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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on October 25, 2014 at 10:43am

The marvels of Science!
'Dead' hearts transplanted into living patients in world first

In a breakthrough, a team of doctors, including an Indian-origin surgeon, today said they have successfully performed the world's first heart transplant in Australia using a "dead heart", a major development that could save many lives.

The procedure, using hearts that had stopped beating, has been described as a "paradigm shift" that will herald a major increase in the pool of hearts available for transplantation.

It is predicted the breakthrough will save the lives of 30 per cent more heart transplant patients.

Until now, transplant units have relied solely on still- beating donor hearts from brain-dead patients.

But the team at the lung transplant unit of St Vincent's Hospital here announced they had transplanted three heart failure patients using donor hearts that had stopped beating for 20 minutes.

It was possible thanks to a new technology. The incredible development of the preservation solution with this technology of being able to preserve the heart, resuscitate it and to assess the function of the heart has made this possible.

Hearts are the only organ that is not used after the heart has stopped beating - known as donation after circulatory death.

Beating hearts are normally taken from brain-dead people, kept on ice for around four hours and then transplanted to patients.

The novel technique used in Sydney involved taking a heart that had stopped beating and reviving it in a machine known as a "heart-in-a-box".

The heart is kept warm, the heartbeat is restored and a nourishing fluid helps reduce damage to the heart muscle.

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on October 24, 2014 at 9:43am

U.S. Suspends Risky Disease Research
The government will cease funding "gain-of-function" studies that make viruses more dangerous
The US government surprised many researchers on October 17 when it announced that it will temporarily stop funding new research that makes certain viruses more deadly or transmissible. The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy is also asking researchers who conduct such ‘gain-of-function’ experiments on influenza, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) to stop their work until a risk assessment is completed — leaving many unsure of how to proceed.
But, some microbiologists call the plan “a knee-jerk reaction”. “There is really no evidence that these experiments are in fact such high risk,” he says. “A lot of them are being done by very respectable labs, with lots of precautions in place.”
http://www.nature.com/news/us-suspends-risky-disease-research-1.16192
http://www.nature.com/news/controversial-h5n1-influenza-work-likely...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on October 24, 2014 at 9:33am

How science saved Eiffel Tower:
https://student.societyforscience.org/article/how-science-saved-eif...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on October 24, 2014 at 9:26am

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on October 24, 2014 at 6:16am

Brain games don't benefit the elderly much say scientists:

A joint statement signed by 69 leading psychologists and neuroscientists from around the world has criticized the "exaggerated and misleading claims" made by commercial interests that "brain games" help senior citizens prevent declining brain functions. The statement was issued by the Stanford Center for Longevity and the Max Planck Institute for Human Development.

Laura Carstensen, a Stanford psychology professor and the director of the Center for Longevity, was quoted by a Stanford statement saying that as baby boomers enter their golden years, commercial companies are all too often promising quick fixes for cognition problems through products that are unlikely to produce broad improvements in everyday functioning.

"It is customary for advertising to highlight the benefits and overstate potential advantages of their products," she said. "But in the case of brain games, companies also assert that the products are based on solid scientific evidence developed by cognitive scientists and neuroscientists. So we felt compelled to issue a statement directly to the public."

While brain games may target very specific cognitive abilities, there is very little evidence that improvements transfer to more complex skills that really matter, like thinking, problem solving and planning, according to the scholars. While it is true that the human mind is malleable throughout a lifetime, improvement on a single task - like playing computer-based brain games - does not imply a general, all-around and deeper improvement in cognition beyond performing better on just a particular game, according to them.

"We object to the claim that brain games offer consumers a scientifically grounded avenue to reduce or reverse cognitive decline when there is no compelling scientific evidence to date that they do. ... The promise of a magic bullet detracts from the best evidence to date, which is that cognitive health in old age reflects the long-term effects of healthy, engaged lifestyles."

As the researchers point out, the time spent on computer games takes away from other activities like reading, socializing, gardening and exercising that may benefit cognitive functions.

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on October 22, 2014 at 6:11am

Marvels of medical science:

Paralysed man Darek Fidyka walks again after pioneering surgery

Medical team regrow cells of patient’s severed spine in breakthrough that offers hope to millions with disability.

A man who was completely paralysed from the waist down can walk again after a British-funded surgical breakthrough which offers hope to millions of people who are disabled by spinal cord injuries.

Polish surgeons used nerve-supporting cells from the nose of Darek Fidyka, a Bulgarian man who was injured four years ago, to provide pathways along which the broken tissue was able to grow.

The 38-year-old, who is believed to be the first person in the world to recover from complete severing of the spinal nerves, can now walk with a frame and has been able to resume an independent life, even to the extent of driving a car, while sensation has returned to his lower limbs.

Professor Geoffrey Raisman, whose team at University College London’s institute of neurology discovered the technique, said: “We believe that this procedure is the breakthrough which, as it is further developed, will result in a historic change in the currently hopeless outlook for people disabled by spinal cord injury.”

The surgery was performed by a Polish team led by one of the world’s top spinal repair experts, Dr Pawel Tabakow, from Wroclaw Medical University, and involved transplanting olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs) from the nose to the spinal cord.

OECs assist the repair of damaged nerves that transmit smell messages by opening up pathways for them to the olfactory bulbs in the forebrain.

Relocated to the spinal cord, they appear to enable the ends of severed nerve fibres to grow and join together – something that was previously thought to be impossible.

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on October 22, 2014 at 6:04am

‘Science must have a place at the policy table,’ world leaders urge at special UN meeting
Science, technology and innovation are central in forging development policy and solving some of the world’s most pressing problems including in education, health care and peace and security, eminent scientists and world leaders said, marking today at United Nations Headquarters the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN).
Organized by the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and CERN, the event “60 Years of Science for Peace” held in New York, highlighted the role that science has played in peaceful collaboration, innovation and development, as well as decades of cooperation between the two organizations.
Ban Ki Moon said: “The arms race absorbed scientific talent and financial resources that could have been used to address the pressing problems facing humanity,” he said.

Fortunately, science is far more often a powerful force for progress and human well-being, especially in developing countries. Now science must be used to accelerate achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the future sustainable development goals.

“Whether we are trying to address climate change, stop the Ebola virus, deal with cybersecurity threats, or curb nuclear proliferation, we need scientists with a clear vision and a commitment to work together to find solutions,” Mr. Ban said.

He also made a plea for greater efforts to attract more women and girls to science and technology-related fields. “Unleashing women's innovation potential must be a priority,” he added.
Indeed, ECOSOC’s President Martin Sajdik said, science has the potential to significantly impact all three dimensions of sustainable development– economic, social and environmental.
Read more here: http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=49122#.VEcPtVc0qXU

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on October 21, 2014 at 6:00am

Science has begun to progress into areas previously occupied by philosophy and the humanities at large. These incursions have not gone unchallenged. Debates are flaring up.

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on October 21, 2014 at 5:40am

Scientists prepare for change of epoch
Scientists from around the world met this week to decide whether to call time on the Holocene epoch after 11,700 years and begin a new geological age called the Anthropocene - to reflect humankind's deep impact on the planet.

For decades, researchers have asked whether humanity's impact on the Earth's surface and atmosphere mean we have entered the Anthropocene - or new human era.
You can no longer distinguish what is man-made from what is natural."

A group of geologists, climate scientists, ecologists and an expert in international law that have been conducting research since 2009, all met face-to-face for the first time in Berlin on Thursday and Friday to discuss the issue.

They appeared to agree it is time for a change of epoch.

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on October 19, 2014 at 11:17am

Humans are changing the planet so fast that many scientists are now referring to this epoch as the Anthropocene.
Throughout Earth’s history, a host of different processes have molded and shaped the planet. Rocks from space pelted our planet’s surface. Continents drifted. Volcanoes erupted. The mix of gases in our planet’s atmosphere changed, over and over again. Temperatures at or near Earth’s surface ran cold — then hot. The chemical recipe of the seas also changed. Life emerged — and began to steadily evolve in response to Earth’s constant and often wrenching changes. Life, in turn, reshaped Earth. From the smallest bacterium to the tallest tree, all of life on Earth contributes to the chemical and physical changes that make our planet what it is today. One species, however, has come to dominate: People.

Beginning with our early ancestors and their taming of fire, humans have put technology to use in altering Earth. Our use of science and engineering sets us apart from all other organisms. We are constantly modifying the land, oceans and atmosphere. Our impact is so great that some scientists think we have become the dominant force of change. Accordingly, these experts propose we have entered a new geologic epoch of our own making.

" Anthropocene". The term Anthropocene to describe how humans rose to become the dominant force of change on Earth.

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