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12,746 articles from Guardian Unlimited Science
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- February 10, 2012 (21:21)
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SATURDAY 4. JUNE, 2011
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08:30
Are mobiles a health risk? There's no answer yet
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FRIDAY 3. JUNE, 2011
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20:15
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19:43
Around three-quarters of 1,800 E coli infections and at least 13 of the 19 who have died have been women. Why?
The vegetables suspected to be at the centre of the E coli outbreak are cucumbers, lettuce and tomatoes: all parts of a healthy diet. Ironically, this may also explain why young women seem to be disproportionately affected by the bug.
In the vast majority of outbreaks, most victims are the elderly or children, whose immune systems may be either weak or underdeveloped. But in the case of the German E coli strain, around three-quarters of the 1,800 infections and at least 13 of the 19 who have died so far have been adult women.
Experts are unclear why. Bob Adak, head of the UK Health Protection Agency's food section, said: "We can't say with complete certainty why women have been disproportionately affected, but in previous outbreaks around the world associated with salad vegetables we have seen women and adults more severely affected than men and children, so it's possible that this could be an indicator of food preference."
The idea that the preponderance of women could simply be the result of generally better diets among young women was supported by Stephen Smith, a clinical microbiologist at Trinity College, Dublin. He speculated that "it may be reflective of their healthier lifestyle - ie consuming more salad vegetables."
Another possibility is that the specific strain spreading from Germany finds something about women's guts more hospitable. This selective phenomenon would not be unprecedented since many bugs disproportionately affect people from different races or who come from particular geographical regions.
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds -
18:52
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17:22
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14:05
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12:41
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12:09
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08:00
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08:00
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08:00
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01:05
At this the time of year the sun is at its highest and the risk of sunburn is at its greatest. Despite all the publicity about covering up and using sunblock, it's still surprisingly easy to underestimate the power of the ultraviolet (UV) rays in sunlight that cause both sunburn and skin cancer.
Clouds can often give a false sense of security. A thick blanket of cloud covering the sun filters out a large part of the UV, but thin or broken cloud cover can allow much more UV through. Worse still, a patchwork of clouds near the Sun can actually increase the UV levels on the ground by reflecting more of the rays, rather like giant mirrors.
Another myth is that glass protects against UV, but this isn't always true. Two recent surveys of the incidence of skin cancer in the US revealed a puzzling discrepancy, with many of the cancers only occurring on the left hand side of the body, particularly on the face, arms and hands, and this tended to be particularly striking in men.
The studies revealed that these people had spent a lot of time driving, and in the left-hand drive vehicles the drivers are exposed to UVA rays that can often penetrate through the side windows of their vehicles. Although laminated windscreens tend to filter out UV, the side and rear windows are usually made of clear, non-laminated glass that filters out UVB but still allows UVA rays to penetrate, and this contributes to skin cancer.
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds -
THURSDAY 2. JUNE, 2011
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23:04
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22:05
Bacterial outbreak had spread beyond Germany to 10 countries with people infected through eating contaminated vegetables
A strain of E coli spreading across Europe is a previously unseen and more virulent variant of the bacterium, health officials have said.
So far 18 people have died and more than 2,000 havehad become infected from eating contaminated vegetables. The bacterial outbreak had spread beyond Germany to 10 countries.
After scientists sequenced the genetic code of the E coli, Hilde Kruse, a food safety expert at the World Health Organisation told Associated Press: "This is a unique strain that has never been isolated from patients before … [there are] various characteristics that make it more virulent and toxin producing."
Scientists also said that the new strain appeared likely to be resistant to common antibiotics.
A spokesperson for the UK's Health Protection Agency said the organisation had not sequenced the bacterium but had agreed with the WHO finding that the E coli O104 strain associated with the outbreak "which we know to have a highly unusual combination of virulent properties, could be one that has never been seen before".
There is no evidence yet that the bacteria have appeared on British vegetables.
Stephen Smith, a clinical microbiologist at Trinity College, Dublin, said the new E coli strain was a "mongrel" combining two "nasty" types of the bacterium. He said: "It is very similar to enteroaggregative E coli which has been associated with outbreaks of watery diarrhoea, in developing nations since 1970. However, this bacterium has been recognised as a cause of diarrhoea in industrialised nations and has caused outbreaks in the US, Sweden, Britain and Germany."
The toxin produced by the bacterium binds to, and damages, kidney cells and leads to haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS), a rare and severe complication that destroys red blood cells and can affect the central nervous system. More than 500 cases of HUS have been reported in Germany and three cases were found in the UK in people who had recently been to Germany.
An HPA spokesperson said: "Bacteria and viruses are evolving all the time. We expect to see new strains, sometimes more virulent or resistant to antibiotics than others, and plan on that basis."
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds -
21:47
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17:55
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17:45
German doctors confirm World Health Organisation's report that there has never before been an outbreak of the strain of E coli that has caused 17 deaths in Germany and Sweden
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17:40
Historic birth takes place in Oldham
The birth of Louise Brown introduced a new era of human reproduction. It also, as noted in the report above, introduced a new era of cheque book journalism, with the Daily Mail offering a reputed £325,000 for exclusive rights to the story.guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds -
13:22
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12:38
What could be a more enchanting start to this day than exploring some of the Physics in My Little Pony?
Today is a religious holiday in Germany, where I reside. In honour of this fine day, I did something very unusual for me: I laid around in bed, happily tweeting the morning away. This strange beginning means I cannot take anything too seriously today. But I couldn't forget about you, my three faithful readers! Whilst watching my usual (although belated) morning dose of science videos, I ran across this unique gem that combines two subjects that I love, science and horses, so I just have to share it with you. This amateur video is a student PowerPoint presentation about the physical impossibilities depicted in several scenes from the wildly popular television cartoon, My Little Pony:
A few comments:
Scene one: if the presenter wanted to have even more fun with impossibilities, he could also have determined how long it took Rainbow Dash to notice that Rarity was falling, and calculated Rainbow Dash's reaction time and the distance that Rarity had fallen before Rainbow Dash intervened.
Scene three: having worked with horses and lived around horses and ponies much of my life, I can guarantee that, if Fluttershy is supposed to a very young filly, his assumption -- 275 kg -- for her mass was much too heavy (which of course, doesn't negate the fact that it would have taken an incalculably large bunch of butterflies to catch her anyway). All these points are even more applicable if Fluttershy is only 3 inches tall but still has a mass of 275 kg.
The presenter, beatledude64, writes: "[The] physics in this might not be 100% correct, but this was more for fun than actual science/calculations. Also we had to give it a rating for how physically correct it was, I only used XP and RP which basically meant physics outside this universe."
For the teachers out there who are looking for more information about this assignment, beatledude64 says this: "For our project, we had to find three scenes from any movie or TV show and use physics to find out if something was or wasn't possible."
Oh, and perhaps most important of all, especially for you students out there, beatledude64 got 100% on this assignment. (You can download his powerpoint slides and video clips as a ZIP file).
You can follow @beatledude64 on Twitter.
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email: grrlscientist@gmail.com
twitter: @GrrlScientistguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds -
12:10
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10:41
Officials say measure will be in place until European officials inform Moscow of the disease's cause and how it is being spread
Russia has extended its ban on vegetable imports to all of the EU in a bid to prevent a deadly European bacterial outbreak from spreading into the country.
Researchers are still unable to pinpoint the cause of the E coli outbreak that has hit Germany and other European countries, infecting 1,500 people and leaving 17 people dead.
Lyubov Voropayeva, spokeswoman for the Russian Agency for the Supervision of Consumer Rights, said on Thursday that the ban had been imposed with immediate effect.
The agency's chief, Gennady Onishchenko, told Russian news agencies that this "unpopular measure" would be in place until European officials inform Moscow of the cause of the disease and how it is being spread.
"How many more lives of European citizens does it take for European officials to tackle this problem?" he said to the state-owned RIA Novosti news agency.
Russia banned fresh imports from Spain and Germany on Monday, warning of a possible extension of the sanction. No fatalities or infections have yet been reported in the country.
The outbreak has hit at least nine European states, but nearly all the people affected either live in Germany or recently travelled there. Two people who were taken ill are now in the US; both had recently travelled to Hamburg, Germany, where many of the infections occurred.
Medical authorities appeared no closer to discovering the source of the infection late on Wednesday. Germany's national health agency said that more than 1,530 people there had been affected by the E coli germ, including 470 suffering from a kidney failure complication that was previously considered extremely rare.
The outbreak is already seen as the third-largest involving E coli in recent years, and it may be the deadliest. Twelve people died in a 1996 Japanese outbreak that reportedly affected more than 12,000, and seven died in a 2000 Canadian outbreak.
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds -
00:20
This African mystery bird was elevated to full species status based on its strong dichromatism and distinctive song (includes video of singing male)
Adult male pied wheatear, Oenanthe pleschanka (protonym, Motacilla pleschanka), also known as the common pied wheatear, Pleschanka's wheatear, or as Pleschanka's (pied) chat, photographed at Debre Libanos, Ethiopia (Africa).
Image: Dan Logen, 24 January 2011 [velociraptorize].
Nikon D300, 600 mm lens, 1.4 extender, ISO 640, f/13, 1/640 secQuestion: This dichromatic Ethiopian mystery bird is a very rare vagrant to western Europe. Can you identify this species?
Response: This is an adult male pied wheatear, Oenanthe pleschanka. This species is strongly dichromatic, meaning that the males and females have distinctive plumage colours and patterns -- a characteristic that distinguishes it from the monochromatic Cyprus pied wheatear, Oenanthe cypriaca, with which it was formerly considered to be conspecific. The songs of these two species are distinctive too. Here's a video that was shot along the coast of the Black Sea in Bulgaria of a singing male pied wheatear:
You are invited to review all of the daily mystery birds by going to their dedicated graphic index page.
If you have bird images, video or mp3 files that you'd like to share with a large and (mostly) appreciative international audience here at The Guardian, feel free to contact me to learn more.
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email: grrlscientist@gmail.com
twitter: @GrrlScientistguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds -
WEDNESDAY 1. JUNE, 2011
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23:15
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21:00
Naposledy aktualizované zdroje
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PhysOrg (dnes, 21:24)
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Yahoo! (dnes, 21:15)
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NYT > Science (dnes, 19:55)
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ScienceNOW (dnes, 19:55)
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ScienceDaily (dnes, 19:34)
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CBC - Technology & Science News (dnes, 18:39)
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Discovery (dnes, 18:32)
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Sci-Tech Today (dnes, 17:29)
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BBC Science/Nature (dnes, 17:15)
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National Geographic News (dnes, 17:01)
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TIME (dnes, 11:10)
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EurekAlert (dnes, 06:00)
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NASA (2. 2, 21:27)
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Technology Review Feed - Tech Review Top Stories (16. 1, 22:07)
