ESA produces greenhouse gas movies
BREMEN, Germany, March 20 (UPI) -- European scientists have used satellite data to produce the first movies showing the global distribution of the most important greenhouse gases.
Researchers used three years of data from the European Space Agency's Envisat satellite to depict the distribution of carbon dioxide and methane, the two most important contributors to global warming.
The SCIAMACHY -- Scanning Imaging Absorption Spectrometer for Atmospheric Chartogra -- instrument is the first space sensor capable of measuring the most important greenhouse gases with high sensitivity down to the Earth's surface.
The movie was produced for the ESA by Michael Buchwitz and Oliver Schneising of the Institute of Environmental Physics at the University of Bremen in Germany, led by Professor John Burrows, from SCIAMACHY observations taken 2003-05.
The research is among several studies concerning greenhouse gases to be featured next month during the 2007 Envisat Symposium in Montreux, Switzerland.
Interplanetary supply chains considered
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., March 20 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists engaged in NASA-funded research have created a software tool for modeling interplanetary supply chains.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers Olivier de Weck and David Simchi-Levi created SpaceNet, a tool designed to help the National Aeronautics and Space Administration establish a long-term human presence on the moon.
To make such a scenario possible, a reliable stream of consumables such as fuel, food and oxygen and spare parts would have to be transported from the Earth to the moon as predictably as in an Earth-based delivery system.
"Increasingly, there is a realization that crewed space missions, such as the International Space Station or the buildup of a lunar outpost, should not be treated as isolated missions but rather as an integrated supply chain," said de Weck.
A reliable supply chain, he said, would improve exploration capability and the quality of scientific results, while minimizing transportation costs and reducing risks to crew members.
SpaceNet evaluates the capability of vehicles to carry pressurized and unpressurized cargo; simulating the flow of vehicles, crew and supply items through the trajectories of a space supply network.
SpaceNet information is available at spacelogistics.mit.edu.
FDA OKs drug to treat rare blood disorder
WASHINGTON, March 20 (UPI) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Soliris (eculizumab), the first drug produced for the treatment of a rare blood disorder.
The disorder, paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria, or PNH, can lead to disability and premature death. Soliris is classified as an orphan drug -- a pharmaceutical developed to treat fewer than 200,000 people. Orphan status gives the drug's manufacturer a seven-year period in which to exclusively market the compound.
Soliris, is manufactured by Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Cheshire, Conn.
"This product is important in that it offers a treatment other than blood transfusion that may help this small population of patients who are often very ill," said Dr. Steven Galson, director of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.
PNH, which usually develops in adults, is a disease characterized by red blood cells that develop abnormally Depending upon the severity of the disorder, patients with PNH may experience pain, fatigue, debilitating weakness, blood clots, and life-threatening or fatal strokes, heart attacks and intestinal disease. They often need frequent blood transfusions.
Soliris does not cure PNH, but treats the breakdown of red blood cells.
Next generation of LEDs developed
OAK RIDGE, Tenn., March 20 (UPI) -- U.S. government scientists are experimenting with polymers and organic molecules in projects designed to create more efficient light-emitting diodes.
Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, in collaboration with the University of Tennessee, believe the thin films of polymers will improve the next generation of LED devices.
LEDs are most commonly used in traffic signals, vehicle taillights, cell phone displays and other small-screen devices.
At ORNL, researchers are developing electrodes composed of carbon nanotubes and magnetic nanowires to enhance the light emission from polymer-based organic LEDs -- those made from carbon-based molecules and not semiconductors.
In early tests, carbon nanotubes improved the electroluminescence efficiency of polymer LEDs by a factor of four and reduced the energy required to operate them. Magnetic nanowires and dots have been shown to help control the spin of electrons injected into the LEDs to further improve efficiency and reliability.
The researchers hope to create a technology that consumes less than half the power of today's LEDs and opens the door for their practical use in household lighting.
