Recently I came across a news paper report that says racism arises in science research: 

According to a Penn State anthropologist, both medical and scientific researchers need to be careful that the growth of genomics does not bring about another resurgence of scientific racism. "What we are facing is a time when genomic knowledge widens and gene engineering will be possible and widespread," said Nina Jablonski, Distinguished Professor of Anthropology. "We must constantly monitor how this information on human gene diversity is used and interpreted. Any belief system that seeks to separate people on the basis of genetic endowment or different physical or intellectual features is simply inadmissible in human society."
people who believe that they can use genetic traits to describe races and to develop race-specific interventions for each group. One particularly disturbing approach, although currently suggested as beneficial, is application of genetics to create special approaches to education. The idea that certain individuals and groups learn differently due to their genetic makeup, and so need specialized educational programs could be the first step in a slippery slope to recreating a new brand of "separate but equal."
Similar approaches in medicine that are based not on personal genetics but on racial generalizations can be just as incorrect and troubling, especially because human genetic admixture is so prevalent.
Scientific racism's long history mandates caution.

Yes, be cautious but this is using science in a bad way. Science is not at fault. This is like saying a knife is 'bad' because it was used in murder! It is the murderer at fault but not the knife!

Ganga teeming with deadly superbugs: Study
The Ganga is teeming with multi-drug resistant superbugs, including the deadly NDM-1 virus, and their levels peak during the annual pilgrimage season, says a new study.

Experts from UK's Newcastle University and the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, sampled water and sediments at seven sites along the upper Ganga and found that in May-June , when millions of pilgrims travel to Rishikesh and Haridwar , levels of resistance genes that lead to "superbugs" were about 60 times higher than other times of the year.

The NDM-1 was first identified in New Delhi and coded by the resistant gene blaNDM-1 . Until recently, strains that carry blaNDM-1 were only found in clinical settings or hospitals but in 2008, blaNDM-1 positive strains were found in surface waters in Delhi. Since then, blaNDM-1 has been found elsewhere in the world, including new variants.

By comparing water quality of the upper Ganga in February and again in June, the team showed that levels of blaNDM-1 were 20 times higher per capita during the pilgrimage season than at other times.

Monitoring levels of other contaminants in the water, the study found overloading of waste treatment facilities was likely to blame and that in many cases, untreated sewage was going straight into the river where the pilgrims bathe.

"The bugs and their genes are carried in people's guts," said professor David Graham , an environmental engineer based at Newcastle University who has spent more than 10 years studying the environmental transmission of antibiotic resistance around the world. "If untreated wastes get into the water supply, resistance potential in the wastes can pass to the next person and spiraling increases in resistance can occur."

"This isn't a local problem - it's a global one. We studied pilgrimage areas because we suspected such locations would provide new information about resistance transmission via the environment . And it has - temporary visitors from outside the region overload local waste handling systems, which seasonally reduces water quality at the normally pristine sites," Graham said.

The team says it is important to protect people visiting and living at these sites while also making sure nothing interferes with important religious practices. They argue that preventing the spread of resistance genes that promote life-threatening bacteria could be achieved by improving waste management at key pilgrimage sites.

"What humans have done by excess use of antibiotics is accelerate the rate of evolution , creating a world of resistant strains that never existed before. Through the overuse of antibiotics, contamination of drinking water and other factors, we have exponentially speeded-up the rate at which superbugs might develop. For example, when a new drug is developed , natural bacteria can rapidly adapt and become resistant ; therefore very few new drugs are in the pipeline because it simply isn't cost-effective to make them," Graham said.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/Study-Ganges-te...

Outsmarting Nature During Disasters
http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1113073691/outsmarting-nature-...

Theory On Origin Of Animals Challenged
Study Suggests High Oxygen Levels Not Required For Complex Life
In sharp contrast to the longstanding belief among scientists that advanced life on Earth was only able to evolve once atmospheric oxygen levels rose to near-modern levels, new research has discovered a small sea sponge which they claim proves that a high concentration is not needed in order for complex creatures to live and grow.
According to the authors of the new study, which appears in Monday’s edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), complex life first evolved when atmospheric levels of oxygen began to increase approximately 630 to 635 million years ago.

However, a sea sponge (a species known as Halichondria panicea )that was fished out of Kerteminde Fjord in Denmark is challenging that theory, as the creature demonstrates that animals are able to grow and thrive with extremely limited oxygen supplies. In fact, they can stay alive when the atmosphere contains just 0.5 percent of the oxygen content of typical modern levels.

“Our studies suggest that the origin of animals was not prevented by low oxygen levels,” and Daniel Mills of the Nordic Center for Earth Evolution at the University of Southern Denmark, who co-wrote the PNAS paper alongside Lewis M. Ward from the Caltech Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences.

“There must have been other ecological and evolutionary mechanisms at play,” Mills said. “Maybe life remained microbial for so long because it took a while to develop the biological machinery required to construct an animal. Perhaps the ancient Earth lacked animals because complex, many-celled bodies are simply hard to evolve.”

http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1113073323/oxygen-high-concent...

What Good are Footprints?
http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1113073715/what-good-are-footp...

Why Einstein changed his view on the universe.
Albert Einstein accepted the modern cosmological view that the universe is expanding long after his contemporaries Until 1931, physicist Albert Einstein believed that the universe was static.. An urban legend attributes this change of perspective to when American astronomer Edwin Hubble showed Einstein his observations of redshift in the light emitted by far away nebulae -- today known as galaxies. But the reality is more complex. The change in Einstein's viewpoint, in fact, resulted from a tortuous thought process. Now, in an article published in EPJ H, Harry Nussbaumer from the Institute of Astronomy at ETH Zurich, Switzerland, explains how Einstein changed his mind following many encounters with some of the most influential astrophysicists of his generation. In 1917 Einstein applied his theory of general relativity in the universe, and suggested a model of a homogenous, static, spatially curved universe. However, this interpretation has one major problem: If gravitation was the only active force, his universe would collapse -- an issue Einstein addressed by introducing the cosmological constant.

He then fiercely resisted the view that the universe was expanding, despite his contemporaries' suggestions that this was the case. For example, in 1922, Russian physicist Alexander Friedman showed that Einstein's equations were viable for dynamical worlds. And, in 1927, Georges Lemaître, a Belgian astrophysicist from the Catholic University of Louvain, concluded that the universe was expanding by combining general relativity with astronomical observations. Yet, Einstein still refused to abandon his static universe.

However, in an April 1931 report to the Prussian Academy of Sciences, Einstein finally adopted a model of an expanding universe. In 1932 he teamed up with the Dutch theoretical physicist and astronomer, Willem de Sitter, to propose an eternally expanding universe which became the cosmological model generally accepted until the middle of the 1990s. To Einstein's relief these two models no longer needed the cosmological constant. - Agencies

A Happy Life May Not Be a Meaningful Life
Feeling happy was strongly correlated with seeing life as easy, pleasant, and free from difficult or troubling events. Happiness was also correlated with being in good health and generally feeling well most of the time. However, none of these things were correlated with a greater sense of meaning. Feeling good most of the time might help us feel happier, but it doesn’t necessarily bring a sense of purpose to our lives.
Money, contrary to popular sayings, can indeed buy happiness. Having enough money to buy what one needs in life, as well as what one desires, were also positively correlated with greater levels of happiness. However, people don’t see their lives as more meaningful when they have lot sof money.
Perhaps instead of saying that “money doesn’t buy happiness,” we ought to say instead that “money doesn’t buy meaning.”
More broadly, the findings in the study suggest that pure happiness is about getting what we want in life—whether through people, money, or life circumstances. Meaningfulness, in contrast, seems to have more to do with giving, effort, and sacrifice. It is clear that a highly meaningful life may not always include a great deal of day-to-day happiness. And, the study suggests, obsession with happiness may be intimately related to a feeling of emptiness, or a life that lacks meaning.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-happy-life-may-not-be-a...

Prions Are Key to Preserving Long Term Memories
The famed protein chain reaction that made mad cow disease a terror may be involved in helping to ensure that our recollections don't fade
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/prions-are-key-to-preserv...

Asian Elephants Console Each Other When in Distress
Using trunks and vocalizations, elephants reassure one another when distressed
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/asian-elephants-console-e...

Questions raised about new method for making stem cells
Research reports in late January garnered attention for showing that making stem cells just required dipping adult cells in acid (SN: 2/22/14, p. 6). But Japan’s RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology, where the lead scientist works, has begun an investigation of the findings, according to reports in Nature, the Wall Street Journal and other publications.

The reported investigation comes after online commenters discovered potentially manipulated images in the two papers published in the Jan. 30 Nature, and several scientists have had difficulty replicating the work.

http://www.ipscell.com/stap-new-data/
https://www.sciencenews.org/blog/science-ticker/questions-raised-ab...

http://researcher.watson.ibm.com/researcher/files/us-bennetc/QInfWe...
Quantum entanglement

Buried amid the complexity of the human brain, a newly described scaffold carries important messages from one place to another. A map of the scaffold, which reveals intricate connections made by bundles of nerve fibers called white matter tracts, could help explain why some brain injuries are particularly devastating.
scaffold offers new view of the brain
Neural map may explain why some injuries are worse than others
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/white-matter-scaffold-offers-ne...

New sitting risk: Disability after 60

If you're 60 and older, every additional hour a day you spend sitting is linked to doubling the risk of being disabled -- regardless of how much moderate exercise you get, reports a new Northwestern Medicine® study. The study is the first to show sedentary behavior is its own risk factor for disability, separate from lack of moderate vigorous physical activity. In fact, sedentary behavior is almost as strong a risk factor for disability as lack of moderate exercise.

Being sedentary was almost as strong a risk factor for disability as lack of moderate vigorous activity. "It means older adults need to reduce the amount of time they spend sitting, whether in front of the TV or at the computer, regardless of their participation in moderate or vigorous activity,"

http://esciencenews.com/articles/2014/02/20/new.sitting.risk.disabi...

Vaccines Endure Hot Weather without Damage
An anti-meningitis campaign in Benin has delivered more than 150,000 doses with no losses from excess heat
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/vaccines-endure-hot-weath...

Whale euthanasia: vets learn to kill stranded leviathans humanely
Putting beached whales out of their misery is dangerous, difficult work and chemicals used in the past can poison the ecosystem
http://www.theguardian.com/science/blog/2014/feb/19/whale-euthanasi...

The law school at the University of Maryland, Baltimore hopes to introduce a master of science in law program — the first of its kind in the region — as soon as fall 2015.

http://www.thestate.com/2014/02/23/3286577/university-plans-master-...

Many young researchers in poor nations name a lack of funding as a major constraint

The report fills a data gap on young scientists’ status in developing nations

It also encourages further studies on young scholars around the world
Young scientists neglected in developing world
http://www.scidev.net/global/education/news/young-scientists-neglec...

Research without fixed boundaries

There can be strong academic resistance to interdisciplinarity

Better communication, reformed education and new frameworks can help

But is there a risk of creating new boundaries and maintaining old divisions?
http://www.scidev.net/global/education/editorials/research-without-...

The Flame Challenge for the scientists!
The Flame Challenge is an international contest started by Alan Alda that asks scientists to communicate complex science in ways that would interest and enlighten an 11-year-old.
“The Flame Challenge has grown from scientists trying to answer the question of one 11-year old from many decades ago, to tackling questions on the minds of thousands of current 11-year olds from around the world,” according to Alda. “I’m in awe of the scientists who can bring clarity to these questions and I’m in awe of the kids who keep the scientists on their toes.”
After screening for scientific accuracy, the entries are judged by thousands of 11-year-olds in schools around the world!

http://www.centerforcommunicatingscience.org/the-flame-challenge-2/...

http://alberteinstein.info/vufind1/Record/EAR000034354

http://alberteinstein.info/vufind1/Digital/EAR000034354#page/1/mode...

Einstein's Lost Theory Uncovered

The Golden Goose Award is a new award that recognizes scientists and engineers whose federally funded research has had significant human and economic benefits
http://www.goldengooseaward.org/

Dim lighting helps people make better decisions, scientists claim
scientists now claim that by harnessing the subduing effect on emotions caused by dim lights.

Therefore, by dimming the lights, people become more rational, negotiate better and are therefore able to make better decisions.

Alison Jing Xu, assistant professor of management at University of Toronto Scarborough and Aparna Labroo of Northwestern University, made the findings by examining the link between lighting and human emotion, PsychCentral reported.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/dim-lighting-helps-people...

The Science Is In: Elephants Are Even Smarter Than We Realized
We now have solid evidence that elephants are some of the most intelligent, social and empathic animals around—so how can we justify keeping them in captivity?
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-science-is-in-elephan...

What Is Bitcoin and Its Current Crisis?
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-is-bitcoin-and-its-c...

Scientists demonstrate first contagious airborne WiFi virus

Researchers at the University of Liverpool have shown for the first time that WiFi networks can be infected with a virus that can move through densely populated areas as efficiently as the common cold spreads between humans. The team designed and simulated an attack by a virus, called "Chameleon," and found that not only could it spread quickly between homes and businesses, but it was able to avoid detection and identify the points at which WiFi access is least protected by encryption and passwords.
http://esciencenews.com/articles/2014/02/26/scientists.demonstrate....

Children of older dads face more health problems
Children with older fathers are significantly more likely to develop conditions such as autism, ADHD and bipolar disorder and consider suicide, according an analysis of 2.6 million people’s health records.
Scientists at Indiana University found that a child born when their father is 45 was 3.5 times more likely to have autism, 13 times more likely to have ADHD and 25 times more likely to have bipolar disorder than the child of a 24-year-old man.

Suicidal behaviour and substance misuse was twice as likely, according to the study, which is published today in the journal JAMA Psychiatry
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/children-of-older-dads-fa...

Dropleton—a “Quantum Droplet” That Acts Like a Liquid
Physicists in Germany and the US have created a new composite "quasiparticle" that could help probe the quantum mechanics of many particles working together.
It behaves a bit like a liquid droplet and described it as a quasiparticle - an amalgamation of smaller types of particles. It
could be useful in the development of nanotechnology, including the design of optoelectronic devices. These include things like the semiconductor lasers used in Blu-ray disc players.

The microscopic quantum droplet does not dawdle. In the physicists' experiments using an ultra-fast laser emitting about 100 million pulses per second, the quantum droplet appeared for only about 2.5 billionths of a second.

That does not sound like much, but the scientists said it is stable enough for research on how light interacts with certain types of matter.

A previously known example of a quasiparticle is the exciton, a pairing of an electron and a "hole" - a place in the material's energy structure where an electron could be located but is not.

The quantum droplet is made up of roughly five electrons and five holes. It possesses some characteristics of a liquid, like having ripples, the scientists said.

Quantum physics is a branch of physics that relates to events taking place on the tiniest scale. It is essential in describing the structure of atoms.

Particles are the basic building blocks of matter. They include things like subatomic entities such as electrons, protons, neutrons and quarks. Only rarely are new ones found. The laser experiments were performed using a semiconductor of the elements gallium and arsenic, revealing the new particle, albeit fleetingly.

"The effects that give rise to the formation of dropletons also influence the electrons in optoelectronic devices such as laser diodes," physicist Mackillo Kira of the University of Marburg in Germany, one of the researchers.

Agencies

Chronic insomnia results from a difference in brain function according to research reported by Dr. Rachel E. Salas, an assistant professor of neurology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and colleagues in the Feb. 28, 2014, edition of the journal Sleep.

The researchers demonstrated that chronic insomniacs have more plasticity in the motor cortex of the brain. This finding not only explains the reason insomniacs cannot sleep but also explains the high level of muscular movement involved in sleep when insomniacs do sleep.
http://www.examiner.com/article/johns-hopkins-researchers-find-brai...

'Don't Know Much About Science'
One in four Americans believes that the Sun revolves around the Earth.
What is noticeable is that other countries are trending upward in the acquisition of scientific knowledge, but the United States has remained more or less at a standstill. And in response to scientific questions that contradict established doctrine, Americans performed markedly worse, unless a qualifying preface such as "according to scientists" was appended to the questions
the study suggests that Americans value science as a career and the scientific community very highly. We don't know what scientists do -- 65 percent claimed they didn't know. In short, though we don't possess a lot of scientific knowledge, and though few of us know what scientists do, we think very highly of them and want our children to become scientists.
The NSF study confirms that the media's coverage and portrayal of science does not mirror the value we place on it. Less than 2 percent of traditional news coverage is related to science and technology, with coverage of Steve Jobs' passing, the end of the Space Shuttle program, Facebook's IPO and the Mars Curiosity rover taking the lion's share.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/melanie-fine/dont-know-much-about-sci...

Break-up of the supercontinent Gondwana about 130 Million years ago could have lead to a completely different shape of the African and South American continent with an ocean south of today’s Sahara desert, as geoscientists from the University of Sydney and the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences have shown through the use of sophisticated plate tectonic and three-dimensional numerical modelling. The study highlights the importance of rift orientation relative to extension direction as key factor deciding whether an ocean basin opens or an aborted rift basin forms in the continental interior.
What Sculpted Africa’s Margin?
http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1113085773/what-sculpted-afric...

Scientists use laser-powered mind control to make flies flirt
Neurons treated with a heat-activated protein were activated with infrared lasers to trigger courtship behaviour
Neuroscientists have successfully controlled a fly’s behaviour with thermogenetics – a new technique that uses lasers to remotely activate brain neurons.
Using the ­whimsically named Fly Mind-Altering Device (also known as FlyMAD), researchers were able to trigger complex courtship behaviour in a target fly, essentially causing the insect to ‘fall in love’ with a ball of wax.

The research, led by Barry Dickson of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in Ashburn, Virginia, is similar to optogenetics; a method that activates neurons using light and that has previously been used to control behaviour in mice.

However, while optogenetics require fibre-optic cables to be embedded into mice skulls to activate the genetically-altered neurons, thermogenetics achieves the same effect by using infrared lasers to deliver the ‘instructions’ directly to the fly’s brain.
Scientists have previously influenced fly behaviour by adding a heat-activated protein called TRPA1 to neurons associated with certain actions. When flies modified in this way are placed in a hot box the targeted neurons activate and trigger certain behaviours.

FlyMAD, however, uses a video camera to track the fly as it moves around a box before directing an infrared laser at the insect and activating the parts of its neural circuit that control courtship.
http://www.nature.com/news/laser-beam-makes-flies-flirt-1.14794

Imaging dynamics of small biomolecules inside live cells
http://esciencenews.com/articles/2014/03/03/imaging.dynamics.small....

Bio-batteries that run on sugar to power smartphones for 10 days
Scientists have developed a new battery that consumes sugar to generate electricity enough to power a smartphone for 10 days at a time.

The bio-battery designed by researchers at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University has a greater output per weight than the typical lithium-ion batteries used in most electronics.

The prototype version has the potential to be lighter and more powerful than the batteries typically found in today's portable electronic devices, including smartphones.

In the body, sugar is converted into energy in a process called metabolism, which decomposes sugar into carbon dioxide and water while releasing electrons.

Bio-batteries produce energy though the same conversion process by capturing the electrons that are generated in the decomposition of sugar with the same tools that the body uses.

As bio-batteries use materials that are biologically based, they are renewable and non-toxic, making them an attractive alternative to traditional batteries that need metals and chemicals to operate.

"By using the lithium-ion battery, for example, your phone can only last for one day, but in the future it will use sugar as the fuel then the phone could last 10 days," said Zhiguang Zhu, a researcher at Virginia Tech.

The new bio-battery gets its efficiency by using a novel system of enzymes, which are proteins that help the reaction to take place, Inside Science News Service (ISNS) reported.

The system uses two active enzymes that liberate two pairs of electrons from the sugar, while 10 other enzymes help to reset the reaction inside the bio-battery.

Once the reaction is reset, the active enzymes release another quartet of electrons.

After six cycles, the bio-battery extracts all of the energy bound in the sugar molecule, along with carbon dioxide and water.

The research was published in the journal Nature Communications.

India is home to the largest number of bird species in the world. Preliminary findings of a recent global event — Great Backyard Bird Count — have put India on top of the list of 127 countries which sent their entries through pictures and videos.
In its report, 'Want to see a wide variety of birds? Head to India', the daily said, "India's emergence as a bird-watching hot spot underscores the rising worldwide popularity of the pastime." It put India on top with 765 species. The US came second with 637 species (till February 22).

The GBBC is jointly organized by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the National Audubon Society and the Bird Studies Canada. Though the US and Canada have been participating in the event since 1998, the first ever such 'global' bird count was organized in 2013 when participants from 110 countries sent their entries during February 15-18 last year.

Bird watchers from all seven continents had last year reported and documented 4,258 species from about 180 bird families. Mexico had topped the 2013 GBBC list with 645 species followed by the US (638), India (544), Costa Rica (508), Colombia (424), Australia (383), Panama (371) and Peru (325).

The second version of the global bird count, updated till February 28, however, showed that participants from 127 counties this time found 4,296 species with India reporting the highest number of 819 species followed by Mexico (683), USA (644), Costa Rica (609), Australia (501), Colombia (397), Panama (278) and Peru (138).

The event was launched in 1998 as the first online citizen-science project to collect data on wild birds and to display results in near real-time. Participants during the event period send snapshots of birds as their entries which are subsequently analyzed and documented by the organizers before displaying final results of the GBBC.

The participants will unite once again next year during February 13-16 to see how many of the world's 10,240 bird species can be found.

Final results of the four-day Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC), held between February 14 and 17, are yet to be announced but the data analyzed and updated till February 28 shows that the final order may not change India's position.

A US newspaper, The Kansas City Star, flagged the preliminary findings of the global bird count first on February 22.

Jurassic park all over again?

Giant Virus Resurrected from 30,000-Year-Old Ice

Immune cells undergo ‘spontaneous’ changes on a daily basis that could lead to cancers if they were not destroyed by our immune system, scientists have found.
http://www.nature.com/nm/journal/vaop/ncurrent/abs/nm.3442.html
The research team in Australia found that the immune system was responsible for eliminating potentially cancerous immune B cells in their early stages, before they developed into B-cell lymphomas (also known as non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas).

This immune surveillance accounts for the surprising rarity of B-cell lymphomas in the population, given how often these spontaneous changes occur. The discovery could lead to the development of an early-warning test that identifies patients at high risk of developing B-cell lymphomas, enabling proactive treatment to prevent tumors from growing.

Dr Axel Kallies, the senior author of the study, said the discovery provided an answer to why B-cell lymphomas occur in the population less frequently than expected. “Each and every one of us has spontaneous mutations in our immune B cells that occur as a result of their normal function,” Dr Kallies said.

“It is then somewhat of a paradox that B cell lymphoma is not more common in the population.”

“Our finding that immune surveillance by T cells enables early detection and elimination of these cancerous and pre-cancerous cells provides an answer to this puzzle, and proves that immune surveillance is essential to preventing the development of this blood cancer.”

The research team made the discovery while investigating how B cells change when lymphoma develops.

“As part of the research, we ‘disabled’ the T cells to suppress the immune system and, to our surprise, found that lymphoma developed in a matter of weeks, where it would normally take years,” Dr Kallies said.

“It seems that our immune system is better equipped than we imagined to identify and eliminate cancerous B cells, a process that is driven by the immune T cells in our body.”

According to the scientists, the research would enable scientists to identify pre-cancerous cells in the initial stages of their development, allowing early intervention for patients at risk of developing B-cell lymphoma.

The pollution in the sea is taking a heavy toll on the marine life along the coast. Latest in the series of tragedies is death of the 14-foot-long dolphin that choked to death after swallowing plastic.

Prakruti Nature Club's Jignesh Gohil, who was present in the rescue attempt, said, "During the postmortem we found that the dolphin, which was about 20 years old, had died because of chocking. In autopsy, we found four thick plastic bags.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/wild-wacky/Dolp...

Scientists have confirmed hot headed people with outbursts of anger are more prone to heart attacks, strokes and other cardiovascular problems in the two hours immediately afterwards.

Five episodes of anger a day would result in around 158 extra heart attacks per 10,000 people with a low cardiovascular risk per year, increasing to about 657 extra heart attacks per 10,000 among those with a high cardiovascular risk.

The Harvard School of Public Health researchers say the risk with a single outburst of anger is relatively low - one extra heart attack per 10,000 people per year could be expected among people with low cardiovascular risk who were angry only once a month, increasing to an extra four per 10,000 people with a high cardiovascular risk.

Oil Pollution is Making Gulf Dolphins Sick
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/thoughtful-animal/2014/03/04/oi...

Red Meat a Ticket to Early Grave, Harvard Says
Harvard scientists have found that daily consumption of red meat — particularly the kind you might like to grill — may significantly increase your risk of premature death.

While this much has long been suspected, perhaps even by you, the Harvard-led study is the first nuanced analysis to calculate the risk that a serving of red meat can have on your longevity compared with other protein sources.

The study measures, for example, how much one could expect to lower their risk of early death by replacing pork and beef with poultry, fish, nuts or beans can lower the risk of early death; they found chicken was at least as healthy an alternative to red meat as beans and whole grains.
http://www.livescience.com/18996-red-meat-premature-death.html

Diet High in Meat Proteins Raises Cancer Risk for Middle-Aged People
For people aged 50 to 65, a high-protein diet increased the risk of cancer fourfold, comparable to the risk associated with smoking

Long-acting Shot Prevents Infection with HIV-Like Virus
Periodic injection of an antiviral drug has been found to keep monkeys virus-free and could confer as long as three months of protection in humans
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/long-acting-shot-prevents...

WHO's guidelines for sugar consumption: