Tuesday’s announcement of Rep. John McHugh (R-N.Y.) as President Barack Obama’s nominee for Army secretary makes perfect sense from a policymaking standpoint. It’s hard to find a member of Congress who’s more well-respected or more steeped in military personnel issues than McHugh, a senior House Armed Services Committee member who has wrestled with issues ranging from recruitment to base closure to the role of women in combat. Yet it’s also hard to find a choice better calibrated to meet the Obama administration’s political imperatives. All at once, Obama has selected a nominee who burnishes his bipartisan credentials, opened up a seat prime for Democratic pickup and drained the GOP reservoir of one of the few remaining Northeastern moderates. It’s an event that’s happening with enough frequency to suggest the presence of a design, a plan that not only sketches the outline of a reelection strategy but manages to drive a wedge into the opposition at the same time. Call it a Sherman’s March in reverse - an audacious attempt by Obama to burn down any lines of escape for Republicans from their one refuge of popularity, the deep South. Since taking office in January, Obama has made […]
Low antioxidant intake is associated with low reproductive capacity in semen. This is the finding of a new study carried out in two infertility centres in Alicante and Murcia, and which has been published online in the journal Fertility and Sterility. ‘Our previous research study, published in March, showed that men who eat large amounts of meat and full fat dairy products have lower seminal quality than those who eat more fruit, vegetables and reduced fat dairy products. In this study, we have found that people who consume more fruits and vegetables are ingesting more antioxidants, and this is the important point’, Jaime Mendiola, lead author of the article and a researcher at the University of Murcia, tells SINC. The experts have spent the past four years analysing the link between dietary habits or workplace exposure to contaminants and the quality of semen among men attending fertility clinics. The objective was to find out whether a higher or lower intake of vitamins, which act as antioxidants, could affect semen quality. These molecules, which are present in foods such as citrus fruits, peppers and spinach, work by lowering the level of oxidative stress that can affect semen quality, […]
The origins of many adult diseases can be traced to early negative experiences associated with social class and other markers of disadvantage. Confronting the causes of adversity before and shortly after birth may be a promising way to improve adult health and reduce premature deaths, researchers argue in a paper published today in The Journal of the American Medical Association. These adversities establish biological ‘memories’ that weaken physiological systems and make individuals vulnerable to problems that can lie dormant for years. ‘Improving the developmental trajectory of a child by helping the parents and improving the home environment is probably the single most important thing we can do for the health of that child,’ says co-author Bruce McEwen, Alfred E. Mirsky Professor and head of the Harold and Margaret Milliken Hatch Laboratory of Neuroendocrinology at The Rockefeller University. ‘Adverse childhood experience is one of the largest contributors to such chronic health problems as diabetes and obesity, psychiatric disorders, drug abuse – almost every major public health challenge we face.’ In the report, McEwen and his co-authors distinguish between levels of stress experienced by young children. ‘Positive’ and ‘tolerable’ stress, with the support of adults, help the body and brain […]
Patients waiting for transplants could one day have genetically modified pig organs, after Chinese scientists found a way to transform ordinary cells from the animals into powerful stem cells. They have successfully reprogrammed cells taken from a pig’s ear and bone marrow into an embryo-like state with the potential to form every type of body tissue. pigs The world’s first cloned pigs from genetically modified cells were created in 2001. The latest discovery brings pig transplant organs a step closer The researchers were led by Xiao Lei from the Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology. In an article published in the Journal of Molecular Cell Biology they described how they transformed cells by using a cocktail of chemicals introduced via a virus. Dr Xiao said pig organs are a potentially ideal for transplants because they are similar in function and size to those found in humans. He said: ‘The research could open the way to creating models for human genetic diseases, genetically engineering animals for organ transplants for humans, and for developing pigs that are resistant to diseases such as swine flu.’ They may also be used to improve farming, by making […]
Ocean acidification, a direct result of increased CO2 emission, is set to change the Earth’s marine ecosystems forever and may have a direct impact on our economy, resulting in substantial revenue declines and job losses. Intensive fossil-fuel burning and deforestation over the last two centuries have increased atmospheric CO2 levels by almost 40%, which has in turn fundamentally altered ocean chemistry by acidifying surface waters. Fish levels and other sea organisms such as planktons, crabs, lobsters, shrimp and corals are expected to suffer, which could leave fishing communities at the brink of economic disaster. Published today, Monday, 1 June, in IOP Publishing’s Environmental Research Letters, the paper ‘Anticipating ocean acidification’s economic consequences on commercial fisheries’ suggests a series of measures to manage the impact that declining fishing harvests and revenue loss will have on a wide range of businesses from commercial fishing to wholesale, retail and restaurants. Ocean acidification and declining carbonate ion concentration in sea water could directly damage corals and mollusks which all depend on sufficient carbonate levels to form shells successfully. Subsequent losses of prey such as plankton and shellfish would also alter food webs and intensify competition among predators for nourishment. As […]
Remote Viewing the Year 2060
