Diabrotica virgifera virgifera beetle larvae (known as western corn rootworm) wreak havoc on maize, causing an estimated $1 billion of damage every year to US agriculture. Knowing that Heterorhabditis bacteriophora nematodes kill the pest, researchers in Switzerland have successfully improved the nematode's response to a chemical, (E)-beta-caryophyllene, released by damaged maize roots, to attract the nematodes directly to the pest in a bid to produce an environmentally safe pesticide.

Newly published research focuses on miniature energy harvesting technologies that could potentially power wireless electronics, portable devices, stretchable electronics, and implantable biosensors.

Abnormal brain images combined with examination of the composition of the fluid that surrounds the spine may offer the earliest signs identifying healthy older adults at risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, well before cognitive problems emerge, a new study has found.

A study of 690,000 children found extremely obese children have a 40 percent higher risk of gastroesophageal reflux disease and moderately obese children have a 30 percent higher risk of GERD compared to normal weight children. This large population-based study establishes an association between obesity and GERD in children, an association previously reported in adults. GERD leads to chronic respiratory conditions, and increased risk for esophageal cancer, the nation's fastest growing cancer.

Researchers have studied the influence of emotional traits of the character in directors of Spanish banks and savings banks when making strategic decisions. The study concludes that executives who display the most negative emotions have less of a tendency to take risks.

One of the most pivotal steps in evolution -- the transition from unicellular to multicellular organisms -- may not have required as much retooling as commonly believed, scientists have found. A comparison of the genomes of the multicellular algae Volvox carteri and its closest unicellular relative Chlamydomonas reinhardtii revealed that multicellular organisms may have been able to build their more complex molecular machinery largely from the same list of parts that was already available to their unicellular ancestors.

PITTSBURGH--Around suppertime on June 3 in Clearfield County, Pa., a geyser of natural gas and sludge began shooting out of a well called Punxsutawney Hunting Club 36. The toxic stew of gas, salt water, mud and chemicals went 75 feet into the air for 16 hours. Some of this mess seeped into a stream northeast of Pittsburgh. [More]



Natural gas - Clearfield County Pennsylvania - Pennsylvania - Business - Pittsburgh

Children and adolescents who lack social problem-solving skills are more at risk of becoming bullies, victims or both than those who don't have these difficulties, according to new research. But those who are also having academic troubles are even likelier to become bullies.

Instead of a sleeping pill or a mood enhancer, a nose full of jasmine from Gardenia jasminoides could also help, according to researchers in Germany. They have discovered that the two fragrances Vertacetal-coeur (VC) and the chemical variation (PI24513) have the same molecular mechanism of action and are as strong as the commonly prescribed barbiturates or propofol.

As the mercury rises outdoors, it's a fitting time to consider the effects of summertime droughts and global warming on ecosystems. Complex interactions among temperature, water cycling, and plant communities create a tangled web of questions that need to be answered as we face a rapidly changing climate. Researchers recently tackled one aspect of the challenging question of how climate change can impact plant communities that obtain water from fog.