Current event 9

Radiation sickness treatment shows promise

Author:  Rachel Ehrenberg

Source: Science News

URL:http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/336443/title/Radiation_sickness_treatment_shows_promise

Date Published: Nov. 23^rd, 2011

Exposure to high dose radiation, just like in nuclear power plant accidents or after explosions of atomic bombs, is the cause of radiation sickness. It is a fatal disease as the bone marrow - the basic source of human immune system - is usually first destroyed, so the body is not able to fight even ordinary microbial infections. That’s why bone marrow transplantation is usually only way to cure this dangerous disease.  Scientists from the Harvard Medical School have just presented the results of the research that shows the other, less invasive way to cure radiation sickness. Mice were exposed to high dose radiation and then divided in two groups. The first group of mice received combination of antibiotic and a protein that is naturally made by immune system. The second group of mice didn’t receive any medication.  After one month, 80 % of mice from the first group survived, while all mice from the second group were dead.  There is no doubt  this study could change medical approach to radiation sickness treatment in the future.

The danger of nuclear power plant accident is very small, but real, as it recently happened in Fukushima, Japan.  Such accidents could be potentially harmful  for human society and it is possible to expect  many people suffering of radiation sickness at the same time.  I am glad to be informed about the new achievements in medicine and that there is the way to cure once considered a hopeless disease. On the other hand I still stay on position that it would be better for mankind to give up of nuclear power.

States of Matter

                                                          ^                       ^
                                                      I made a mistake here! 
                        I made a mistake here! Solids have a definite shape and mass! 






Gases, liquids and solids are states of matter. Liquids and solids are very similar: both have a definite volume and mass, slight expansion and low compressibility. The only thing gases, liquids and solids have in common is mass; all of them have a definite one. No matter how different or similar these states of matter might be they make all of the "stuff" around us.

Current event 8

Large asteroid makes rare fly-by of Earth

Author: Roger Highfield

Source: The Telegraph

URL: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/space/8878334/Large-asteroid-makes-rare-fly-by-of-Earth.html

Date Article Written: 09 Nov 2011

A spherical shaped asteroid whose diameter is around 400 m passed by some 560 kilometers southwest of Guatemala City  on Nov.09^th 2011 7:58 AM GMT ( Greenwich  Mean Time ).  Although, most of the people weren’t aware that it was the closest fly by to our planet in the passed 200 years, many astronomers were well prepared.  It was possible to see gray colored “space rock” only with a very good telescope.   NASA (The National Aeronautics and Space Administration )  with its sophisticated technology even made radar  photos of this asteroid. It was discovered in 2005 by Mr. Robert Mc Millan, the member of a solar system scanning group of scientists near Tucson, Arizona. The name of asteroid is 2005 YU 55.  This asteroid is one of potentially dangerous because it's orbit crosses the Earth’s orbit from time to time. Theoretically, it could hit the Earth once, but scientific analyses shows that it won’t be possible in the near future. Next close “meeting” with this asteroid will be in 2094. There is the hypothesis that the origin of carbon and many other elements on our planet is from very  similar asteroids that crashed on the  Earh’s surface  millions years before.                                                                                                  

Asteroid 2005 YU55 Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech/PA

               

This article is strongly connected with Astronomy, a very important part of the science. It offers a reasonable explanation about the link of the Earths resources with asteroids. I am amazed with the achievements of the present Astronomy and the possibillities to follow and accurately predict most of the events in the Solar system.  I am just wondering what would be happen in case of possible asteroid hitting. Is it possible to destroy such an asteroid before it crashes on the Earth's surface with today's technology? 

Current Event 7

Did Columbus contribute to a Little Ice Age?

Source: Science News for Kids

URL: http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/2011/11/did-columbus-contribute-to-a-little-ice-age/

Author: Stephen Ornes

Date Published: Nov. 2, 2011

The Earth’s climate between the 16^th and 19^th century  was changed in quite the opposite direction comparing to the present climate state. That period of time is called Little Ice Age because there was a certain drop of the average  atmosphere temperature which enabled formation of glaciers  in the region of North Europe and  also increased thickness and amount of ice of the Arctic and the Antarctic. The group of  scientists ( geologists and geochemists ) finished their research in which they measured  the carbon dioxide concentration in bubbles trapped in ice frozen in different periods on Antarctica. They noticed that carbon dioxide concentration in the  ice, formed in the  Little Ice Age is much lower than in the older and newer era. They think that the human factor again was dominant for such a difference.  That historic period is famous by the great migration of European people to America since Christopher Columbus discovered “ the new continent “ . Europeans brought quite new diseases like Small pox which significantly reduced the number of native Americans and left deserted  plenty of their agricultural fields. Year after year new forests were growing  instead of fields on territory bigger then present California  . As trees absorbs carbon dioxide to make oxygen, it could be the main reason for less CO2 in the Earth’s atmosphere for  long period of time.  Reforestation of America had great impact on  cooling of the Earth in the Little Ice Age and it was probably man made. 

 It seems that remodeling of nature by humans has great impact to the climate changes. The abundance of forests in America which reduced the CO2 atmosphere concentration is possible explanation for Little Ice Age, but present reduction of forests with high emission of CO2 by industry and motor vehicles is the reason of global heating. It’s very interesting that the humans were responsible for the climate changes even in the 14^th century !