Preservation of wine without sulphite addition
A good glass of wine is a byword for quality of life -- and not just for connoisseurs. In order to avoid wine spoilage, wineries mostly add sulphur dioxide during the winemaking process. However, the sulphites that dissolve in wine can cause allergic reactions – including asthma. Within the EU they must therefore be declared as an ingredient on the label and the limits for sulphites in wine have been reduced. Sulphites unfold their preservative action in two ways. (Source: ScienceDaily Headlines)
Source: ScienceDaily Headlines - June 3, 2014 Category: Science Source Type: news
Hair analysis as a useful procedure for detection of vapour exposure to chemical warfare agents: simulation of sulphur mustard with methyl salicylate - Spiandore M, Piram A, Lacoste A, Josse D, Doumenq P.
Chemical warfare agents (CWA) are highly toxic compounds which have been produced to kill or hurt people during conflicts or terrorist attacks. Despite the fact that their use is strictly prohibited according to international convention, populations' expos... (Source: SafetyLit: All (Unduplicated))
Source: SafetyLit: All (Unduplicated) - May 20, 2014 Category: Global & Universal Tags: Burns, Electricity, Explosions, Fire, Scalds Source Type: news
Life on cheese: Scientists explore the cheese rind microbiome
The rind is the boundary layer between a cheese and its environment. It hosts a variety of microorganisms that comprise the microbiome: a symbiotic community whose members perform different tasks. Some break down proteins and fats on the rind, for example, creating volatile sulphur and ammonia compounds that are responsible for the intensive odour of some types of cheese. (Source: ScienceDaily Headlines)
Source: ScienceDaily Headlines - May 9, 2014 Category: Science Source Type: news
Al Gore says use of geo-engineering to head off climate disaster is insane
Belief in an instant planet-wide quick-fix, such as blocking sunlight with sulphur, is delusional, US activist declaresAl Gore said on Wednesday it would be "insane, utterly mad and delusional in the extreme" to turn to geo-engineering projects to avoid a climate catastrophe.The UN climate panel, in the next edition of its blockbuster reports, will warn that governments might have to extract vast amounts of greenhouses gases from the air by 2100 to limit climate change, according to a draft copy of the report seen by Reuters.But the former vice president of the US said that searches for an instant solution, which he said w...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - January 15, 2014 Category: Science Authors: Suzanne Goldenberg Tags: Energy Fossil fuels theguardian.com United States Carbon footprints World news Geoengineering Carbon capture and storage (CCS) Oceans Global climate talks Sea level Al Gore Climate change Environment Carbon emissions Source Type: news
Lake on Mars could have teemed with microbial life
Minerals identified by Nasa's Curiosity Mars rover suggest lake contained water of low salinity and neutral pH suitable for lifeAn enormous crater near the northern plains of Mars once harboured an ancient lake that could have supported microbial life, Nasa scientists have claimed.The freshwater lake stood for more than 100,000 years at the base of Gale crater, a 90-mile-wide formation created when a meteor hit the planet about 3.7bn years ago.Tests on rock samples by Nasa's Curiosity rover revealed the presence of fine clay minerals that formed in a standing body of water, and coarse-grained sandstones laid down by river ...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - December 9, 2013 Category: Science Authors: Ian Sample Tags: theguardian.com Curiosity rover Nasa Biology World news Mars Alien life Science Space Source Type: news
The return of the delicate flapwort | @GrrlScientist
This is the story of how our hero, Richard Carter, joined forces with a local botanist to hunt down the elusive, rare and very tiny delicate flapwort!Several months ago, I reviewed a book about England's Rare Mosses and Liverworts. Shortly afterwards, I packed it up and mailed it to my longtime friend, Richard Carter, so he could field test it and maybe share his impressions of the book with us. What transpired was a dedicated search for a plant that is so tiny that it looks more like a green smudge on the ground – if anyone spots it at all (which almost no one ever has). But this update to the tale is so much more than ...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - October 28, 2013 Category: Science Authors: GrrlScientist Tags: theguardian.com Blogposts Biology Yorkshire Fungi Plants Beauty Natural England The National Trust Science Source Type: news
Coral chemicals protect against warming oceans
(Science in Public) Australian marine scientists have found the first evidence that coral itself may play an important role in regulating local climate.They have discovered that the coral animal--not just its algal symbiont--makes an important sulphur-based molecule with properties to assist it in many ways, ranging from cellular protection in times of heat stress to local climate cooling by encouraging clouds to form. (Source: EurekAlert! - Biology)
Source: EurekAlert! - Biology - October 23, 2013 Category: Biology Source Type: news
Nasa's Curiosity rover finds water in Martian soil
Dirt sample reveals two pints of liquid water per cubic feet, not freely accessible but bound to other minerals in the soilWater has been discovered in the fine-grained soil on the surface of Mars, which could be a useful resource for future human missions to the red planet, according to measurements made by Nasa's Curiosity rover.Each cubic foot of Martian soil contains around two pints of liquid water, though the molecules are not freely accessible, but rather bound to other minerals in the soil.The Curiosity rover has been on Mars since August 2012, landing in an area near the equator of the planet known as Gale Crater....
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - September 26, 2013 Category: Science Authors: Alok Jha Tags: The Guardian United States Curiosity rover Nasa World news Mars Science Space Source Type: news
Air pollution linked to lung cancer and heart failure
Conclusion
These well conducted studies that have collected a large body of evidence found associations with increasing levels of environmental pollutants and risk of both lung cancer, and hospitalisations and deaths due to heart failure.
The lung cancer study analysed data from more than 300,000 people from a range of European countries and, importantly, took into account people’s detailed smoking history.
It found a significant association between increased concentrations of one type of particulate matter in the air (PM10) and risk of any type of lung cancer, with non-significant associations for the other pollutants...
Source: NHS News Feed - July 10, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Cancer Lifestyle/exercise Heart/lungs Source Type: news
Air pollution linked to higher risk of lung cancer and heart failure
Two studies show effects on health of long- and short-term exposure to pollutants from traffic and industryAir pollution, chiefly from traffic exhaust fumes in cities, is having a serious and sometimes fatal effect on health, according to two studies that link it to lung cancer and heart failure.Air pollution increases the risk of lung cancer even at levels lower than those recommended by the European Union, which are also standard in the UK, says a paper in the Lancet Oncology journal. Although smoking is a far bigger cause of lung cancer, a significant number of people will get the disease because of where they live.The ...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - July 9, 2013 Category: Science Authors: Sarah Boseley Tags: The Guardian News Health Medical research Society Pollution Lung cancer Environment Science Source Type: news
Why did the Neanderthals die out?
A major conference in London this week will reveal the results of five years' research on why Homo sapiens emerged triumphant in the survival battle of the humansThe puzzle is one of the greatest surrounding our species. On a planet that bristled with different types of human being, including Neanderthals and the Hobbit-like folk of Flores, only one is left today: Homo sapiens.Our current solo status on Earth is therefore an evolutionary oddity – though it is not clear when our species became Earth's only masters, nor is it clear why we survived when all other versions of humanity died out. Did we kill off our competitor...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - June 2, 2013 Category: Science Authors: Robin McKie Tags: Neanderthals Anthropology Features The Observer Science Source Type: news
Gardens: the rhodos return
They're the plant we love to hate, but rhododendrons are long overdue a comebackThere is a general, and not always unspoken agreement that rhododendrons are uncool. In the early 1970s, my brother and I were raised in a garden full of them – once a collector's pride and joy, I imagine, all laid out in an orderly fashion. But after years of neglect, it became an arena for two small boys. Many firsts happened beneath those lofty canopies: tree house, camp, fire and kiss.But ask me if there were any special ones (rhododendrons, that is) and I could not tell you – just a mass of mauves. Perhaps that's wh...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - April 26, 2013 Category: Science Tags: The Guardian Features Plants Life and style Gardens Source Type: news
Mercury's 'dynamic and complex world' revealed by Nasa's Messenger
First time planet has high-resolution maps after Nasa spacecraft orbited planet over course of a yearMercury is the smallest of the solar system's eight planets and, for decades, also its most neglected by humans. While Mars, Venus, Jupiter and Saturn have been probed and photographed in exquisite detail during the space age, the closest planet to the Sun has had to make do with a few flybys from the Mariner 10 spacecraft in the early 1970s.Now Mercury has its own high-resolution maps, down to the scale of kilometres, made from thousands of images taken by Nasa's Messenger spacecraft as it orbited the planet over the cours...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - February 15, 2013 Category: Science Authors: Alok Jha Tags: Nasa World news guardian.co.uk Mercury Science Space Source Type: news
Rewind TV: Wonders of Life; Jonathan Meades: The Joy of Essex; Derek – review
Brian Cox was an engaging guide to the origins of life, but the science could be an uphill struggleWonders of Life (BBC1) | iPlayerJonathan Meades: The Joy of Essex (BBC4) | iPlayerDerek (C4) | 4ODAlready one senses the knives are out for Brian Cox, perhaps especially among those who were the first to herald his youthful, mesmerising genius but now don't like the way he has turned into a media darling with his gentle gaze and ubiquity, his poetic explanations of difficult phenomena and annoyingly full head of hair. "Next!" they cry, as if presenters who look like indie rock stars but think like Einstein are queuing round t...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - February 2, 2013 Category: Science Authors: Phil Hogan, The Observer Tags: Culture Television & radio Art and design Brian Cox Reviews The Observer Ricky Gervais Architecture amp; radio Source Type: news
Washout year may have hit nutrition and taste of UK fruit and veg
Heavy rainfall and lack of sunshine is likely to have reduced taste and goodness of UK-grown produce, academic warnsYou may have noticed British-grown fruit and vegetables getting smaller, or having blighted and discoloured skin – all consequences of 2012's sustained bad weather. But a leading scientist is now warning that the mis-shapen produce is only half the story: it could also be less healthy and less tasty as a result.Heavy rainfall is likely to have washed away nutrients in the soil, while the lack of sunshine could have adversely affected sugar levels in growing produce, says Professor Mike Gooding, the head of ...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - January 9, 2013 Category: Science Authors: Rebecca Smithers Tags: Farming News guardian.co.uk Food & drink Life and style British food and drink Fruit Environment Agriculture Science Source Type: news
