Storm runoff and sewage treatment outflow contaminated with household pesticides

Pyrethroids, among the most widely-used home pesticides, are winding up in California rivers at levels toxic to some stream-dwellers, possibly endangering the food supply of fish and other aquatic animals, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, and Southern Illinois University (SIU).

3 brain diseases linked by toxic form of same neural protein

PHILADELPHIA – For the first time, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have found that three different degenerative brain disorders are linked by a toxic form of the same protein. The protein, called Elk-1, was found in clumps of misshaped proteins that are the hallmarks of Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and Huntington’s disease.

Gene variation makes alcoholism less likely in some survivors of sexual abuse

Exposure to severe stress early in life increases the risk of alcohol and drug addiction. Yet surprisingly, some adults sexually abused as children — and therefore at high risk for alcohol problems — carry gene variants that protect them from heavy drinking and its effects, according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Growth factor gene shown to be a key to cleft palate

Cleft palate has been linked to dozens of genes. During their investigation of one of these genes, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis were surprised to find that cleft palate occurs both when the gene is more active and when it is less active than normal.

NASA satellite sees Tropical Storm Fami form, fast and furious

NASA’s Aqua satellite caught the thirteenth tropical cyclone in the southern Indian Ocean form very quickly. In 12 hours a low grew into a tropical storm named Fami and made a fast landfall in Madagascar around 1 a.m. ET (0600 UTC) today, February 2.

University of Oklahoma study reveals ‘red hot’ results

A new weight-loss supplement tested by the University of Oklahoma Health and Exercise Science Department has the potential to burn as many calories as a 20-minute walk, according to Joel T. Cramer, assistant professor of exercise physiology.

Tropical Storm Oli kicking up waves in south Pacific

Tropical Storm Oli is headed between the islands of Bora Bora and Raratonga in the South Pacific, while maintaining its intensity as a tropical storm. Infrared satellite data from NASA’s Aqua satellite reveals that Oli is a large storm, so those islands will experience gusty winds, some moderate to heavy rainfall, and heavy swells along their coasts.