science newsletter: Science News SciGuru.com

Σάββατο 17 Μαρτίου 2012

Science News SciGuru.com

Study Links Past Changes in Monsoon to Major Shifts in Indian Civilizations
Checking Off Symptoms Online Affects Our Perceptions of Risk
Exposed to phthalates as fetuses, female mice have altered reproductive lives
Response Rate High For Some Patients With Metastatic Melanoma Treated With Vemurafenib
Near-miss asteroid will return next year

Study Links Past Changes in Monsoon to Major Shifts in Indian Civilizations

Posted: 16 Mar 2012 06:14 PM PDT

A fundamental shift in the Indian monsoon has occurred over the last few millennia, from a steady humid monsoon that favored lush vegetation to extended periods of drought, reports a new study led by researchers at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). The study has implications for our understanding of the monsoon’s response to climate change.

Checking Off Symptoms Online Affects Our Perceptions of Risk

Posted: 16 Mar 2012 10:30 AM PDT

You’ve been feeling under the weather. You Google your symptoms. A half-hour later, you’re convinced it’s nothing serious—or afraid you have cancer. More than 60 percent of Americans get their health information online, and a majority of those decide whether to see a doctor based on what they find. “Wow, this is an era of self-diagnosis,” thought Arizona State University psychologist Virginia Kwan, learning that statistic. How might information accessed online affect individual health decisions?

Exposed to phthalates as fetuses, female mice have altered reproductive lives

Posted: 16 Mar 2012 09:46 AM PDT

Many environmental and public health officials are concerned about the potential health effects of phthalates, which are common chemicals used to make plastics softer and more pliable. In the first study to examine what effect in utero doses of phthalates have on the reproductive system of mice, Brown University toxicologists found that extremely high doses were associated with significant changes, such as a shortened reproductive lifespan and abnormal cell growth in mammary glands.

Response Rate High For Some Patients With Metastatic Melanoma Treated With Vemurafenib

Posted: 16 Mar 2012 09:37 AM PDT

An international team of researchers from the United States and Australia, including researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla., have found that the oral BRAF inhibitor vemurafenib (PLX4032) when tested in a phase II clinical trial offered a high rate of response in patients with previously treated metastatic melanoma and who had the BRAF mutation. More than 50 percent of the patients in the trial had positive, prolonged responses and a median survival of almost 16 months.

The study was published in a recent issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Near-miss asteroid will return next year

Posted: 16 Mar 2012 09:28 AM PDT

When it whizzes past Earth in 2013, a newly discovered asteroid is going to miss our planet – but not by much. The 50 m space rock is expected to come closer than many satellites, highlighting the growing need to keep watch on hazards from above.

An amateur team discovered the unusual asteroid, dubbed 2012 DA14, on 22 February. Its small size and orbit meant that it was spotted only after it had flown past Earth at about seven times the distance of the Moon.