poor water quality, lakes have surprisingly stayed the same.

Data mining finds more than expected beneath Andean Plateau

Seismologists investigating how Earth forms new continental crust have compiled more than 20 years of seismic data from a wide swath of South America’s Andean Plateau and determined that processes there have produced far more continental rock than previously believed.

Peas that like it hot

Farmers across the world produce between 10 and 13 million tons of field pea every year. That makes it a top legume crop, just behind dry beans and chickpeas.

NASA's Aqua Satellite spots Typhoon Hato's Landfall in China

NASA’s Aqua satellite passed over Typhoon Hato just hours after it made landfall in southeastern China. 

Sub-tropical corals vulnerable, new study shows

The vulnerability and conservation value of sub-tropical reefs south of the Great Barrier Reef - regarded as climate change refuges – has been highlighted in a new study.

On the other hand, the immune system can also CAUSE cancer

Infection with human papilloma virus (HPV) is the primary cause of cervical cancer and a subset of head and neck cancers worldwide. A University of Colorado Cancer Center paper describes a fascinating mechanism that links these two conditions – viral infection and cancer. The link, basically, is a family of enzymes called APOBEC3. These APOBEC3 enzymes are an essential piece of the immune system’s response to viral infection, attacking viral DNA to cause disabling mutations. Unfortunately, as the paper shows, especially the action of family member APOBEC3A can spill over from its attack against viruses to induce DNA mutations and damage in the host genome as well. In other words, this facet of the immune system designed to scramble viral DNA can scramble human DNA as well, sometimes in ways that cause cancer.

Climate change is luring Kodiak bears away from their iconic salmon streams

Kodiak brown bears are abandoning salmon–their iconic prey–due to climate change, according to a new study.  

Treating arthritis with algae

Arthritis is the most-widespread joint disease, with around 90 percent of all people over 65 being affected to varying degrees, but this degenerative disease is also widespread amongst younger people. In arthritis, the cartilage in the joint, a type of protective layer on bones that "lubricates" the joint, degenerates over time. This can be extremely painful for sufferers, because inflammatory reactions are associated with cartilage degeneration. In the later stages of the disease, bones are no longer adequately protected and can directly rub against each other.

Arthritis can affect all joints in the body, but most often affects the knee joint, hip joint and fingers. The disease has been considered incurable until now. Current treatment methods, such as anti-inflammatory drugs and painkillers, mainly address the symptoms. Often, the only remaining option is an operation to replace the affected joint with an artificial one.

NASA Sees Major Hurricane Kenneth in Eastern Pacific

Former Tropical Depression 13E has strengthened into a Major Hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. NASA’s Terra satellite passed over Kenneth and captured an image that showed a well-developed storm with a visible eye.

On Friday, Aug. 18 at 11 p.m. EDT Tropical Depression 13E strengthened into Tropical Storm Kenneth. Just 48 hours later at 11 p.m. EDT on August 20, Kenneth became a hurricane.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer or MODIS instrument that flies aboard NASA’s Terra satellite captured a visible-light image of Kenneth at 4:30 p.m. EDT on Sunday, Aug. 20, 2017. It showed powerful thunderstorms wrapped around the center of the visible 15 nautical-mile wide eye. Infrared satellite imagery showed that the cloud tops of the surrounding ring of convection has cooled indicating they have strengthened as the storms have pushed higher into the troposphere.

Spinning plant waste into carbon fiber for cars, planes

Using plants and trees to make products such as paper or ethanol leaves behind a residue called lignin, a component of plant cell walls. That leftover lignin isn’t good for much and often gets burned or tossed into landfills. Now, researchers report transforming lignin into carbon fiber to produce a lower-cost material strong enough to build car or aircraft parts.

The researchers will present their work today at the 254th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS). ACS, the world’s largest scientific society, is holding the meeting here through Thursday. It features nearly 9,400 presentations on a wide range of science topics.