What Happens in the Brain After a Concussion

New scientific studies have shown what specifically happens to the brain when it is impacted by a concussion. For a long time, scientists have had great difficulty with observing the brain because of the thickness of the skull. Similarily, if one were to open the skull, the readings would no longer be accurate. But the scientists at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke have been able to uncover better observations of the brain simply by shaving the skull so that it is thin enough for microscopic lenses to be able to look through it. These new discoveries have found that brain damage occurs when the membranes surrounding the brain are destroyed, and specialized immune cells are released to the brain. However, these cells take a long time to reach the brain, and many brain cells die off by the time the cells reach the brain. Through this study, scientists may be able to understand concussions better, and be better prepared to aid someone who has one.
Source: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/12/18/what-happens-in-the-brain-after-a-concussion/?ref=science&_r=0

BILLIONS AND BILLIONS

We have no exact prediction about the future of our population growth. People have made guesses, but have never been correct. Thomas Malthus in the 1800s, for example, believed the human population will be always kept in check by war, pestilence, or “inevitable famine,” when the population was at one billion. Then in 1968, Paul Ehrlich published “The Population Bomb,” believing that the population will reduce significantly due to starvation. The population stood at 3.5 million at this time. However, he was wrong again. The population continued to skyrocket, and today we have over 7 billion people living on this planet. The UN believes that the estimate of humans in this world will level off at around 9 billion in 2050. Yet, we are still unsure if this is accurate enough. While we see signs in some developed countries slowing down rates of growth, some developing countries are still rising in numbers, contributing to more people on the planet.

source: http://www.newyorker.com/talk/comment/2011/10/24/111024taco_talk_kolbert

DDT exposure linked to obesity in later generations

As the title suggests, there is a direct link between the DDT insecticide and susceptibility to obesity. Michael Skinner of Washington State University has done research of DDT on rats, and has discovered significant increases in obese rats at the third generation of exposure to DDT in comparison to the first and second generations.  This discovery thus leads to a possible conclusion to our current problems in obesity, as well as other diseases, such as kidney disease, testes abnormalities, and polycystic ovarian disease.  According to Skinner, DDT exposure triggered epigenetic changes in rats, and altered DNA expression. This mutation was then passed on to the next generations. It is very important, however, to recognize that DDT has been able to control malaria in Africa, and the eradication of this insecticide could potentially kill millions of lives. Therefore, we must make a vital decision about the future use of this substance banned in the United States.

Source: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/10/23/ddt-exposure-linked-to-obesity-in-later-generations/

Some 'Healthy' Vegetable Oils May Actually Increase Risk of Heart Disease

After 4 years of Health Canada’s Food Directorate claiming that polyunsaturated vegetable oils can help prevent heart disease, scientists in Toronto have now discovered that, unlike omega-3 linolenic acids, the omega-6 linolenic acids dominant in vegetable oils do not promote beneficial health effects. In addition, tests have indicated that there is an increase in the risk of death due to this acid. Scientists have thus concluded that people should reduce their intake of vegetable oil, and try to increase the amount of omega-3 linolenic acid in their diet.
Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/11/131111122105.htm

A Jolt to Complacency on Food Supply

There is nothing more threatening to the world’s supply of food than climate change. A leaked report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a UN committee, stressed a concern of warnings about the risk of food supply due to an increase in temperatures and in carbon dioxide. At first, many of these studies have indicated the rise in carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that is a main component of climate change, would be offset by the crops that intake the gas. However, new studies have shown that the plant intake of carbon dioxide is not enough to offset the high concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Further, studies in Stanford and Columbia have shown that the rising heat is slowing down production, questioning the future of crop growth. A dearth of vital food could put the world at risk of a dangerous famine, and lead to uncontrollable riots.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/12/science/earth/warning-on-global-food-supply.html?ref=science

Do dams bring more harm or more good?

In efforts to generate cleaner and more environmentally friendly energy, China has been constructing multiple dams on its rivers. While China believes this will limit pollution, control floods, and minimize climate change, scientists beg to differ. These environmentalists argue that the dams are blocking the free flow of rivers, and destroying the ecology. However, China continues to build an excessive amount of dams despite protests from environmentalists, and these dams could lead to higher risks of earthquakes due to the dam’s flow through the geologically unstable region off the Tibetan Plateau.

Source: http://www.enn.com/wildlife/article/46634

Astronomers Find Earthlike Planet, but at 3,500 Degrees, It’s Too Hot to Visit

For the first time, astronomers have found a planet that is similar in size and material as Earth. This planet, Kepler 78b, is thought to be made out of the same mixture of rock and iron that Earth is made out of, and orbits a sun similar to that of our sun. However, it is almost impossible to visit this planet. Kepler 78b is less than a million miles from the sun, and has temperatures of about 3500 to 5000 degrees Fahrenheit, well above the temperature where rock melts.  The discovery of this planet further increases the idea that there are planets, other than earth, in the universe that can sustain life. And scientists, whether we are for it or against it, will continue to explore and discover more of the unknown universe.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/31/science/space/astronomers-find-earthlike-planet-but-its-infernally-hot.html?ref=science

Oil Companies Are Sued for Waste of Natural Gas

In North Dakota, 10 class-action lawsuits were filed against some of the United States’ largest oil companies. These companies are being sued for flaring natural gas when they extracting oil from the ground. Flaring is when companies do not have an economic incentive to build necessary gas pipelines, so they purposely burn cheap gas bubbles that go to the top of the pipe with the expensive oil. Although flaring is less harmful to the environment than releasing raw natural gas into the atmosphere, the quantities of burned gas are so large that they do have a strong impact on the carbon dioxide content in the atmosphere. However, after the lawsuit, some companies have started to plan and make efforts towards producing new pipelines or finding new ways to extract oil while reducing the gas flared. It is essential for these companies to recognize that our current environment is suffering, and  that even abundant gas should be conserved, because we don’t fully understand the effects that even these “cheap” gases have on our planet.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/18/business/energy-environment/oil-companies-are-sued-over-natural-gas-flaring-in-north-dakota.html?ref=science&_r=0

New Device Harnesses Sun and Sewage to Produce Hydrogen Fuel

Ground-breaking research by Yat Li and his team of professors at the University of California, Santa Cruz has created and discovered a new device that harnesses sun and sewage wastes to produce Hydrogen fuel.  This new device can produce hydrogen gas that provides a sustainable energy source while improving the efficiency of wastewater treatment. In fact, it treats wastewater so efficiently that it needs more wastewater to clean to produce its energy. If this is fully successful without dangerous consequences, this device could be the turning point of wastewater and energy problems, and can provide us all with the energy we need while cleaning and improving the water we drink.

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/10/131010205331.htm

Plenty of Water, but Little to Drink

Planet earth has a lot of water. In fact, most of the planet’s surface is covered with it. However, less than 5 percent of earth’s water is fresh. Most of that freshwater is either in ice sheets in the polar caps, or deep underground stored in aquifers. Through studies of history, it is highly possible that societies could only be established if water could be an economic or cultural power. For example, there were water storages in ancient Sumerian culture, terra cotta pipes in Athens, and aqueducts in Rome. This further proves the essence of water for society to survive in the present day. It is important for all human being to cut the amount of water used because it won’t be long until clean water becomes so scarce that prodigious wars are fought for it.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/08/science/earth/four-books-explore-humans-relationship-with-water.html?ref=science&_r=0

Arizona Irrigators Share Water with Desert River

In Arizona, there are new irrigation systems in the Verde River being used to help lift river flows by 50-100 percent in some parts of the river. It is fairly simple, inexpensive, and helps the environment of the region significantly. The old system included ditches that brought the water to farms and property by gravity. But because so many people did this, a large amount of water would not flow directly on the path carved out by the river itself. After water flowed through the user’s property, there was some water that was not used, and it flowed back into the river several miles later. Thus, the portion of the river beyond the ditches was starting to dry up quickly. In response to this, irrigators built automatic ditch gates that have sensors to monitor water levels. Powered by small solar panels, these gates deliver reasonable amounts of water to the users, and save some of the water for the river as well. By seeing the Verde River users willing to come together to help conserve the environment, the rich and diverse ecosystem of the river has been saved. This further proves that even the little efforts made by humans to help conserve the environment can have a great impact on the ecosystem.

Source: http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2013/09/03/arizona-irrigators-share-water-with-desert-river/

Rain Forest Plants Race to Outrun Global Warming

          New studies show that trees in the Andes Mountains are trying to adapt to the changing climate by reproducing at higher locations on mountains, where the air is cool enough to support their existence.  Unfortunately, they might not be moving fast enough up the hills to adapt to the climate change. The average tree species are shifting at about 8 to 12 feet up a mountain per year. Because of rising temperatures, trees have to shift over 20 feet per year to remain at their desired temperature. Researchers believe that more than 50 percent of current tropical species could die off by 2100 or sooner. 

          However, there are ways these species could be saved. One way is to implement policies to sharply reduce greenhouse gases, especially in the United States and China, where more than 40 percent of greenhouse gases are dispersed. Additionally, countries with rich tropical forests need to protect their forests, instead of mining and drilling for natural resources underneath them.

Source: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/09/130915-climate-change-amazon-rain-forest-science/

Proposal to Protect Antarctic Waters Is Scaled Back

          Last year, the US and New Zealand proposed a plan to create an 875,000 sq mi ocean reserve in the Antarctic waters, but was denied by the Russians and other counties with fishing industries. Countries such as Russia, Ukraine, and Japan, rely on fishing, and do not wish to restrict their fishing boundaries as it directly impacts and lowers their economies. In an effort to compromise, New Zealand last week proposed to reduce the size of the reserve by up to 40% to gain support from fishing nations. However, environmentalists believe that reducing the reserve by up to 40%, the Southern Ocean would not have the adequate protection it needs. This region in the Southern Ocean is known to have a large biodiversity, which encompasses several thousands of species, including whales, seals, penguins, small fish, and other aquatic animals.

          The UN conference in 2010 pledged to protect 10 percent of the world’s oceans by 2020; however, less than 1 percent is protected today. Protecting the world’s oceans is a controversial issue, but hopefully the world can compromise to protect the environment for the future of earth.

Source:                                                         http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/11/world/proposal-to-protect-antarctic-waters-is-scaled-back.html?ref=science&_r=0#h[]