Mount Kilimanjaro Latest Victim Of Climate Change
November 3, 2009
Africa (ChattahBox) - The snow peak of Mount Kilimanjaro has decreased significantly, and scientists believe it will be gone within a few more years.
Russia claims design for spaceship with nuclear engine for trip to Mars
October 30, 2009
(ChattahBox) — The Russian Federal Space Agency supposedly hopes to have, Russian cosmonauts flying a nuclear-powered spacecraft to the planet Mars as early as 2021. Russian engineers say they have a breakthrough design for such a manned spacecraft that can cover vast interplanetary distances according to Russian news agency RIA Novosti. Read more
NASA To Begin Experimentation Into Radiation With Monkeys
October 29, 2009
U.S. (ChattahBox) - NASA is set to begin irradiating monkeys as part of a study on the long term effects of low doses of radiation.
New Military Robot Walks Like Flesh-and-Blood Person
October 28, 2009
(ChattahBox)—The robot creators at Boston Dynamics have come up with a replica of a military solider robot, which can walk on its own and even crawl. The amazingly lifelike robot, dubbed Petman will be used to test chemical protection clothing used by the U.S. Army. Read more
New Fossil Shows Sea Creature That Could Have Torn T-Rex In Half
October 27, 2009
U.K. (ChattahBox) - A new fossil with an 8-foot skull has been unearthed in Dorset, and it shows a creature capable of terrorizing, and consuming, most other dinos with ease.
Genome Analysis Shows Neanderthals And Humans Had Sex
October 27, 2009
Germany (ChattahBox) - A geneticist who has been studying the genomes taken from the bones of Neanderthals and modern humans is set to publish a study that sex was common between the two species.
Want A Happy Marriage? Marry A Woman Smarter And Younger
October 26, 2009
U.K. (ChattahBox) - A new study has shown that men who marry women who are five years younger and more educated, they are more likely to be successful in their lives together.
Gene Therapy Treatment Successful For Severe Hereditary Eye Disease
October 25, 2009
(ChattahBox) — A team of doctors in the U.S. treated 12 patients who have a rare genetically inherited retinal degeneration called Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA), by using gene therapy which significantly improved vision. People with LCA, which is caused by mutations in any of least 13 genes, have severe vision loss and abnormal eye movements in early infancy and during early childhood. Most people with the disease are blind by their 30s or 40s.
The new phase I trial included 12 patients, aged 8 to 44 years, who were injected in one eye with genetic material on a virus, meant to correct LCA. The gene therapy led to at least a 100-fold increase in pupillary light response (constriction of the pupil when it’s exposed to light) in the participants. Younger patients seemed to react better to the gene therapy, with 8-year-old patient developed nearly the same level of light sensitivity as a person with normal vision, the study authors reported. Six of the 12 patients had so much of their sight restored, that they may no longer be classified as legally blind.
“All 12 patients given gene therapy in one eye showed improvement in retinal function. The effect was stable during follow-up. The results support our hypothesis that the response to subretinal gene therapy depends on the extent of retinal degeneration and, therefore, the age of the patient,” wrote Dr. Jean Bennett, of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Philadelphia, and colleagues.
The study is published in the Oct. 24 online edition and in an upcoming print issue of The Lancet.
Source: BreakThroughDigest Medical News
Astronomer Debunks Fears Over Mythical 2012 End
October 21, 2009
U.S. (ChattahBox) - There have been rumors for years about the end of the world occurring in December 2012. From the Mayan Calender, to a planetary alignment, one man has stepped up and told people to shut up and calm down.
White Wine May Be Bad For The Teeth, Studies Show
October 21, 2009
Germany (ChattahBox) - A new study by a team from the Johannes Gutenberg University has found the white wine can break down enamel, causing tooth erosion over time.