Two new studies conducted by scientists at Emory University have found that simple peptides can organize into bi-layer membranes. The finding suggests a "missing link" between the pre-biotic Earth's chemical inventory and the organizational scaffolding essential to life.

"We've shown that peptides can form the kind of membranes needed to create long-range order," says chemistry graduate student Seth Childers. "What's also interesting is that these peptide membranes may have the potential to function in a complex way, like a protein."

The results were recently published in Angwandte Chemie.


Photo Credit: Emory University)

A compound in dark chocolate called epicatechin may protect the brain after a stroke by increasing cellular signals already known to shield nerve cells from damage.

After inducing an ischemic stroke in mice, John Hopkins scientists found that mice who had been fed a single modest dose of epicatechin suffered significantly less brain damage than the ones that had not been given the compound.

The study was recently published in the Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism.

University of Sheffield geographers studying flowering plants say summers in England have been arriving earlier since the 1950s.

Researchers examined records of the first blooming date of early summer flowering plants (phenology) and the timing of first occurrences of warm 'summer' temperatures - events linked with the onset of summer.

Results revealed that the occurrence of 'summer' temperatures has advanced by 11 days in the 1990s compared to the period 1954-1963, while early summer flowering has advanced by three days. If this analysis is extended to 2007, the advance reaches 18 days.

Neuroscientists from the University of Southampton investigating alcohol dependency and withdrawal in C. elegans worms say they exhibit alcohol-dependent behaviors similar to humans, despite their evolutionary distance, and very simple brain consisting of just 302 nerve cells.

The research, published in PLoS One, shows that withdrawal symptoms could be relieved by small doses of alcohol. However, easing the effects can increase dependency.

In humans, the symptoms are manifested in anxiety, agitation and, in extreme cases, seizures. The worms, as video footage shows, also became overactive in alcohol withdrawal and showed spontaneous and deep body bends – a behavior rarely seen in 'teetotal' worms.

The case for so-called organic farming has always been pretty weak, and a new study in Ecology Letters isn't helping the cause.

The study found that the environmental benefits generated organic farming don't compensate for the lower yields produced. Increases in biodiversity from organic farming were found to be much lower than previously thought – averaging just over 12 percent more than conventional farming. Organic farms in the study also produced less than half of the yield of their conventional counterparts.

As concern grows after the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico two weeks ago, scientists are monitoring the situation closely with ESA's Envisat radar data.

The spill still appears relatively confined around its point of origin and is still north of the Loop Current, a powerful conveyor belt that circulates clockwise around the Gulf toward Florida before being joining the powerful Gulf Stream.

Some researchers have expressed concerned that the Loop Current could soon catch the oil slick and drag it south towards coral reefs in the Florida Keys.