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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on March 8, 2014 at 6:58am

Increased temperatures increase Malaria too
In a paper published online recently in the journal Science, Pascual and her collaborators looked at how malaria moved up in elevation with temperature in Ethiopia and Colombia. Tracking year-to-year temperature variations from 1990 to 2005, researchers observed how malaria's range shifted.

Infection rates tend to increase as temperatures go up, since the Plasmodium parasite that causes the disease reproduces faster inside vector mosquitoes when it's warmer, increasing the infection likelihood when the mosquito bites someone, Pascual explained. The Anopheles mosquitoes that spread the disease also thrive in the heat.

The results confirmed for the first time that malaria creeps uphill during warmer years and recedes as temperatures cool, a dangerous effect as the climate warms. "The implication is this will, without any mitigation, result in the increase of the malaria burden," Pascual said.

The findings hold promise for better forecasting. In previous work, Pascual found she could predict malaria up to four months in advance in parts of India by monitoring monsoons (ClimateWire, March 4, 2013)
Source: online publication in Science on March 6, 2014.

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on March 8, 2014 at 6:42am

Bracelets can detect people's chemical exposures
Wristbands are the accessory of choice for people promoting a cause. And the next wave of wrist wear might act as a fashionable archive of your chemical exposure.
Researchers at Oregon State University outfitted volunteers with slightly modified silicone bracelets and then tested them for 1,200 substances. They detected several dozen compounds – everything from caffeine and cigarette smoke to flame retardants and pesticides.

The cheap, colorful, rubbery wristbands have been a popular fad over the past decade in promoting charities and other affiliations.

“We were surprised at the breadth of chemicals" on people's wristbands - Kim Anderson, Oregon State

Chemist Kim Anderson initially tried to use silicone pendants attached to necklaces to test for contaminants. But then, at a football game she saw “all kinds of people, even burly men” sporting wristbands. That’s when the idea hit her.

Silicone is porous and acts similar to human cells, so once chemicals are absorbed by the wristband, “they don’t want to go back to the water or the air,” Anderson said. Chemists can measure concentrations, offering a cheap and easy way to monitor people's exposures.

“This study offers some real possibilities to address the weak link in epidemiological studies – which is the exposure science,” said Ted Schettler of the Science and Environmental Health Network.
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on March 8, 2014 at 6:22am

Docs Should Wash Stethoscopes between Patients, Too
Tests for bacteria found that stethoscopes picked up more microbes from patients than did most parts of the doc's hands.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/docs-should-wash-...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on March 8, 2014 at 6:18am

How the NFL Worked to Hide the Truth about Concussions and Brain Damage [Excerpt]
The NFL not only publicly denied evidence that long-term brain damage could result from concussions suffered by its players, but worked to undercut it

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-the-nfl-worked-to-hid...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on March 8, 2014 at 6:05am

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on March 7, 2014 at 8:11am

The Neuroscience and Art of Film Scores
http://worldsciencefestival.com/webcasts/art_of_the_score_the_mind_...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on March 7, 2014 at 7:08am

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on March 7, 2014 at 7:05am

I am a vegetarian by choice. I am glad i chose this path. Because according to new reports -
Meaty diets may raise risk of dying young
Reducing animal protein can lengthen life, improve health, studies in mice and people suggest
To live longer, lower your protein intake. In two independent studies, people and mice eating diets low in protein were healthier and tended to live longer than those eating protein-rich diets. Both studies, which appear in the March 4 Cell Metabolism, conclude that animal proteins, including those from meat and dairy, are less healthy than plant proteins.

In a study of 6,381 people 50 and older, those age 65 and younger who got less than 10 percent of their calories from protein had lower risks of cancer, diabetes and dying during 18 years of follow-up than those who ate more protein. People who ate moderate amounts of protein — making up 10 to 19 percent of the diet — had, for instance, three times the chance of dying from cancer as those on a low-protein diet. After age 65, though, the pattern reversed with high-protein diets (20 percent or more) carrying lower risks of cancer and dying.

Highlights of this research studies:

• High protein intake is linked to increased cancer, diabetes, and overall mortality
• High IGF-1 levels increased the relationship between mortality and high protein
• Higher protein consumption may be protective for older adults
• Plant-derived proteins are associated with lower mortality than animal-derived proteins

http://www.cell.com/cell-metabolism/retrieve/pii/S155041311400062X

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on March 7, 2014 at 7:02am

Silk-based devices for fracture fixation
Silk bone screws may mend better than metal ones
A silk screw isn’t as stiff as a metal one, and that may be important for putting bones back together.

Implanting the silk screws into rats’ hind limbs showed that the material could successfully pin bones back together over an eight-week period. Because silk has a similar stiffness to bone and can break down in the body, the new screws could be safer and less invasive than metal ones, researchers report March 4 in Nature Communications.
http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2014/140304/ncomms4385/full/ncomms4385...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on March 7, 2014 at 7:00am

Black holes may shut down stellar factories
Galaxies stop forming stars despite access to raw materials
Supermassive black holes might slowly suffocate galaxies. The suggestion runs counter to astronomers’ notion that galaxies stop forming stars when they run out of cold gas. But researchers have found a cache of galaxies loaded with cold gas that aren’t making stars. The team’s observations suggest that the galaxies’ central black holes stirred up the gas and shut down the stellar assembly lines.

Over the last decade, astronomers have learned that black holes can drive the fates of entire galaxies. “It’s a bit like an orange affecting the Earth,” says Andrew Fabian, an astronomer at the University of Cambridge. “These black holes are enormously powerful. They’re emerging as an important factor in the way galaxies operate.”
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/black-holes-may-shut-down-stell...

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