Earth

Before there were cells on Earth, simple, tiny catalysts most likely evolved the ability to speed up and synchronize the chemical reactions necessary for life to rise from the primordial soup. But what those catalysts were, how they appeared at the same time, and how they evolved into the two modern superfamilies of enzymes that translate our genetic code have not been understood.

Using switchgrass to produce biofuel is one way to decrease the United States' dependence on oil, but growing it and making it profitable can be complicated.

Switchgrass is an excellent candidate for biofuel production. It is an adaptable plant that can grow on millions of acres of U.S. lands that cannot support crop or food production. It is also a renewable resource.

High in the sky where the cirrus ice crystal clouds form, jet contrails draw their crisscross patterns. Now researchers have found that these elevated ice cloud trails can influence temperatures on the ground and affect local climate, according to a team of Penn State geographers.

Tropical Depression Bill continues to be a soaker as it travels in an east-northeasterly direction from Arkansas toward the Ohio Valley. NASA's Aqua satellite and NOAA's GOES-East satellites provided a look at the extent and the movement of the storm.

Lightning dart across the sky in a flash. And even though we can use lightning rods to increase the probability of it striking at a specific location, its exact path remains unpredictable. At a smaller scale, discharges between two electrodes behave in the same manner, streaking through space to create electric arcs where only the start and end points are fixed.

Low energy activities that involve sitting down are associated with an increased risk of anxiety, according to research published in the open access journal BMC Public Health. These activities, which include watching TV, working at a computer or playing electronic games, are called sedentary behavior. Further understanding of these behaviors and how they may be linked to anxiety could help in developing strategies to deal with this mental health problem.

The lake fire located in San Bernardino National Forest was reported just before 4:00 p.m. on June 17. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. It is approximately 11,000 acres in size and burning in timber. It is currently 10 percent contained.

There are approximately 150 structures threatened, however no structures are believed to be damaged or destroyed at this time. Big Bear High School faculty and students had to relocate their graduation ceremony due to the fire's proximity.

"We have opened the door to a new room," says Professor Christof Wöll, Director of KIT Institute of Functional Interfaces (IFG). "This new application of metal-organic framework compounds is the beginning only. The end of this development line is far from being reached," the physicist emphasizes.

A study by researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health debunks the assumption that global warming will lead to a decline in the number of deaths in winter. Findings by Professor Patrick Kinney, ScD, professor of Environmental Health Sciences and director of the School's Climate and Health Program, showed that a warming climate trend led to much smaller reductions in cold-related mortality than some experts have anticipated. Among 39 cities in the U.S.

The inclusion of experimenters -- who are unlikely to become habitual users -- in e-cigarette prevalence studies is of 'questionable' value for monitoring population public health trends, finds research published online in the journal Tobacco Control.

Setting the threshold at a minimum of use on six out of the past 30 days would eliminate many of those who are motivated primarily by curiosity and unlikely to become regular users. And it would provide a more accurate picture of use, say the researchers.

Doctors often misdiagnose zinc deficiency, and seem to be unaware of the impact of excess zinc on the body, shows a small audit of clinical practice, published online in the Journal of Clinical Pathology.

Too much zinc, taken in the form of dietary supplements, may disrupt copper uptake, leading to neurological problems and anaemia, the evidence indicates.

The evolution of mountains is written in the histories of the rocks that make up their ranges. Scientists have long used areas where rivers cut deep incisions in rock to study the patterns of how the Earth's surface rose toward the sky--a geological process termed uplift--but this strategy assumes that there is very little lag time between uplift events and river-induced erosion.

Up to 22 percent of surgical patients experience unexpected complications and must be readmitted for post-operative care. A study led by the University of Utah suggests that returning to the same hospital is important for recovery. Readmission to a different hospital was associated with a 26 percent increased risk for dying within 90 days.

The results, published in The Lancet, have implications for patients who take part in domestic medical tourism programs.

A new approach to skin rejuvenation developed at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) may be less likely to have unintended side effects such as scarring and altered pigmentation. In the online journal Scientific Reports, an MGH research team reports that treatment with pulsed electric fields - a noninvasive procedure that does not involve the generation of heat - removed skin cells in an animal model without affecting the supporting extracellular matrix, eventually leading to renewal of the skin surface.

A University of Michigan researcher and his colleagues are forecasting an average but still large "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico this year.

The forecast calls for an oxygen-depleted, or hypoxic, region of 5,483 square miles, roughly the size of Connecticut. It was announced today by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which sponsors the work.