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Scientists find methane on Mars Washington: A European Space Agency team has detected methane gas on Mars, the clearest indicator yet that there could be life there. According to University of Michigan scientist, Sushil Atreya who was a part of the team ,"Biologically produced methane is one of many possibilities. Ethane is a potential biomarker, if a planet has methane we begin to think of the possibility of life on the planet. On Earth, methane is almost entirely derived from biological sources." He added that methanogens, microbes that consume the Martian hydrogen or carbon monoxide for energy and exhale methane that dwell in colonies out of sight beneath the surface of the red planet could be the possible source of Methane getting to Mars. "These are anaerobic so they don't need oxygen to survive, if they are there. If they are there, they would be underground. While it's tantalizing to think there are living things on Mars, we aren't in a position to say that is what is causing the methane," he said. A comet
could have struck the planet, which would leave methane behind, but
that only happens once every 60 million years or so. A more likely scenario
is hydrothermal process involving chemical interaction between rock
and water in aquifers below the Martian permafrost. The instrument that
sniffed out the methane is called a planetary Fourier spectrometer and
measures the Sun's infrared light that has been absorbed, emitted and
scattered by the molecules in the Martian atmosphere. It detected an
average 10 parts per billion by volume (ppbv) of methane on Mars that
was distributed unevenly over Mars' surface, which tends to support
the theory that an internal, on-site source, rather than a comet, is
the source generating the methane, Atreya added. Every glass of red wine helps combat cancer: BMJ (Go To Top) London:
Here is some good news for wine drinkers, every daily glass of red
wine reduces the risk of getting lung cancer by about 13 percent, a
new study conducted at a Spanish hospital has found. The study, which
was reported by the British Medical Journal, studied the link between
alcohol consumption and its impact on cancer and found that only red
wine was beneficial, whereas drinks like beer had no effect on cancer,
while white wine actually had an opposite effect. The researchers are
now putting down the beneficial effect of red wine to the fact that
it contains tannins, which have antioxidant properties, and resveratrol,
which has been shown to stifle tumor development and growth in experimental
research. The study, however does not imply that people should start
consuming more red wine as excess consumption of any kind of alcohol
is bound to be harmful and might cause other kinds of cancers. "There
is strong evidence that regularly drinking large amounts of alcohol
increases the risk of cancers of the mouth, larynx, pharynx, and oesophagus,"
says specialist Professor Tim Key. Pregnancies in the 50s will be commonplace in 10 years (Go To Top) Sydney: Fertility
experts have claimed that technology is advancing so rapidly that within
10 years it will be common for women in their 50s to give birth to healthy
babies. Moreover, improvements in genetic testing will also allow parents
to screen embryos for most serious genetic diseases including cancer.
But doctors are lamenting the fact that legal regulation is failing
to keep pace with reproductive technology, something that can stifle
research. Dr Helen Szoke, chief executive of the Infertility Treatment
Authority, Australia, warned that the ethical debate would intensify
as scientists found more uses for reproductive technology. Szoke said
that regulators were already challenged by issues including whether
older women should have access to infertility treatment, the moral dilemmas
raised by genetic testing, and donor-birth issues such as whether children
have the right to know their biological origin. "It's very important
that there is a public awareness of the potential of the technologies,
the challenges that they pose and the sort of issues that law-makers
have to address," The Australian quoted Szoke as saying. Testosterone deprivation affects men's memory (Go To Top) Washington:
Researchers at the Oregon Health & Science University have found
that testosterone deprivation in men affects verbal memory and men undergoing
prostate cancer therapy forget things faster than their healthy counterparts.
In testosterone deprivation or "ablation," the testicles are surgically
removed or medications are given to block the production of male hormones,
principally testosterone, that can promote prostate cancer growth. This
common treatment for prostate cancer wipes out most male hormones found
in the body. Bussiere and Jeri Janowsky, Ph.D., professor of behavioral
neuroscience and neurology, OHSU School of Medicine, say the rapid drop
in memory suggests the lack of testosterone affects the function of
the hippocampus, a curved, elongated ridge in the brain that controls
learning and memory. Testosterone-deprived men can "immediately get
the information in, but then the hippocampus can't consolidate it and
send it off for storage," Janowsky said. "When you look at their memory,
they're perfectly normal when they're immediately asked to recall something,
but they can't hold or save the information as well in order to recall
it over a retention interval, over a period of time. They're faster
at forgetting," he added. "This is an important first step in an effort
to fully understand how prostate cancer therapies adversely affect memory
and other brain functions, and to develop therapies that do not produce
such undesirable effects," Tomasz Beer, M.D., associate professor of
medicine and director of the OHSU Cancer Institute Prostate Cancer Research
Program, was quoted as saying. Fear of death influences voters to chose charismatic leaders (Go To Top) Washington:
A new study conducted by scientists from the University Arizona
and University of Colorado suggests that reminders of death increase
the need for psychological security and therefore the appeal of leaders
who emphasize the greatness of the nation and a heroic victory over
evil. The researchers led by Jeff Greenberg and Sheldon Solomon asked
students to think about their own death or a control topic and then
read campaign statements of three hypothetical political candidates,
each with different leadership styles. This included charismatic i.e.
those emphasizing greatness of the nation and a heroic victory over
evil, task-oriented or relationship-oriented. Following a reminder of
death, there was almost an 800 percent increase in votes for the charismatic
leader, but no increase for the two other candidates. "At a theoretical
level this study adds to the large body of empirical evidence attesting
to the pervasive influence of reminders of death on a wide range of
human activities. These findings fit particularly well with prior studies
showing how mortality salience leads people toward individuals, groups,
and actions that can help enhance their self-esteem. People want to
identify with special, great things, and charismatic leaders typically
offer the promise of just that," the authors were quoted as saying. Chlorine treated tap water increases risk of stillborn babies (Go To Top) London:
A new study conducted by researchers from Imperial College London
suggests that chlorine which is used to disinfect tap water can contribute
to an increased risk of having a stillborn baby. According to Daily
Mail, they looked at birth statistics in three water company areas:
United Utilities, covering the North-West of England; Severn Trent,
which serves much of central England; and Northumbrian from 1992 to
1998. These were then cross-checked with information on the levels of
trihalomethanes in the tap water that are created when chlorine reacts
with organic matter in the water. The United Utilities area showed a
21 per cent 'excess risk' of stillbirth in those towns where the water
was high in THMs. These towns also had a 20 per cent 'excess risk' of
having a very low birth weight and a 19 per cent increase in low birth
weight. A similar pattern was seen in the other two regions, although
the difference was much lower. The overall excess risk of stillbirth
in areas where the water had high THM levels was 11 per cent, the figure
for low birth weight was 9 per cent and for very low birth weight, 5
per cent. |
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