Schizophrenia linked to lead poisoning
A new study has discovered that toxins not only interfere with fetus development, but also can show an effect many years later. Increased levels of lead in the blood of a fetus can contribute to the development of schizophrenia, a genetically linked mental disorder that reveals itself in late teens or early twenties. Stored blood samples from pregnant mothers from 1959 to 1966 were tested by researchers at Columbia University. Mothers who’s blood lead level was above 150 micrograms of lead per litre were more than twice as likely to give birth to a child that developped schizophrenia than those with lead levels below this threshold.
-Anna Shalaginova
Source: Nature
Flush on, flush off
Researchers have developped a contraption that could turn wastewater into electricity. The device consists of a microbial fuel cell, which is a kind of battery that generates electricity from the break down of organic matter by bacteria. When bacteria oxidize their food, anything from foccacia to feces, they release electrons, which can be harnessed into an electric current. The device consists of a tube filled with electrodes, through which wastewater flows. Bacteria from the waste stick to the negative electrodes, break down the waste, and channel electrons into the electrodes. The researchers say their device could, with improvements, generate enough electricity to power small household devices like lightbulbs. What’s more the bacteria help to inexpensively clean the wastewater.
-Zoe Cormier
Source: Nature
Smokers bring their nicotine inside
A new study shows that people who smoke outside still have high levels of nicotine in the air of their house-so much that their children have eight times more nicotine in their urine than the children of non-smokers. Children who’s parents smoke inside have even higher levels, with 14 times more nicotine in their urine than children who’s parents don’t smoke at all. But the levels of nicotine in the air in the homes of people that smoke outside are still high enough to lead to asthma and other health problems in children that grow up in these environments. The smoke probably gets into the house as it clings to the hair and clothing of the smoker.
-ZC
Source: Nature
Climatic irony
Every summer huge dust storms from Africa blow across the Atlantic and into the Caribbean. The air quality in Florida gets so bad that it exceeds health standards, creating a major health concern. But the cause of the dust might not be African farming practices, as was suspected, but might actually be linked to global warming. The Sahel region of Africa has gotten progressively drier over the past 30 years, most likely due to global warming, says atmospheric scientist Joseph Prospero. The more severe the drought in the Sahel, the larger the dust storms that year. As greenhouse gas emissions largely contribute to global warming, and the U.S. is the world’s largest producer of greenhouse gases, the U.S. might be simply experiencing the backlash from its own actions, says Prospero.
-ZC
Source: Nature
Empathy is hardwired
New research shows that the same parts of the brain that get activated when we feel pain get activated when we observe other people in pain. Researchers took 16 women, delivered electric shocks to their hands, and recorded images of their brains. The parts of the brain associated with emotional distress and physical pain lit up, predictably. The researchers then shocked the hands of the women’s boyfriends. The same emotional regions of the women’s brains that had been active when they were shocked lit up, suggesting that we emotionally (but not physically) feel somebody else’s pain in the same way we feel our own. The researchers have not yet done the experiment on men, but expect to find similar results.
-ZC
Source: Science
Artificial life takes another step
Scientists have made an enzyme capable of stringing together artificial DNA. Natural DNA is made of only four building blocks, but scientists have been able to create a second set of artificial building blocks in the lab. Strands of artificial DNA have been dubbed “super DNA” because they do not break apart under high heat like normal DNA. Fake DNA could be useful in medicine and technology-the only problem is stringing the blocks together. DNA polymerase is an enzyme that strings natural DNA together, but it won’t work with fake DNA. So researchers turned to evolution to make an enzyme that would. They took samples of HIV and mutated the viruses until they created a new DNA polymerase that could string artificial DNA together. And with the new enzyme man-made DNA might be able to replicate-and evolve-on its own.
-ZC
Source: Science
