Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Today In History; First Public Zoo Opens In Paris
News; Mexico Wins 2007 National Geographic World Championship
Students were eligible to take part in the World Championship, held in San Diego, California, by winning or being a top finisher in the national competitions of their home regions. Also competing this year were Argentina, Australia, Bulgaria, Chinese Taipei, France, Germany, Ghana, Hungary, India, Poland, Romania, Russia, Singapore, and the United Kingdom.
Mexico, the United States, and Canada made it to the final round after getting the highest scores in a written contest and an activity that included an outdoor map-reading course at SeaWorld.
In an Olympics-style ceremony, medals were awarded to the first-, second- and third-placed teams. Alex Trebek, host of the TV game show Jeopardy!, moderated the finals.
The winning question was: "What historic site was carved from sandstone in about 1200 B.C.? This site includes two huge temples and statues of an ancient ruler." Know the answer? It’s Abu Simbel, near Aswan, Egypt.
Monday, June 9, 2008
News; What You Didn't Know About Nick Jonas
But Nick also has diabetes, a serious health condition that needs daily attention. Now 15, Nick first got sick while on tour in November 2005. He was losing weight, acting moody, and feeling thirsty all the time. A blood test showed that he had diabetes and he spent several days in the hospital. Though he is healthy and feeling great now, back then he worried he might die.
"I had an emotional breakdown since I really had no idea what diabetes was all about. I wondered, 'why me?' Then I asked myself, 'why not me?' and realized that I might be able to help other kids with diabetes."
In 2007, the Jonas Brothers performed at a Diabetes Research Institute fundraiser in New York City. During the show, Nick asked audience members to raise their hands if they had diabetes. Then he raised his hand, too, revealing for the first time publicly that he has type 1 diabetes.
Of course, the crowd went wild. He even pulled up his T-shirt sleeve to show the audience the device he wears on his arm to deliver insulin to his body. (People who have diabetes have a problem with a hormone called insulin. Their bodies either don't make enough insulin or the insulin doesn't work as it should. Without insulin, your body can't get the fuel it needs.)
At the concert, Nick encouraged other kids with diabetes to be positive, adding that he earned the nickname "Mr. Positive" because of his attitude about his condition.
Editor's Note: We knew kids dealing with diabetes would have lots of questions for Nick, so we turned the rest of the interview over to Madison Dodge. Madi, 12, has had diabetes since she was 5. She's also an accomplished performer and an advocate for the American Diabetes Association. Here's what Madi wanted to know:
Madi: Do you notice a difference in your ability to perform when your blood sugar is very high or dropping low?
Nick: In the beginning, yes. I had wild mood swings and couldn't drink enough water. But now I'm able to check my blood sugar before we go onstage, so I can manage it by using my Omni Pod [the device he wears that delivers insulin].
Madi: I perform with several theater groups and choruses and for pageants, and I feel badly when my sugar is too high or too low. It is hard to focus and do my best. Does this affect you?
Nick: I do get tired, but our days are pretty jam-packed. Again, it's a question of regularly checking and managing our blood sugar.
Madi: How has your family handled your diagnosis?
Nick: At first it was really hard on all of us because we didn't know how it would affect our daily lives. I actually asked my doctor if I could die. Fortunately, we were blessed to have great medical care and learned how to manage diabetes.
Madi: Did they suspect diabetes before you were diagnosed?
Nick: No, we couldn't figure out what was going on. But one simple blood test gave us the answer.
Madi: Do you have diabetes in your family?
Nick: No one else in our family has ever been diagnosed with diabetes.
Madi: Do any of your other family members fear they will be diagnosed too?
Nick: I hope that no one ever will.
Madi: What has been your scariest moment with diabetes? Your funniest? I have some really funny stories I can tell about diabetes!
Nick: The scariest was the weight loss. I lost 15 pounds very quickly. My mom said I looked like a prisoner of war!
Madi: Have you ever considered coming to a diabetes event like the Step Out to Fight Diabetes walk or Sugar Free Weekend Retreat or a camp? I am sure that so many of the kids with diabetes would be inspired by you and happy to meet you! I know I would be!
Nick: If I had time in my schedule I would love to. It's important to share that it's a condition you can live with. There's nothing to be afraid of, and it can actually make you closer to your family and friends.
Madi: Have you ever considered writing a song about diabetes? I'd love to work on that with you!
Nick: There is a song on our new album called "A Little Bit Longer" that is all about my diabetes. But the lyrics could be interpreted as any difficult situation in life.
Madi: I have had type 1 diabetes for 6½ years. I use an insulin pump and I check my blood sugar 10-12 times a day. My best advice for you, and for people with diabetes everywhere, is: Control your diabetes. Don't let it control you!
If we take good care of diabetes, it does not need to limit or change our everyday activities and our lives. Live life to the fullest and find a way to make having diabetes a positive thing in your life. It will make it much easier in the long run!
Nick: Thanks, Madi.
Today In History; First Ascent of Broad Peak
Word of The Day
Friday, June 6, 2008
News; Bacteria Could Stop Frog Killer
The disease that is devastating amphibian populations around the world could be tackled using "friendly" bacteria, research suggests.
Scientists have found that certain types of bacteria which live naturally on amphibians produce chemicals that attack the disease-causing fungus.
Recent results indicate the bacteria help frogs survive fungal infection.
The chytrid fungus is a major reason for the global decline which sees one third of amphibians facing extinction.
But the latest findings, reported at the American Society for Microbiology meeting in Boston, may give conservationists a new way to tackle the scourge.
 |  This is definitely a line of research that could become a tool applied to saving species in the wild  Don Church IUCN Amphibian Specialist Group and Conservation International |
Reid Harris and colleagues found that treating the mountain yellow-legged frog (Rana muscosa) with extra helpings of bacteria reduces the weight loss seen when the fungus attacks, and appears to keep them alive longer as well.
"In the group we exposed to chytrid, about 50% to 60% have died," he told BBC News.
"But of the ones where we added the bacterium (Janthinobacterium lividum) none have died, and we're about 140 days in now."
The mountain yellow-legged frog of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the western US is categorised as Critically Endangered, with numbers believed to have fallen by 80% within about 15 years.
Natural defences
The waterborne fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis has emerged as a major threat to amphibians in the last decade, and conservationists have been left grasping for a way of stopping its apparently inexorable worldwide spread.
| WHAT ARE AMPHIBIANS?  First true amphibians evolved about 250m years ago Adapted to many different aquatic and terrestrial habitats Present today on every continent except Antarctica Undergo metamorphosis, from larvae to adults |
But although it has devastated many species, some appear to have an innate capacity to withstand infection. Even within species that generally succumb, the odd population survives.
What gives these communities immunity is not clear; but one answer, as Professor Harris's group has been finding, could be bacteria such as Janthinobacterium which live naturally on their skin.
Earlier lab experiments, also involving the red-backed salamander (Plethodon cinereus), showed that the bacteria produce chemicals able to attack the fungus.
"We detected anti-chytrid metabolites on the skin itself in high enough concentrations to kill off the chytrid," he said.
"One of our hypotheses is that the bacteria live in some kind of defensive symbiosis with the frogs and salamanders."
Another piece of evidence came with the finding that amphibians in colonies which survive the passage of the chytrid wave tend to carry higher levels of the bacteria.
This all raises questions as to why, if the bacteria are protective, they are not present in large enough numbers in all colonies; and whether some other factor - perhaps habitat loss, pollution or rapid climatic shifts - can reduce the bacterial cargo, opening up the door to fungal attack.
In Spain, scientists have found that rising temperatures appear to increase amphibians' vulnerability to infection.
Not in isolation
Whatever the history, the findings carry the promise that perhaps these bacteria could be used in the wild as a defence against the chytrid.
"It's tremendously exciting, because the other treatments for chytrid have problems," commented Don Church, a scientist with Conservation International and senior director of the Amphibian Assessment Group which monitors trends worldwide.
 The JMU team applied protective bacteria to frogs in the lab |
"The classical method of treatment with a fungicide leaves animals open to re-infection, and it's not a solution for use in the wild - it's a solution for animals that can be kept isolated or quarantined.
"So I think this is definitely a line of research that could become a tool applied to saving species in the wild, but we would have to develop a whole set of criteria for deciding where and how to use it - we have had so many catastrophes in the past through introducing species, so we have to be very careful."
Dr Church advocates more research on amphibians that survive chytrid attack, in order to catalogue what other varieties of defensive bacteria exist.
Soiled good
Reid Harris's team at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, will continue to follow their treated mountain yellow-legged frogs to confirm that bacterial treatment really does keep them alive longer.
If the positive findings continue, they would like to start projects in the wild within a few years.
"Interestingly, some of the probiotic agricultural products that you can buy from hardware stores contain pretty similar bacteria to what we're using," he said.
 The last few Panamanian golden frogs were taken into protective captivity |
"Using them doesn't seem too controversial in an agricultural setting, although of course people get a lot more cautious when you're talking about national parks and so on.
"In something like Rana muscosa where the frogs pretty much stay put in ponds all year you might be able to add bacteria to soil or ponds and stay in front of the infection wave. It's harder to see how it would work in a tropical rainforest."
Scattering bacteria in ponds and soil might seem like a risky strategy.
But so dire is the chytrid situation that a few years ago, amphibian specialists were saying that the only solution for some species was to take the few remaining specimens into captive breeding programmes in the hope, rather than the certainty, that they could be re-introduced to the wild at some point in the future.
Having said that, a defence against chytridiomycosis would not by itself arrest the striking decline in amphibians, which are also threatened by habitat loss, pollution, climate change, viral disease, hunting and introduced predators.
Today In History; First Public Museum Opens
Today the museum is well known for its collection of Pre-Raphaelite art. The Pre-Raphaelites were a group of artists who rebelled against the notions of art of their time (1849). Rather than idealizing beauty, as their contemporaries did, the Pre-Raphaelites tried to reproduce the details and colors of the real-life models and landscapes they used as a basis for their paintings and illustrations. Often the subjects of their paintings were mythic, poetic, or Biblical scenes, such as Last Sleep of Arthur in Avalon (Burne-Jones, 1898).
Word of The Day
Thursday, June 5, 2008
News; Microsoft Grants XP New Lifeline
Windows XP reaches its end of life on 30 June but Microsoft has now said it can continue being sold until June 2010 but only on cheap desktops.
The decision follows one made in April to extend the life of XP on low cost laptops until the same date.
It comes as Dell, HP and Lenovo exploit loopholes in Microsoft's licensing terms to keep putting XP on machines.
Growing market
In an announcement at the Computex trade show in Taiwan, Microsoft said the decision was prompted by customers asking for the software to be put on low cost desktops.
Industry experts believe the decision is also motivated by the fact that low cost machines cannot run Windows Vista - the newest version of the operating system.
They also say that many of the low cost laptops run Linux - an open source rival to Microsoft's operating system.
Low cost laptops, such as the Asus Eee PC, have proved hugely popular. Research firm IDC predicts that sales of ultra low-cost notebooks, will reach nine million units in 2012.
The extension Microsoft granted to XP for these low cost laptops, or netbooks, covered machines that have no more than 1GB of RAM; a hard drive up to 80GB in size; a processor running no faster than 1GHz; a screen no larger than 10.2in (25cm) and no touch screen.
So far Microsoft has laid down no specifications for the low cost desktops, called nettops, but it said it was working with 20 PC makers on these machines.
The terms of Microsoft's licensing arrangements with PC makers dictate that they must stop offering XP as an option on new machines after 30 June.
Many PC makers have flouted this cut off by shipping machines running certain versions of Vista with a "downgrade license" that lets customers revert to the older operating system.
Today In History; Dennis Gabor, Electrical Engineer/Scientist
Gabor used conventional filtered-light sources when he invented holography. The lights of the time threw either too little or too diffuse light, limiting the practical uses of holography. Holography only became commercially feasible after the invention of the laser in 1960. Gabor also researched high speed oscilloscopes, communication theory, physical optics, and television. He received the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1971 for his invention of holography.