Although the ozone layer over the Antarctic this year is relatively small, this is due to mild temperatures in the region's stratosphere this winter and is not a sign of recovery, the United Nations World Meteorological Organization has said. As greenhouse gases accumulate in the atmosphere, temperatures will fall in the stratosphere, increasing the threat of severe ozone holes in the future.
Geneticists have discovered two genes linked to a disabling form of arthritis called ankylosing spondylitis, a painful and progressive disease in which some or all of the spine's vertebrae fuse together. The researchers also validated the association of two genes implicated in Graves'disease, an autoimmune condition that causes overactivity of the thyroid gland.
India's lithosphere is only half as thick as others which is the reason for its high speed collision with Eurasia. 50 million years ago the Indian sub-continent collided with the enormous Eurasian continent with a velocity of about 20 cm/year. With such a high velocity India was the fastest of the former parts of Gondwanaland.
A completely new mechanism that mammalian cells employ to fight infections of the Hepatitis C virus, which affects approximately 2.7 million Americans and 170 million people worldwide, has been discovered. The achievement could improve current antiviral regimens or result in new treatments that are more effective and possess fewer detrimental side effects for those with the Hepatitis C virus infection, which frequently leads to liver cirrhosis and/or liver cancer.
Researchers have developed technology that uses the vibrations caused by passing traffic to power wireless bridge monitoring sensors. Wireless battery-powered sensors that monitor bridges and report changes that may lead to failure are easy to install, but it is unwieldy to provide power for the sensors. Each bridge needs at least several sensors, many installed in hard-to-access locations. Replacing millions of batteries could become a problem, adding to the expense of maintaining the bridges. The researchers have found a way around this problem.
Researchers have found that emotional well-being is not an independent factor affecting the prognosis of patients with head and neck cancers. The question of whether or not the mind, through psychological state and emotional status, has the ability to heal organic disease in the body continues to be reviewed and tested in human health research. A large body of evidence strongly suggests that, for life-threatening diseases such as advanced cancer, it does not.
Over 50 scientists of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies have declared the following statements unanimously. We call on all societies and governments to immediately and substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Without targeted reductions, the ongoing damage to coral reefs from global warming will soon be irreversible.
The use of a nicotine patch -- successfully used to help many smokers decrease their dependency on nicotine -- was shown to reduce pain in men after prostate removal surgery in a new anesthesiology study. While morphineand other opioids (narcotics) remain the most commonly prescribed post-operative pain medications, many patients fear the side effects from these drugs, which can include drowsiness, nausea, slowed breathing, vomiting, constipation, itching and dependence.
A scientific mystery that stumped chemists for nearly seven decades has now been solved. ADP, like many crystals, exhibits an electrical phenomenon known as ferroelectricity, but it can also display antiferroelectric properties. New research points to the design of materials with both ferroelectric and antiferroelectric properties. This may lead to the development of more powerful computer memories and lasers.
A phenomenon considered healthy for cells, such as the accumulation of long chains of glucose (glycogen), which tissues store for energy purposes, is harmful for neurons. The researchers made the discovery while studying Lafora disease, a rare pathology that causes irreversible neurodegeneration in adolescents and for which no treatment is available. Understanding the mechanisms that trigger and block the production of glycogen may be of great use to address the study of other neurodegenerative and neurological diseases.
Seismic test have been designed and run on nonstructural hospital components providing engineers with the first realistic, experimental method of simulating and evaluating how earthquakes damage building equipment, contents and components.
Young women in Northern Ireland are leaving themselves vulnerable to rape or serious sexual assault because of their binge drinking, according to new research. The average alcohol levels at the time of alleged assaults studied were almost three times the drink/driving limit. The research undermines claims that the use of 'date-rape'drugs or 'spiking'of drinks is the major factor involved.
Consumption of energy and many other critical resources is consistently breaking records, disrupting the climate and undermining life on the planet, according to the latest Worldwatch Institute report, Vital Signs 2007-2008. With a global population of 6.6 billion and growing, the ecosystem services upon which life depends are being stretched to the limit due to record levels of consumption.
Obesity increases the risk of developing diabetes, but nobody knows the details of why this is the case. Researchers have now identified a protein that may play a role in increasing the risk. The discovery may in the long term lead to new methods of preventing type 2 diabetes. Diabetes is a metabolic condition in which the body does not form sufficient quantities of insulin or in which the insulin that is formed does not have sufficient effect. The most common form of the disease is type 2 diabetes, which is the variant that adults can develop.
