Monday 14 November 2011

Parkinson's disease


Study links Parkinson's disease to industrial solvent


A doctor examines the hands of a man with Parkinson's diseaseA doctor examines the hands of a man with Parkinson's disease

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An international study has linked an industrial solvent to Parkinson's disease.
Researchers found a six-fold increase in the risk of developing Parkinson's in individuals exposed in the workplace to trichloroethylene (TCE).
Although many uses for TCE have been banned around the world, the chemical is still used as a degreasing agent.
The research was based on analysis of 99 pairs of twins selected from US data records.
Parkinson's can result in limb tremors, slowed movement and speech impairment, but the exact cause of the disease is still unknown, and there is no cure.
Research to date suggests a mix of genetic and environmental factors may be responsible. A link has previously been made with pesticide use.
'Significant association'
The researchers from institutes in the US, Canada, Germany and Argentina, wanted to examine the impact of solvent exposure - specifically six solvents including TCE.
They looked at 99 sets of twins, one twin with Parkinson's, the other without.
Because twins are similar genetically and often share certain lifestyle characteristics, twins were thought to provide a better control group, reducing the likelihood of spurious results.
The twins were interviewed to build up a work history and calculate likely exposure to solvents. They were also asked about hobbies.

“Start Quote

Further larger-scale studies are needed to confirm the link”
Dr Michelle GardnerParkinson's UK
The findings are presented as the first study to report a "significant association" between TCE exposure and Parkinson's and suggest exposure to the solvent was likely to result in a six-fold increase in the chances of developing the disease.
The study also adjudged exposure to two other solvents, perchloroethylene (PERC) and carbon tetrachloride (CCl4), "tended towards significant risk of developing the disease".
No statistical link was found with the other three solvents examined in the study - toluene, xylene and n-hexane.
"Our study confirms that common environmental contaminants may increase the risk of developing Parkinson's, which has considerable public health implications," said Dr Samuel Goldman of The Parkinson's Institute in Sunnyvale, California, who co-led the study published in the journal Annals of Neurology.
He added: "Our findings, as well as prior case reports, suggest a lag time of up to 40 years between TCE exposure and onset of Parkinson's, providing a critical window of opportunity to potentially slow the disease before clinical symptoms appear."
Water contaminant
TCE has been used in paints, glue, carpet cleaners, dry-cleaning solutions and as a degreaser. It has been banned in the food and pharmaceutical industries in most regions of the world since the 1970s, due to concerns over its toxicity.
In 1997, the US authorities banned its use as an anaesthetic, skin disinfectant, grain fumigant and coffee decaffeinating agent, but it is still used as a degreasing agent for metal parts.
Computer image of affected neurons in the brain of Parkinson's patientsA computer image of affected neurons in the brain of Parkinson's patients
Groundwater contamination by TCE is widespread, with studies estimating up to 30% of US drinking water supplies are contaminated with TCE. In Europe, it was reclassified in 2001 as a "category 2" carcinogen, although it is still used in industrial applications.
PERC, like TCE, is used as a dry-cleaning agent and degreasing agent, and is found in many household products. CCl4's major historical use was in the manufacture of chlorofluorocarbons for use as refrigerants, but it has also been used a fumigant to kill insects in grain.
Commenting on the paper, Dr Michelle Gardner, Research Development Manager at Parkinson's UK, said: "This is the first study to show that the solvent TCE may be associated with an increased risk of developing Parkinson's.
"It is important to highlight that many of the previous uses of this solvent have been discontinued for safety reasons over 30 years ago and that safety and protection in work places where strong chemicals such as this solvent are used has greatly improved in recent years."
She also called for more research to confirm the link between TCE and other solvents with Parkinson's.
"Further larger-scale studies on populations with more defined exposures are needed to confirm the link," she said.

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Sunday 13 November 2011

Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant opened to reporters


Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant opened to reportersReporters were taken around the Fukushima site in full protective clothing

Japan quake

Reporters have been allowed inside the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan for the first time since it was crippled by an earthquake and tsunami in March.
The journalists toured the plant wearing full protective clothing.
A reporter from the Associated Press described seeing "twisted and overturned trucks, crumbling reactor buildings and piles of rubble virtually untouched since the wave struck".
Three reactors melted down after the tsunami wrecked their cooling systems.
The authorities have previously rejected requests by journalists to visit the plant, on the grounds that radiation levels were too high and it could hamper operations to tackle the crisis.
This tour was designed to show that the situation at the plant is gradually becoming more stable.
The reporters arrived at Fukushima on Friday and were shown a nearby football-training complex which is now being used as a base for the clean-up operation.

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Goshi Hosono
Every time I come back I feel conditions have improved”
Goshi HosonoJapanese nuclear crisis minister
On Saturday they were shown around the Fukushima site itself and were able to take the first pictures inside the damaged plant.
The media tour was accompanied by the head of the Fukushima plant, Masao Yoshida, who described the dire conditions there following the tsunami.
"In the first week immediately after the accident I thought a few times, I'm going to die," he said.
However, he suggested that the situation there was now much better.
"I believe the plant is stabilised to the level that residents in surrounding communities can live without fear."
"But it's still very tough conditions for the recovery workers inside the complex," he added.
The government minister in charge of the clean-up operation, Goshi Hosono, was also there and made a speech to workers at the plant praising them for the progress being made.
"Every time I come back, I feel conditions have improved. This is due to your hard work," he said.
'Cold shutdown'
Large quantities of radioactive material leaked into the surrounding area following the disaster and much of the countryside around the plant is sealed-off.
The authorities are hoping to complete a "cold shutdown" of the damaged reactors by the end of the year. But it could take decades to completely decommission the plant.
Of the six reactors at Fukushima, four were badly damaged by the tsunami.
The nuclear fuel rods in reactors one, two and three melted down due to a failure of the cooling systems, causing damage to their containment structures.
There were also explosions caused by a build-up of hydrogen gas.
Completing the process of stabilising these reactors remains the main task at the plant, but the authorities have also been trying to tackle the accumulation of highly contaminated waste water in the reactor buildings.
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Saturday 12 November 2011

climate change targets

'schizophrenia' over climate change targets
, 

MPs warn of

Cottam power station 
Chancellor George Osborne says emissions reductions must not harm UK industry

The government's "schizophrenic attitude" to climate change is undermining investor confidence in low-carbon industries, MPs have warned.
The UK is committed to cutting emissions in half by 2025 but has said it will review that goal in 2014.
Climate Change Minister Greg Barker said a review was needed to ensure UK industry was not losing out by cutting much faster than the rest of Europe.
But the Environmental Audit Committee warned against sending mixed messages.
David Cameron says he wants his to be "the greenest government ever", but last week Chancellor George Osborne sparked anger among environmentalists when he told the Conservative Party conference the UK would cut emissions no faster than others in Europe, and environmental measures would not be taken at the expense of British business.
'Stroke of a pen'Earlier this year, the government signed up to the fourth in a series of tough "carbon budgets" - for the period 2023 to 2027.
Labour MP and committee chairwoman Joan Walley said the move suggested the UK really was determined to switch to a greener economy.
"Unfortunately, the government's somewhat schizophrenic attitude to climate change seems to be undermining that confidence," she said.

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Getting the rest of Europe to go further and faster in providing certainty to green investors is vital”
End Quote Greg Barker Climate Change Minister
"The chancellor's comments last week show that five years on from the Stern report, the Treasury still doesn't get climate change - or the risk it poses to global stability and economic prosperity."
Zac Goldsmith, a Conservative committee member, said policymakers must recognise "that with the stroke of a pen, they can make a good investment bad".
"Unless they provide real long-term certainty, the transition to a low-carbon economy will be slower and bumpier than it needs to be," he added.
Nick Molho, head of energy policy at WWF-UK, said: "Failing to clearly endorse the fourth carbon budget now will not only slow down urgent action on addressing climate change, it will also seriously undermine investment certainty in the UK's low-carbon sector and result in the UK missing out on the opportunity of creating hundreds of thousands of UK jobs in low-carbon manufacturing."
Mr Barker said the UK was doing more than any other nation to provide long-term certainty for those investing in the low-carbon economy.
"At the same time, it's right that we review progress towards the EU emissions goal in 2014 so that we're not disadvantaging British industry which would simply result in emissions being shipped overseas.
"Getting the rest of Europe to go further and faster in providing certainty to green investors is vital, which is why we're not letting up in pushing the EU to up its emissions reduction target to 30%."

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Cosmetologist' found guilty



'Cosmetologist' found guilty in silicon injection death

By DOUGLAS MONTERO
Last Updated: 6:02 PM, November 10, 2011
Posted: 6:01 PM, November 10, 2011


An unlicensed cosmetologist was found guilty of criminally negligent homicide today in the March 2009 death of one of her patients who was getting silicone injections in her buttocks and thigh.
The family of Elsa Then, 58, cried as the jury read the guilty verdict that could send her to jail for up to four years.
Then was arrested one month after she injected the gel-like substance into Fiordaliza Pichardo, 43, at her home in the Bruckner section of the Bronx. The next day Pichardo was admitted to a hospital where she went into cardiac arrest and died.
Pichardo’s daughter, Marinez Rodriguez had testified, “She was injecting my mother and my mother was in pain. She used a piece of Bounty paper with Crazy Glue to seal the injection site, and she actually asked me to help.”
Then will be sentenced on Dec. 12.



Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/bronx/cosmetologist_found_guilty_in_silicon_Uik9k3fSOor4kWiWXm4sNO#ixzz1dVw25guj
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Friday 11 November 2011

Nigeria Boko Haram attack 'kills 63' in Damaturu


Saturday, 5 November 2011



Map of Nigeria
A series of bomb and gun attacks in the north-eastern Nigerian town of Damaturu has killed at least 63 people, the Red Cross says.
Witnesses said the bombs hit several targets, including churches and the headquarters of the Yobe state police.
Many people are reported to have fled the town after a night of violence.
The Islamist militant group Boko Haram told a newspaper it was behind the attack and that it planned to hit further government targets.
President Goodluck Jonathan was "greatly disturbed" by the attack, and said his government was working hard to bring those "determined to derail peace and stability in the country to book", according to a spokesman.
A series of attacks on security forces in the nearby city of Maiduguri recently have also been blamed on Boko Haram.
Nigerian Red Cross official Ibrahim Bulama, in Damaturu, told the BBC at least 63 people had been killed there.


image of Jonah Fisher Jonah Fisher BBC News, Lagos 
The attack on Damaturu directly contradicts the government's oft repeated line that they are about to "solve" Nigeria's Boko Haram problem. Perhaps that is why it has been so hard to get an official comment.
Far from disappearing, Nigeria's Islamic militants appear to be evolving and gaining strength.
The attack on the United Nations building in Abuja in August shocked many because it showed Boko Haram no longer regarded their enemy as being just the Nigerian security forces.
These attacks on Damaturu are Boko Haram's bloodiest strike to date. The main target was once again the police but the scope and power of the assault certainly does not suggest a problem that's about to go away.
He said two other people had been killed in attacks elsewhere. News agencies said the nearby town of Potiskum had also been attacked.
The BBC's Jonah Fisher, in Nigeria's commercial capital, Lagos, says this attack appears to be Boko Haram's bloodiest strike to date.
People visiting morgues have reported seeing 92 bodies, says our correspondent.
An unnamed local government official in Damaturu was quoted by AFP news agency as saying that hundreds of wounded people were being treated in hospital.
Witnesses said the attacks began on Friday at about 18:30 (17:30 GMT) and lasted for about 90 minutes.
Gunmen then engaged in running battles with security forces.
'Church torched' A Roman Catholic parish priest told our correspondent his church had been burnt down and eight other churches also attacked.


Boko Haram: Timeline of terror

  • 2002: Founded
  • 2009: Hundreds killed when Maiduguri police stations stormed
  • 2009: Boko Haram leader Mohammed Yusuf captured by army, handed to police, later found dead
  • Sep 2010: Freed hundreds of prisoners from Maiduguri jail
  • Dec 2010: Bombed Jos, killing 80 people and blamed for New Year's Eve attack on Abuja barracks
  • 2010-2011: Dozens killed in Maiduguri shootings
  • May 2011: Bombed several states after president's inauguration
  • Jun 2011: Police HQ bombed in Abuja
  • Aug 2011: UN HQ bombed in Abuja
He described gangs of young men roaming the streets throwing improvised bombs into the churches.
The attacks followed a triple suicide bomb attack on a military headquarters in Maiduguri, in neighbouring Borno state.
Military officials said the three attackers had died. 
Boko Haram, which means "Western education is forbidden", has launched frequent attacks on the police and government officials.
A known spokesman for the group contacted called Nigeria's Daily Trust newspaper to claim responsibility for the attacks on Maiduguri and Damaturu. 
"We will continue attacking federal government formations until security forces stop their excesses on our members and vulnerable civilians," he said.
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autumn equinox


It's that time of year again in Britain , 6.00 a.m. in the morning and it is still very dark. The autumn equinox has passed 
and the hours of daylight are decreasing rapidly, this will continue until December 21st the shortest day of our year ,
after that the light will increase gradually peaking on June 21 next year.
Enter SAD seasonally affected disorder, or lack of daylight,
SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) is a type of winter depression that affects an estimated
7% of the UK population every winter between September and April, in particular during 
December, January and February. 
It is caused by a biochemical imbalance in the hypothalamus due to the shortening of daylight hours and the lack of sunlight in winter. 
For many people SAD is a seriously disabling illness, preventing them from functioning normally without continuous medical treatment. 
For others, it is a mild but debilitating condition causing discomfort but not severe suffering. We call this subsyndromal SAD or 'winter blues.'
It is estimated that a further 17% of the UK population have this milder form of condition.
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Hi-tech scans catch prehistoric mite hitching ride on spider


Hi-tech scans catch prehistoric mite hitching ride on spider

09 Nov 2011

Scientists have produced amazing three-dimensional images of a prehistoric mite as it hitched a ride on the back of a 50 million-year-old spider.

At just 176 micrometres long and barely visible to the naked eye, University of Manchester researchers and colleagues in Berlin believe the mite, trapped inside Baltic amber (fossil tree resin), is the smallest arthropod fossil ever to be scanned using X-ray computed tomography (CT) scanning techniques.
They say their study – published in the Royal Society journal Biology Letters today (Wednesday, 9 November) – also sets a minimum age of almost 50 million years for the evolution among these mites of phoretic, or hitchhiking, behaviour using another animal species.
“CT allowed us to digitally dissect the mite off the spider in order to reveal the important features on the underside of the mite required for identification,” said Dr David Penney, one of the study’s authors based in the Faculty of Life Sciences. “The specimen, which is extremely rare in the fossil record, is potentially the oldest record of the living family Histiostomatidae.
“Amber is a remarkable repository of ecological associations within the fossil record. In many cases organisms died instantaneously and were preserved with lifelike fidelity, still enacting their behaviour immediately prior to their unexpected demise. We often refer to this as 'frozen behaviour' or palaeoethology and such examples can tell us a great deal about interactions in ecosystems of the past. However, most amber fossils consist of individual insects or several insects together but without unequivocal demonstrable evidence of direct interaction. The remarkable specimen we describe in this paper is the kind of find that occurs only once in say a hundred thousand specimens.”


Fellow Manchester biologist Dr Richard Preziosi said: “Phoresy is where one organism uses another animal of a different species for transportation to a new environment. Such behaviour is common in several different groups today. The study of fossils such as the one we described can provide important clues as to how far back in geological time such behaviours evolved. The fact that we now have technology that was unavailable just a few years ago means we can now use a multidisciplinary approach to extract the most information possible from such tiny and awkwardly positioned fossils, which previously would have yielded little or no substantial scientific data.”
Co-author Professor Phil Withers, from Manchester’s School of Materials, said: “We believe this to be the smallest amber inclusion scanned anywhere to date. With our sub-micron phase contrast system we can obtain fantastic 3D images and compete with synchrotron x-ray systems and are revealing fossils previously inaccessible to imaging. With our nanoCT lab systems, we are now looking to push the boundaries of this technique yet further.”
Dr Jason Dunlop, from the Humboldt University, Berlin, added: "As everyone knows, mites are usually very small animals, and even living ones are difficult to work with. Fossil mites are especially rare and the particular group to which this remarkable new amber specimen belongs has only been found a handful of times in the fossil record. Yet thanks to these new techniques, we could identify numerous important features as if we were looking at a modern animal under the scanning electron microscope. Work like this is breaking down the barriers between palaeontology and zoology even further."
Ends
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