SCIENCE UPDATES

Biologists Confirm Sunflower Domesticated in Eastern North America
 New genetic evidence presented by a team led by Indiana University biology doctoral graduate Benjamin Blackman confirms what is now the eastern United States as the single geographic domestication site of modern sunflowers. Co-authors on the findings published this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences include Blackman's advisor, IU Distinguished Professor of Biology Loren H. Rieseberg, and four others from Rieseberg's lab, as well as collaborators from Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico and the University of Cincinnati.
Catalyst That Makes Hydrogen Gas Breaks Speed Record
 Looking to nature for their muse, researchers have used a common protein to guide the design of a material that can make energy-storing hydrogen gas. The synthetic material works 10 times faster than the original protein found in water-dwelling microbes, the researchers report in the August 12 issue of the journal Science, clocking in at 100,000 molecules of hydrogen gas every second.
Enzyme Found Disrupting Nerve Cell Communication in Alzheimer's Disease
Alzheimer's disease is characterized by abnormal proteins that stick together in little globs, disrupting cognitive function (thinking, learning, and memory). These sticky proteins are mostly made up of beta-amyloid peptide. A better understanding of these proteins, how they form, and how they affect brain function will no doubt improve the diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer's disease.
DNA Building Blocks Can Be Made in Space, NASA Evidence Suggests
NASA-funded researchers have evidence that some building blocks of DNA, the molecule that carries the genetic instructions for life, found in meteorites were likely created in space. The research gives support to the theory that a "kit" of ready-made parts created in space and delivered to Earth by meteorite and comet impacts assisted the origin of life.