EAST LANSING, Mich. — As Tropical Storm Irene shows, dealing with natural disasters is a two-way street: Both the government and the public play a critical role in curtailing the effects, according to a Michigan State University political scientist.
In her new book “Dealing with Disaster,” Saundra Schneider contends it’s not the size of the disaster or the amount of money spent on relief that determine success or failure of an emergency response. Instead, it’s the “inevitable gap” between government procedures and the collective behavior of victims. (more…)
After pounding North Carolina and Virginia on Aug. 27, Hurricane Irene made a second landfall near Little Egg Inlet, N.J., early Sunday morning, Aug. 28, still as a category one hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (120 kilometers per hour). It then weakened slightly before making a third landfall over Coney Island, N.Y. as a 65-mph (100-kilometer-per-hour) tropical storm. Irene’s heavy rains, winds and storm surge are causing widespread problems throughout the U.S. mid-Atlantic and Northeast.(more…)
AUSTIN, Texas — The three-dimensional structure of a site on an influenza B virus protein that suppresses human defenses to infection has been determined by researchers at Rutgers University and The University of Texas at Austin.
The discovery could help scientists develop drugs to fight seasonal influenza epidemics caused by the common influenza B strain.
Their discovery also helps explain how influenza B is limited to humans, and why it cannot be as virulent as A strains that incorporate new genes from influenza viruses that infect other species. (more…)
*Organizations around the world are addressing cyberbullying — and digital safety overall — by empowering youth and providing educators with resources to help them navigate the digital world. Includes tips for preventing cyberbullying.*
Redmond, Wash. — Aug. 25, 2011 — For all the benefits that smartphones, computers and the Web have to offer — especially for young people who have embraced digital technology and use it every day — there will always be those who misuse the technology to harass others, including their peers.
Known as “cyberbullying,” this problem can occur at any time of the day or night, due to the always-on nature of the devices and technologies used to create these hurtful interactions. So, for some young people, home offers no respite from being victimized. In fact, cyberbullying has beome common enough that the term was recently added to the Concise Oxford English Dictionary. (more…)
Pegloticase, a modified porcine enzyme, can produce significant and sustained clinical improvements in two out of five patients with chronic gout that is resistant to conventional therapies, researchers report in the Aug. 17 issue of JAMA.
In two controlled clinical trials, pegloticase rapidly lowered high levels of uric acid, the biochemical abnormality in gout, and kept it in the normal range for six months or more in 42 percent of patients receiving the drug every two weeks. Forty percent of patients had complete resolution of at least one of the painful swollen joint nodules, known as tophi, a hallmark of severe gout. (more…)
*New computer modeling study, led by a Berkeley Lab scientist, could help revise understanding of permafrost’s role in global warming*
Billions of tons of carbon trapped in high-latitude permafrost may be released into the atmosphere by the end of this century as the Earth’s climate changes, further accelerating global warming, a new computer modeling study indicates.
The study also found that soil in high-latitude regions could shift from being a sink to a source of carbon dioxide by the end of the 21st century as the soil warms in response to climate change. (more…)
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Rates of HIV have increased in Pakistan’s general population, as the virus has spread beyond at-risk groups to women and their children, according to an international team of researchers, including a University of Florida scientist.
The researchers raise concern that the transmission across subgroups into Pakistan’s general population may serve as indication that the virus may be spreading into populations within neighboring Afghanistan. The team’s epidemiological findings were published in July in the journal PLoS One. (more…)
*Northeast China fossil provides new information about earliest ancestors of today’s mammals*
A well-preserved fossil discovered in northeast China provides new information about the earliest ancestors of most of today’s mammal species–the placental mammals. (more…)
