florida scientists

Scientists have released two new studies, including a report finding that climate change will cause significant impacts on Florida's coastlines and economy due to increased sea level rise and hurricane storm surge.

Property damage is expected to increase. A second study recommends that the state of Florida adopt a series of policy programs aimed at adapting to these large coastal and other impacts as a result of climate change.

(University of Florida) Scientists from the University of Florida, Cornell University, the California Institute of Technology and the US Department of Agriculture have discovered the first mating pheromone in one of science's most well-studied research subjects, the tiny worm Caenorhabditis elegans.

But perhaps even more interesting is what the newly discovered pheromone also directs worms to do -- hibernate.

(University of Florida) Scientists included small amounts of resveratrol in the diets of middle-aged mice and found that the compound has a widespread influence on the genetic causes of aging.

A natural constituent of grapes, pomegranates, red wine and other foods, resveratrol apparently mimics the heart-healthy effects of what is known as caloric restriction -- diets with 20 to 30 percent fewer calories than a typical diet.

University of Florida scientists studying rats induced to display a form of Parkinson's disease discovered that a protein commonly found in brain cells can be toxic if -- at one pinpoint location in its amino acid structure -- it lacks a chemical compound called a phosphate.

The finding provides insight into the fundamentals of Parkinson's disease and the role of an abundant yet mysterious brain protein known as alpha-synuclein.