Author Archives: Srinivas Chakravarty

Godless Virus May Have Affected 4 Lakh Android Phones in India: Trend Micro

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The new mobile malware "Godless" has affected nearly 4 lakh devices in India and about a million devices worldwide, said a report from cyber-security firm Trend Micro.

In the report titled "Mobile App Reputation Service", it said the "Godless" malicious software, found in all app stores including Google Play, hides inside an app and operates on the root of the operating system (OS), opening up the admin access to outside devices. "It contains various exploits to ensure it can root a device and it can even install spyware," said the report. It has been designed to exploit the Android devices in endless ways and those devices running on Android 5.1 (Lollipop) or earlier versions are vulnerable.

Once the "Godless" malware finishes its rooting, it cannot be uninstalled easily. "When downloading apps, users should always review the developer. Unknown developers with very little or no background information may be the source of these malicious apps.Users should also have secure mobile security that can mitigate mobile malware," said Nilesh Jain, Country Manager for India, Trend Micro.

According to Strategy Analytics, Google-owned Android dominated the global smartphone market since 2014 with 1 billion units shipped worldwide. It accounts for 81 percent of all smartphones shipped in 2014, followed by Apple with 15 percent market share and Microsoft with 3 percent at third.

“Many users choose Android over other OS-based devices because first, the devices can be relatively cheap; second, it’s known for fast and efficient data storage and third, it’s available across different form factors, brands, and price points," says Paul Oliveria, researcher of Trend Micro. Android is also popular among mobile developers and manufacturers for its capacity to house innovative app development without licensing fees, and sporting a simple and powerful Software Development Kit (SDK).

Here are some tips to keep Android Phones Safe and Secure:

Lock the screen – Enabling a screen unlock code will prevent a device thief from accessing your mobile data.

Protect your data – Android virtually comes with pre-installed security measures that can be easily accessed and enabled from the security submenu. The Android security screen also includes an option to encrypt the device. Enabling this option will help protect sensitive information stored in the device.

Strengthen passwords and app permissions – Google does a fine job at synching their updates with Android devices. However, some manufacturers take a little more time to update. Remember to check the features that you allow the app to access, and don’t forget to use strong and unique passwords. If you re-use your passwords, hackers can effortlessly guess the passwords on your other accounts.

Install a security app – It’s always a good idea to make use of security apps. An app that offers anti-theft features like remote wipe-out, tracking, and locking, as well as malware scanning and detection can help mitigate potential threats. For example, Trend Micro Mobile Security is a security app for Android phone and Android tablet, which blocks malicious apps from Google Play before they are installed; guards against identity theft and viruses; blocks dangerous and fraudulent websites; protects your privacy on Facebook; protects kids online; and even extends battery life and optimizes device performance and memory.

Connect to secure networks – Whenever you go online using a network you don’t know, such as public Wi-Fi, you should be more careful because unsecured Wi-Fi networks can be used to stage man-in-the-middle attacks where data can be intercepted by a third party. Avoid online banking, financials, and purchasing over public networks. If you use Wi-Fi at home, please make sure you use a password to secure your router.

Avoid rooting your device – Before rooting your Android device, consider the pros and cons first. While it allows you more control over your device, it could also allow unsigned apps, including malicious ones, access to your data. This also makes it difficult to patch and update your OS and apps, which could leave your device vulnerable.

Download from official app stores – Downloading from third-party sites or app stores is one of the easiest ways for any mobile device to get infected with malware. Limiting your apps to those from official or trusted app stores (like the Google Play app store) can lower the risks.

India’s Environment Activists Launch #NoMore50 Campaign

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The launch of the #NoMore50 campaign calling for stronger and higher penalties for animal cruelty kicked off on Thursday, May 12 with several parliamentarians and celebrities joining hands for the campaign.

The campaign includes a series of videos from Indian celebrities, including Usha Uthup, Sudesh Bhosle, Anup Jalota, Tara Sharma, Arman Mallik and others, urging the Ministry of Environment to increase punishment for animal cruelty in the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960. #NoMore50 is a campaign from Humane Society International/India and People for Animals.

View the videos here

The penalty in the PCA Act for killing, mutilating and maiming an animal has never been revised. Animal abusers have taken advantage of this feeble law and have continued to inflict unsurmountable amount of cruelty on animals. Currently, the maximum penalty even for the most heinous form of animal abuse is a petty Rs 50.

Poonam Mahajan, MP from North Mumbai, has introduced a private members bill seeking an increase in the penalties for animal cruelty through an amendment of the PCA Act. Leaders from different political parties like Shashi Tharoor, Baijayant ‘Jay’ Panda, Satyapal Singh, Varun Gandhi, Meenakshi Lekhi and several others already support the campaign.

Harish Iyer, director of strategic partnerships for HSI/India, said, “It gives us immense strength to see that people from all walks of life are making a strong statement against animal abuse in the country. The penalties in the PCA Act, in its current framework, serve no purpose to protect and benefit animals. We hope that with this massive support we are able to move the government to introduce the much needed amendment in the PCA Act.”

Now Googlemap Shows JNU When You Search for ‘Sedition’, ‘Antinational’

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Google Map Makes JNU Symbol for Sedition, Antinational Search Strings Now.

Goole, which has some top brains in its Headquarters from JNU should be ashamed that its search engine etiquette surpasses basic tenets of slander and defame against an institution like Jawaharlal Nehru University for pointing at it for its Google Map search for sedition and antinational key words.

As shown in the image here, when you type the two words, JNU campus gate pops up as the answer and a red marker on JNU campus vividly shows Google’s endorsement of the campus for these search strings. Google Maps was either hacked or someone had intentionally made it to defame the campus, which has been defamed by the government crackdown on its students recently.

Despite Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s remarks in parliament, JNU has been the victim of hatred spread by the government crackdown based on ill-found videos in circulation or aired by ZeeNews recently and now that the case is sub-judice, the BJP-ruled government is awaiting a bigger onslaught on the campus on social media with Google falling in line.

JNU student leader Kanhaiya Kumar and two other JNU students were last month arrested for sedition and freed on bail later but the damage brought upon the unique institution of the country has been dented forever, thanks to Delhi Police which too has sevveral officers from JNU and no political party nor an educational institution has been without a JNU alumni.

The JNU Students’ Union (JNUSU) has asked the administration to file a formal complaint with Google. “We have been protesting against the branding of an institution as anti-national and now the search giant has gone a step ahead in certifying that,” said Shehla Rashid Vora, Vice President of JNUSU.

Last year, similar faux pas by Google angered the BJP when top 10 criminals string popped up Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s name.

Otherwise, JNU is already under duress from the over-vigilant administration which is raiding hostel rooms and even lecture rooms frequently. When students of the Centre of Law and Governance were recently viewing a movie by Anand Patwardhan, “Father, Son and Holy war”, the administration raided the lecture room apprehensive about screening some illegal movie. That is the state of affairs in the top univeristy of the country and the knee-jerk reaction of its benevolent administration.

God Save JNU!

Weight Loss, Diabetes Interlinked, Says New Study

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Since diabetes can only be controlled by an individual either by medicines, diet contrl or regular exercise, experts have come out with the finding that diabetes can be reversed if people who reversed it keep their weight considerably low.

A study by Roy Taylor at the Newcastle University showed that those with Type 2 diabetes who were able to loose their weight could also successfully reverse the chronic ailment because the excess fat remooved from the pancreas helped normal production of insulin.

The researchers studied 30 volunteers who have Type 2 diabetes for 10 years or less and found that it may not apply to those with more than 10 years of chronic ailment. Out of 30 volunteers, 12 had the ailment for less than 10 years and were able to reverse their condition and remain free from diabetes after six months, said the study published in Diabetes Care.

The volunteers reducedd their weight by a strict diet of 600 to 700 calories per day, mostly consisting of three diet shakes per day and 240 grams of non-starchy vegetables for 8 weeks. Later they returned to their normal food but within the control regime for next two weeks. Later, they ate only one-third of their normal food to maintain their weight loss.

For those who had diabetes for over 10 years, Taylor has an advice: “If you had the diagnosis for longer than that, then don’t give up hope – major improvement in blood sugar control is possible.”

Explaining the Personal Fat Threshold theory, he said:“If a person gains more weight than they personally can tolerate, then diabetes is triggered, but if they lose that amount of weight then they go back to normal.” It depends on each individual as to how much weight they can afford to keep their metabolism in tact, said Taylor.

Even 70% of those who are obese are not necessarily diabetics. Even the 13 volunteers who reversed their condition were either overweight or obese, but their insulin production levels remained the same, he explained. Taylor is planning a bigger sample of 280 volunteers to study the finding in-depth.

About two-thirds of American adults are overweight or obese, facing an increased risk for diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, osteoarthritis, stroke, gallbladder disease, sleep apnea and respiratory problems, while India is also increasingly facing the problem of obesity and overweight, thanks to modern life and TV viewing by kids and adults alike.

World Water Day 2016: Will Jobs Ever be Created?

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As World Water Day is observed on March 22 since 1993 with the theme designated by the UN — "Better water, better jobs", several organisations such as UN-WATER and UN-HABITAT are organising the day officially on behest of the UN.

While the UN says that a billion people around the world still do not have access to safe drinking water, it has focused on creating more jobs related to water this year.

"Today, almost half of the world’s workers – 1.5 billion people – work in water related sectors and nearly all jobs depend on water and those that ensure its safe delivery. Yet the millions of people who work in water are often not recognized or protected by basic labour rights. The theme in 2016 — water and jobs — is focusing on how enough quantity and quality of water can change workers’ lives and livelihoods – and even transform societies and economies," it said.

The UN video on water revealed that half of all workers on Earth were employed in water-related sectors, though many of them were unrecognized and unprotected. The World Water Day is observed to create awareness about conservation and protection of water resources.

Also, a number of NGOs promoting water conservation, water harvesting and sustainable aquatic habitats organize activities to focus public awareness, attention and action on the local water issues.

Here are some key facts according to Water.org:

WATER


1 in 10 people lack access to safe water

SANITATION

1 in 3 people lack access to a toilet

WOMEN & CHILDREN

Women and children spend 125 million hours each day collecting water

DISEASE

Every 90 seconds a child dies from a water-related disease

ECONOMICS

Every $1 invested in water and sanitation provides a $4 economic return

Breast Cancer-Causing Gene Identified

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Breast Cancer-Causing Gene Identified

A gene called GT198, known for its ability to repair DNA, is actually causing breast cancer, found scientists hoping that it may help in diagnosing breast cancer early, said Dr. Lan Ko, cancer biologist in the Department of Pathology at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University and at the Georgia Cancer Center at AU.

Mutations of the gene are known to be present in both early onset breast and ovarian cancer. Now scientists have shown that the stem, or progenitor cells, which should ultimately make healthy breast tissue, can also have GT198 mutations that prompt them to instead make a perfect bed for breast cancer.

Their studies, published in the American Journal of Pathology, were done on an international sampling from 254 cases of breast cancer in pre- and postmenopausal women.

"This gene mutation can be in both the blood and the tumor tissue of patients, and in the tissue, it’s in high percentages," said Ko, the study’s corresponding author. "We believe that once this gene is mutated, it induces the tumor to grow."

GT198, which is also a coactivator of receptors for steroid hormones such as estrogen, is normally regulated by estrogen, Ko said. But once mutated, GT198 can enable tumor production without estrogen. "Regardless of how much hormone you have, it’s out-of-control growth," Ko said of the resulting classic, rapid growth of cancer.

In a cancerous breast, scientists have seen the problems with the various components of breast tissue but could not fully explain why they happened. The tissue, called the stroma, includes fat cells, or adipocytes, that provide padding; fibroblasts, which make the framework for tissue; pericytes in blood vessels, which are contractile cells that help regulate blood pressure; as well as myoepithelial cells comprising the outer layer of the ductal system through which milk flows.

The new study backs up a few steps and shows that mutated GT198 also directly affects stem cells found on blood vessels that make these various components of breast tissue. "This puts it together," Ko said.

"It’s a new target in cancer. It’s very exciting," said Dr. Nita Maihle, MCG cancer biologist, associate center director for education at the university’s Cancer Center and a study co-author. "This tells you that all the different types of stromal cells in breast tissue are affected by the GT198 mutation because they all come from a common progenitor cell."

Ko first cloned the human GT198 gene while a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Medical School. All cells have the GT198 gene but most adult cells don’t express it. In the breast, for example, it may be transiently expressed in a pregnant woman preparing for milk production and, potentially, in the case of breast injury. Males express it in the testes.

Ductal breast cancer, which is in the ducts that carry milk, is the most common type of breast cancer and lobular carcinoma, which begins in the milk-producing glands, is the second most common. Most breast cancer comes from the cells that line those ducts, Maihle said.

BRCA1 and 2, genes whose proteins are supposed to work as tumor suppressors and also repair DNA damage, were the first known risk factor genes for familial breast cancer as well as ovarian and other cancers. About 4 percent of familial breast cancers would include inherited mutations of GT198, which is also considered a causative gene in sporadic cases, Ko said.

[tags, breast cancer, cause, gt198 gene, cause behind breast cancer, isolated]

Drinking Beer as Medicine Not Our Suggestion: Kristopher Waynant (Exclusive)

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Despite its post-drink acidic effect on stomach, beer has always been under radar for many scientists and the latest finding is that it could be used in treating cancer as it contains hops, which taste bitter but give beer its unique taste.

Hops contain acid compunds known as humulones and lupulones (alpha and beta acids, respectively), which are found in the soft resin material of the female hop cone. Hops have been used in beer brewing for thousands of years. During wort boiling, in the beer brewing process, the alpha acids isomerize to isohumulones (cis and trans) which are the main bittering agents in beer, explains Kristopher Waynant of University of Idaho in US.

"Hop extracts (as well as isolated humulones and lupulones) have shown a wide variety of health benefits (I have attached a semi recent review). Many studies have shown that theyse compounds or extracts possess anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer activity (mostly in vitro), and COX-2 inhibition, in addition to their well-documented antibacterial properties," wrote Waynant in an exclusive email interview to India International Times.

"I am also aware of a company in Seattle (Kindex pharmaceuticals) that is using an isomerized humulone (isohumulone) in phase 2 murine models towards a diabetes drug," he said with a note of caution: "Just because a natural compound is biologically active, doesn’t mean it will be a great medicine."

Elaborating his findings, Waynant said, his research team is using known chemistries to start a library of humulones and lupulones to create a series of more biologically active compounds.

"We are interested in synthesizing the natural product (-)-humulone, but it has been made before (by Kindex) and is actually isolatable from the hop resins. We would like to extend these syntheses towards the other (smaller concentration) humulones, (-)-cohumulone and (-)-adhumulone as well as a variety of new humulone analogs. Adhumulone has a 2nd undetermined stereocenter that we hope to specify. In conjunction with the natural products, we are interested in developing our synthetic strategy as to see if we can efficiently develop a diverse (but small) library of humulone analogs that also lends towards understanding the scope of our synthetic strategy," he told India International Times.

However, Waynant was cautious when he said his project is still in its infancy and they are yet to produce a natual humulone or a new humulone derivative. "We hope to have humulones available for testing in the near future," he said and his final words are equally cautious: "We certainly do not suggest drinking beer as medicine."

His study was presentted at the National Meeting of the American Chemical Society.


Kristopher Waynant

India to Ban 300 combination Drugs Including Some Cough Syrups of Abbott, Pfizer

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India has banned 94 drugs and their use in combination already while more than 300 will be banned this week, said K.L. Sharma of the Union Health Ministry after a committee reviewed more than 6,000 combination drugs in the market being sold without approval.

Image courtesty: www.anh-usa.org

The list of combination drugs include popular the codeine-based cough syrups Phensedyl and Corex made by Abbott and Pfizer. Phensedyl drug alone reportedly contributed $300 million to Abbott’s revenue from India, which has become a dumping ground where half the drugs sold in 2014 were clasfied “fixed dose combinations.”

Though combination drugs are not banned per se, failure to adhere to ratios in drug mix has led to mushrooming of combination drugs in the country, especially by some Chennai and Hyderabad-based medicines’ manufacturers.

The committee reviewed 6,000 combinations in the market based on state government authorities’ approval and asked the pharmaceutical companies to prove their safety and efficacy. After classifying the drugs into rational, irrational, and those require further study, the committee has recommended more than 300 drugs which will be prohibited, Sharma told Reuters.

While World Health Organization is warning against the increased use of antibiotic combinations due to increased resistence, India is facing an overwhelming market for combination drugs than generic drugs, not seen in other markets. Several reports in the past have highlighted how certain combination drugs are hitting the market without approval, while they are not allowed in the United States, Europe, Japan or Australia.

To see the list of 94 drugs and their combinations which have been banned already, click here:

http://www.cdsco.nic.in/writereaddata/drugs%20banned%20in%20the%20country2.pdf

 

 

 

Short Break from Shampoos, Lotions improve Body Health: Study

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A study led by researchers at UC Berkeley and Clinica de Salud del Valle de Salinas howed how even a short break from certain kinds of makeup, shampoos and lotions can lead to a significant drop in levels of hormone-disrupting chemicals in the body.

The results, published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, came from a study of 100 Latina teenagers participating in the Health and Environmental Research on Makeup of Salinas Adolescents (HERMOSA) study.

HERMOSA is a community-university collaboration between UC Berkeley, Clinica de Salud del Valle de Salinas, and a team of youth researchers from the CHAMACOS Youth Council, a project to involve young people in public health and the environment.

Researchers provided teen study participants with personal care products labeled free of chemicals such as phthalates, parabens, triclosan and oxybenzone. Such chemicals are widely used in personal care products, including cosmetics, fragrance, hair products, soaps and sunscreens, and have been shown in animal studies to interfere with the body’s endocrine system.

“Because women are the primary consumers of many personal care products, they may be disproportionately exposed to these chemicals,” said study lead author Kim Harley, associate director of the UC Berkeley Center for Environmental Research and Children’s Health. “Teen girls may be at particular risk since it’s a time of rapid reproductive development, and research has suggested that they use more personal care products per day than the average adult woman.”

Analysis of urine samples before and after a three-day trial in which the participants used the lower- chemical products found significant drops in levels of these chemicals in the body. Metabolites of diethyl phthalate, commonly used in fragrances, decreased 27 percent by the end of the trial period. Methyl and propyl parabens, used as preservatives in cosmetics, dropped 44 and 45 percent respectively. Both triclosan, found in antibacterial soaps and some brands of toothpaste, and benzophenone-3 (BP-3), found in some sunscreens under the name oxybenzone, fell 36 percent.

Surprisingly, there was a small increase in concentrations in two less common parabens. Those levels were small and could have been caused by accidental contamination or a substitution not listed on the labels, the study authors said.

Kimberly Parra, study co-director, said it was important to involve local youth in the design and implementation of the study.

“The results of the study are particularly interesting on a scientific level, but the fact that high school students led the study set a new path to engaging youth to learn about science and how it can be used to improve the health of their communities,” she said. “After learning of the results, the youth took it upon themselves to educate friends and community members, and presented their cause to legislatures in Sacramento.”

The CHAMACOS Youth Council included 12 local high school students who helped design and carry out the study. One teen researcher, Salinas native and study co-author Maritza Cárdenas, is now a UC Berkeley undergraduate majoring in molecular and cell biology.

“One of the goals of our study was to create awareness among the participants of the chemicals found in everyday products, to help make people more conscious about what they’re using,” said Cárdenas. “Seeing the drop in chemical levels after just three days shows that simple actions can be taken, such as choosing products with fewer chemicals, and make a difference.”

The researchers noted that cosmetics and personal care products are not well-regulated in this country, and that getting data about health effects from exposure, particularly long-term ones, is difficult. But they say there is growing evidence linking endocrine-disrupting chemicals to neurobehavioral problems, obesity and cancer cell growth.

“We know enough to be concerned about teen girls’ exposure to these chemicals. Sometimes it’s worth taking a precautionary approach, especially if there are easy changes people can make in the products they buy,” said Harley.

Cárdenas said the research findings have already influenced the products she buys for herself.

“Personally, since the study, I’ve tried to use more organic products,” she said. “It’s hard, especially as a college student who doesn’t have a lot of money. You tend to just get what’s on sale. But I’ve decided to splurge more on products with fewer chemicals because of the effect in the future. And if you can’t make the best choice when you’re buying because of cost, you can at least try to limit the use of the products you do buy.”

 

World Thinnest Micro Lens Discovered, to Revolutionize Nanotech Applications

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Australian researchers have created the world’s thinnest lens, thousand times thinner than a human hair, which will revolutionize the nanotechnology frontiners into new smartphones, medical devices and miniature cameras.

Led by Yuerui Larry Lu from ANU Research School of Engineering, they discovered the potential of the molybdenum disulphide crystal which fits in the requirement to produce future lenses for visual devices.

“This type of material is the perfect candidate for future flexible displays,” said Dr Lu, leader of Nano-Electro-Mechanical System (NEMS) Laboratory in the ANU Research School of Engineering.

“We will also be able to use arrays of micro lenses to mimic the compound eyes of insects.”

The 6.3-nanometre lens outshines previous ultra-thin flat lenses, made from 50-nanometre thick gold nano-bar arrays, known as a metamaterial.

Molybdenum disulphide survives at high temperatures, is a lubricant, a good semiconductor and can emit photons too with capability of manipulating the flow of light in atomic scale opens an exciting avenue towards unprecedented miniaturisation of optical components and the integration of advanced optical functionalities, he explained.

Yuerui Lu, who received his Ph.D. degree from Cornell University, the school of Electrical and Computer Engineering, in 2012, joined the Australian National University as research fellow and lecturer under the Future Engineering Research Leadership Fellowship.

In October 2015, he was promoted to Senior Lecturer at the ANU. His research interests include MEMS/NEMS sensors and actuators, nano-manufacturing technologies, renewable energy harvesting, biomedical novel devices, nano-materials, nano-electronics, etc.

Molybdenum disulphide, known as chalcogenide glasses with flexible electronic characteristics can eb made from high-technology components. The team has created lens from a crystal 6.3-nanometres thick – 9 atomic layers – which they had peeled off a larger piece of molybdenum disulphide with sticky tape before creating a 10-micron radius lens, using a focussed ion beam to shave off the layers atom by atom, until they had the dome shape of the lens.

The team discovered that single layers of molybdenum disulphide, 0.7 nanometres thick, had remarkable optical properties, appearing to a light beam to be 50 times thicker, at 38 nanometres. This property, known as optical path length, determines the phase of the light and governs interference and diffraction of light as it propagates.

Then Assistant Professor Zongfu Yu at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, developed a simulation and showed that light was bouncing back and forth many times inside the high refractive index crystal layers before passing through. Molybdenum disulphide crystal’s refractive index, the property that quantifies the strength of a material’s effect on light, has a high value of 5.5.

Molybdenum disulphide crystal can be compared to a diamond, whose high refractive index causes its sparkle, is only 2.4, and water’s refractive index is 1.3.

This study is published in the Nature serial journal Light: Science and Applications.

Researchers Reveal Mechanism that Impairs Blood Flow with Aging

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The Physiological Society’s Journal of Physiology recently published a study led by Erika Boerman, identifying an age-related cause of arterial dysfunction.

 

 

With the world’s elderly population expected to double by 2050, understanding cardiovascular disease, the No. 1 cause of death worldwide, is often highlighted and now University of Missouri researchers have identified an age-related cause of arterial dysfunction, a finding that could lead to future treatments.

“Aging affects everyone and causes changes throughout our bodies,” said Erika Boerman, a post-doctoral fellow in the Department of Medical Pharmacology and Physiology at the MU School of Medicine and lead author of the study. “We found that older arteries had a significantly lower number of sensory nerves in the tissues surrounding them and they were less sensitive to an important neurotransmitter responsible for dilation.”

Boerman’s study focused on mesenteric arteries ― a type of artery that supplies blood to the small intestines ― of mice that were 4 months and 24 months old. These ages correspond to humans in their early 20s and mid-60s, respectively. Without stimulation, the diameter of the blood vessels of both younger and older mice was approximately the same. However, when stimulated to induce dilation, differences between the age groups became apparent.

“The younger arteries dilated as expected,” Boerman said. “However, when we performed the same stimulation to the arteries of older mice, the vessels did not dilate. When we examined the presence of sensory nerves, we noted a 30 percent decrease in the amount surrounding the older arteries compared to the younger arteries.”

Additionally, the researchers found that even when purposefully exposing older mesenteric arteries to defined amounts of the neurotransmitter calcitonin gene-related peptide, or CGRP, the arteries’ ability to dilate was greatly reduced.

“Poor neurotransmitter function and a reduced presence of sensory nerves surrounding older vessels lead to age-related dysfunction of mesenteric arteries,” Boerman said. “The importance of this discovery is that if we can identify why this happens to mesenteric arteries, it may be possible to prevent the same thing from happening to other blood vessels throughout the body.”

More research is needed to understand why aging affects sensory nerve distribution and neurotransmitter performance. However, identifying this new mechanism of vascular dysfunction opens the door for future studies that could eventually lead to the treatment of health issues such as stroke and cardiovascular disease.

The study was published in The Physiological Society’s Journal of Physiology.

Crocodiles Set to Face Extinction, Says Australian Researcher

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An estuarine crocodile, also known as a “saltie”.

Many of the world’s 27 species of crocodylians will soon be either totally or locally extinct due to human population expansion and intensive land-use for agriculture depleting the water bodies, which provide succour to crocs, said a University of Queensland researcher.

Emeritus Professor Gordon Grigg of UQ says the fact that these reptiles had survived millions of years was no good owing to current rate of human expansion and encroachment of natural resources. “The current human population level and its magnitude and rate of resource consumption are unprecedented,” Professor Grigg said.

Only those crocs living in remote wetland habitats in which humans see no benefit may survive into the future, he said. Some crocodylians might have already become extinct if not for active conservation management undertaken in the second half of the 20th Century.

“For some species, the incentive for conserving them has been the commercial value of their hides, but that is dependent upon its use in high fashion garments and accessories, and that is a somewhat fragile foundation,” he said.

On flip side, the rising temperatures and sea levels may turn a more positive note for crocodylians, as it may create more habitat that will be suitable for any species to survive the human onslaught, he said wryly.

The largest living crocodiles, the estuarine or saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus), are found in Northern Australia and can grow to six metres and weigh more than 900 kilograms.

Professor Grigg said estuarine crocodiles, also known as Indo-Pacific crocodiles or “salties”, were one of the luckier species because human populations across Australia’s north were unlikely to increase significantly in the next few decades.  They might be among the survivors.

Professor Grigg and illustrator and biologist David Kirshner, in their recent book, Biology and Evolution of Crocodylians, reviewed the biology of the crocodiles, alligators, caimans and gharials, and also discusses the great diversity of their gigantic extinct ancestors, some of which were probably warm-blooded.

Missing Mobile Phone? Don’t Let it Take Over as Phobia!

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Apple’s iPhone 6

Call it missing mobile phone phobia or nomophobia or just another day of anxiety when you miss your device at home or office.

Scientists from Iowa State University have identified four dimensions of the phobia after a survey conducted on participants, who responded on a scale of one (strongly disagree) to seven (strongly agree).

More to do with the fear of losing connectedness with friends and family or not being able to access information, the fear of remaining incommunicado even for few hours haunts majority of them.

Initially the researchers interviewed nine students and based on their responses, developed a questionnaire which was given to 301 students.

Research student Caglar Yildirim at the Iowa State University (ISU) and Ana-Paula Correia, an associate professor in ISU’s School of Education finally came out with a set of four dimensions to detect the most-prevalent modern-day phenomenon that is often taking the shape of phobia.

Based on the score, the researchers said the higher scores corresponded to greater nomophobia severity, and vice versa. The team findings have been published in the journal Computers in Human Behavior.

Here are the sample questions in the questionnaire:

— “I would feel uncomfortable without constant access to information through my smartphone”

— “I would be annoyed if I could not look information up on my smartphone when I wanted to do so”.

“Being unable to get the news on my smartphone would make me nervous” or
“I would be annoyed if I could not use my smartphone and/or its capabilities when I wanted to do so”.

— “Running out of battery in my smartphone would scare me”

— “If I were to run out of credits or hit my monthly data limit, I would panic” and
“If I did not have a data signal or could not connect to Wi-Fi, then I would constantly check to see if I had a signal or could find a Wi-Fi network”.

Here are some typical answers from the participants:

— “If I could not use my smartphone, I would be afraid of getting stranded somewhere”.

— “If I could not check my smartphone for a while, I would feel a desire to check it”.

To a question as to how they would react if they did not have their smartphone with them, they responded with statements like:

— “I would feel anxious because I could not instantly communicate with my family and/or friends”

— “I would feel nervous because I would not be able to receive text messages and calls.”

Life Expectancy: Indian women live longer than men

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Life expectancy has escalated to a great extent since 1990 as people even in poor nations are living longer than ever, though many of them struggling with sickness and age-old ailments, finds a new study.

In India, between 1990 and 2013, life expectancy for men and women has elevated by 6.9 years and 10.3 years, respectively.

Photo Credit: Pedro Ribeiro Simões

This new study was conducted in 188 countries by an international research team working on a project called “Global Burden of Disease” and headed by Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington.

Owing to the deterioration of mortality and illness rates due to HIV/AIDS and malaria in the last ten years, health has enhanced to a great deal across the globe. Apart from this, meeting contagious, maternal, newborn and nutritive conditions, effectively has also added to the enhancement.

Nevertheless, healthy life expectancy (HALE) at birth hasn’t seen much improvement, thus; making those who live longer live sicker.

Theo Vos, the professor of IHME as well as who lead the study said albeit health has seen a global advancement it’s time that “more effective ways” to treat and combat disorders and diseases are discovered.

The study discovered that global life expectancy and healthy life expectancy for both genders escalated by 6.2 years and 5.4 years, respectively. However, in comparison to the life expectancy that increased from 65.3 in 1990 to 71.5 in 2013, healthy life expectancy didn’t see a drastic leap with 56.9 in 1990 to 62.3 in 2013.

Majority of the evaluated nations showed “significant and positive” healthy life expectancy changes. However, Belize, Botswana and Syria didn’t show drastic changes in HALE in 2013 as compared to 1990 with the first two nations, showing regression of 2 and 1.3 years, respectively.

In other cases, countries like Paraguay, Belarus and South Africa saw a deterioration in healthy life expectancy. For instance, places like Swaziland and Lesotho in Africa and South Africa, respectively, saw healthy life expectancy drop in individuals born in 2013 as compared to them who were born 20 years before.

People of Cambodia and Nicaragua showed gripping escalation between 1990 and 2013 with 13.9 and 14.7 years, respectively.

Nonetheless, Ethiopia was pin-pointed as one of the nations that have been giving massive efforts to make sure that their country people live both healthier and longer. For instance, in 1990, the healthy life expectancy of an Ethiopian was 40.8 years, but by 2013 with 13.5 years leap, it saw over a two-fold increase to 54.3 years.

Christopher Murray, who is the IHME director said albeit “income and education” play important roles in ensuring proper health, it doesn’t “tell the full story,” adding that weighing both healthy life expectancy and health loss on each sides at country level will facilitate “guide policies” in ensuring longer and healthier lives in every nook and cranny of the world.

Italy, Spain, Norway, Switzerland and Israel showed the lowest rates of health loss. With 42 years, in 2013, Lesotho recorded the lowest healthy life expectancy whereas with 73.4 years, Japan recorded the highest healthy life expectancy.

The findings have been published in the August 27 issue of the journal “The Lancet”.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Europe showed stagnation in showing better life expectancy during the 1990s, but after 1990 when life expectancy increased by 6 years around the world, Europe also saw some increase.

On the other hand, African nations have been showing a drop in life expectancy due to being plagued by HIV/AIDS, but now with the accessibility of antiretroviral therapy, the rates have seen an escalation. For instance, in 2000, standard life expectancy at birth was 50 years, but it saw an 8 year leap in 2013.

WHO further informed that high-income nations showed greater life expectancy at 60 years of age with expectation of the individual, living another 23 years in comparison to low-income and lower-middle income nations, which showed 17 more years of life expectancy.

India Ready with ‘Comprehensive’ Plan on INDCs Ahead of Paris Meet: Javadekar

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The Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change (Independent Charge), Shri Prakash Javadekar addressing a Press Conference on Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs), in New Delhi on August 24, 2015. The Secretary, Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Shri Ashok Lavasa and the Director General (M&C), Press Information Bureau, Shri A.P. Frank Noronha are also seen. (PIB Photo).

India’s environment minister Prakash Javadekar has reiterated India’s stand on compliance with the Climate Change agreements in the past and to forge ahead with its comprehensive plan at the Paris Summit to be held in December this year.

The minsiter said India is finalizing its draft proposal before the crucial UN climate change conference in Paris and unlike most other countries whose ‘Intended Nationally Determined Contributions’ (INDCs) reflect only mitigation measures, India will have two different templates — one for adaptation and the other for mitigation apart from technology and capacity build up, Javadekar said.

Wrapping up an 8-month effort, the minister said “We are at an advanced stage of preparing our INDC… We have been engaged in this exercise and widest consultations have taken place with all ministries, state governments, research institutes, industry, think tanks and many organisations.”

Javadekar said all elements will be part of India’s INDCs, including efforts for mitigation, adaptation, finance, technology and capacity building, he said preparing for the final draft. He said India’s INDCs reflect the mandate of United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

However, India is still a latecomer in terms of submission of its INDCs as the US, China and the European Union countries have already submitted their INDCs. Some of the projects undertaken by the ministry of forests and environment will figure in the INDCs, it is learnt.

But India has made it evident in all global gatherings that “Developed world would now have to walk the talk and will have to provide green climate fund to the developing world.”

Being a developing nation, India has maintained its “Common but Differentiated Responsibility” approach to global climate change and sought the developed world to pay the developing world or poorer nations like India and defer the carbon tax model for some more time.

The UN has been insisting on a “realistic” trajectory to mobilize $100 billion per year by 2020 that was pledged by developed countries in 2009 – with resources above and beyond official development assistance (ODA).

The UN Green Climate Fund has remained a lukewarm effort without funds.

Imagine World Map Without Humans, Here It Is!

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An interesting study by Arhus University in Spain has come out with a world map sans humans and how it would have shaped the animal world on Earth, if man had not appeared about 100,000 years ago.

 

The fact that the greatest diversity of large mammals is found in Africa reflects past human activities – and not climatic or other environmental constraints. This is determined in a new study, which presents what the world map of mammals would look like if modern man (Homo sapiens) had never existed.

In a world without humans, most of northern Europe would probably now be home to not only wolves, Eurasian elk (moose) and bears, but also animals such as elephants and rhinoceroses.

This is demonstrated in a new study conducted by researchers from Aarhus University, Denmark. In a previous analysis, they have shown that the mass extinction of large mammals during the Last Ice Age and in subsequent millennia (the late-Quaternary megafauna extinction) is largely explainable from the expansion of modern man (Homo sapiens) across the world.

In this follow-up study, they investigate what the natural worldwide diversity patterns of mammals would be like in the absence of past and present human impacts, based on estimates of the natural distribution of each species according to its ecology, biogeography and the current natural environmental template. They provide the first estimate of how the mammal diversity world map would have appeared without the impact of modern man.

“Northern Europe is far from the only place in which humans have reduced the diversity of mammals – it’s a worldwide phenomenon. And, in most places, there’s a very large deficit in mammal diversity relative to what it would naturally have been”, says Professor Jens-Christian Svenning, Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, who is one of the researchers behind the study.

Antarctic Detector Confirms Cosmic Neutrino Sighting

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IMAGE: A A HIGH-ENERGY NEUTRINO EVENT OF THE NORTHERN SKY SUPERIMPOSED ON A VIEW OF THE ICECUBE LAB AT THE SOUTH POLE.(CREDIT: ICECUBE COLLABORATION)

Researchers using the IceCube Neutrino Observatory have sorted through the billions of subatomic particles that zip through its frozen cubic-kilometer-sized detector each year to gather powerful new evidence in support of 2013 observations confirming the existence of cosmic neutrinos.

In the new study, the detection of 21 ultra high-energy muons — secondary particles created on the very rare occasions when neutrinos interact with other particles –provides independent confirmation of astrophysical neutrinos from our galaxy as well as cosmic neutrinos from sources outside the Milky Way.

The observations were reported in the journalPhysical Review Letters by the IceCube Collaboration, which called the data an “unequivocal signal” for astrophysical neutrinos, ultra high-energy particles that have traversed space unimpeded by stars, planets, galaxies, magnetic fields or clouds of interstellar dust — phenomena that, at very high energies, significantly attenuate more mundane particles like photons.

Because they have almost no mass and no electric charge, neutrinos can be very hard to detect and are only observed indirectly when they collide with other particles to create muons, telltale secondary particles.

The IceCube Collaboration, a large international consortium headquartered at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has taken on the huge challenge of sifting through a mass of observations to identify perhaps a few dozen of the highest-energy neutrinos that have traveled from sources in the Milky Way and beyond our galaxy.

 

“Looking for muon neutrinos reaching the detector through the Earth is the way IceCube was supposed to do neutrino astronomy and it has delivered,” explains Francis Halzen, a UW-Madison professor of physics and the principal investigator of IceCube. “This is as close to independent confirmation as one can get with a unique instrument.”

Between May 2010 and May 2012, IceCube recorded more than 35,000 neutrinos. However, only about 20 of those neutrino events were clocked at energy levels indicative of astrophysical or cosmic sources.

 

But while the new observations confirm the existence of astrophysical neutrinos and the means to detect them using the IceCube Observatory, actual point sources of high-energy neutrinos remain to be identified.

Albrecht Karle, a UW-Madison professor of physics and a senior author of the Physical Review Letters report, notes that while the neutrino-induced tracks recorded by the IceCube detector have a good pointing resolution, within less than a degree, the IceCube team has not observed a significant number of neutrinos emanating from any single source.

 

IceCube is based at the Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center (WIPAC) at UW-Madison. The observatory was built with major support from the National Science Foundation as well as support from partner funding agencies worldwide. More than 300 physicists and engineers from the United States, Germany, Sweden, Belgium, Switzerland, Japan, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom, Korea and Denmark are involved in the project.