ScienceBlog.com

Health

Sensor and insulin pump results in better blood-sugar control in all age groups with diabetes

Adding a continuous blood sugar level sensor to an insulin pump helps patients with type 1 diabetes achieve better blood sugar control compared to the common standard of care, multiple daily insulin injections, concludes a study published on-line today in the New England Journal of Medicine. The paper is entitled, Effectiveness of Sensor-Augmented Insulin-Pump therapy in Type 1 Diabetes. "Combining the best technologies for insulin delivery and blood sugar monitoring really pays off for diabetes control," says Dr. Bruce Perkins, one of the co-authors of the study, endocrinologist at Toronto General Hospital and Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto. "Being aware of continuous blood sugar trends and having the tools to do something about them can help committed patients of all ages self-manage their diabetes very well." Research conducted at 30 centres across North America, including Toronto General Hospital, found a significant decrease in average blood sugar levels (or A1c levels, which measure the average blood sugar levels over the past two or three months) from a baseline of 8.3% to 7.5% in the group using sensors and insulin pumps, compared to 8.3% to 8.1% in the multiple daily injection group, at one year. The decrease in A1c levels in both adults and children occurred without an increase in the rate of severe hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar, a common problem among patients who are trying to achieve better control of their blood sugar. Symptoms include shakiness, rapid heart beat, confusion and even unconsciousness. Moreover, the proportion of participants who reached the A1c target of 7% or less was greater in the pump-therapy group than in the injection-therapy group. Adults with diabetes try and maintain A1c levels of seven percent or below in order to reduce the risk of complications from diabetes, such as kidney failure, heart disease and blindness. The 485 study participants with inadequately controlled type 1 diabetes ranged in ages from seven to 70, and were treated for at least one year, in a randomized, controlled trial. In the study, patients in the sensor-augmented pump therapy arm used an integrated system which incorporates an insulin pump, continuous glucose monitor and self-management software. A glucose (sugar) sensor reveals fluctuations in glucose levels in real-time, and transmits electric signals wirelessly to the insulin pump, which is about the size and shape of a small cell phone. The pump displays the blood sugar levels, allowing patients to react to either high or low levels before they become dangerous. The study was sponsored by Medtronic, Inc.; and supported by Novo Nordisk; Lifescan; Bayer Heathcare; and Becton Dickinson. Diabetes Facts: More than 2.4 million Canadians have some form of diabetes. Over 240,000 Canadians live with type 1 diabetes. Canada has the sixth highest incidence rate of type 1 diabetes in children 14 years or younger in the world. The incidence rate of type 1 diabetes is rising by three to five per cent in Canada; the greatest rise occurs in five to nine year olds. The cause of type 1 diabetes remains unknown. People are usually diagnosed with type 1 diabetes before the age of 30, most often during childhood or their teens. Over time, high blood glucose levels can cause complications such as blindness, heart disease, kidney problems, nerve damage and erectile dysfunction. Insulin therapy is the cornerstone of treatment for type 1 diabetes. There are a variety of insulins to help manage type 1 diabetes. Insulin can be administered by syringe, pen or pump. By 2010, it is estimated that diabetes will cost the Canadian healthcare system $15.6 billion a year, and that number will rise to $19.2 billion by 2020. A person with diabetes can be faced with medication and supply costs up to $15,000 a year. About Toronto General Hospital, University Health Network Toronto General Hospital is a partner in the University Health Network, along with the Toronto Western Hospital and the Princess Margaret Hospital. These research hospitals are affiliated with the University of Toronto. The scope of research at Toronto General Hospital has made this institution a national and international resource for education and patient care, and a leader in diabetes, transplantation, cardiology, surgical innovation, infectious diseases and genomic medicine. The Toronto General Research Institute has more than 350 scientists, students and support staff, more than $65 million in external funding, and its staff publish in more than 600 publications a year. For media interviews, please contact: Alex Radkewycz TGH Public Affairs Tel: 416 -- 340 -- 3895 Day Pager: 416 -- 719 -- 4578 [email protected] Kate Richards TGH Public Affairs Tel: 416 -- 340 -- 4800, ext. 6309 [email protected]

Jun 29, 2010

Brain & Behavior

Large decline in impulsivity in early adulthood related to decrease in alcohol consumption

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Previous studies have found that the personality trait impulsivity, or a lack of planning and forethought regarding behaviors, is associated with alcohol use and alcohol-use disorders. For most individuals, impulsivity decreases during emerging and young adulthood. Some, however, do not "mature out" of impulsivity. Now, University of Missouri researchers have found that individuals who exhibited the largest declines in impulsivity from ages 18-25 also exhibited the sharpest decreases in alcohol consumption during this time frame. Understanding why some individuals "mature out" of impulsivity and others do not could lead to improved treatment for alcohol-use disorders. "In the past, psychologists have viewed impulsivity as a consistent trait over a person's lifetime," said Andrew Littlefield, a doctoral student in clinical psychology and lead author on the paper. "Now, there is growing evidence that there are pronounced changes during emerging and young adulthood, roughly from the ages 18 to 35. Our study found that there are substantial individual differences in personality change. These differences appear to relate to the range of alcohol use measures and alcohol-related problems." Researchers used data from a longitudinal study of individuals at risk for alcohol dependence. The individuals were assessed at ages 18, 25, 29 and 35 using self-reported measures of personality and alcohol involvement starting their freshman year of college. From this information, researchers were able to measure the differences in level, stability and change in impulsivity and how it related to alcohol consumption. The researchers used the measures to cluster individuals who exhibited similar patterns of personality stability and change during the 17-year timeline. "These findings provide clear evidence that at least some individuals undergo significant changes in impulsivity across time," Littlefield said. In the future, the researchers hope to determine why individuals exhibit individual differences in impulsivity. By examining the relationships between the clusters and alcohol use, they hope to gain a better understanding of the other factors that might promote or inhibit impulsivity development. "Future studies could examine why some individuals make significant changes in impulsivity across time whereas other individuals' level of impulsivity remains relatively stable," Littlefield said. "Identifying factors that enhance or inhibit seemingly beneficial changes in personality may inform treatment approaches that could facilitate decreased impulsivity. Changes in personality have been previously linked to several life and work experiences, including relationship and work satisfaction." The study, "Developmental Trajectories of Impulsivity and their Association with Alcohol Use and Related Outcomes During Emerging and Young Adulthood I," will be published in Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research in August.

Jun 29, 2010

Technology

Molecules typically found in blue jean and ink dyes may lead to more efficient solar cells

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Making better solar cells: Cornell University researchers have discovered a simple process -- employing molecules typically used in blue jean and ink dyes -- for building an organic framework that could lead to economical, flexible and versatile solar cells. The discovery is reported in the journal Nature Chemistry. Today's heavy silicon panels are effective, but they can also be expensive and unwieldy. Searching for alternatives, William Dichtel, assistant professor of chemistry and chemical biology, and Eric L. Spitler, a National Science Foundation American Competitiveness in Chemistry Postdoctoral Fellow at Cornell, employed a strategy that uses organic dye molecules assembled into a structure known as a covalent organic framework (COF). Organic materials have long been recognized as having potential to create thin, flexible and low-cost photovoltaic devices, but it has been proven difficult to organize their component molecules reliably into ordered structures likely to maximize device performance. "We had to develop a completely new way of making the materials in general," Dichtel said. The strategy uses a simple acid catalyst and relatively stable molecules called protected catechols to assemble key organic molecules into a neatly ordered two-dimensional sheet. These sheets stack on top of one another to form a lattice that provides pathways for charge to move through the material. The reaction is also reversible, allowing for errors in the process to be undone and corrected. "The whole system is constantly forming wrong structures alongside the correct one," Dichtel said, "but the correct structure is the most stable, so eventually, the more perfect structures end up dominating." The result is a structure with high surface area that maintains its precise and predictable molecular ordering over large areas. The researchers used x-ray diffraction to confirm the material's molecular structure and surface area measurements to determine its porosity. At the core of the framework are molecules called phthalocyanines, a class of common industrial dyes used in products from blue jeans to ink pens. Phthalocyanines are also closely related in structure to chlorophyll, the compound in plants that absorbs sunlight for photosynthesis. The compounds absorb almost the entire solar spectrum -- a rare property for a single organic material. "For most organic materials used for electronics, there's a combination of some design to get the materials to perform well enough, and there's a little bit of an element of luck," Dichtel said. "We're trying to remove as much of that element of luck as we can." The structure by itself is not a solar cell yet, but it is a model that will significantly broaden the scope of materials that can be used in COFs, Dichtel said. "We also hope to take advantage of their structural precision to answer fundamental scientific questions about moving electrons through organic materials." Once the framework is assembled, the pores between the molecular latticework could potentially be filled with another organic material to form a light, flexible, highly efficient and easy-to-manufacture solar cell. The next step is to begin testing ways of filling in the gaps with complementary molecules. The article, "Lewis acid-catalysed formation of two-dimensional phthalocyanine covalent organic frameworks," appears in the online edition of the journal Nature Chemistry, June 20, 2010. The National Science Foundation provided funding for this research.

Jun 29, 2010

Health

Ovarian transplantation restores fertility to old mice and also lengthens their lives

Rome, Italy: Scientists have discovered that when they transplant ovaries from young mice into aging female mice, not only does the procedure make the mice fertile again, but also it rejuvenates their behaviour and increases their lifespan. The question now is: could ovarian transplants in women have the same effect? Dr Noriko Kagawa will tell the 26th annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in Rome today (Tuesday) that successful ovarian transplants increased the lifespan of the mice by more than 40%. "At present ovarian transplants are performed with the aim of preserving a woman's fertility after cancer treatment for instance, or of extending her reproductive lifespan. However, the completely unexpected extra benefit of fertility-preserving procedures in our mouse studies indicates that there is a possibility that carrying out similar procedures in women could lengthen their lifespans in general," she said. A very small number of women in the world have had ovarian transplants, and some have been more successful than others. Dr Kagawa stressed that there was still a lot of research to be carried out before it would be known whether ovarian transplants had similar, rejuvenating effects in women, particularly as it would involve waiting for many years until the patients became older. Dr Kagawa, Associate Director for Research at the Kato Ladies' Clinic in Tokyo (Japan), told the conference that she and her colleagues had conducted two mouse experiments. In the first, both ovaries were removed from young female mice (about 140 days old), and transplanted in to six older mice (aged over 525 days) that were too old to be fertile any more. In the second experiment, only one ovary was removed from the young mice (about 170 days old) and transplanted into eight aged mice (over 540 days old). The average normal lifespan for this particular breed of mice (C57BL/6J) is 548 days, and they normally reach a mouse "menopause" at about 525 days old. All the mice that received transplants in both experiments became fertile again, while control mice that had not received transplants did not. In the first experiment the mice resumed normal reproductive cycles that lasted for more than 80 days, and in the second experiment, they lasted for more that 130 days. Dr Kagawa said: "All the mice in both experiments that had received transplants resumed the normal reproductive behaviour of young mice. They showed interest in male mice, mated and some had pups. Normally, old mice stay in the corner of the cage and don't move much, but the activity of mice that had had ovarian transplants was transformed into that of younger mice and they resumed quick movements. Furthermore, the lifespan of the mice who received young ovaries was much longer than that of the control mice: the mice that had received two ovaries lived for an average of 915 days, and the mice that had received one ovary, for an average of 877 days. The newest of our data show the life span of mice that received transplants of young ovaries was increased by more than 40%. "The results show that transplanted normal ovaries from young mice can function in old, infertile mice, making them fertile again, but, in addition, extending their lifespan. Women who have ovarian tissue frozen at young ages, perhaps because they are about to embark on cancer treatment, can have their young ovarian tissue transplanted back when they are older. Normally we would be doing this simply to preserve their fertility or to expand their reproductive lifespan. However, our mice experiment suggests that this might also improve overall longevity. Further research has to be conducted before we can know whether or not this is the case." Dr Kagawa said it was not known why the ovarian transplant increased the lifespan of the mice, but it might be because the transplants were prompting the continuation of normal hormonal functions. She and her colleagues have been collaborating for the past six years with Dr Sherman Silber, from St Luke's Hospital, in St Louis, Missouri (USA), who has performed a number of successful ovarian transplants in women, either because they were about to be treated for cancer or because they had not yet found the right partner in life. Their future collaborative research will include investigating whether it is possible for a woman to have a transplant using an ovary that is not her own and with minimal drugs to suppress the body's natural immune response to what it perceives as a "foreign" body. They are also looking at culturing follicles in ovarian tissue in the laboratory in order to obtain mature eggs that can be used for IVF. In the meantime, the researchers believe it is very important for doctors and patients to know that women have options when faced with cancer treatment that could destroy their fertility. "We have been successful in getting frozen ovaries to function completely normally after thawing and transplantation," said Dr Kagawa. "So this should no longer be considered an 'experimental' procedure. Ovarian transplantation is the proper and necessary accompaniment to otherwise sterilising treatment for young cancer patients. We must not neglect to freeze and save at least one of their ovaries before cancer treatment."

Jun 29, 2010

Health

Study finds why some women are sub-fertile with a poor response to ovarian stimulating hormones

Rome, Italy: Researchers have discovered that some women carry a genetic variation that makes them sub-fertile and less likely to respond to ovarian stimulating hormones during fertility treatment. The discovery opens the way to identifying these women and devising personalised fertility treatments that could bypass the problem caused by the genetic abnormality. Dr Maria Lalioti told the 26th annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in Rome today (Tuesday) that she and her colleagues from the Yale University Medical School, New Haven (USA), had found that some women had an abnormal hormone receptor on cells surrounding oocytes (eggs). This abnormal receptor impaired the function of normal receptors that were also present and resulted in the affected women responding less well to Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH), which is given to women during fertility treatment to stimulate the production of more than one oocyte. Dr Lalioti, as assistant professor in the Department of Obstetrics Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at Yale, said: "When a woman undergoes in vitro fertilisation, she receives medication called Follicle Stimulating Hormone to produce more than one oocyte, which is the normal production each month. Cells called granulosa cells, which surround the oocyte, receive the FSH; these cells excrete other factors that 'feed' the oocyte. The granulosa cells have proteins present on their surface called FSH receptors (or FSHR) and it is these proteins that stick to the FSH and then carry signals into the cell's interior. When we looked at a portion of these granulosa cells in the laboratory we saw that in some women, who produced very few oocytes, there were some receptors that lacked a piece of the protein, although there were still other, normal FSHR in the women's cells." The abnormal FSHR contained a deleted sequence of protein called exon 2 that is an important part of the protein that binds the FSH; FSHR with the exon 2 deletion was only detected in women younger than 35 who had a poor response to FSH and yielded less than four oocytes in a follicle stimulating cycle. "We produced the normal and abnormal protein in the lab in a different type of cell called HEK293 (Human Embryonic Kidney) which is a common cell type used in the labs to examine properties of proteins. We saw that when the abnormal receptor was present, the normal one could no longer work as well as it does when it is the only protein present," explained Dr Lalioti. "The receptor is normally present on the cell surface in order to meet and bind FSH, and it needs to go through a number of cellular checkpoints inside the cell that assure the quality of the protein presented on the surface. We saw that the abnormal receptor remains longer in one of these checkpoint compartments, indicating that the cell has detected a problem and is trying to correct it. In this way the abnormal FSHR can contribute to an abnormally low response to stimulation in certain women undergoing IVF." Dr Lalioti's discovery of the mechanism behind why some young women have a poor response to FSH has important implications for future research and treatment of these women. "The importance of this finding is that it creates a link between genetic variation and sub-fertility. These women have a normal menstrual cycle and they may present to the fertility centre as patients with unexplained infertility, before their first IVF cycle that would reveal an ovarian stimulation defect," she said. "Our finding explains why these women have a lower response to FSH. Currently, FSH is the only medication used to stimulate ovarian response, but once other medications are available that can bypass the receptor for FSH, they can be tested on these women. Also, at present we cannot predict if the women would profit from having higher doses of medication, and, in fact, some preliminary data from other groups show the opposite: that lower FSH may be more beneficial." Future research will examine the FSHR signalling mechanisms within the cell and investigate how newly developed drugs might bypass the problems created by the genetic abnormality. "In the future, this could lead to personalised treatments for a sub-group of patients," said Dr Lalioti. It is not known how many women have this particular genetic variation. Dr Lalioti found it in two out of five women that she tested. "These patients are hard to recruit because most patients with a low response to FSH do not complete the IVF cycle for financial reasons," she said. "We need to recruit more patients to discover how common it is." She and her colleagues will need a year to recruit and test more women, to set up collaborations with more fertility centres and to start to test new drugs that could promote oocyte production more effectively in these women.

Jun 29, 2010

Health

Cheap, simple, noninvasive blood test may replace invasive diagnostic techniques in early pregnancy

Rome, Italy: Researchers in The Netherlands believe they are on the verge of developing a simple, prenatal blood test that would be able to detect accurately chromosomal abnormalities in the developing foetus. At present, the only reliable way to do this is through amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling, both of which are invasive and carry the risk of triggering a miscarriage. Dr Suzanna Frints, a clinical geneticist at Maastricht University Medical Centre (Maastricht, The Netherlands), will tell the 26th annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in Rome today (Tuesday), that she and her colleagues have been able to use molecular genetic probes to detect DNA belonging to the foetus in blood samples taken from pregnant women. So far, they have been successful in identifying DNA from the Y chromosome, indicating that the foetus is a boy and therefore could be at risk of inheriting an X-linked disorder such as Duchenne's muscular dystrophy and haemophilia. [1] The researchers believe the same method can be used to detect trisomy 21 (where an extra chromosome 21 causes Down's syndrome) and they are investigating this next, followed by trisomy 13 and 18 (responsible for causing Patau and Edward's syndromes respectively). [2] Dr Frints and her colleagues are using the "Multiplex Ligation-dependent Probe Amplification" (MLPA), technique to detect foetal DNA that is present in the blood of women who have been pregnant for at least six to eight weeks. The MLPA test is part of an existing kit that is already used around the world to detect chromosomal abnormalities in invasively obtained amniotic fluid or chorionic villi samples from pregnant women. The kit is cheap and fast, delivering results within 24-62 hours, but, until now, it has only been used on samples taken during invasive procedures; it was not known whether it would work on cell free foetal DNA circulating in blood samples of pregnant women. "It is inexpensive compared to the costs of invasive prenatal diagnosis, and could easily be implemented at low cost, between 30-150 Euros per kit per person, with a small apparatus in every hospital in the world. Blood samples can be taken during routine antenatal visits," said Dr Frints. The study started in 2009 and is expected to continue to 2012 or longer. The researchers are recruiting women who are at high risk of an abnormal pregnancy and undergoing prenatal screening and invasive diagnostic procedures. To obtain MLPA proof of principle, they have recruited 14 women who had a pregnancy termination between 14-22 weeks gestation because of trisomy 13, 18 or 21 detected by invasive prenatal diagnosis (group A), four women who had non-invasive prenatal screening at 12-14 weeks gestation (group B), three women who had invasive prenatal diagnosis because of being at least 36 years old (group C), and nine non-pregnant control women who had had up to three children (group D). A total of 20, 715, 40 and 30 women are needed in each group respectively to complete the clinical trial to test the reliability of the MLPA technique. "The MLPA test results obtained in 2009 were compared with the results of amniocentesis, chorionic villus sampling and pregnancy outcome. All but one sample correlated with the non-invasive MLPA test results, detecting foetal Y-chromosome sequences," said Dr Frints. "At the moment, the reliability of the test is about 80% due to false negative results, but we are working to improve the accuracy of the MLPA probe. "Although we need to test and refine this MLPA technique further, our results so far are promising. This is innovative translational research and when we succeed in developing the MLPA procedure for use in maternal blood, we will be able to offer a safe, cheap, fast, reliable and accurate non-invasive test, which will be of immediate benefit to pregnant women, young and old, all over the world." The researchers hope the test may be available in the clinic in two to five years' time. [1] Most X-linked disorders are recessive. This means that females, who have two X chromosomes, need two copies of the affected gene to show the disorder, but because males have only one X chromosome, they show the disorder if they inherit one copy of the affected gene. Genetic abnormalities that are carried on the X chromosome include Duchenne's muscular dystrophy and haemophilia. [2] Patau syndrome occurs in approximately one in 10,000 births and Edward's syndrome in approximately one in 6,000 births. They both cause numerous physical and mental abnormalities and most babies do not survive beyond infancy.

Jun 29, 2010

Health

Harvard's Wyss Institute develops technology to produce sugar from photosynthetic bacteria

Researchers from the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard and Harvard Medical School have engineered photosynthetic bacteria to produce simple sugars and lactic acid. This innovation could lead to new, environmentally friendly methods for producing commodity chemicals in bulk. Their research findings appear in the June issue of Applied and Environmental Microbiology. This photosynthetic factory could also reduce the carbon dioxide emissions associated with transporting sugar globally from producing countries; lead to greater availability of biodegradable plastics; and allow capture of harmful CO2 emissions from power plants and industrial facilities. In addition to its positive environmental impact, the technology offers potential economic advantages. Because the production methods use photosynthesis--the process by which living things are assembled using only CO2 and sunlight--the cost of making sugars, lactic acid, and other compounds would be significantly lower than traditional methods. "What we're doing is using genetic engineering to get organisms to act the way we want them to -- in this case producing food additives," said Wyss Institute senior staff scientist Jeffrey Way, Ph.D. "These discoveries have significant practical implications in moving toward a green economy." In addition to Dr. Way, researchers on this effort include Wyss Institute core faculty member Professor Pamela Silver, Ph.D., also of Harvard Medical School; and Henrike Niederholtmeyer, Bernd T. Wolfstadter, and David Savage, Ph.D., all of Harvard Medical School. Sugar is primarily produced from sugar cane, which grows only in tropical and subtropical climates. By enabling production almost anywhere in the world, this living cellular manufacturing plant could greatly reduce the cost and emissions associated with transporting millions of tons of sugar to consumers every year. It could also expand the availability of biodegradable plastics by reducing the cost of lactic acid, a key building block in their production. The current work by Dr. Way and Dr. Silver's team is the latest innovation in a wide-ranging program in which the Wyss Institute is working with various partner institutions to develop environmentally sustainable ways to produce biofuels, hydrogen, and other high value chemicals and food additives. "Our mission at the Wyss Institute is to use Nature's design principles to create solutions in medicine, manufacturing, energy, and architecture that will lead to a more sustainable world," said Don Ingber, Ph.D., M.D., Founding Director of the Wyss Institute. "This work is an important step in that direction." The Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University (http://wyss.harvard.edu) uses Nature's design principles to create breakthrough technologies that will revolutionize medicine, industry, and the environment. Working as an alliance among Harvard's schools of Medicine, Engineering, and Arts & Sciences, and in partnership with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Children's Hospital Boston, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, and Boston University, the Institute crosses disciplinary and institutional barriers to engage in high-risk, fundamental research that leads to transformative change. By applying biological principles, Wyss researchers are developing innovative new engineering solutions for healthcare, manufacturing, robotics, energy and sustainable architecture. These technologies are translated into commercial products and therapies through collaborations with clinical investigators, corporate alliances and new startups.

Jun 28, 2010

Life

Redshift in cosmic dust resolves the galaxy rotation problem without dark matter and MOND

Background The Tully-Fisher relation based on Newtonian mechanics requires the rotation velocity of spiral galaxies to vary inversely with the square root of the distance from the galactic center.

Jun 28, 2010

Earth & Environment

Tropical Storm Alex now in Gulf of Mexico, brought heavy rainfall to Belize, Yucatan

NASA's infrared satellite imagery captured high, cold, strong thunderstorms within Tropical Storm Alex over the past weekend and they are still creating heavy rainfall. Alex's center is now moving out into the southwestern Gulf of Mexico and departing the Yucatan Peninsula. Alex is moving into warm waters and is expected to strengthen into a hurricane in the next day. Today, June 28, a tropical storm warning is in effect for the coast of Belize and the east coast of the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico from Chetumal to Cancun. NASA's Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument aboard the Aqua satellite captured infrared imagery on June 26 and 27 that showed the areas of high, cold, thunderstorm cloud tops and the warm western Caribbean waters. On June 26 at 1800 UTC (2 p.m. EDT) AIRS infrared imagery showed a large concentration of powerful thunderstorms around Alex's center while it dropped very heavy rainfall on Honduras, Belize and Guatemala. On June 27 at 2 a.m. EDT, AIRS imagery showed the largest concentration of thunderstorms over the Yucatan Peninsula. The AIRS instrument also senses the heat from the warm sea surface of the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico and showed that those temperatures were as warm as or warmer than the 80 degree Fahrenheit threshold needed to power tropical cyclones. ALEX'S HISTORY On Friday, June 25 at 6 p.m. EDT, System 93L developed into the first tropical depression of the Atlantic Ocean hurricane season. By 8 p.m. EDT on the 25, Tropical Depression One was nearing tropical storm strength, so a tropical storm warning was issued for Belize. Three hours later, Tropical Depression One was still moving west-northwestward toward Belize and the Yucatan. At 11:25 p.m. EDT, Tropical Storm Watches went up for Honduras. It wasn't until 5 a.m. EDT on Saturday, June 26 that Tropical Depression One strengthened into a tropical storm and was named Alex. By 2 p.m. EDT that day, Alex was a large tropical storm and still moving toward Belize and the Yucatan. Three hours later that day and Air Force plane noted that Alex had strengthened and weather in Belize and the Yucatan was deteriorating rapidly. By 7 p.m. EDT, Alex was near the Belize coast and it was dumping heavy rainfall in northern Guatemala and the Yucatan Peninsula. By 10 p.m. EDT on June 26, Alex was making landfall over Belize, some 20 miles (20 km) northwest of Belize City with maximum sustained winds near 60 mph. By 5 a.m. EDT on Monday, June 28, the National Hurricane Center noted that Alex is now getting better organized and is pulling away from the Yucatan Peninsula. Alex is about 75 miles (115 km) west of Campeche, Mexico; 440 miles (710 km) east-southeast of Tampico, Mexico, near 19.7 North and 91.6 West. Maximum sustained winds at that time were near 50 mph and minimum central pressure was 990 millibars. Rainfall is the largest threat from Alex, as the storm is expected to produce total rain accumulations of 4 to 8 inches over the Yucatan Peninsula, southern Mexico and portions of Guatemala through Tuesday. Isolated maximum amounts of 15 inches are possible over mountainous areas. These rains could cause life-threatening flash floods and mudslides. At 8 a.m. EDT, Hurricane Hunter aircraft reported sustained winds inside the storm near 66 mph, and a minimum central pressure near 989 millibars. Alex is also in an environmental area that will help Alex strengthen over the next several days as it heads north into the western Gulf of Mexico. Tropical Storm watches maybe required later today for coastal areas of northeastern Mexico and south Texas.

Jun 28, 2010

Health

Screening for transmissible disease in ART patients not necessary at each donation

Rome, Italy: European legislation that requires all couples undergoing assisted reproduction treatment (ART) to be screened for HIV and hepatitis at the time of every sperm or egg donation is unnecessary, expensive, and potentially distressing for patients, the 26th annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology heard today (Monday). Ms Ciara Hughes, Senior Embryologist at Human Assisted Reproduction Ireland (HARI), Dublin, told the conference that, under the new Irish legislation, screens for HIV 1 and 2 and hepatitis B and C have to be carried out within 30 days of the start of each ART cycle. Prior to the transposition of the EU Tissues and Cells Directive into Irish law, these diseases were routinely screened for in patients at HARI and the clinic's policy was to have these screens performed within six months of the start of a couple's cycle of treatment. "Most of these couples are in a stable relationship, and we believed that they were at minimal risk of contracting a communicable disease once the initial screen had showed them to be negative," said Ms Hughes. "However, we had no definitive proof of this and it is why we decided to carry out our study." The researchers looked at screening results over a ten-year period from 1023 couples who had returned to the HARI clinic for testing after a 180 day quarantine of their surplus frozen embryos and gametes. These couples had been clear on their first screening. Following re-testing, the results were exactly the same -- no seroconversion (the development of specific antibodies in response to infection) had taken place in the intervening period. They also examined the screening results of 555 male oncology patients who were clear on first screening and returned for 180 days follow-up testing. Once again, all of them showed the same viral screen status and remained clear of infection. "Since the introduction of the new testing requirement, we have carried out 17,494 viral screen tests either before therapy or within 30 days of egg collection and have not come across a single seroconversion," said Ms Hughes. "While I understand that safeguards are necessary to prevent the transmission of disease through the use of human tissue, assisted reproduction is not the same as organ donation or blood transfusion. The main difference is that in IVF the donation is to your cohabiting partner, whereas in tissue donation it is to an unknown person. "Our research has proved what we already suspected; that there is negligible risk of seroconversion in this group of patients. Given the physical, financial, and emotional investment that each couple makes in undergoing a cycle of treatment, it is unjustifiable to request testing at the time of each donation in order to assess such a minimal risk." In requiring testing within 30 days of each cycle, Ireland has interpreted the Directive in a particularly restrictive way. Other countries such as Denmark have introduced more relaxed laws, which only require testing every two years. Since the introduction of the new law, all couples in Ireland have to pay, on average, an additional €160 per cycle of IVF or ICSI. This could cost in the region of €1.5 million per year, said Ms Hughes. At the clinic couples could have up to three cycles of treatment per year, and depending on the timing, this could mean each couple paying an additional €480 per year on top of the treatment cost. The legislation should be revised in order to factor in the unproven risks and to take into account individual patient needs, said Ms Hughes. "Our study is, to our knowledge, the first to carry out a risk assessment of the need for repeat viral screening in ART patients. Armed with this knowledge, a review of the European and Irish legislation in relation to assisted reproduction should be undertaken to avoid a lot of unnecessary costs, both financial and emotional, to couples undergoing ART," she concluded.

Jun 28, 2010

Earth & Environment

Academy authority on delta bulrush says 'his' plant could help ease oil spill crisis

PHILADELPHIA, PA (June 28, 2010) -- A revered botanist at the Academy of Natural Sciences who first profiled and then named the delta bulrush says the plant has natural properties that could help reduce the impact of the Gulf oil spill on the Mississippi delta. Dr. Alfred Ernest Schuyler, the Academy's curator emeritus of botany and a prominent botanist in the international science community, is urging all sides involved in the crisis to give this slender sedge family member a hard look as they weigh their spill-fighting strategies. Schuyler described and named Scirpus deltarum, now known as Schoenoplectus deltarum the delta bulrush, in 1970 after doing field research in the Mississippi delta. Based on the detoxification properties of similar bulrush species, Schuyler thinks the delta bulrush could be instrumental in decomposing the oil and reducing its impact on other threatened marsh plants. He says a close relative of the delta bulrush, the common three-square (Schoenoplectus pungens), can transmit oxygen to underwater microorganisms capable of decomposing oil. "Presumably, the closely-related delta bulrush can do the same thing," Schuyler explains. Schuyler says the fascinating marsh plant he named more than three decades ago now urgently deserves further study of its potential to decompose oil. Abundant in the Mobile, Mississippi, and Atchafalaya deltas, plants such as the delta bulrush will be the first that the oil will encounter, and may act as a buffer for the rest of the wetlands, says Schuyler. "Bulrushes are environmental workhorses, effectively used in sewage lagoons to purify water," Schuyler explains. "Air cavities in the stems transport oxygen to underwater portions of the plants, making the oxygen available to microbes capable of decomposing pollutants in the sewage." He theorizes that this same capacity to decompose pollutants in sewage most likely would come into play in decomposing some chemicals in the oil, thereby reducing the impact of the spill to the delta area. "Bulrushes are also more tolerant of oil than many other marsh plants. This suggests that the delta bulrush will persist regardless of the oil and continue to stabilize the marshes in the delta," Schuyler says. Schuyler says it is too soon to estimate how much oil is too much for the delta bulrushes. "I hope we don't get to find out, but based on my experience, I think these plants can tolerate a lot of oil," he says. If the oil were to cover the plants, Schuyler recommends harvesting them just below the oil line. "This will protect waterfowl from the oil and also will allow regrowth from their basal portions," adding that the bulrush seeds can be removed from the harvested plants and put back into the substrate. The Academy of Natural Sciences, founded in 1812, is the oldest natural science research institution and museum in the Americas and a world leader in biodiversity and environmental research. The mission of the Academy is the encouragement and cultivation of the sciences. HOURS: Monday -- Friday, 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Saturday -- Sunday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. ADMISSION: $12 adults; $10 children 3-12, seniors, college students, military personnel; from May 28 -- Sept. 6 military and up to 5 family members are free; free for members and children under 3. $2 fee for Butterflies! THE ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES ∙ 1900 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN PARKWAY ∙ PHILADELPHIA ∙ PA 19103

Jun 28, 2010

Health

Agent Orange exposure linked to Graves' disease in Vietnam veterans, UB study finds

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Vietnam War-era veterans exposed to Agent Orange appear to have significantly more Graves' disease, a thyroid disorder, than veterans with no exposure, a new study by endocrinologists at the University at Buffalo has shown. Ajay Varanasi, MD, an endocrinology fellow in the UB Department of Medicine and first author on the study, garnered first prize in the oral presentation category for this research at the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists annual meeting held in Boston in April. "Our findings show that Vietnam veterans who came in contact with Agent Orange are more likely to develop Graves' disease than those who avoided exposure," says Varanasi. "The autoimmune disorder was three times more prevalent among veterans who encountered the dioxin-containing chemical. We also looked at other thyroid diagnoses, but we didn't find any significant differences in thyroid cancer or nodules." Agent Orange is a defoliant that was used in Vietnam to destroy crops and reduce jungle foliage that could shelter enemy combatants. The herbicide contains dioxin, which has chemical properties similar to the thyroid hormones. Graves' disease is an autoimmune disease associated with overactivity of the thyroid gland. This gland releases the hormones thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3), which control body metabolism and are critical for regulating mood, weight, and mental and physical energy levels. Varanasi and colleagues assessed the prevalence of major thyroid diagnoses in the Veterans Administration electronic medical record database for upstate New York veterans born between 1925 and 1953, the age group that would have been eligible for military service during the Vietnam era. They conducted the research at the Buffalo VA Medical Center. They compared the frequency of diagnoses of thyroid cancer, nodules, hypothyroidism and Graves' disease in veterans who identified themselves as being exposed to Agent Orange (23,939) or not exposed to Agent Orange (200,109). "Analyzing data on thyroid conditions, we found no difference in the prevalence of thyroid nodules or cancers between the exposed and non-exposed groups," says Varanasi. "Graves' disease, however, was three times more prevalent in the exposed group. "Interestingly, hypothyroidism [lower than normal thyroid] was less common in the exposed group." Varanasi says that in view of the known effects of dioxin on the immune system, further research should be conducted on the increased prevalence of Graves' disease in Vietnam veterans. His research group is planning to continue this investigation either in vitro or in animal models. Additional authors on the study are Toufic Abdo, MD, David Kasinski, Amy O'Donnell, MD, and Stephen Spaulding, MD, all associated with UB. The University at Buffalo is a premier research-intensive public university, a flagship institution in the State University of New York system and its largest and most comprehensive campus. UB's more than 28,000 students pursue their academic interests through more than 300 undergraduate, graduate and professional degree programs. Founded in 1846, the University at Buffalo is a member of the Association of American Universities.

Jun 28, 2010

Health

The Agony and the Ecstasy: Why science writing is like learning tango and Chinese brush painting

This is an odd title and I am stuck with it. Worse, I am compelled to explain why this is so.

Jun 27, 2010

Health

Scientific expertise lacking among 'doubters' of climate change, says Stanford-led analysis

The small number of scientists who are unconvinced that human beings have contributed significantly to climate change have far less expertise and prominence in climate research compared with scientists who are convinced, according to a study led by Stanford researchers. In a quantitative assessment -- the first of its kind to address this issue -- the team analyzed the number of research papers published by more than 900 climate researchers and the number of times their work was cited by other scientists. "These are standard academic metrics used when universities are making hiring or tenure decisions," said William Anderegg, lead author of a paper published in the online Early Edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences this week. Expertise was evaluated by the number of papers on climate research written by each individual, with a minimum of 20 required to be included in the analysis. Climate researchers who are convinced of human-caused climate change had on average about twice as many publications as the unconvinced, said Anderegg, a doctoral candidate in biology. Prominence was assessed by taking the four most frequently cited papers published in any field by each scientist - not just climate science publications - and tallying the number of times those papers were cited by other researchers. Papers by climate researchers convinced of human effects were cited approximately 64 percent more often than papers by the unconvinced. The scientists whose work was analyzed included all the researchers involved in producing the 2007 report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change working group that assessed the evidence for and against human involvement in climate change, as well as any climate researchers who signed a major public statement disagreeing with the findings of the panel's report. The top 100 The Stanford team also determined the top 100 climate researchers, based on the total number of climate related publications each had, which produced an even more telling result, Anderegg said. "When you look at the leading scientists who have made any sort of statement about anthropogenic (human-caused) climate change, you find 97 percent of those top 100 surveyed scientists explicitly agreeing with or endorsing the IPCC's assessment," he said. That result has been borne out by several other published studies that used different methodology, as well as some that are due out later this summer, he said. "We really wanted to bring the expertise dimension into this whole discussion," Anderegg said. "We hope to put to rest the notion that keeps being repeated in the media and by some members of the public that 'the scientists disagree' about whether human activity is contributing to climate change." "I never object to quoting opinions that are 'way out.' I think there is nothing wrong with that," said Stephen Schneider, professor of biology and a coauthor of the paper in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "But if the media doesn't report that something is a 'way out' opinion relative to the mainstream, then how is the average person going to know the relative credibility of what is being said?" "It is sad that we even have to do this," said Schneider. "[Too much of] the media world has just folded up and fired its reporters with expertise in science." The Stanford team is prepared for the doubters of anthropogenic climate change to object to their data. "I think the most typical criticism of a paper like this -- not necessarily in academic discourse, but in the broader context -- is going to be that we haven't addressed if these sorts of differences could be due to some sort of clique or, at the extreme, a conspiracy of the researchers who are convinced of climate change," Anderegg said. "When you stop to consider whether some sort of 'group think' really drives these patterns and could it really exist in science in general, the idea is really pretty laughable," he said. "All of the incentives in science are exactly the opposite. "If you were a young researcher and had the data to overturn any of the mainstream paradigms, or what the IPCC has done, you would become absolutely famous," he said. "Everyone wants to be the next Darwin, everyone wants to be the next Einstein." Schneider said that the team took pains to avoid any sort of prejudice or skewed data in their analysis. In selecting which of the researchers who signed petitions or statements disagreeing with the findings of the IPCC to include in the study, they omitted those who had no published papers in the climate literature. "We only picked those who had at least some credentials in climate. So we went way beyond neutral, in their direction, bending over backward," Schneider said. "The doubters of anthropogenic climate change will claim foul anyway. "They can say that climate researchers convinced of anthropogenic climate change are just trying to deny publication of the doubters' opinion, but let them go out and do a study to prove it," he said. "It is of course not true."

Jun 25, 2010