|  Shrinking Arctic Sea Ice Means Scorching US Summers  | Thirty years of shrinking Arctic sea ice has boosted extreme summer weather, including heat waves and drought, in the United States and elsewhere, according to a study published today (Dec. 8) in the journal Nature Climate Change. The new study — based on satellite tracking of sea ice, snow cover and weather trends since 1979 — links the Arctic's warming climate to shifting weather patterns in the Northern Hemisphere's midlatitudes. "The results of our new study provide further support and evidence for rapid Arctic warming contributing to the observed increased frequency and intensity of heat waves," said study co-author Jennifer Francis, an atmospheric scientist at Rutgers University in New Jersey. Changes in the Arctic can perturb midlatitude weather in such regions as the United States, Europe and China because temperature differences between the two zones drive the jet stream, the fast-moving river of air that circles the Northern Hemisphere, explained lead study author Qiuhong Tang, an atmospheric scientist at the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research in Beijing.
| Read More » Short-cut to produce hydrogen seen as step to cleaner fuel By Environment Correspondent Alister Doyle OSLO (Reuters) - Scientists have produced hydrogen by accelerating a natural process found in rocks deep below the Earth's surface, a short-cut that may herald the wider use of what is a clean fuel, a study showed on Sunday. Used in rockets and in battery-like fuel cells, hydrogen is being widely researched as a non-polluting fuel, but its use is so far hampered by high costs. A few hydrogen vehicles are already on the roads, such as the Honda FXC Clarity and Mercedes-Benz F-Cell, and more are planned. Researchers in France said aluminum oxide speeded up a process by which hydrogen is produced naturally when water meets olivine, a common type of rock, under the high temperatures and pressures found at great depths. Read More » Small steps to Mars are a big leap for Indian companies  | By Shyamantha Asokan NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian companies that built most of the parts for the country's recently launched Mars mission are using their low-cost, high-tech expertise in frugal space engineering to compete for global aerospace, defence and nuclear contracts worth billions. India's Mangalyaan spacecraft was launched last month and then catapulted from Earth orbit on December 1, clearing an important hurdle on its 420 million mile journey to Mars and putting it on course to be the first Asian mission to reach the red planet. The venture has a price tag of just 4.5 billion rupees ($72 million), roughly one-tenth the cost of Maven, NASA's latest Mars mission. Those firms with proven space know-how will find themselves with the advantage as India, the world's biggest arms importer, shells out $100 billion over a decade to modernise its military with the country favouring local sources.
| Read More » Inflammation Linked to Lower Prostate Cancer Risk Inflammation in a man's prostate may indicate he has a lower risk of developing prostate cancer in the future, according to a new study. Researchers looked at signs of inflammation in prostate tissue samples from 6,200 men who were having biopsies to check for cancer. At a follow-up biopsy two years later, prostate cancer was detected in 900 participants (14 percent). Men with signs of acute inflammation or chronic inflammation at the original biopsy were 25 percent or 35 percent, respectively, less likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer. Read More » Did Volcano on Mercury Erupt for a Billion Years? (Op-Ed)  | Olympus Mons, a treble Everest soaring above Mars' Northern Hemisphere, is the largest volcano in the solar system; Since Mariner 10 first revealed its surface in the 1970s, conspicuously smooth plains — reminiscent of the lunar mare— suggested that in places, the impact craters had once been resurfaced by giant lava flows. And now, NASA's latest mission to the inner solar system — the MESSENGER satellite, currently in orbit around Mercury — has begun to shed new light on its volcanic past; When MESSENGER performed its first flyby of Mercury in early 2008, it sent back a hazy image of a feature, from somewhere in the planet's Northern hemisphere, showing what its discoverers called a "kidney-shaped depression." This strange formation was clearly very different from the ubiquitous, uniform impact craters.
| Read More » 9,400 Kids Injured in High Chairs Every Year Every year, about 9,400 young children in the U.S. are injured falling off high chairs, a new study finds. Doctors warn that despite the chairs' perceived safety, children in high chairs can be harmed if a chair is not used properly. Head injuries were the most common type of injury associated with high chairs, followed by bumps or bruises and cuts, according to the study. "Maybe even more concerning, the rate of head injuries has increased by almost 90 percent between 2003 and 2010, and I think it begs the question, what's going on?" said study researcher Dr. Gary Smith, director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. Read More » How Elephant Seals Know Who's Boss  | SAN FRANCISCO — Male elephant seals recognize the unique calls of their rivals, helping them know when to fight or flee, new research suggests. The findings, presented here at the 166th meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, suggest that in the seals' hypercompetitive mating market, recognizing their rivals' calls to avoid senseless fights can be a good strategy. "If you can call at your rival and save yourself from having to fight again, that's really good," said study co-author Caroline Casey, a graduate student in ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
| Read More » Odd Work Hours Could Weaken Family Bonds "Research indicates that approximately one in five workers works a nonstandard schedule and we need support systems — such as after-school programs — to accommodate the needs of those families," Toby Parcel, a professor of sociology at North Carolina State University, said in a statement. The researchers looked at the work schedules of the kids' parents, the kids' own reports about delinquent behavior (such as vandalism and cutting school) and the kids' reports about their relationship with their parents. Children living with single moms working nonstandard hours, however, reported both weaker bonds with their parents and higher levels of delinquent behavior, the researchers said. "They also reported lower levels of delinquent behavior. Read More » Distinct Humpback Whale Populations Found in North Pacific  | Five distinct humpback whale populations have been identified across the North Pacific Ocean in the most comprehensive genetic study of the mammals in this region yet, a new study reports. and an additional West Pacific population whose range has yet to be determined more specifically. Humpback whales are found in all oceans of the world, but the North Pacific humpbacks are genetically isolated enough to be considered a subspecies of other humpbacks, of which the new populations are further subclassifications, study co-author Scott Baker, a professor of fisheries and wildlife at Oregon State University, said in a statement. "The Mexico population, for example, has 'discrete' sub-populations off the mainland and near the Revillagigedo Islands, but because their genetic differentiation is not that strong, these are not considered 'distinct' populations."
| Read More » Formula 1 Racing Loud Enough to Damage Hearing  | SAN FRANCISCO — Formula 1 racing is so loud that fans would have to wear both earplugs and earmuffs in order to enjoy the spectacle at safe noise levels, new research suggests. "Noise levels at Formula 1 races are loud enough to potentially cause hearing loss," Craig Dolder, a doctoral candidate in acoustical engineering at the University of Texas at Austin, said at a news conference Wednesday (Dec. 4) here at the 166th meeting of the Acoustical Society of America.
| Read More » Cold-Loving Asian Cockroach Invades New York  | A new species of cockroach that can withstand freezing temperatures has taken up residence in New York, scientists confirmed. The resilient critter, Periplaneta japonica, had never been seen in the United States until an exterminator spotted some strange-looking roach carcasses last year on the High Line, a mile-long park built on an old elevated railway in Manhattan. Researchers confirmed the identity of the species, which is native to Asia and notable for its ability to thrive in cold climates, unlike the American cockroaches that populate New York and take shelter indoors when winter comes. "About 20 years ago colleagues of ours in Japan reared nymphs of this species and measured their tolerance to being able to survive in snow," Rutgers insect biologist Jessica Ware said in a statement.
| Read More » Ancient Mars Lake Could Have Supported Life, Curiosity Rover Shows  | NASA's Curiosity rover has found evidence of an ancient Martian lake that could have supported life as we know it for long stretches — perhaps millions of years. This long and skinny freshwater lake likely existed about 3.7 billion years ago, researchers said, suggesting that habitable environments were present on Mars more recently than previously thought. "Quite honestly, it just looks very Earth-like," said Curiosity lead scientist John Grotzinger, of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. "You've got an alluvial fan, which is being fed by streams that originate in mountains, that accumulates a body of water," Grotzinger told SPACE.com.
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