A leading UN scientist says the international community must work together to tackle the threat of asteroids colliding with the Earth. Professor Richard Crowther's comments come as a group of space experts called for a co-ordinated science-led response to the asteroid threat. The Association of Space Explorers (ASE) says missions to intercept asteroids will need global approval. The UN will meet in February to discuss the issue. In the ASE report, the group of scientists and former astronauts point to the historical record to highlight the dangers of asteroids; an impact 65 million years ago may have wiped out the dinosaurs, and the Tunguska impact in 1908 produced a 2000 sq km fire in Siberia, big enough to engulf a city the size of New York.
A leading UN scientist says the international community must work together to tackle the threat of asteroids colliding with the Earth.
Professor Richard Crowther's comments come as a group of space experts called for a co-ordinated science-led response to the asteroid threat.
The Association of Space Explorers (ASE) says missions to intercept asteroids will need global approval.
The UN will meet in February to discuss the issue.
In the ASE report, the group of scientists and former astronauts point to the historical record to highlight the dangers of asteroids; an impact 65 million years ago may have wiped out the dinosaurs, and the Tunguska impact in 1908 produced a 2000 sq km fire in Siberia, big enough to engulf a city the size of New York.
the Marywood study does not involve the bedroom, but the playing field. It is being financed by the World Anti-Doping Agency, which is investigating whether the diamond-shaped blue pills create an unfair competitive advantage in dilating an athlete's blood vessels and unduly increasing oxygen-carrying capacity. If so, the agency could ban the drug. Viagra, or sildenafil citrate, was devised to treat pulmonary hypertension, or high blood pressure in arteries of the lungs. The drug works by suppressing an enzyme that controls blood flow, allowing the vessels to relax and widen. The same mechanism facilitates blood flow into the penis of impotent men. In the case of athletes, increased cardiac output and more efficient transport of oxygenated fuel to the muscles can enhance endurance. "Basically, it allows you to compete with a sea level, or near sea level, aerobic capacity at altitude," Kenneth Rundell, the director of the Human Performance Laboratory at Marywood, said of Viagra.Some experts are more skeptical. Anthony Butch, the director of the Olympic drug-testing lab at UCLA, said it would be "extremely difficult, if not impossible" to prove that Viagra provides a competitive edge, given that the differences in performance would be slight and that athletes would probably take it in combination with other drugs.
the Marywood study does not involve the bedroom, but the playing field. It is being financed by the World Anti-Doping Agency, which is investigating whether the diamond-shaped blue pills create an unfair competitive advantage in dilating an athlete's blood vessels and unduly increasing oxygen-carrying capacity. If so, the agency could ban the drug.
Viagra, or sildenafil citrate, was devised to treat pulmonary hypertension, or high blood pressure in arteries of the lungs. The drug works by suppressing an enzyme that controls blood flow, allowing the vessels to relax and widen. The same mechanism facilitates blood flow into the penis of impotent men. In the case of athletes, increased cardiac output and more efficient transport of oxygenated fuel to the muscles can enhance endurance.
"Basically, it allows you to compete with a sea level, or near sea level, aerobic capacity at altitude," Kenneth Rundell, the director of the Human Performance Laboratory at Marywood, said of Viagra.
Some experts are more skeptical. Anthony Butch, the director of the Olympic drug-testing lab at UCLA, said it would be "extremely difficult, if not impossible" to prove that Viagra provides a competitive edge, given that the differences in performance would be slight and that athletes would probably take it in combination with other drugs.
A man used a candy cane lawn ornament to fend off a knife-wielding neighbor who had been attacking holiday guests at a Sacramento home, authorities said. Police spokesman Sgt. Norm Leong said the man used the 2-foot-tall plastic ornament to subdue the attacker until officers arrived.
Police spokesman Sgt. Norm Leong said the man used the 2-foot-tall plastic ornament to subdue the attacker until officers arrived.
ScienceDaily (Dec. 2, 2008) -- Scientists studying a material that appeared to lose its ability to carry current with no resistance say new measurements reveal that the material is indeed a superconductor -- but only in two dimensions. Equally surprising, this new form of 2-D superconductivity emerges at a higher temperature than ordinary 3-D superconductivity in other compositions of the same material. [...] Tranquada and his colleagues have been studying a layered material made of lanthanum, barium, copper, and oxygen (LBCO) where the ratio of barium to copper atoms is exactly 1 to 8. At a range of compositions with lower and higher levels of barium, LBCO acts as a "high-temperature" superconductor, with a peak operating temperature of 32 K. But at the mysterious 1:8 ratio, the transition temperature at which superconductivity sets in drops way down toward absolute zero. [...] The scientists are particularly intrigued by this new form of 2-D superconductivity because it sets in at an even higher temperature (40 K) than that at which 3-D superconductivity occurs in other forms of LBCO.
[...]
Tranquada and his colleagues have been studying a layered material made of lanthanum, barium, copper, and oxygen (LBCO) where the ratio of barium to copper atoms is exactly 1 to 8. At a range of compositions with lower and higher levels of barium, LBCO acts as a "high-temperature" superconductor, with a peak operating temperature of 32 K. But at the mysterious 1:8 ratio, the transition temperature at which superconductivity sets in drops way down toward absolute zero.
The scientists are particularly intrigued by this new form of 2-D superconductivity because it sets in at an even higher temperature (40 K) than that at which 3-D superconductivity occurs in other forms of LBCO.
ScienceDaily (Dec. 2, 2008) -- Diets and beauty products which claim to have anti-oxidant properties are unlikely to prevent aging, according to research funded by the Wellcome Trust. Researchers at the Institute of Healthy aging at UCL (University College London) say this is because a key fifty year old theory about the causes of aging is wrong. "Superoxide" free radicals - oxygen molecules that have an imbalance of electrons to protons - are generated in the body through natural processes such as metabolism. These free radicals can cause oxidation in the body, analogous to rust when iron is exposed to oxygen. Biological systems, such as the human body, are usually able to restrict or repair this damage. In 1956, Denham Harman proposed the theory that aging is caused by an accumulation of molecular damage caused by "oxidative stress", the action of reactive forms of oxygen, such as superoxide, on cells. This theory has dominated the field of aging research for over fifty years. But now, a study published online today in the journal Genes & Development suggests that this theory is probably incorrect and that superoxide is not a major cause of aging.
ScienceDaily (Dec. 2, 2008) -- Diets and beauty products which claim to have anti-oxidant properties are unlikely to prevent aging, according to research funded by the Wellcome Trust. Researchers at the Institute of Healthy aging at UCL (University College London) say this is because a key fifty year old theory about the causes of aging is wrong.
"Superoxide" free radicals - oxygen molecules that have an imbalance of electrons to protons - are generated in the body through natural processes such as metabolism. These free radicals can cause oxidation in the body, analogous to rust when iron is exposed to oxygen. Biological systems, such as the human body, are usually able to restrict or repair this damage.
In 1956, Denham Harman proposed the theory that aging is caused by an accumulation of molecular damage caused by "oxidative stress", the action of reactive forms of oxygen, such as superoxide, on cells. This theory has dominated the field of aging research for over fifty years. But now, a study published online today in the journal Genes & Development suggests that this theory is probably incorrect and that superoxide is not a major cause of aging.
... Scientists say the Arctic's seas could be essentially free of ice in the summertime by mid-century. <...> Already, shipping already has increased within the Arctic Circle to serve the oil and gas industry. <...> Except for some cruise ships and icebreakers, the traffic in the Arctic now is regional -- mostly ships going in and out to provide transportation for the oil and gas industry, he said. Oil companies have been looking at Alaska's arctic waters as a new frontier. And in the past two years, the Bush administration has leased large parts of those waters -- the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas. Shell was the main buyer of the Chukchi leases in February, spending $2.1 billion. "Shell, like many other national and international oil companies, is actively assessing Arctic opportunities," said Shell spokeswoman Darci Sinclair. <...> There's also competition. Russia has claimed a vast territory in the Arctic Ocean by declaring that the undersea Lomonosov Ridge is its continental shelf, setting up a dispute with the U.S., Canada and other Arctic nations. ...
... Scientists say the Arctic's seas could be essentially free of ice in the summertime by mid-century. <...>
Already, shipping already has increased within the Arctic Circle to serve the oil and gas industry.
<...>
Except for some cruise ships and icebreakers, the traffic in the Arctic now is regional -- mostly ships going in and out to provide transportation for the oil and gas industry, he said.
Oil companies have been looking at Alaska's arctic waters as a new frontier.
And in the past two years, the Bush administration has leased large parts of those waters -- the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas.
Shell was the main buyer of the Chukchi leases in February, spending $2.1 billion.
"Shell, like many other national and international oil companies, is actively assessing Arctic opportunities," said Shell spokeswoman Darci Sinclair. <...>
There's also competition. Russia has claimed a vast territory in the Arctic Ocean by declaring that the undersea Lomonosov Ridge is its continental shelf, setting up a dispute with the U.S., Canada and other Arctic nations. ...
