TIZER'S SCIENCE NEWS

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Re: TIZER'S SCIENCE NEWS

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What good men. Perhaps they should have a look at the worrying problem of the new drug-resistant strains of Malaria identified in Laos and neighbouring regions.... See THIS for a BBC report on a separate African strain causing concern but which also mentions the SE Asia strain which is potentially even more dangerous and is expected to spread west.
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As well as providing Iceland with energy this should help us learn more about how volcanoes work...
`Drilling into heart of Iceland volcano complete' LINK
"An attempt to drill into the heart of a volcano in the south-west of Iceland is now complete. Geologists have penetrated 4,659m down, creating the deepest-ever volcanic borehole. Their aim is to tap into the steam at the bottom of the well to provide a source of geothermal energy. They recorded temperatures of 427C, but believe the hole will get hotter when they widen it in the coming months. The Iceland Deep Drilling Project (IDDP) team also collected 21m of cores, which will now be analysed."
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Re: TIZER'S SCIENCE NEWS

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I have stood next to one of the existing boreholes that they tap to feed the power station at Keflavik. You can't stay very long on two counts, first the noise, very much like a jet engine and the worst one which is the fact that the ground is violently vibrating under your feet. Chippings dance in the parking area next to the pipe room. You start to feel sick after a couple of minutes. We visited it on our off road day on the way back from the mountains.
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`Scientists record breach in magnetic field' LINK
"Scientists have recorded the events that unfolded after the Earth's magnetic shield was breached. Openings in the planet's magnetic field are not uncommon, but it is rarer to get the opportunity to gather data while such an event is in progress. A cosmic ray monitoring facility recorded a burst of cosmic rays associated with the opening. The magnetic field breach was the result of charged particles from the Sun striking the Earth at high speed. The GRAPES-3 muon telescope located at the Cosmic Ray Laboratory (CRL) in Ooty, southern India, recorded a burst of galactic cosmic rays of about 20 gigaelectronvolts (GeV) on 22 June 2015."
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Does this mean we are all doomed?
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No, just the opposite. It means we have a better understanding of what's going on and how to look after ourselves. But then you knew that really, didn't you? :smile:
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Yes, but many would see that as doom-laden if reported by one of the more sensational papers. 'Magnetism will kill us all!!!' Can't you just see it?
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`New high-pressure processor destroys foodborne pathogens' LINK
"Cornell food scientists are putting the squeeze on the microorganisms that spoil food and make people sick. With the installation of a new high-pressure food processor, the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences has become the nation’s first commercial-scale validation facility for a technology that kills foodborne pathogens and extends shelf life – without heat or chemical preservatives – for fresh, ready-to-eat foods like juice, baby foods, meats and salads. The Hiperbaric 55 high-pressure food processor at Cornell’s New York State Agricultural Experiment Station (NYSAES) in Geneva, New York, will set food safety standards for the increasingly popular high-pressure processing favored by companies for its ability to retain fresh quality attributes in food while inactivating spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms."
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Scientists are to search for iron meteorites in Antarctica using technology developed for detecting landmines. In Antarctica iron meteorites are found much less frequently than expected, compared with stone meteorites. This is thought to be because they more readily absorb heat when they are eventually exposed on the surface and therefore melt the ice and sink again.

Hunt for Antarctica's 'missing meteorites' LINK
The go-ahead has been given for the first British expedition to collect meteorites in Antarctica. Most of the space rocks now in collections worldwide have been picked up on the continent. The region's great expanse of ice makes searching for the blackened remains of objects that have fallen from the sky a particularly productive exercise. But the UK venture will target a strangely underrepresented class of meteorites – those made of iron. These are the smashed up innards of bodies that almost became planets at the start of the Solar System. Finding more of them could give us important clues to events that occurred some 4.6 billion years ago, said Dr Katherine Joy from Manchester University.
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I missed the post about high pressure treatment of foods to extend their life. I have a natural antipathy towards 'extending shelf life' as I hold it responsible for many of the issues we see today connected with fats. In this case what does it do to the 'good' micro-organisms that some of us believe are essential for health?I have this gut feeling (sorry about that!) that trace minerals and micro-organisms associated with wild and organic foods are essential to good health and that lack of these could be a factor in the 'Western Diseases'. We already know that exposure to a low level of 'bad' microbes educates and enhances our immune systems.
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Tizer wrote:Four years ago I said this would happen when the government announced it was closing its forensic science service and leaving it to private services...
Forensic science standards 'at significant risk' LINK
"The quality of forensic science work in England and Wales is at risk and could threaten the integrity of the criminal justice system, the regulator has said. Forensic Science Regulator Gillian Tully said some police forces were not committed to meeting the required standards, and there was a significant risk of DNA contamination....The government's Forensic Science Service was closed in 2012. Since the closure, forensic science work has been carried out by private firms and police laboratories. This is the third time in two years that serious concerns have been raised about the work, with other critical reports from the National Audit Office and MPs on the Science and Technology Committee."
And here we go again....
`Probe into Randox Manchester 'manipulated' drug tests' LINK
"Hundreds of cases could be reviewed after two men who work at a laboratory used by police to test drug samples were arrested. Randox Testing Services (RTS) is used by forces across the UK to analyse samples used in prosecutions. Police chiefs said it had been told 484 cases handled by the firm since November 2015 may have been affected. The men, 47 and 31, were arrested on suspicion of perverting the course of justice and bailed, police said."
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I heard that report as well Tiz and my mind flew to the translation service, probation and prisons to mention but a selection of areas where the government has attempted to shift responsibility by outsourcing. I have to go back to the 'commanding heights' concept again. It works just as well in social services like these as it does in the general economy.
On another front, Trump has set up a commission to investigate whether vaccines cause autism and is of course on record as saying that climate change is a hoax. This has provoked a pro-science movement in the US.
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I think Trump had a meeting with Wakefield - he definitely met with Wakefield's supporters - but no independent observer was present so we don't know for sure what was said. Not surprisingly, those attending claimed that Trump supported them.

The scientists are on the march already...
`AAAS chief puts weight behind protest march' "LINK
The head of the world's largest scientific membership organisation has given his backing for a planned protest by researchers in Washington DC. Rush Holt, of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), said that people were "standing up for science". His remarks reflect growing concern among researchers that science is disregarded by President Trump Scientists across the US plan to march in DC on 22 April. "I've never seen anything like it in my entire career," the former Democratic congressman told BBC News. "To see young scientists, older scientists, the general public speaking up for the idea of science. We are going to work with our members and affiliated organisations to see that this march for science is a success." Mr Holt made his comments at the AAAS annual meting in Boston as President Trump appointed a fierce critic of the Environmental Protection Agency as its head. Scott Pruitt has spent years fighting the role and reach of the EPA."
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We've probably all seen or heard today about an exciting discovery that means we won't have so much difficulty getting the last of the tomato ketchup out of the bottle. Do you get the feeling you've heard it all before? Well you're right, the new treatment for surfaces to make them `more slippery' was developed some years ago and the news media likes to present it to us as a new invention every time Dr Varanashi and his MIT colleagues get a bit further with their work. For example the Daily Mail was telling us about it in 2013, then again in 2015 LINK The Economist covered it last December LINK As is often the case, the ketchup is a minor application compared with the use of the technology in industry.
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I can tell you how to eliminate the wastage caused by ketchup sticking to the bottle. Buy ketchup in bulk in 5l bottles and refill your bottle. When the bulk bottle is empty, swill it out with vinegar and put that in the ready use bottle. Almost complete elimination of wastage.
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A report this morning that some of the most common drugs used to alleviate osteoporosis may actually make bones more brittle after prolonged use. Evidently this was discovered because a new microscope became available at Harwell based on 'the diamond light source(?)'. Not good news for those who rely on the drugs. There is always something isn't there!
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It would be interesting to know what tests were used in the original trials to support the claimed efficacy of the drug. An Imperial College press release is available online....
`
Drug used to treat weak bones associated with micro-cracks'
"A type of drug used to treat weak bones is associated with an increased risk of 'micro-cracks' in bone, according to new research. The early-stage research, by scientists at Imperial College London, suggests these microcracks may reduce mechanical strength of the bone. In the study, published in the journal Scientific Reports, researchers studied bone samples from 16 people who had been diagnosed with the weak bone condition osteoporosis. All of the patients had suffered a broken hip, and half of the patients had been taking a type of commonly-prescribed drug called bisphosphonate. The team then used X-rays from the Diamond synchrotron to visualize the structure of bone at a high resolution. They found that the bones of people taking the drugs not only had a larger number of tiny cracks, but also had less mechanical strength."
More here: Imperial College
The Diamond Synchroton is at Harwell: Harwell
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I heard a brief news item on R4 last night of a young man who has been successfully cured from Sickle Cell Anaemia by extracting some of his bone marrow, genetically altering it and replacing it in his bones. It has been totally successful. This must be a modern miracle! Thank god for our 'pesky scientists'.
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I think this is the right place for THIS, an article triggered by the WHO report on global air pollution. Some estimates suggest that this is the biggest killer in the world (followed closely I suspect by Malaria). Like all statistics there are variations, I suspect that Barlick would compare well with London for example. But even so it is a disgrace that in this day and age so many lives are blighted by bad air.
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I can't find a reference on the web but a news item this morning on World Service was about scientists in Sydney casting doubt on accepted capacity of trees to absorb Carbon Dioxide.
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Tizer wrote: 21 Feb 2017, 11:08 We've probably all seen or heard today about an exciting discovery that means we won't have so much difficulty getting the last of the tomato ketchup out of the bottle. Do you get the feeling you've heard it all before? Well you're right, the new treatment for surfaces to make them `more slippery' was developed some years ago and the news media likes to present it to us as a new invention every time Dr Varanashi and his MIT colleagues get a bit further with their work. For example the Daily Mail was telling us about it in 2013, then again in 2015 LINK The Economist covered it last December LINK As is often the case, the ketchup is a minor application compared with the use of the technology in industry.
Sorry Tiz, I missed this post. We buy Heinz mayonnaise in 1 litre bags for refilling our own bottle. I noticed that the product flowed freely and left the sachet completely clean and just assumed that it was a new kind of plastic, so thanks for the explanation. I've got to say it is a wonderful invention that I'm sure will be popular and that we'll take for granted in the future.
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In the days when I was tanking bulk milk a regular drop used to be Libby's at Milnthorpe. The dairy there was also a distribution centre for other products. We could go in the factory shop and buy a case of tins with no labels on, a real lucky dip because you never knew what you were going to get, stewed steak or pineapple chunks! But the reason for posting here is that in the warehouse there was a strange machine I couldn't identify so the first time I saw it I asked one of the lads what it was. He told me it was a machine for shaking Ketchup before it was dispatched. I told him, ask a silly question and you get a silly answer but he said no, he was serious. The ketchup developed a plug in the neck of the bottle during storage and this machine shook eight cases of ketchup at a time long enough to break the plug up before the bottles got to the retailer.
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`Physicists design a device inspired by sonic screwdriver'
March 8, 2017, Australian National University LINK
Physicists have designed a handheld device inspired by the sonic screwdriver in Doctor Who and the tricorder in Star Trek that will use the power of MRI and mass spectrometry to perform a chemical analysis of objects. Lead researcher Dr Marcus Doherty from The Australian National University (ANU) said the team had proven the concept of a diamond-based quantum device to perform similar functions to these science fiction tools and would now develop a prototype. "Laboratories and hospitals will have the power to do full chemical analyses to solve complex problems with our device that they can afford and move around easily," said Dr Doherty from the ANU Research School of Physics and Engineering (RSPE). "This device is going to enable many people to use powerful instruments like molecular MRI machines and mass spectrometers much more readily." Dr Doherty said medical researchers could use the device to weigh and identify complex molecules such as proteins, which drive diseases, such as cancer, and cures for those diseases.
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I love it when fiction becomes truth. Remember the genesis of the concept of satellites.....
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