AMSTERDAM, Netherlands — Only a few years ago, oil from palm trees was viewed as an ideal biofuel: a cheap, renewable alternative to petroleum that would fight global warming. Energy companies began converting generators and production soared. Now, it’s increasingly seen as an example of how well-meaning efforts to limit climate-changing carbon emissions may backfire. Marcel Silvius, a climate expert at Wetlands International in the Netherlands, led a team that compared the benefits of palm oil to the ecological harm from destroying virgin Asian rain forests to develop lucrative new plantations. His conclusion: ‘As a biofuel, it’s a failure.” Scientists and policymakers from more than 100 countries are meeting in Brussels, Belgium, starting Monday to report on the impact of global warming, including storms, flooding and the extinction of plants and animals. Then in May, the group intends to issue recommendations on how best to fight it, through new technologies and possible use of alternatives. The lessons of palm oil are sure to figure into their discussion. Long a primary ingredient in food and cosmetics, palm oil derivatives caught on about five years ago as a source of renewable energy, spurred by subsidies in […]
The parasite Toxoplasma gondii uses a remarkable trick to spread from rodents to cats: It alters the brains of infected rats and mice so that they become attracted to-rather than repelled by-the scent of their predators. A new study reveals that rodents infected with the parasitic protozoa are drawn to the smell of cat urine, apparently having lost their otherwise natural aversion to the scent. The parasite can only sexually reproduce in the feline gut, so it’s advantageous for it to get from a rodent into a cat-if necessary, by helping the latter eat the former. In rodents, ‘brain circuits for many behaviors overlap with the brain circuits responsible for fear,’ said Ajai Vyas of Stanford University, who led the new study. ‘One would thus assume that if something messes up fear of cat pee, it will also mess up a variety of related behaviors.’ But Vyas’s experiments showed that not to be the case. In fact, his test demonstrated just how precise and efficient the mind-bending parasite is. While manipulating rodents’ innate fear of felines, T. gondii leaves other behaviors intact. Toxoplasma-infected mice and rats retained most typical rodent phobias, including fears […]
Eating even small amounts of red meat daily can increase the risk of breast cancer by 56 per cent in older women, according to British research published today. Eating small amounts of red meat can increase the risk of breast cancer by 56pc in older women Researchers were quite surprised that only 2oz of red meat a day appeared to have an effect As little as 2oz (57g) of beef, lamb or pork a day showed an effect. Post-menopausal woman who ate larger amounts, 3.6oz (103g), of processed meats such as sausage, bacon, ham or pies had an increased risk of 64 per cent. Even younger, pre-menopausal women had a slightly raised risk if they ate red meat daily, the study from the University of Sheffield found. The research, led by Prof Janet Cade, a professor of nutritional epidemiology and public health, involved 35,000 women aged between 35 and 69 who have been followed for nearly eight years. The women all of whom completed 217-item food questionnaires, were divided into three groups depending on whether they were high, medium or low meat eaters. They were compared with women in the sample who were vegetarian. […]
ABOARD TRAIN V150, France — A French train with a 25,000-horsepower engine and special wheels broke the world speed record Tuesday for conventional rail trains, reaching 357.2 mph as it zipped through the countryside to the applause of spectators. Roaring like a jet plane, with sparks flying overhead and kicking up a long trail of dust, the black-and-chrome V150 with three double-decker cars surpassed the record of 320.2 mph set in 1990 by another French train. It fell short, however, of beating the ultimate record set by Japan’s magnetically levitated train, which hit 361 mph in 2003. The French TGV, or ‘train a grande vitesse,’ as the country’s bullet train is called, had two engines on either side of the three double-decker cars for the record run, some 125 miles east of the capital on a new track linking Paris with Strasbourg. Aboard the V150, the sensation was comparable to that of an airplane at takeoff. The demonstration was meant to showcase technology that France is trying to sell to the multibillion-dollar overseas markets such as China. Hours before the run, Transport Minister Dominique Perben received a California delegation, including state assembly speaker Fabian Nunez. […]
Corporate profitability rose to its historically highest level at the end of last year as manufacturing and service sector companies benefited from strong sales growth combined with lower energy prices and subdued wage pressures. Economists said soaring profitability in the fourth quarter augured well for business investment, underpinning the Bank of England’s strong growth forecast for this year. The net rate of return on capital rose to double-digit levels even in manufacturing. With corporate spending likely to remain strong and business surveys suggesting companies will not fully pass on lower energy costs to customers, pressure on the Bank to put up interest rates – perhaps as early as Thursday- has been intensifying. Traders in the money markets reckon there is now nearly a 50:50 chance the monetary policy committee will raise rates to 5.5 per cent this month. A rate rise certainly would not shock the markets as it did in January. Official figures on Tuesday showed the net rate of return on capital in non-oil UK companies rose to 14.7 per cent in the fourth quarter last year; the highest rate of profitability since quarterly figures were first published in 1989. Including […]
Remote Viewing the Year 2060
