TOP 100 SCIENCE SITES
| |||
|
| |||
| |||
|
| |||
| Plan to tackle marine pests The Department of Fisheries has been commissioned to develop a plan for reducing the number of marine pests and diseases entering Western Australian ports. abc.net.au |
Darwin did get there before Wallace? Alfred Venables, Julian Wimpenny and David Lloyd (Letters, December 3) suggest that Alfred Russel Wallace "has a stronger claim to the theory of evolution than has Darwin", and imply that there is something suspect in Charles Darwin's reaction to the 1858 letter from Wallace. This is contradicted by well-documented facts.The development of Darwin's thoughts on evolution can be traced in his notebooks of 1836-38, published in 1987 by Cornell University Press. These show that he had arrived at the theory of evolution by natural selection in 1838, fully 20 years before Wallace. In 1844 he wrote a detailed "sketch" of his ideas, which was communicated to Joseph Hooker. He had also discussed his ideas with Charles Lyell. He had intended to write a much larger work than The Origin of Species, but was stimulated by Wallace's letter into first publishing a short paper alongside Wallace's in 1858, and then into writing the Origin.He followed this up with many other major books, the ideas for which are also recorded in his notebooks. It is well known that others before Darwin and Wallace had proposed the idea of evolution, and of natural selection. Darwin's unique contribution was to marshal a wide range of evidence from the natural history of his time, supporting evolution as a historical process and natural selection as its main cause. Valuable as Wallace's contributions to biology were, there is no doubt that they are overshadowed by Darwin's range of insights into questions that the theory of natural selection could illuminate, and his mastery of the facts.Brian CharlesworthDeborah CharlesworthEdinburghCharles DarwinEvolutionguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
In New Way to Edit DNA, Hope for Treating Disease Scientists might have a new way to alter human DNA if a technique for editing the genetic text proves safe and effective. feeds.nytimes.com |
Resurgence of rickets in UK Sharp rise in problem blamed on kids indoors playing computers and parents using too much sunscreenComputer-obsessed children who spend too long indoors and over-anxious parents who slap on excessive sunscreen are contributing to a sharp rise in cases of the bone disease rickets, doctors are warning.Vitamin D deficiency, which causes the condition, could be rectified by adding supplements to milk and other food, a research team at Newcastle University suggests.There are several hundred cases of the preventable condition among children in the UK every year, according to a clinical review paper in the British Medical Journal by Professor Simon Pearce and Dr Tim Cheetham."More than 50% of the adult population [in the UK] have insufficient levels of vitamin D and 16% have severe deficiency during winter and spring," they say. "The highest rates are in Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England. People with pigmented skin are at high risk as are the elderly, obese individuals and those with malabsorption."Most vitamin D is synthesised in the body by absorption of sunlight. Some comes from foods such as fish oil. People with darker skins need more sunlight to top up their vitamin D levels.One of the main reasons for the reappearance of rickets – once considered a disease of the industrial poor in 19th-century cities – is the changing ethnic makeup of the population, Pearce explained.The most commonly affected are people of Asian or African descent who live in northern cities. He has examined cases among young Somali speakers who live in east Newcastle. But changing lifestyles are also contributing to lowering vitamin D levels in the general population."Some people are taking the safe sun message too far," Pearce said. "It's good to have 20 to 30 minutes of exposure to the sun two to three times a week, after which you can put on a hat or sunscreen."Vitamin D levels in parts of the population are precarious. The average worker nowadays is in a call centre, not out in the field. People tend to stay at home rather than going outside to kick a ball around. They stay at home on computer games."Pearce has written to the Department of Health proposing that vitamin D is added to milk. It is already added as a supplement to artificial baby milk. He has also asked the Royal College of Paediatrics to record cases of rickets but said figures were not being collected."A more robust approach to statutory food supplementation with vitamin D (for example in milk) is needed in the UK," the paper concludes.Meanwhile, figures obtained by the Tories show the number of patients leaving hospital with malnutrition has hit record levels in the last year. Those affected are primarily elderly people. The NHS figures show that last year 175,000 people were malnourished on entry to hospital but nearly 185,500 were in a similar condition on discharge, meaning more than 10,000 patients were more malnourished after medical treatment.HealthGame cultureChildrenNutritionNutritionMedical researchOwen Bowcottguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Astronauts finally get Internet access in space CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) -- In a high tech first - really, really high - astronauts in space finally have Internet access.... hosted.ap.org |