UPI NewsTrack Health and Science News

NASA prepares for GOES-O launch

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., June 16 (UPI) -- The U.S. space agency is preparing to launch the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-O from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

The liftoff of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's GOES-O satellite is targeted for June 16, during a 6:14 a.m. to 7:14 a.m. EDT launch window.

"Launching GOES-O will contribute the data needed for accurate NOAA forecasts for severe weather, including hurricanes that threaten at least 35 million Americans living in areas vulnerable to land-falling hurricanes," Steve Kirkner, GOES program manager at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Goddard Space Flight Center, said.

The space agency said GOES-O will be the second spacecraft to be launched in the GOES N Series of geostationary environmental weather satellites. The satellites provide continuous observations of 60 percent of the Earth including the continental United States, providing weather monitoring and forecast operations as well as a continuous stream of environmental information.

NOAA manages the GOES program, establishes requirements, provides all funding and distributes environmental satellite data for the United States. NASA manages the design, development and launch of the satellites for NOAA.

Immune cells lessen cardiac damage in mice

BERLIN, June 16 (UPI) -- German medical scientists have discovered certain immune cells can ameliorate hypertension-induced cardiac damage in mice.

Researchers at the Max Delbruck Center in Berlin said they found a specific type of immune cell -- the regulatory T lymphocyte cell -- plays an important role in hypertension-induced cardiac damage.

The injected Treg cells they harvested from donor mice and injected into recipient mice were infused with angiotensin II, a blood pressure-raising peptide. The study showed Tregs had no influence on the blood pressure response to angiotensin II, but cardiac enlargement, fibrosis and inflammation were sharply reduced by the treatment.

Furthermore, the scientists said the tendency to develop abnormal heart rhythms that could lead to sudden cardiac death was also reduced.

The researchers -- Dr. Heda Kvakan and Dominik Muller -- said they do not intend Treg as a therapy. However, they said their research provides a better understanding of how the immune system fits into hypertension-induced organ damage.

Their findings are reported in the June 9 issue of the journal Circulation.

Study: Radiologists need vision standards

BALTIMORE, June 16 (UPI) -- A U.S. study suggests radiologists, like pilots, should be required to undergo regular vision testing.

The University of Maryland School of Medicine research determined approximately 50 percent of 48 radiologists surveyed don't recall ever having their vision tested or it had been two years or longer since their last vision exam.

"Of the 48 participating radiologists, eight could not recall ever having their vision examined," Dr. Nabile Safdar, lead author of the study, said. "Fourteen of the participants reported that their last eye examinations were 24 months or more in the past. One radiologist even indicated it had been 15 years since his last eye examination."

Safdar said the visual acuity of the participants ranged from 20/30 to 20/10.

"Physicians and patients depend on the ability of radiologists to accurately discriminate findings and render appropriate diagnoses based on these findings," he said. "Although the variation we found in visual acuity among radiologists is unlikely to have an influence on clinical diagnostic performance, as radiologists we may have a responsibility to our patients and ourselves to make sure our vision is as good as possible. In the future, professional guidelines should be considered to ensure optimal visual accuracy."

The study appears in the American Journal of Roentgenology.

New cell phone technology is created

DURHAM, N.C., June 16 (UPI) -- U.S. engineers have created a technology that allows a person to write a note in the air with their cell phone and send the message to an e-mail address.

Duke University engineering researchers said their invention is designed for people who have their hands full of items -- briefcase, laptop, a coat or luggage -- who need to make a note, but don't want to stop and put down all of the items they're carrying.

The technology makes use of the accelerometers in cell phones -- devices that not only keep track of the phone's movements, but make it possible for display screens to rotate from landscape to portrait modes depending on how the phone is moved.

"By holding the phone like a pen, you can write short messages or draw simple diagrams in the air," computer engineering student said Sandip Agrawal, who, with Duke graduate student Ionut Constandache, developed the PhonePoint Pen.

"The accelerometer converts the gestures to images, which can be sent to any e-mail address for future reference," Constandache added. "The potential uses are practically limitless."

The prototype is expected to be available for download within the next few months.