Science
Thursday, March 28, 2024

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US_Power_Stations_are_the_Largest_Sources_of_Greenhouse_Gases

US President Barack Obama has unveiled what he called "the biggest, most important step we have ever taken" in tackling climate change. The aim of the revised Clean Power Plan is to cut greenhouse gas emissions from US power stations by nearly a third within 15 years. The measures will place significant emphasis on wind and solar power and other renewable energy sources. However, opponents in the energy industry have vowed to fight the plan. "I'm convinced no challenge provides a greater threat to the future of the planet," Mr Obama said. "There is such a thing as being too late."  

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A vaccine against the deadly Ebola virus has led to 100% protection and could transform the way Ebola is tackled, preliminary results suggest. There were no proven drugs or vaccines against the virus at the start of the largest outbreak of Ebola in history, which began in Guinea in December 2013.

Game_Changer

The World Health Organization (WHO) said the findings, being published in the Lancet, could be a "game-changer".Experts said the results were "remarkable". This trial centred on the VSV-EBOV vaccine, which was started by the Public Health Agency of Canada and then developed by the pharmaceutical company Merck. It combined a fragment of the Ebola virus with another safer virus in order to train the immune system to beat Ebola. A unique clinical trial took place in Guinea. When a patient was discovered, their friends, neighbours and family were vaccinated to create a "protective ring" of immunity.

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The chemicals released during orgasm may protect against disease, like prostate and breast cancer:  During this year's annual meeting (May, 2015) of the American Urological Association in New Orleans, researchers affirmed what may be the first modifiable risk factor for prostate cancer: Ejaculation.

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A modifiable risk factor refers to the risks people can prevent through healthy habits, such as diet and exercise. Most of the risk factors for cardiovascular disease, for example, are modifiable; the Centers for Disease and Control Prevention (CDC) reported healthy habits could prevent at least 200,000 of the deaths caused by heart attack and stroke. But for something like prostate cancer, the risks stem more from individual genes and family history.

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The deadly polio virus may be the key to curing some cancers. By injecting a genetically engineered, modified version of the Poliovirus  in two patients with glioblastoma brain tumors, a doctor has eliminated their tumors without infecting them with polio.

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CBS's "60 Minutes" followed the patients for 10 months during the trial and will release the full report Sunday. Matthias Gromeier, a molecular biologist at Duke University, has been researching the idea for 15 years, first beginning with studies, then animal trials and now human tests.

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Boil them, deep-freeze them, crush them, dry them out or blast them into space: tardigrades will survive it all and come back for more. If you go into outer space without protection, you'll die.

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Tardigardes are about 1mm Long

The lack of pressure would force the air in your lungs to rush out. Gases dissolved in your body fluids would expand, pushing the skin apart and forcing it to inflate like a balloon. Your eardrums and capillaries would rupture, and your blood would start to bubble and boil. Even if you survived all that, ionising radiation would rip apart the DNA in your cells. Mercifully, you would be unconscious in 15 seconds.