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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on May 21, 2013 at 5:19am

http://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode.cfm?id=whos-payin...
Who's Paying the Price for Global Warming?

U.S. taxpayers have so far borne the brunt of climate change costs.
A new analysis by the Natural Resources Defense Council, the NRDC, finds that the federal government spent three times more than the private insurance industry on climate change impacts last year. And, of course, those federal efforts are entirely funded by taxpayers.

“It is in effect a climate disruption tax, equivalent to a 2.7 percentage point increase in what Americans paid in sales taxes last year.” That’s Daniel Lashof, director of the NRDC’s Climate and Clean Air Program and co-author of the report.

We spent nearly $100 billion in 2012 on drought-related crop insurance, storms like Hurricane Sandy, floods and wildfires. By comparison the nation spent $95 billion on education last year and just $91 billion on transportation.

Greenhouse gas pollution shows no signs of slowing, recently touching 400 parts-per-million. And as that number continues to rise, so will the price.

—David Biello

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on May 20, 2013 at 6:06am

http://www.skepticalscience.com/

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on May 20, 2013 at 6:04am

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/05/18/scientis...
Scientists agree on climate change. So why doesn’t everyone else?

there’s some evidence that hammering away at the science doesn’t always get everyone to agree. If anything, it can make people even more polarized.

Why is that? Because, as Kahan has argued at length, people tend to arrive at these debates with their own pre-existing cultural values. If you’re not already inclined to accept the values that typically accompany belief in climate change — and if you’re not predisposed to agree with all the people who like to talk about climate change — then you’re probably not going to change your mind just because the media says there’s an expert consensus. (Here are some other experiments along these lines.)

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on May 18, 2013 at 6:40am

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/mind-guest-blog/2013/05/17/what...
What Rational Really Means

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on May 18, 2013 at 6:33am

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=why-manhattans-gre...

Why Manhattan's Green Roofs Don't Work--and How to Fix Them

City rooftops covered with vegetation are seen as a way to reduce the urban heat-island effect and cut energy usage--but so far, the results have been unimpressive

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on May 17, 2013 at 5:59am

http://www.examiner.com/list/research-immune-system-stays-young-lon...
Research: Immune system stays young longer in women
One reason that women live longer than men has been shown to be that women’s immune systems stay active longer according to research published by researchers in Japan and the United States in the journal Immunity & Ageing on May 14, 2013.

A comparison of the immune systems of healthy men and women ranging in age between 20 and 90 years old presented distinct differences with age.

The number of neutrophils decreased for both sexes and lymphocytes decreased in men and increased in women. Younger men normally have higher levels of lymphocytes than similarly aged women but over time the number of lymphocytes becomes similar.

The rate in decline in T cells (T lymphocytes) and B cells was slower for women than men.

Both CD4+ T (T helper cells) cells and NK (natural killer) cells increased with age, and the rate of increase was higher in women than men.

IL-6 (interleukin 6) and IL-10 (interleukin 10) decreased in men more rapidly than in women.

Red blood cell counts decreased more in men than in women.

This study does not account for every possibility of longer life spans in women versus men but does indicate that estrogen has a facilitating effect on the longer lasting immune systems of women.

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on May 17, 2013 at 5:29am

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on May 13, 2013 at 6:54am

http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_how_to_escape_education_s_dea...
http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_how_to_escape_education_s_dea...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on May 11, 2013 at 8:38am

http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1112843812/identical-twins-exp...
Study: Experience Builds Neural Connections, Differentiates Twins
From Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen to professional hockey players Henrik and Daniel Sedin, identical twins have always captivated the public’s imagination. Although they are genetically identical, anyone who has gotten to know a pair of twins can begin to pick up on the subtle differences that make each person unique.

Based on research involving mice twins, a group of German researchers has found an individual’s personal experiences add to the neural connections within the brain, allowing that individual to deviate in its own unique way, according to a new study in the journal Science.

To reach this conclusion, the team housed 40 genetically identical mice twins in an intricate, five-level cage – complete with glass chutes, toys, scaffolds, nesting places and other features. The mice were able to explore about five square yards of space.

“The animals were not only genetically identical, they were also living in the same environment,” Gerd Kempermann, the principal researcher and a professor of genomics regeneration at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Disease in Dresden, said in a statement. “However, this environment was so rich that each mouse gathered its own individual experiences in it. Over time, the animals therefore increasingly differed in their realm of experience and behavior.”

The mice were also fitted with a microchip that sent out electromagnetic signals, allowing the scientists to track the mice as they moved and to record their brain activity. While some mice roamed throughout the entire enclosure, some stayed close to familiar paths and areas. Over the course of three months, the team also observed the mice developing their own unique personality.

“Over time, the animals therefore increasingly differed in their realm of experience and behavior,” Kempermann told the AFP.

The team found the most explorative mice were generating more new neurons in the hippocampus, the brain region for learning and memory, than their more passive counterparts.

In their report, the researchers said they have demonstrated how personal experiences and learned behavior contribute to individualization, asserting that neither genetics nor environment is responsible for this growth.

“Adult neurogenesis also occurs in the hippocampus of humans,” Kempermann said. “Hence, we assume that we have tracked down a neurological foundation for individuality that also applies to humans.”

The findings give new clues to how the brain works, and could have implications for future research on learning and aging, the researchers said.

“When viewed from educational and psychological perspectives, the results of our experiment suggest that an enriched environment fosters the development of individuality,” co-author Ulman Lindenberger, director of the Center for Lifespan Psychology at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development, told the AFP.

In the journal, the study was accompanied by a commentary written by Olaf Bergmann and Jonas Frisen of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, who were not directly involved in the research. They said the study has two main uses.

“Molecular understanding of neurogenesis will hopefully aid in the rational development of new classes of drugs for psychiatric disease,” they wrote, adding that it “may teach us… how living our lives makes us who we are.”

Source: Brett Smith for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on May 11, 2013 at 8:34am

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/10/bacteria-infected-mosquito...
Bacteria-infected mosquitoes may halt malaria

Scientists have infected mosquitoes with a bacteria known as Wolbachia, which sabotages malaria-causing parasites in the bugs, limiting their ability to spread malaria to humans, Science News reported.

In the latest study from Michigan State University (MSU), researchers are theorizing that the Wolbachia bacteria would stop the malaria parasite from being spread from an infected bug to a person.

Zihyong Xi and his team from MSU injected Wolbachia bacteria into thousands of mosquito embryos that were of the Anopheles stephensi species. In the past, this species has been difficult to infect. However, one female mosquito caught the bacteria and produced a laboratory line of infected offspring.

Xi’s research, which is published in the May 10 edition of Science, said the mothers spread the bacteria to 34 generations of descendants. Those descendants carried less than one-third as many malaria parasites as the uninfected mosquitoes.

“It’s a very important study because they’re the first group to show that Wolbachia can establish a stable heritable infection,” said Jason L. Ragson of Pennsylvania State University, who did not work with Xi, but has been trying to lure Wolbachia bacteria into another species of mosquitoes for approximately eight years.

Xi said it’s too early to release Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes into the wild – he wants to see if they can block pathogens and compete for mates, according to Science News.

Two papers recently published in the journal Nature indicated that the Wolbachia bacteria also has the ability to eliminate dengue fever in generations of infected mosquitoes, Reuters reported.

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