UPI NewsTrack Health and Science News
Published: March 26, 2008 at 5:44 PM
Cassini finds organic matter on Enceladus
PASADENA, Calif., March 26 (UPI) -- The U.S. space agency's Cassini spacecraft has identified organic material erupting from Saturn's moon Enceladus.
The data was obtained during a close March 12 flyby through a geyser erupting from the moon's surface. Scientists said they were amazed to discover the tiny moon is so active and brimming with water vapor and organic chemicals.
Hunter Waite of the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, the principal investigator for Cassini's ion and neutral mass spectrometer, said Enceladus' chemistry was a "completely unexpected surprise" and raises many questions about the formation of the Saturn system.
Dennis Matson, Cassini project scientist added: "Enceladus has got warmth, water and organic chemicals, some of the essential building blocks needed for life. We have quite a recipe for life on our hands, but we have yet to find the final ingredient, liquid water, but Enceladus is only whetting our appetites for more."
At closest approach, Cassini was 30 miles from the moon's surface. Cassini's next flyby of Enceladus will occur in August.
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the European and Italian space agencies.
Fruit fly brains aid medical researchers
COLUMBIA, Mo., March 26 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists have discovered a mechanism in fruit fly memory development that might benefit Parkinson's disease patients.
A University of Missouri researcher studying Drosophila, a type of fruit fly, found that by manipulating levels of certain compounds, key genes related to memory can be isolated and tested.
Assistant Professor Troy Zars said the results of his study might also eventually lead to discoveries in the treatment of depression.
"The implication for human health is that it could influence our understanding of the cognitive decline associated with Parkinson's disease and depression in humans," said Zars. "This research is important because by studying a simple brain, it will help us ultimately understand complex neural systems."
The research appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Study reports more global warming evidence
BOULDER, Colo., March 26 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers have used satellite imagery to determine a large part of the Antarctic ice shelf is disintegrating as result of climate change.
Scientists at the University of Colorado-Boulder's National Snow and Ice Data Center said satellite pictures show a 160-square-mile portion of Antarctica's massive Wilkins Ice Shelf has begun to collapse because of rapid climate change in a fast-warming region of the continent.
While the area of collapse involves 160 square miles, a large part of the 5,000-square-mile ice shelf is now supported only by a narrow strip of ice between two islands, said Ted Scambos, lead scientist at the NSIDC. "If there is a little bit more retreat, this last 'ice buttress' could collapse and we'd likely lose about half the total ice shelf area in the next few years."
During the past 50 years, the western Antarctic Peninsula has experienced the biggest temperature increase on Earth, rising by 0.9 degrees Fahrenheit per decade, the researchers said.
The satellite images indicate the Wilkins Ice Shelf began its collapse Feb. 28.
Low radon gas levels might be beneficial
WORCESTER, Mass., March 26 (UPI) -- Scientists have found exposure to the low levels of radon gas found in most U.S. homes might cut the risk of developing lung cancer by up to 60 percent.
The study by researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, the Fallon Clinic and Fallon Community Health Plan, is said to be the first to observe a statistically significant hormetic effect of low-level radon exposure.
Home exposure to radon, a naturally occurring radioactive decay product of radium, has been thought to be the second leading cause of lung cancer, after cigarette smoking. Chemically inert, it can percolate from the ground into basements.
"It is important to note that these new results do not dispute the lung cancer risk associated with higher levels of radon exposure … ," said Donald Nelson, now professor emeritus of physics at WPI who initiated the study during the 1990s.
"Nevertheless, the results represent a dramatic departure from previous results and beliefs," added Nelson. "Of course, a single epidemiological study is seldom regarded as definitive, so our results point to the need for new studies using our techniques."
The research appears in the March issue of the journal Health Physics.
PASADENA, Calif., March 26 (UPI) -- The U.S. space agency's Cassini spacecraft has identified organic material erupting from Saturn's moon Enceladus.
The data was obtained during a close March 12 flyby through a geyser erupting from the moon's surface. Scientists said they were amazed to discover the tiny moon is so active and brimming with water vapor and organic chemicals.
Hunter Waite of the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, the principal investigator for Cassini's ion and neutral mass spectrometer, said Enceladus' chemistry was a "completely unexpected surprise" and raises many questions about the formation of the Saturn system.
Dennis Matson, Cassini project scientist added: "Enceladus has got warmth, water and organic chemicals, some of the essential building blocks needed for life. We have quite a recipe for life on our hands, but we have yet to find the final ingredient, liquid water, but Enceladus is only whetting our appetites for more."
At closest approach, Cassini was 30 miles from the moon's surface. Cassini's next flyby of Enceladus will occur in August.
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the European and Italian space agencies.
Fruit fly brains aid medical researchers
COLUMBIA, Mo., March 26 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists have discovered a mechanism in fruit fly memory development that might benefit Parkinson's disease patients.
A University of Missouri researcher studying Drosophila, a type of fruit fly, found that by manipulating levels of certain compounds, key genes related to memory can be isolated and tested.
Assistant Professor Troy Zars said the results of his study might also eventually lead to discoveries in the treatment of depression.
"The implication for human health is that it could influence our understanding of the cognitive decline associated with Parkinson's disease and depression in humans," said Zars. "This research is important because by studying a simple brain, it will help us ultimately understand complex neural systems."
The research appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Study reports more global warming evidence
BOULDER, Colo., March 26 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers have used satellite imagery to determine a large part of the Antarctic ice shelf is disintegrating as result of climate change.
Scientists at the University of Colorado-Boulder's National Snow and Ice Data Center said satellite pictures show a 160-square-mile portion of Antarctica's massive Wilkins Ice Shelf has begun to collapse because of rapid climate change in a fast-warming region of the continent.
While the area of collapse involves 160 square miles, a large part of the 5,000-square-mile ice shelf is now supported only by a narrow strip of ice between two islands, said Ted Scambos, lead scientist at the NSIDC. "If there is a little bit more retreat, this last 'ice buttress' could collapse and we'd likely lose about half the total ice shelf area in the next few years."
During the past 50 years, the western Antarctic Peninsula has experienced the biggest temperature increase on Earth, rising by 0.9 degrees Fahrenheit per decade, the researchers said.
The satellite images indicate the Wilkins Ice Shelf began its collapse Feb. 28.
Low radon gas levels might be beneficial
WORCESTER, Mass., March 26 (UPI) -- Scientists have found exposure to the low levels of radon gas found in most U.S. homes might cut the risk of developing lung cancer by up to 60 percent.
The study by researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, the Fallon Clinic and Fallon Community Health Plan, is said to be the first to observe a statistically significant hormetic effect of low-level radon exposure.
Home exposure to radon, a naturally occurring radioactive decay product of radium, has been thought to be the second leading cause of lung cancer, after cigarette smoking. Chemically inert, it can percolate from the ground into basements.
"It is important to note that these new results do not dispute the lung cancer risk associated with higher levels of radon exposure … ," said Donald Nelson, now professor emeritus of physics at WPI who initiated the study during the 1990s.
"Nevertheless, the results represent a dramatic departure from previous results and beliefs," added Nelson. "Of course, a single epidemiological study is seldom regarded as definitive, so our results point to the need for new studies using our techniques."
The research appears in the March issue of the journal Health Physics.
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This material may not be reproduced, redistributed, or manipulated in any form.
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Low radon gas levels might be beneficial
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