Latest Phosphorus Stories

British scientists say the Earth's crops and drinking water could be adversely affected if predicted climate changes occur in rainfall patterns. Scientists from North Wyke Research say they have determined, for the first time, how the rate at which dried soil is rewetted affects the amount of phosphorus lost from the soil into surface water and subsequently into the surrounding environment. Martin Blackwell, one of the project leaders, said the study's preliminary results show the changing...

Crop growth, drinking water and recreational water sports could all be adversely affected if predicted changes in rainfall patterns over the coming years prove true, according to research published this month in Biology and Fertility of Soils.Scientists from Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)-funded North Wyke Research have found for the first time that the rate at which a dried soil is rewetted impacts on the amount of phosphorus lost from the soil into surface...

Scientists have developed a new approach for surveying phosphorylation, a process that is regulated by critical cell signaling pathways and regulates several key cellular signaling events. The research, published by Cell Press in the April 10th issue of the journal Molecular Cell, describes the regulation of a previously uncharacterized protein and demonstrates that it plays an important role in cancer cell invasion.Many cancers, including melanoma, are associated with mutations in the gene...

Polluted water from Chicago has helped create a dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico, where excess algae suffocates marine life, says a U.S. Geological Survey study. Chicago was named the top offender in the study of the causes of nitrogen and phosphorus pollution in the 8,000 square-foot dead zone, Chi-TownDailyNews.org reported Friday. The study released Thursday examined sources for 150 watersheds in the Mississippi River Basin. Chicago's Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, or MWRD,...

University of Hawaii at Manoa researchers involved in novel strategyPhytoplankton comprise the forests of the sea, and are responsible for providing nearly half of the oxygen that sustains life on Earth including our own. However, unlike their counterparts on land, the marine plants are nearly exclusively microscopic in size, and mostly out of human sight. Consequently, we are still in a very early stage of understanding even the most basic aspects of phytoplankton biology and ecology.In a...

An international group of scientists is renewing calls for policymakers to reduce both nitrogen and phosphorus when attempting to alleviate eutrophication "“ or nutrient pollution problems "“ in fresh and coastal waters. In the February 20 edition of Science, the researchers argue that dual-nutrient reduction strategies are likely to be more successful due to complex interactions between nitrogen and phosphorus in fresh and coastal water ecosystems."If the overall goal of nutrient...

In a report published on Wednesday, researchers warn that a fair amount of processed and fast food actually contains phosphorus additives, which can be harmful for people with advanced kidney disease.High blood levels of phosphorus can lead to heart disease, bone disease, and even death among patients with advanced kidney disease.  These patients must avoid certain meats, dairy products, whole grains, and nuts that are naturally in phosphorus, according to what researchers wrote in the...

Scientist identify the chemical forms of phosphorus with nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.Phosphorus is one of the key nutrients that can cause algal blooms and related water quality problems in lakes, rivers, and estuaries worldwide.  Phosphorus entering waters originates from a variety of sources.  Agricultural land receiving long term applications of organic by-products such as animal manure is one of the major contributors.  Such soils often become enriched with P, leading...

FUKUOKA, Japan, Feb. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- QSAI Analysis and Research Center Co. has developed a multi-residue analysis system that can simultaneously examine 650 different agricultural chemicals remaining in food, the world's largest-class system in the number of chemicals tested at one time. QSAI has begun accepting orders for analysis service based on the system, the "Multi-Residue Analysis for 650 Agricultural Chemicals." It is available for a very cost-effective charge, 273,000 yen per...

Get ready to send the biology textbooks back to the printer. In a new paper published in Nature, Benjamin Van Mooy, a geochemist with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), and his colleagues report that microscopic plants growing in the Sargasso Sea have come up with a completely unexpected way of building their cells. Until now, it was thought that all cells are surrounded by membranes containing molecules called phospholipids "“ oily compounds that contain phosphorus, as...