The Chicago Tribune reports that incidence of kindey stones will rise dramatically over the next four decades—up to 2.2 million new cases a year—due to global warming. It is well known that poor hydration can lead to the painful stones forming, and global warming will likely lead to people sweating more, and thus developing more kidney stones.
Fortunately, the solution to the problem is fairly simple... drink more water. Unfortunately, even people currently at risk fail to heed this advice and end up getting kidney stones now.
I've never had kidney stones, but they run in my family so it's probably a matter of time. A friend of mine also got kidney stones—while she was pregnant—and says that the kidney stones were worse than giving birth. So I don't know about you, but I'm going to keep hydrating as well as I can and hopefully avoid getting them. I'm not a big fan of pain.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Monday, July 14, 2008
New Potential for Alzheimer's Vaccine
According to an article published Friday on the Scientific American website, a new Alzheimer's vaccine shows promise for preventing or restricting progress of the disease in a mouse model.
The research builds on an attempt several years ago by Elan Pharmaceuticals to create an Alzheimer's vaccine. That attempt failed after several of the subjects developed brain inflammations and two suffered strokes. The new attempt involves taking an inactivated Herpes virus to transplant a small amount of amyloid beta and a protein called interleukin-4 into subjects (in this case, mice).
By adding the amyloid beta to the virus, the immune system can begin to recognize the amyloid beta as a potential threat. The presence of interleukin-4, it is hoped, will prevent the brain inflammation that plagued the previous attempt at a virus.
While this research shows promise, it will be several years before a treatments is available. And there are several stumbling blocks to overcome yet. The original trials also showed great promise in mouse models, but unexpected results in human trials. And not all forms of amyloid beta are dangerous... indeed, some may be necessary for brain function, and if the vaccine causes the body to attack all forms, it may have unintended—and potentially dangerous—side effects.
The research builds on an attempt several years ago by Elan Pharmaceuticals to create an Alzheimer's vaccine. That attempt failed after several of the subjects developed brain inflammations and two suffered strokes. The new attempt involves taking an inactivated Herpes virus to transplant a small amount of amyloid beta and a protein called interleukin-4 into subjects (in this case, mice).
By adding the amyloid beta to the virus, the immune system can begin to recognize the amyloid beta as a potential threat. The presence of interleukin-4, it is hoped, will prevent the brain inflammation that plagued the previous attempt at a virus.
While this research shows promise, it will be several years before a treatments is available. And there are several stumbling blocks to overcome yet. The original trials also showed great promise in mouse models, but unexpected results in human trials. And not all forms of amyloid beta are dangerous... indeed, some may be necessary for brain function, and if the vaccine causes the body to attack all forms, it may have unintended—and potentially dangerous—side effects.
Bad News for Those Looking for Planets at Alpha Centauri
Paul Gilster of Centauri Dreams reports on new scientific findings that suggest that planets would have a very difficult time forming more than about half an AU out from α Centauri A.
The problem is that the interaction of the relatively-close stars in the α Centauri system would have caused planetessimals (the large rocks that combine to form planets) to accelerate to speeds that would have precluded combining upon impact. Paul has the technical details, if you're in to that sort of thing.
So bad news if (like Paul) you were hoping for habitable, friendly planets in α Centauri... this research makes it less likely that they'll be found there.
The problem is that the interaction of the relatively-close stars in the α Centauri system would have caused planetessimals (the large rocks that combine to form planets) to accelerate to speeds that would have precluded combining upon impact. Paul has the technical details, if you're in to that sort of thing.
So bad news if (like Paul) you were hoping for habitable, friendly planets in α Centauri... this research makes it less likely that they'll be found there.
Russian Arctic Researchers Evacuate Shrinking Ice Flow
Russian scientists are evacuating the North Pole-35 research station, built on an ice floe to study the arctic, because the ice it is built on is rapidly melting. When the station was established ten months ago, the ice floe was 1.5 miles by 2.5 miles in size. Today it is roughly 1,000 feet by 2,000 feet—less than two percent its size last September.
Russia uses Arctic research stations, such as North Pole-23, to monitor the environment as well as to study Arctic plant and animal life. The researchers had originally planned to end their expedition in August, but advanced warming and ice melt have forced them to cut their research short.
Russia uses Arctic research stations, such as North Pole-23, to monitor the environment as well as to study Arctic plant and animal life. The researchers had originally planned to end their expedition in August, but advanced warming and ice melt have forced them to cut their research short.
Back from Vacation
I'm back from vacation and ready to get you up-to-speed on the latest, coolest news in science and technology, so stay tuned!
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
The Future of Disease Fighting
Discover magazine recently published a brief list of five coming advances in antibiotics that reveals some interesting—and possibly life-saving—bio-technology on the horizon.
Some of these, such as phages and alligator blood, were not new to me. Phages have been studied for years, but they have certain drawbacks, such as the fact that every distinct strain of a bacteria requires its own phages. So not only would the doctor need to know that you have a staph infection, he or she would need to know exactly which strain of staph in order to use the right phages. Alligator blood and frog skin, though, are rather interesting. Both of these critters inhabits swampy areas that tend to have much higher concentrations of pathogens, and they have evolved defense mechanisms to protect themselves. Now scientists are working on ways to bring those same defense mechanisms to people.
Synthetic antimicrobial peptides have a lot of promise, and may be one of the first on this list to make it into commercial use. After all, they are based on natural peptides, but they are more effective and cheaper to produce. Plus, in a series of tests, the synthetic peptides (called peptoids) wiped out all six bacterial cultures to which they were exposed.
Finally, I'm fascinated by the discovery that cholesterol-lowering drugs may be useful in battling bacteria. And, when given to mice which were then infected with MRSA, the drugs showed a 98 percent reduction in bacteria concentrations versus mice not given the drugs. Good news for me, since I'm on cholesterol medication.
Some of these, such as phages and alligator blood, were not new to me. Phages have been studied for years, but they have certain drawbacks, such as the fact that every distinct strain of a bacteria requires its own phages. So not only would the doctor need to know that you have a staph infection, he or she would need to know exactly which strain of staph in order to use the right phages. Alligator blood and frog skin, though, are rather interesting. Both of these critters inhabits swampy areas that tend to have much higher concentrations of pathogens, and they have evolved defense mechanisms to protect themselves. Now scientists are working on ways to bring those same defense mechanisms to people.
Synthetic antimicrobial peptides have a lot of promise, and may be one of the first on this list to make it into commercial use. After all, they are based on natural peptides, but they are more effective and cheaper to produce. Plus, in a series of tests, the synthetic peptides (called peptoids) wiped out all six bacterial cultures to which they were exposed.
Finally, I'm fascinated by the discovery that cholesterol-lowering drugs may be useful in battling bacteria. And, when given to mice which were then infected with MRSA, the drugs showed a 98 percent reduction in bacteria concentrations versus mice not given the drugs. Good news for me, since I'm on cholesterol medication.
Ice Melting Faster Than Expected
Scientific American has an interesting article about the accelerating rate of ice lost in the arctic and antarctic. It seems we've warmed the air and sea enough now that ice in Antarctica is melting, even though it's currently the middle of winter there.
Ice near the poles, especially on the western Antarctic Peninsula, as melting faster than any climate scientists or advanced climate models predicted, suggesting the possibility that global warming alarmists have not been over-hyping the situation, but possibly the opposite.
As the floating ice shelves break up and drift out to sea, the massive glacial ice on land becomes free to flow toward the water. According to Ted Scambos of the National Snow and Ice Data Center at the University of Colorado at Boulder, within a year or two of an ice shelf breaking up, glaciers that it previously held back could be moving toward the ocean up to four times faster than when the ice shelf was in place. That could (and most likely will) result in more ice flowing into the oceans at a faster rate than expected, and that will raise sea levels.
Another suggestion that we have perhaps underestimated the effects of warming on our ice, the US National Snow and Ice Data Center has warned that the North Pole could be free of ice in the summer—not in forty years, as previously predicted, but as early as this year.
Ice near the poles, especially on the western Antarctic Peninsula, as melting faster than any climate scientists or advanced climate models predicted, suggesting the possibility that global warming alarmists have not been over-hyping the situation, but possibly the opposite.
As the floating ice shelves break up and drift out to sea, the massive glacial ice on land becomes free to flow toward the water. According to Ted Scambos of the National Snow and Ice Data Center at the University of Colorado at Boulder, within a year or two of an ice shelf breaking up, glaciers that it previously held back could be moving toward the ocean up to four times faster than when the ice shelf was in place. That could (and most likely will) result in more ice flowing into the oceans at a faster rate than expected, and that will raise sea levels.
Another suggestion that we have perhaps underestimated the effects of warming on our ice, the US National Snow and Ice Data Center has warned that the North Pole could be free of ice in the summer—not in forty years, as previously predicted, but as early as this year.
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