| Report: Climate science panel needs change at top By SETH BORENSTEIN 2010-08-30T21:37:46ZWASHINGTON (AP) -- Scientists reviewing the acclaimed but beleaguered international climate change panel called Monday for a major overhaul in the way it's run, but stopped short of calling for the ouster of the current leader.... hosted.ap.org |
Scientists React to a Nobelist's Climate Thoughts Scientists exploring the human influence on climate react to a provocative essay by a Nobel laureate in physics. feeds.nytimes.com |
Mystery Bird: Lapland bunting, Calcarius lapponicus | GrrlScientist Another mystery bird demystified, this bird shows that birds with two distinct seasonal plumages (breeding and nonbreeding) do not have to moult twice each year!Lapland bunting, Calcarius lapponicus, commonly known as the Lapland longspur in North America, photographed at Dungeness RSPB reserve, Lydd, Kent, UK. Image: Adrian White, September 2010. [use your binoculars].Nikon D40x with a Tamron 70-300 lens.Question: This widespread mystery bird's breeding plumage is dramatically different from its non-breeding plumage, yet these birds moult only once per year. How can a bird have two different plumages if it moults only once per year?Response: This is a Lapland bunting, Calcarius lapponicus. This bird is commonly known as the Lapland longspur in North America, in honour of the extra-long claw on its backward-pointing toe, or hallux. Unlike most birds with different breeding and non-breeding plumages, longspurs moult only once per year. In the fall, they moult into their streaky non-breeding plumage. This nonbreeding plumage is almost identical for males and females. But by spring, the outer tips of these feathers have worn off to reveal the males' distinctive breeding plumage underneath. If you have bird images, video or mp3 files that you'd like to share with a large and appreciate audience, feel free to email them to me for consideration.GrrlScientistguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Military research should bear brunt of science cuts, say leading scientists Senior academics say science cuts should focus on military research projects, including finding a replacement for TridentMilitary research projects, including plans to replace the Trident nuclear weapons system, must bear the brunt of science funding cuts if Britain is to stay at the forefront of scientific research, academics have told the prime minister.Thirty-six scientists and engineers, including seven Royal Society fellows and one Nobel laureate, have today written to David Cameron raising concerns over the future of British science if civilian research is cut while defence research is spared.The government spends £8bn on scientific research, of which more than £2bn is earmarked for Ministry of Defence projects at facilities such as the Atomic Weapons Establishment in Aldermaston. The nuclear weapons lab will play a central role in developing a successor to Trident if ministers decide to go ahead with a replacement."Of particular concern is the fact that world class research into health and global environmental problems is under threat, while the government continues to fund the multi-billion pound research programme at the Atomic Weapons Establishment," the authors write in the letter, which is published today in the Guardian."Our view is that current MoD funding is not only disproportionate, it also includes expenditure on programmes which are of minimal benefit or counterproductive to the UK's security," the letter adds. The authors call for Britain's nuclear warheads to be placed in secure storage and the successor to Trident scrapped to free up funds for civilian science research.The letter, signed by Professor Alastair Hay, an expert in chemical and biological weapons at Leeds University, Sir Harry Kroto, who won the Nobel prize for chemistry in 1996, and the mathematician Sir Michael Atiyah, continues: "We believe that any cuts to public science spending should predominantly come from cuts to the Ministry of Defence's research and development."The letter comes a week after the prime minister told the Conservative party conference in Birmingham that he would take "no risks with British security" and stressed his commitment to renewing the Trident nuclear missile system. In the letter, the scientists urge ministers to "shift their priorities so that science and technology can contribute to tackling the real threats to the UK's present and future security."The scientists concede a need for extra funding on some defence-related issues, including research into ways of monitoring arms control agreements, non-violent conflict resolution and strategies for "tackling the roots of conflict and insecurity".Sir Michael, a former president of the Royal Society, said: "This isn't scientists being self-interested and telling the government not to give money to someone else because they want it for themselves. We strongly believe that current use of government money, that is strongly backing military research, is misguided. This is not the right way to spend government money regardless of the economic situation."On Saturday, 2,000 scientists and their supporters demonstrated outside the Treasury against funding cuts that are expected to reach £1bn.Professor Hay said funding for military projects has benefited from the powerful defence lobby in Britain, but called on ministers to reconsider how public funds are spent on science."We're not calling for a slash in defence funding, but we do need to get the proportions right. There's been a disproportionate emphasis on military research and development and it is clear why with Britain's armaments industry," Hay told the Guardian. "I seriously question the need for Trident and the need for a nuclear deterrent generally. The question really is whether the country can afford it when a lot of people are going to be out of work."He added: "It takes a long time to train researchers and I fear that the cuts that are being mooted will so wreck our science base that it will take such a long time to recover. In Germany and the US they are investing hugely in science. They see research as the seed corn for future prosperity in every sense, whether it's combating global warming or developing new medicines."Stuart Parkinson at Scientists for Global Responsibility, a group that promotes ethical science, design and technology that was involved in organising the letter, said: "There are far better ways in which both the money and science skills can be used to reduce threats in terms of improving our energy and food security and tackling global issues such as poverty and environmental problems, which can drive instability and conflict."Science funding crisisScience policyWeapons technologyDavid CameronTridentMilitarySpending review 2010Tax and spendingDefence policyNuclear weaponsIan Sampleguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Weil's disease: the cause, the symptoms and the precautions to take The death of Olympic rower Andy Holmes has highlighted the danger of infected animal urine in waterWeil's disease, believed to have caused the death this week of Olympic gold medal-winning rower Andy Holmes, is the acute human form of a bacterial infection with a raft of different names: mud fever, swamp fever, haemorrhagic jaundice, swineherd's disease, sewerman's flu. All are known as Leptospirosis, mild cases of which affect millions of people every year worldwide.The infection is caught through contact with infected animal urine (mainly from rodents, cattle or pigs), generally in contaminated water, and typically enters the body through cuts or scrapes, or the lining of the nose, mouth, throat or eyes. Only a very few patients experience the severe, life-threatening illness known as Weil's disease, thought to kill two or three people a year in Britain.After an incubation period that can vary from three days to three weeks, most patients suffer severe headaches, red eyes, muscle pains, fatigue, nausea and a temperature of 39C or above. In roughly a third of cases there is a skin rash; sometimes hallucinations.In very severe cases, symptoms include haemorrhaging from the mouth, eyes and internally. There is significant and rapid organ damage: liver and kidney failure can occur within 10 days, leading to jaundice (these are the only cases that can properly be called Weil's disease). Hospitalisation, followed by antibiotics and often dialysis, will be required if the patient is to survive. Recovery can take months.According to British Rowing, the risk of contracting Weil's disease from recreational water in the UK is "very small". Infection is logically more likely in slow-moving or stagnant water and areas where agriculture and rodents mix; lakes, ponds and canals are more likely to be contaminated than fast-running streams, although some activities – angling, for example, where minor cuts and nicks are common, and swimming, where some water will almost inevitably enter the mouth – could heighten exposure.Rowers and canoeists should cover all cuts and abrasions; avoid splashing themselves, or swallowing potentially contaminated water; wash their hands carefully and if possible shower afterwards; and wash all equipment and clothing regularly. Anyone experiencing flu-like symptoms after contact with fresh water should see their doctor immediately.Health & wellbeingInfectious diseasesAndy HolmesRowingWater sports holidaysJon Henleyguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |