Addressing leaders of the world's most important economies early Thursday, President Obama wasted no time in proclaiming a new day for U.S. policy on climate change."I know that in the past, the United States has sometimes fallen short of meeting our responsibilities," he said. "So let me be clear: Those days are over."
But by the end of the day, when the Group of 8 summit in L'Aquila, Italy, wrapped up its deliberations on climate, Obama found himself stymied by many of the same roadblocks that plagued previous efforts to tackle global warming.Leaders of the most developed nations again declined to commit themselves to any specific actions now or in the immediate future to curb the greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming -- actions that would require increasing energy prices, raising taxes or imposing other unpopular economic measures on their people.Instead, they embraced the high-sounding goal of reducing their own emissions by 80% and worldwide emissions by 50% by 2050 -- without pledging to take any specific steps to get there. China, India and other major developing countries, which pressed for action in the next decade by the G-8 countries, reacted by rejecting the package.
And a side meeting Obama convened Thursday to bring together the nations most responsible for greenhouse emissions ended with only general pronouncements, and no firm financial commitments, to work against warming and share emissions-curbing technologies in the future.Paying the economic and political costs for effective action against climate change has always been a problem. But it was especially difficult this time because of the global recession, even with a popular new leader such as Obama seeking to forge ahead."There's always a high expectation for what the U.S. can deliver, and higher expectations for Obama, because he's Obama," said Jake Schmidt, international climate policy director for the Natural Resources Defense Council. "Those are difficult expectations to meet."Schmidt and other activists said that Obama, by bringing the United States to the table on global warming after what they called foot-dragging by the Bush administration, has given new steam to negotiations that will culminate at a United Nations climate conference in Copenhagen in December.The Italy talks represented small but important progress in the debate, they said.The environmental group Greenpeace, by contrast, derided the package as a "missed opportunity" for more aggressive emissions reductions and a failure of leadership by Obama and the G-8.Obama convened the 17-nation climate meeting at a giant circular table, inviting fellow leaders to speak openly about their hopes and concerns. Several acknowledged the new leadership from the U.S., administration officials said.The discussions yielded a consensus declaration that the world should try to limit warming to 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above preindustrial temperatures, a level scientists say would minimize the dangers of the most catastrophic warming effects.The 17 major emitters -- the most advanced economies that make up the G-8, plus the nine biggest emerging economies -- also agreed to partner in research on energy technologies that would reduce emissions, such as solar power and the capture and storage of carbon from coal.They set broad principles for financing the effort, but did not pledge specific contributions.After the meeting, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd praised the American president for his role in the sessions."Can I say on behalf of so many of us," he told Obama, "how welcome it is to see the return of U.S. global leadership on climate change under your presidency."The warm words did not change the fact that, with the global economy racked by recession and even the wealthiest countries struggling with unemployment and other economic pain, considerable obstacles remain for moving against climate change now -- in the United States and elsewhere.Reflecting the challenge on the home front, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), head of the committee drafting the centerpiece of Obama's climate change legislation, announced that she was pulling back from a promise to act swiftly and would not finish work on a bill until at least September.The House last month passed a climate bill that would gradually impose carbon emissions limits and set up a "cap and trade" system to encourage industries to reduce pollution. Europe has already created such a system.During the climate talks, Obama aides said, some developing nations asked why they should sacrifice when other countries have caused more of the damage. Analysts said Obama would have more leverage in dealing with such objections from other countries if the Senate approved a climate bill.The president's clear call for action in Italy could help down the road, too, they said.Michael Oppenheimer, a Princeton University geoscientist and longtime participant in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, said that the G-8 meeting was "a chance for the heads of state to look at each other in the eye and say, 'Yeah, we agree about this' -- and then the word goes down to the negotiators.""That kind of signal then reverberates," he said, "and then a deal that seems impossible can be done."The climate discussions dominated a day at the G-8 that saw little other action.Leaders did agree to work toward completing a long-stalled global trade agreement, and Obama became the first U.S. president to shake hands with Libyan leader Moammar Kadafi, whose country has won favor in Washington in recent years since he abandoned its nuclear program.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
G-8 pledges $20 billion to fight world hunger after appeal from Obama
World leaders agreed to come up with $20 billion to fight hunger after a personal appeal from President Obama, who capped the European leg of his latest foreign trip with a visit to the Vatican this morning.At a news conference summarizing his first Group of 8 summit, Obama said the leading industrialized nations had made progress on feeding the hungry in the less developed world, controlling climate change and dealing with nuclear proliferation. His next and final stop before heading home to Washington will be Ghana.
Obama and his wife, Michelle, met for about 25 minutes with Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican, where the pair also exchanged gifts."It's a great honor for me. Thank you so much," Obama said as he met the pontiff for the first time. The two have talked by phone, however.The pope and Obama share similar concerns on some issues. Both have blamed greed for the current economic crisis around the globe and urged reforms for the business world. They also share a long-standing concern with providing economic help for the poor around the world.
"The president, in both his words and in his deeds, expresses many things that many Catholics recognize as fundamental to our teaching," said Denis McDonough, a devout Catholic and foreign policy advisor to the president. "One is that the president often refers to the fundamental belief that each person is endowed with dignity . . . and the president often underscores that dignity of people is a driving goal in what we hope to accomplish in development policy, for example, and in foreign policy."But the two are separated by issues as well, especially abortion rights, supported by Obama and vigorously opposed by the Vatican. Aides hope the papal audience helps Obama boost to his efforts to court American Catholics, and to rewrite the dialogue between progressives and the church in general.For weeks, aides to the president have been inviting abortion opponents to Washington to talk about finding common ground on issues like family planning, sex education and adoption. The White House is trying to come up with a series of recommendations by the end of the summer that both sides of the abortion issue can support.At the beginning of the Group of 8 summit here this week, world leaders had planned to raise $15 billion toward humanitarian efforts to feed the hungry, but decided over the course of two days to increase the amount to $20 billion at the request of Obama.During his news conference, Obama said the G-8 had made some progress, especially in getting nations to work together on common problems."We've come to L'Aquila [Italy] for a very simple reason: because the challenges of our time threaten the peace and prosperity of every single nation, and no one nation can meet these challenges alone," Obama said."The threat of climate change can't be contained by borders on a map, and the theft of loose nuclear materials could lead to the extermination of any city on Earth," he said. "Reckless actions by a few have fueled a recession that spans the globe, and rising food prices means that 100 million of our fellow citizens are expected to fall into desperate poverty."So right now, at this defining moment, we face a choice. We can either shape our future or let events shape it for us. We can let the stale debates and old disagreements of the past divide us, or we can recognize our shared interests and shared aspirations and work together to create a safer and cleaner and more prosperous world for future generations," Obama said.At the news conference Obama also defended his administration's work at home to pass healthcare reform, an effort that has come under fire from some on Capitol Hill as he takes his fourth foreign trip while lawmakers wrestle with his proposal.He also called on leaders of Iran to take note of the G-8 statement condemning its treatment of peaceful protests, Holocaust denial and defiance of international nuclear standards. Obama emphasized the consensus in the statement, noting that it included Russia, "which doesn't make statements like that lightly."As leaders discussed the problem of world hunger, according to people who were present, Obama at one point rose to make a personal appeal for a more substantial commitment to food security.When his father left Kenya five decades ago, his home country had a higher per capita income and gross domestic product than did South Korea. Today, South Korea is prosperous and Kenya still struggles with poverty, a state Obama attributes to stronger social institutions in South Korea.At his news conference, Obama acknowledged relying on his own history in arguing for extra aid."My father traveled to the United States a mere 50 years ago," he said. "Yet now I have family members who . . . live in villages where hunger is real."The question he raised in the meeting, he said, was, "Why is that?""If you talk to people on the ground in Africa, certainly in Kenya, they will say that, part of the issue here is the institutions aren't working for ordinary people," he said. For instance, he said, many people know they can't get jobs and other opportunities without paying bribes.Strengthening democracies and social institutions will be a key theme Obama emphasizes when he travels to Africa today. It will be the African American president's first trip to sub-Saharan Africa since his election last year.While there, Obama is expected to emphasize the responsibility of developing nations to use international assistance in a transparent and accountable way.
Obama and his wife, Michelle, met for about 25 minutes with Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican, where the pair also exchanged gifts."It's a great honor for me. Thank you so much," Obama said as he met the pontiff for the first time. The two have talked by phone, however.The pope and Obama share similar concerns on some issues. Both have blamed greed for the current economic crisis around the globe and urged reforms for the business world. They also share a long-standing concern with providing economic help for the poor around the world.
"The president, in both his words and in his deeds, expresses many things that many Catholics recognize as fundamental to our teaching," said Denis McDonough, a devout Catholic and foreign policy advisor to the president. "One is that the president often refers to the fundamental belief that each person is endowed with dignity . . . and the president often underscores that dignity of people is a driving goal in what we hope to accomplish in development policy, for example, and in foreign policy."But the two are separated by issues as well, especially abortion rights, supported by Obama and vigorously opposed by the Vatican. Aides hope the papal audience helps Obama boost to his efforts to court American Catholics, and to rewrite the dialogue between progressives and the church in general.For weeks, aides to the president have been inviting abortion opponents to Washington to talk about finding common ground on issues like family planning, sex education and adoption. The White House is trying to come up with a series of recommendations by the end of the summer that both sides of the abortion issue can support.At the beginning of the Group of 8 summit here this week, world leaders had planned to raise $15 billion toward humanitarian efforts to feed the hungry, but decided over the course of two days to increase the amount to $20 billion at the request of Obama.During his news conference, Obama said the G-8 had made some progress, especially in getting nations to work together on common problems."We've come to L'Aquila [Italy] for a very simple reason: because the challenges of our time threaten the peace and prosperity of every single nation, and no one nation can meet these challenges alone," Obama said."The threat of climate change can't be contained by borders on a map, and the theft of loose nuclear materials could lead to the extermination of any city on Earth," he said. "Reckless actions by a few have fueled a recession that spans the globe, and rising food prices means that 100 million of our fellow citizens are expected to fall into desperate poverty."So right now, at this defining moment, we face a choice. We can either shape our future or let events shape it for us. We can let the stale debates and old disagreements of the past divide us, or we can recognize our shared interests and shared aspirations and work together to create a safer and cleaner and more prosperous world for future generations," Obama said.At the news conference Obama also defended his administration's work at home to pass healthcare reform, an effort that has come under fire from some on Capitol Hill as he takes his fourth foreign trip while lawmakers wrestle with his proposal.He also called on leaders of Iran to take note of the G-8 statement condemning its treatment of peaceful protests, Holocaust denial and defiance of international nuclear standards. Obama emphasized the consensus in the statement, noting that it included Russia, "which doesn't make statements like that lightly."As leaders discussed the problem of world hunger, according to people who were present, Obama at one point rose to make a personal appeal for a more substantial commitment to food security.When his father left Kenya five decades ago, his home country had a higher per capita income and gross domestic product than did South Korea. Today, South Korea is prosperous and Kenya still struggles with poverty, a state Obama attributes to stronger social institutions in South Korea.At his news conference, Obama acknowledged relying on his own history in arguing for extra aid."My father traveled to the United States a mere 50 years ago," he said. "Yet now I have family members who . . . live in villages where hunger is real."The question he raised in the meeting, he said, was, "Why is that?""If you talk to people on the ground in Africa, certainly in Kenya, they will say that, part of the issue here is the institutions aren't working for ordinary people," he said. For instance, he said, many people know they can't get jobs and other opportunities without paying bribes.Strengthening democracies and social institutions will be a key theme Obama emphasizes when he travels to Africa today. It will be the African American president's first trip to sub-Saharan Africa since his election last year.While there, Obama is expected to emphasize the responsibility of developing nations to use international assistance in a transparent and accountable way.
Environmental education finally finds a place in India's school textbooks
Thanks to a two-year study that identified the gaps and anomalies in environmental education in India, 800 schools now have a new and improved syllabus that promotes an understanding of environmental issues
More than 100 schools in the state of Maharashtra, and 700 more around India, now have a syllabus that aims to improve children's understanding and knowledge of the environment.
This change stems from a World Bank-aided study, undertaken by the Indian government since 1999, with the objectives of strengthening environment education in the formal school system. Apart from Maharashtra, seven other states -- Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Goa, Jammu and Kashmir, Orissa, Punjab and Uttaranchal -- were selected for the pilot implementation of this project.
The project was designed in two phases. In the first phase, a critical content analysis was undertaken in order to find out the status of environmental content in the textbooks currently being used in the schools. On the basis of the findings, the second phase of pilot implementation was designed, to ensure that environmental education is covered through infusion in existing subjects and not as a separate subject. Practical, hands-on activities, field experiences, work experiences etc are important components of environmental learning. These need to be planned and operationalised with inputs from NGOs and learning centres like museums, zoos etc.
The eight states were selected for the project on the basis of their geographical spread, existing environmental content in textbooks and willingness of the state to participate in the exercise. Eight hundred schools in these states (100 schools in each state) were selected for the initiative.
The Bharati Vidyapeeth Institute of Environment Education and Research (BVIEER), Pune, did a two-year content analysis of more than 1,800 textbooks from all over the country, studying their handling of environmental subjects. Textbooks in General Science, Geography and Languages were analysed to assess the environment education inputs.
The BVIEER content analysis identified 99 environmental concepts including Natural Resources, Biodiversity, Pollution, People and Environment, Energy etc. Each concept was assessed for accuracy, relevance to the text, appropriateness to the age-group, consistency, bias etc. Once the matrix was complete it was easy to identify the lacunae or 'gaps' in the curriculum.
While most of the Geography textbooks did discuss the importance of the atmosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere in detail, and focused on the greenhouse effect, ozone depletion etc, the researchers found that there is little effort to interlink environmental concepts and real life experiences. This means that most students learn the subject by rote and do not identify or believe in the cause of environmental protection. There is a serious absence of locale-specific information and several gaps in the appreciation of ecosystems, their structure, functions, uses, degradation and conservation. There is hardly any information on sustainable lifestyles and what individuals can and should do for environmental preservation as a part of personal day-to-day activity.
Several simple environmental topics such as the variety of plant and animal species in the world, in India and in each state, do not find appropriate representation in the curriculum. Very often, information provided is dated. For instance, DDT in most books is mentioned as a common pesticide, even though commercial production and use of DDT is banned in India.While solar energy is frequently focused on, other sources of non-conventional energy are not dealt with adequately. In most instances it is observed that the complexity and frequency of each concept does not progress over the years.
Comprehension and the will to teach these topics seemed dismal amongst most teachers. Most put this down to lack of time, lack of sufficiently locale-specific environmentally relevant educational material, lack of institutional and parental support and a host of such explanations.
The researchers subsequently suggested changes in the textbooks. Dr E K Bharucha, director of BVIEER says, "Based on the analysis we made of the textbooks, the textbooks of standards 6, 7 and 8 have been redrafted in eight states of the country." In Maharashtra, BVIEER actually sat with the textbook writers to bring about changes in the curriculum.
For the pilot implementation of Phase II, textbooks of science, social sciences and languages at middle school level (standards VI to VIII) were targeted. The concerned textbooks in these states have been modified to strengthen the infusion of environmental concepts and have been introduced in the selected project schools in six states. The remaining two states are in the process of introducing these modified textbooks. The project also involved orientation for all the major stakeholders. This was done through workshops for the Educational Administrators, concerned officials of the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) Textbook Bureaus and state education departments, besides school principals and parents of students. At the same time, workshops were also conducted for textbook writers and illustrators, where experts from the field of environment education provided inputs and helped the writers revise the existing textbooks.
Model textbooks have thus been created by each state for standards 6, 7 and 8. The 'good' lessons that need to be replicated across states were retained and the poor or incorrect concepts and identified gaps that need to be addressed in future textbooks were corrected. At a larger level, there is increased interaction between textbook writers, NGOs and government bureaus. "They are now more aware of what issues to handle and how," says project coordinator Shamita Kumar.
As Dr Bharucha says, "The change has been different in different states, but you cannot expect everyone to react in the same manner. The report is so complex and large that it will take some time for the changes to register properly."
More than 100 schools in the state of Maharashtra, and 700 more around India, now have a syllabus that aims to improve children's understanding and knowledge of the environment.
This change stems from a World Bank-aided study, undertaken by the Indian government since 1999, with the objectives of strengthening environment education in the formal school system. Apart from Maharashtra, seven other states -- Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Goa, Jammu and Kashmir, Orissa, Punjab and Uttaranchal -- were selected for the pilot implementation of this project.
The project was designed in two phases. In the first phase, a critical content analysis was undertaken in order to find out the status of environmental content in the textbooks currently being used in the schools. On the basis of the findings, the second phase of pilot implementation was designed, to ensure that environmental education is covered through infusion in existing subjects and not as a separate subject. Practical, hands-on activities, field experiences, work experiences etc are important components of environmental learning. These need to be planned and operationalised with inputs from NGOs and learning centres like museums, zoos etc.
The eight states were selected for the project on the basis of their geographical spread, existing environmental content in textbooks and willingness of the state to participate in the exercise. Eight hundred schools in these states (100 schools in each state) were selected for the initiative.
The Bharati Vidyapeeth Institute of Environment Education and Research (BVIEER), Pune, did a two-year content analysis of more than 1,800 textbooks from all over the country, studying their handling of environmental subjects. Textbooks in General Science, Geography and Languages were analysed to assess the environment education inputs.
The BVIEER content analysis identified 99 environmental concepts including Natural Resources, Biodiversity, Pollution, People and Environment, Energy etc. Each concept was assessed for accuracy, relevance to the text, appropriateness to the age-group, consistency, bias etc. Once the matrix was complete it was easy to identify the lacunae or 'gaps' in the curriculum.
While most of the Geography textbooks did discuss the importance of the atmosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere in detail, and focused on the greenhouse effect, ozone depletion etc, the researchers found that there is little effort to interlink environmental concepts and real life experiences. This means that most students learn the subject by rote and do not identify or believe in the cause of environmental protection. There is a serious absence of locale-specific information and several gaps in the appreciation of ecosystems, their structure, functions, uses, degradation and conservation. There is hardly any information on sustainable lifestyles and what individuals can and should do for environmental preservation as a part of personal day-to-day activity.
Several simple environmental topics such as the variety of plant and animal species in the world, in India and in each state, do not find appropriate representation in the curriculum. Very often, information provided is dated. For instance, DDT in most books is mentioned as a common pesticide, even though commercial production and use of DDT is banned in India.While solar energy is frequently focused on, other sources of non-conventional energy are not dealt with adequately. In most instances it is observed that the complexity and frequency of each concept does not progress over the years.
Comprehension and the will to teach these topics seemed dismal amongst most teachers. Most put this down to lack of time, lack of sufficiently locale-specific environmentally relevant educational material, lack of institutional and parental support and a host of such explanations.
The researchers subsequently suggested changes in the textbooks. Dr E K Bharucha, director of BVIEER says, "Based on the analysis we made of the textbooks, the textbooks of standards 6, 7 and 8 have been redrafted in eight states of the country." In Maharashtra, BVIEER actually sat with the textbook writers to bring about changes in the curriculum.
For the pilot implementation of Phase II, textbooks of science, social sciences and languages at middle school level (standards VI to VIII) were targeted. The concerned textbooks in these states have been modified to strengthen the infusion of environmental concepts and have been introduced in the selected project schools in six states. The remaining two states are in the process of introducing these modified textbooks. The project also involved orientation for all the major stakeholders. This was done through workshops for the Educational Administrators, concerned officials of the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) Textbook Bureaus and state education departments, besides school principals and parents of students. At the same time, workshops were also conducted for textbook writers and illustrators, where experts from the field of environment education provided inputs and helped the writers revise the existing textbooks.
Model textbooks have thus been created by each state for standards 6, 7 and 8. The 'good' lessons that need to be replicated across states were retained and the poor or incorrect concepts and identified gaps that need to be addressed in future textbooks were corrected. At a larger level, there is increased interaction between textbook writers, NGOs and government bureaus. "They are now more aware of what issues to handle and how," says project coordinator Shamita Kumar.
As Dr Bharucha says, "The change has been different in different states, but you cannot expect everyone to react in the same manner. The report is so complex and large that it will take some time for the changes to register properly."
Arctic ice shows 40 percent thinning since 2004
Monthly Archive Show all RSS
A new NASA study has revealed that the Arctic Ocean's permanent blanket of ice around the North Pole has thinned by more than 40 per cent since 2004. Scientists said the rapid loss was "remarkable" and said it could force experts to reassess how quickly the Arctic ice in the summer may disappear completely. They have called for more research to pin down the causes of the change, which they say is probably down to increased melting and shifts in the way the ice moves around.
The study, based on satellite measurements, is among the first to estimate the thickness of the Arctic ice, rather than just its surface area.
Ron Kwok, senior research scientist at Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, said: "Even in years when the overall extent of sea ice remains stable or grows slightly, the thickness and volume of the ice cover is continuing to decline, making the ice more vulnerable to continued shrinkage."
The study looked at measurements taken of the Arctic region by the ICESat satellite, launched in 2003. Overall, the experts found that the ice, typically up to about 3m thick, thinned by 67cm over the last four winters.
Converting to ice volume, the scientists worked out the amount of so-called multiyear ice, which persists through Arctic summers, had decreased by 1540 cubic kilometres between 2004 and 2008 – a decline of 42 per cent. The research is published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans.
Ron Kwok said: "Ice volume allows us to calculate annual ice production and gives us an inventory of the fresh water and total ice mass stored in Arctic sea ice. Our data will help scientists better understand how fast the volume of Arctic ice is decreasing and how soon we might see a nearly ice-free Arctic in summer."
The Arctic ice cap fluctuates with the seasons, growing in the freezing winter and shrinking over the summer. An important finding of the study is that the majority of Arctic ice no longer survives the summer. In 2003, this multiyear ice made up 62 per cent of the region's total ice volume. By 2008, this was down to 32 per cent. The remaining 68 per cent was ‘first-year’ seasonal ice, which was open water during the summer, so is thinner and more likely to melt away.
A new NASA study has revealed that the Arctic Ocean's permanent blanket of ice around the North Pole has thinned by more than 40 per cent since 2004. Scientists said the rapid loss was "remarkable" and said it could force experts to reassess how quickly the Arctic ice in the summer may disappear completely. They have called for more research to pin down the causes of the change, which they say is probably down to increased melting and shifts in the way the ice moves around.
The study, based on satellite measurements, is among the first to estimate the thickness of the Arctic ice, rather than just its surface area.
Ron Kwok, senior research scientist at Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, said: "Even in years when the overall extent of sea ice remains stable or grows slightly, the thickness and volume of the ice cover is continuing to decline, making the ice more vulnerable to continued shrinkage."
The study looked at measurements taken of the Arctic region by the ICESat satellite, launched in 2003. Overall, the experts found that the ice, typically up to about 3m thick, thinned by 67cm over the last four winters.
Converting to ice volume, the scientists worked out the amount of so-called multiyear ice, which persists through Arctic summers, had decreased by 1540 cubic kilometres between 2004 and 2008 – a decline of 42 per cent. The research is published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans.
Ron Kwok said: "Ice volume allows us to calculate annual ice production and gives us an inventory of the fresh water and total ice mass stored in Arctic sea ice. Our data will help scientists better understand how fast the volume of Arctic ice is decreasing and how soon we might see a nearly ice-free Arctic in summer."
The Arctic ice cap fluctuates with the seasons, growing in the freezing winter and shrinking over the summer. An important finding of the study is that the majority of Arctic ice no longer survives the summer. In 2003, this multiyear ice made up 62 per cent of the region's total ice volume. By 2008, this was down to 32 per cent. The remaining 68 per cent was ‘first-year’ seasonal ice, which was open water during the summer, so is thinner and more likely to melt away.
For the study, researchers analysed the amount of five amino acids - the building blocks of protein - in the diets of participants from the US, the UK
Broccoli and cabbage are particularly high in a chemical called glutamic acid.Glutamic acid is the most common amino acid and accounts for almost a quarter of vegetable protein and nearly a fifth of animal protein.Whole grain foods like rice, breads and cereals, soy products such as tofu and durum wheat, which is used tomake pasta, are other sources. For the study, researchers analysed the amount of five amino acids - the building blocks of protein - in the diets of participants from the US, the UK, China and Japan. The study of 4,680 people, aged 40 to 59, showed that on average that the more of the protein component they consumed the more their blood pressure fell. "Glutamic acid may partly explain the link between vegetable protein and lower blood pressure," the Daily Express quoted study author Dr Ian Brown, an epidemiologist at Imperial College, London, as saying."However there is no 'magic bullet' for preventing high blood pressure, and vegetable protein and glutamic acid are individual elements of a broader healthy eating pattern," Brown added. The study has been published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.make pasta, are other common sources.
ndian-origin researcher unveils biodegradable scaffold to fix damaged knees
A research team at Hospital for Special Surgery, including an Indian-origin scientist, have developed a biodegradable scaffold that can be used to treat patients with damaged knee cartilage.Dr Asheesh Bedi, a fellow in sports medicine and shoulder surgery at Hospital for Special Surgery, has revealed that his team's invention is a Trufit plug that has mechanical properties similar to cartilage and bone."The data has been encouraging to support further evaluation of this synthetic scaffold as a cartilage repair technique," he said.Damage to so-called articular cartilage can occur in various ways, ranging from direct trauma in a motor vehicle accident to a noncontact, pivoting event on the soccer field. The Trufit plug has two layers. The top layer has properties similar to cartilage and the lower layer has properties similar to bone. The bilayered structure has mechanical properties that approximately match the adjacent cartilage and bone. During the study, surgeons inserted the plug in the knees of 26 patients with donor lesions from OATS procedures and followed up with imaging studies (with MRI and T2-mapping) at various intervals for a period of 39 months. "Quantitative MRI, when combined with morphologic assessment, allows us to understand the natural history of these repair techniques and define those patients who are most likely to benefit from the surgery," said Hollis Potter, M.D., chief of the Division of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, director of Research in the Department of Radiology and Imaging at Hospital for Special Surgery and lead author of the study. "We gain knowledge about the biology of integration with the host tissue, as well as the repair tissue biochemistry, all by a noninvasive imaging technique," he added."What we found was that the plug demonstrated a predictable process of maturation on imaging studies that paralleled the biology of their incorporation," Bedi said. The findings were presented at annual meeting of the American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine.
an an individual's bitter-taste sensitivity help determine diabetes risk?
A research team at Kansas State University, including an Indian origin scientist, are studying whether an individual's bitterness sensitivity can help predict his/her risk of developing type 2 diabetes.ead researcher Kathy Nguyen, senior in public health nutrition along with colleagues Koushik Adhikari and Mark Haub, are studying the genotypes of diabetic and non-diabetic individuals to determine the possible link.For the study, Nguyen is collecting cheek cell samples from about 60 men and women between the ages of 40 and 70. The sample includes people with and without type 2 diabetes.The researchers will later genotype two variations within a DNA sequence to determine whether the individuals are supertasters, tasters or non-tasters of bitterness. Supertasters are more sensitive to bitterness than tasters, and non-tasters are not sensitive.The team hopes that by understanding whether bitterness sensitivity is linked to type 2 diabetes, there is a potential to screen individuals for bitterness sensitivity, and to use that information as a predictive marker for the disease and other chronic disease such as heart disease and obesity."This is a preliminary stage with a small sample size," Adhikari said.
The study has to be repeated with a larger population of different ethnicities to arrive at any meaningful conclusions. However, Kathy will establish the protocol for this project," he added.
The study has to be repeated with a larger population of different ethnicities to arrive at any meaningful conclusions. However, Kathy will establish the protocol for this project," he added.
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