ScienceDaily: Strange Science News

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• Revolutionary naming system for all life on Earth proposed
• Seed-filled buoys may help restore diverse sea meadows in San Francisco Bay
• Studies show how traceability can work across entire food supply chain
• Chemical transport in plants likened to that of humans
• Air force aircraft returned from Vietnam identified as postwar source of agent orange contamination
• Scientists honor Frank Zappa, naming human zit-causing bacterium now infecting vineyards

Revolutionary naming system for all life on Earth proposed Posted: 21 Feb 2014 03:48 PM PST A new naming structure proposed by an American researcher moves beyond the Linnaeus system to one based on the genetic sequence of each individual organism. This creates a more robust, precise, and informative name for any organism, be it a bacterium, fungus, plant, or animal. Coded names could be permanent, as opposed to the shifting of names typical in the current biological classification system. Codes could also be assigned without the current lengthy process that is required by analyzing one organism's physical traits compared to another's. Lastly, the sequence could be assigned to viruses, bacteria, fungi, plants, and animals and would provide a standardized naming system for all life on Earth.

Seed-filled buoys may help restore diverse sea meadows in San Francisco Bay Posted: 21 Feb 2014 03:47 PM PST Placing seedpods in a pearl net, tethered by a rope but allowed to sway with the tides, may be an especially effective way of restoring eelgrass meadows. The resulting crop of eelgrass grown for this study was as genetically diverse as the beds from which the seeds were harvested, which researchers say can make restoration efforts more likely to succeed. The emphasis on genetic diversity is a relatively new concern in ecosystem restoration projects, where there has been an understandable urgency to move plants and animals back into an area as quickly as possible.

Studies show how traceability can work across entire food supply chain Posted: 21 Feb 2014 03:45 PM PST Recent developments across the globe have put an increasing focus on the traceability of foods. Complicated supply chains of hundreds of ingredients that are used to make a food product make food product tracing a daunting task. In an effort to better protect public health from foodborne illness outbreaks and recalls, governments across the world are in the process of implementing new regulations around food traceability.

Chemical transport in plants likened to that of humans Posted: 21 Feb 2014 12:04 PM PST Plant roots and certain human membrane systems resist chemical transport in much the same way, say researchers. This similarity could make it easier to assess chemical risks for both people and plants, and may even lead to a new approach to testing medications. "A plant's root is similar to the blood-brain barrier and intestine of humans," say the researchers. "It's amazing when you think about it -- plants and animals evolved separately but somehow developed comparable structures to control transport of water and dissolved chemicals."

Air force aircraft returned from Vietnam identified as postwar source of agent orange contamination Posted: 21 Feb 2014 08:40 AM PST From 1971-1982 Air Force reservists, who flew in about 34 dioxin-contaminated aircraft used to spray Agent Orange and returned to the US following discontinuation of the herbicide spraying operations in the Vietnam War, were exposed greater levels of dioxin than previously acknowledged, according to a study. The new evidence is contrary to current position held by Air Force and VA. "These findings are important because they describe a previously unrecognized source of exposure to dioxin that has health significance to those who engaged in the transport work using these aircraft," says the lead investigator, an environmental engineer with many years of experience evaluating environmental exposures in the Air Force.

Scientists honor Frank Zappa, naming human zit-causing bacterium now infecting vineyards Posted: 18 Feb 2014 03:50 PM PST In a striking case of pathogen transfer involving the bacteria responsible for human acne, P. acnes, scientists report on a new type of P. acnes which exploits grapevines, dubbing it P. acnes type Zappae. They named the bacterium after the Italian term 'zappa,' meaning, hoe, as well as a tribute to eclectic composer Frank Zappa. This is the first evidence ever of human to plant obligate transfer and gives new perspective of bacteria host transfer between humans and domesticated plants.

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