Oregon
When you turn on the television news for the latest weather report, usually a week-long forecast is given. But what if you could learn what to expect in the coming decades? Scientists have now developed computer models that are producing the first simulations of how ecosystems and fire regimes could change in the 21st century. Some of these simulations are showing that the Western United States may get wetter during the winter and experience warmer summers throughout the 21st century. These results have been used in national and global assessments of global climate change.
A new study has concluded that the red sea urchin, a small spiny invertebrate that lives in shallow coastal waters, is among the longest living animals on Earth - they can live to be 100 years old, and some may reach 200 years or more in good health with few signs of age. In other words, an individual red sea urchin that hatched on the day in 1805 that Lewis and Clark arrived in Oregon may still be thriving - and even breeding.
The reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstone National Park may be the key to maintaining groves of cottonwood trees that were well on their way to localized extinction, and is working to rebalance a stream ecosystem in the park for the first time in seven decades, Oregon State University scientists say in two new studies.
When it comes to nicotine content, all cigarettes are not created equal, according to a new study by researchers at Oregon Health & Science University. In fact, the study finds that some commercial cigarette brands contain 10 to 20 times higher percentages of nicotine in the so-called "free-base" form -- the form thought to be most addictive -- than believed up to now. The study documents the first reliable measurements of free-base nicotine in tobacco smoke.
Scientific knowledge about the oceans has increased tremendously in the last quarter century but U.S. policy for managing its territorial waters has lagged far behind the science, experts say, leading to resource depletion, pollution, habitat destruction and political polarization. Recommendations by the Pew Oceans Commission released today (June 4) are the first step toward addressing the disparity between growing scientific knowledge and outdated national policies and practices, says Jane Lubchenco, an Oregon State University professor and one of the commission's lead scientists.
When it comes to the microbes that inhabit the gastrointestinal tract, one person's poison may be another's cure. Heliobacter pylori, the bacterium that causes gastric ulcers and stomach cancer in some people, may actually protect against cancer of the esophagus. A new study by researchers at the Oregon Health and Science University in Portland is shedding some light on this baffling paradox.
Researchers have explained how adult stem cells can heal diseased liver tissue. The research helps direct scientists in the quest for therapeutic uses of adult stem cells, which are derived from bone marrow. The research may also help define the therapeutic limits of these stem cells.
The world's biggest fungus, discovered in Oregon's Blue Mountains in 2001, is challenging traditional notions of what constitutes an individual. The underground fungus--estimated to be between 2000 and 8500 years old--is also deepening our understanding of the ecosystem, with possible implications for the management of Canadian forests, according to a paper by the discoverers. The clone of Armillaria ostoyae--the tree-killing fungus that causes Armillaria root disease--covers an area of 9.65 square kilometres, about the size of 6000 hockey rinks or 1600 football fields.
Engineers at Oregon State University have created the world?s first transparent transistor, a see-through electronics component that could open the door to many new products. The discovery ?is a significant development in the context of transparent electronics,? the scientists said in their publication, but pointed out it?s too early to tell what applications may evolve. ?There?s no doubt it will open the door to some interesting new products and businesses, but we?re not sure what all they might be."
Drugs commonly prescribed to osteoporosis and cancer patients may also cause serious ocular side effects in some cases. That's the conclusion of a study published today by scientists at the Oregon Health & Science University Casey Eye Institute. This research is expected to alert physicians to monitor patients for eye problems not previously associated with the drug. The announcement may also help physicians identify problems earlier, therefore preventing long-term sight damage. Finally, this finding may prompt drug companies to update their product labeling, forewarning physicians and users.
Global warming and the partial melting of polar ice sheets can dramatically affect not only sea levels but also Earth's climate, in ways that may be complex, rapid and difficult to adjust to, scientists say in a new study to be published Friday in the journal Science. Sea level and climatic changes in Earth's distant past, near the end of the last Ice Age about 14,600 years ago, offer significant clues to some phenomena that Earth may experience in the near future, possibly in coming decades or centuries, the study found.
A new study has found that consumption of moderate amounts of green or white tea might provide a protection against colon tumors about as well as a prescription drug, sulindac, that has been shown to be effective for that purpose. The research was just published in the journal Carcinogenesis by scientists from the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University, in studies funded by the National Cancer Institute. It may suggest some optional approaches to cancer prevention or therapy, especially for people who have trouble with the side effects that can be associated with regular use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs, such as sulindac or aspirin.
Researchers have identified a key hormone involved in appetite control and demonstrated its effect on the brain. Scientists have shown that the hormone, called ghrelin, activates specialized neurons in the hypothalamus involved in weight regulation. Researchers believe this information could be used to develop drugs aimed at stimulating appetite in patients who have undergone extreme weight loss due to illness, a condition known as cachexia. Conversely, drugs aimed at limiting production of the hormone might be developed to reduce appetite for those battling severe obesity.
He was a high school drop-out, a maverick who jumped disciplinary fences, and an activist who was attacked for his political beliefs. Yet he won two Nobel prizes and published more than 500 papers and 11 books. His name was Linus Carl Pauling (1901-1994) and he is probably one of the few scientists to be a household name. Linus Pauling is the eighth scientist to be added to the National Library of Medicine's (NLM) Profiles in Science Web site (http://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/). He remains the only person in history to win two unshared Nobel Prizes. "Linus Pauling revolutionized the study of chemistry, and made crucial contributions to medical research," said Dr. Alexa McCray, who heads up the Profiles project.
A dramatic increase in deformed frogs and other amphibians is being caused by a range of environmental factors, all of which can ultimately be linked to human impacts on habitat, but the primary cause of many of the deformities is an epidemic of a key parasite. These findings are the results of eight years of research by scientists around the world, and are presented in the February issue of Scientific American by researchers from Oregon State University and the University of Wisconsin.
