Science News – Newsletter for December 6, 2010

Old quarrels threaten new gains in climate change fight

CANCUN – Old arguments between industrialised and developing countries threaten to derail new gains in the attempt to tackle global warming as the annual UN climate conference enters its final week.

There has been significant progress at this beach resort last week on how to reduce deforestation and how to provide green technologies to developing …. Source  : Gaea News Network.

Just changing taps helped UAE mosque save gallons of water

ABU DHABI – Just by changing taps in the ablution area, a mosque in UAE has saved over 15,000 gallons of water a month.

Dubai’s Abu Hamed Al Gazali Mosque recorded significant saving of water after installing 20 self-closing taps in the ablution area.
Gulf News reported that the consumption of water dropped by over [..] Read the original article: here.

After elephants, mahouts go on rampage in Nepal

KATHMANDU – After migrating wild elephants went berserk in eastern Nepal earlier this year, killing at least a dozen people, it is now the turn of the mahouts to go on the rampage.

Dozens of elephant drivers Monday began an obstructive protest in southern Nepal, famed for its elephant safaris and elephant polo, blocking the …. Source article on Gaea Times at  : After elephants, mahouts go on rampage in Nepal.

Photo album fast turning into a relic

LONDON – Digital storage of photographs is fast turning treasured albums into relics.

Eight out of 10 people in Britain now prefer to store photos on social networking sites or just on their laptops rather than print them out and stick them in an album, says a new survey.
While nine in 10 of Britons …. Source  : Gaea News Network.

Warning of rising seas alarmist and wrong

LONDON – Predictions that global warming could cause sea levels to rise by six feet in the next century are alarmist and wrong.

The forecast made by the influential 2007 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which would have seen cities around the world submerged by water, now looks “unlikely”.
The 2007 analysis was criticised last …. Original article on Gaea Times at  : Warning of rising seas alarmist and wrong.

Pheromones only a figment of imagination

LONDON – Pheromones are just a figment of imagination, not the hidden key to attracting the opposite sex as popularly believed.

Richard Doty at the Penn State University’s School of Medicine in the US said mammals, unlike insects, don’t give off chemical signals for other mammals to pick up.
Doty says he does not believe … Read more »»».

Rivers cut deep notches in Swiss Alps’ broad glacial valleys: Study

LONDON – A new study sheds light on the processes that formed steep inner gorges in the broad glacial valleys of the Swiss Alps.

The U-shaped valleys were created by slow-moving glaciers. When they receded, rivers carved V-shaped notches, or inner gorges, into the floors of the glacial valleys.

New research led by a University of Washington …. Original article  : Rivers cut deep notches in Swiss Alps’ broad glacial valleys: Study.

Youngsters’ over-reactive immune response ‘fatal during pandemic flu’

LONDON – A new study has claimed that in young adults, a strong immune response can overreact in a violent and uncontrolled fashion, resulting in fatalities.

Fernando Polack at Vanderbilt and colleagues in Argentina and Nashville suggest that people are made critically ill, or even killed, by their own immune response.

A molecule called C4d, a … Original source on Gaea Times at : Youngsters’ over-reactive immune response ‘fatal during pandemic flu’.

Multiple sclerosis ‘could be reversed by activating stem cells in brain’

LONDON – A new study has suggested that the damage caused by multiple sclerosis could be reversed by activating stem cells that can repair injury in the central nervous system.

Researchers from the Universities of Cambridge and Edinburgh have identified a mechanism essential for regenerating insulating layers- known as myelin sheaths-that protect nerve fibres in the … Read more >>.

Cancer cells can be ‘burned up’ using magnetic pulses

LONDON – Scientists have developed a new technique known as hyperthermia therapy, which they hope will allow them to target cancer cells in the body and kill them without harming the surrounding tossed or causing the side effects of chemotherapy drugs and radiotherapy.

Researchers have found they can surround cancer cells with tiny particles of iron …. Original article  : Cancer cells can be ‘burned up’ using magnetic pulses.

How did the giant panda lose its taste for flesh?

LONDON – A new research has explained how the giant panda lost its taste for flesh.

According to researchers, the answer may lie in the gene that codes for the umami taste receptor.

Jianzhi Zhang at the University of Michigan and his colleagues said that it seems that pandas have an inactive version of the Tas1r1 gene …. Source  : How did the giant panda lose its taste for flesh?.

Computer games ‘use psychological ploys to keep players hooked’

LONDON – A new investigation has revealed that computer games contain influential psychological devices that make some people play compulsively.

A simple technique based on a 1950s study of rats feeding themselves by pressing a lever, which encourages repeat behaviour by rewarding it at random, has effectively been adapted for use in gaming and is …. Read the original article  : Computer games ‘use psychological ploys to keep players hooked’.

Why babies born in summer have sunnier dispositions

LONDON – The season in which a baby is born can have a dramatic effect on their biological clocks function, according to a new study.

The study conducted on mice might explain why people born in winter months have a higher risk of a number of neurological disorders including seasonal affective disorder (winter depression), bipolar depression …. Original article on Gaea Times at  : Why babies born in summer have sunnier dispositions.

How we see the world around us depends on our brain’s architecture

LONDON – It’s a known idea that each of us perceives the world around us in a unique manner, and now a new study explains that this difference in perception depends on the size of the visual part of our brain.

The primary visual cortex – the area at the back of the brain responsible for … Read more : How we see the world around us depends on our brain’s architecture.

Srinagar shivers at minus 3.4, Leh freezes at minus 12.8

SRINAGAR – As the mercury continued to dip further, Jammu and Kashmir’s summer capital Srinagar shivered at minus 3.4 degrees Celsius Monday while Leh town in the Ladakh region virtually froze with the minimum temperature slipping to minus 12.8 degrees.

Srinagar witnessed its coldest night of the season today (Monday) as the minimum temperature fell … Read more »»».

Chilly, misty morning in Delhi

NEW DELHI – It was a chilly and misty Monday morning in the national capital with the day temperature settling below the average.

Delhi recorded a minimum of 7.9 degrees Celsius, a notch below the average for this time of the season.
“There was shallow fog in the morning but skies will remain clear during … Original article on : Chilly, misty morning in Delhi.

Russian satellites crash into Pacific Ocean

Moscow, Dec 6 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Three Russian Glonass-M satellites fell into the Pacific Ocean, some 1,500 km northwest of Honolulu, a source in the aerospace industry said.

“Three Glonass-M satellites fell into a non-navigational area of the Pacific Ocean in some 1,500 km northwest of the city of Honolulu, administrative centre of the state … Original article on : Russian satellites crash into Pacific Ocean.

Chilly, cloudy day in Delhi

NEW DELHI – It was a nippy day in Delhi Sunday as the maximum and minimum temperatures settled below average and clouds covered the city skies for a major part of the day.

The maximum temperature was recorded two notches below average at 22.6 degrees Celsius while the minimum settled at 8.2 degrees Celsius, a …. Read the original article  : Chilly, cloudy day in Delhi.

Iran becomes self-sufficient in uranium concentrate production

TEHRAN – Iran claimed on Sunday to have become self-sufficient in uranium concentrate, or yellowcake, production when its first batch was produced in the Gachin uranium mine in southern Iran, the news network Khabar reported.

The yellowcake from the Gachin mine was delivered to the Isfahan uranium conversion plant in central Iran for further processing, …. Source article on Gaea Times at  : Iran becomes self-sufficient in uranium concentrate production.

UAE garden that set Guinness World Record shut down

ABU DHABI – A garden in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) that made it to the Guinness World Record for having the maximum number of hanging baskets has been shut down as its creators were upset with visitors who plucked flowers and stole plants.

The garden is in Al Ain, an oasis city located about …. Read the original article  : UAE garden that set Guinness World Record shut down.