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Nowhere near an HIV vaccine

Published February 17th, 2008 in Science, Innovation and Human World. 2 Comments

More than 20 years have gone by since scientists first started to conduct research on HIV, and yet there is no vaccine against it. HIV affects some 39 million people worldwide, according to data from the World Health Organization.

Speaking at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Dr. David Baltimore said that there is little hope among scientists that an effective vaccine will be developed.

Over the course of many years, HIV has found ways to evolve and protect itself from the human immune system, so the big question is, will scientists be ever able to overcome nature and the challenges they have so far encountered?

Although little or no success up-to-date may be discouraging and understandable, the Nobel Prize-winning biologist and President of the AAAS believes that the scientific community needs to do better if mankind does not want to find itself with a worldwide epidemic and no response to it.

One answer to the problem might be found in gene and stem cell therapy, but these techniques are still in their early stages of development. The idea is to find ways to genetically boost the immune system against HIV.

Original Source (s):

BBC
WHO

ESA releases first 3D images of Mars

Published February 7th, 2008 in Science, Photos and Space. 0 Comments

olympus_mons_elevation_colour_final_l.jpgAfter years of work, the European Space Agency has finally released the first and most detailed 3-D images of a large part of the Martian surface.

This set of topographic images is known as the Mars Express Digital Terrain Model (DTM) and was obtained using the High Resolution Stereo Camera on board the Mars Express.

The images provide information about the height of cliffs, the altitude and slope of lava and water flows or the altitude of desert plains in Mars. With such topographic information, researchers will also be able to better interpret other data sets such as those from the Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding.

The ESA team behind this project now hopes to include new sets of high-resolution data to the DTM as the Mars Express continues its mission in orbit around the planet for at least one more year.

The Mars Express-HRSC DTMs are available to the scientists through the archives at the Planetary Science Archive at ESA and the Planetary Data System at NASA. A joint website of FU Berlin and DLR provides the capability to the general public to visualize the data online.

Original Source (s):
ESA’s Press Release

Picture Credits (s):
European Space Agency

Sea lions slaughtered in Ecuador

Published January 31st, 2008 in Science and Animals. 2 Comments

_44389183_sealion1afp203bd.jpgNothing like this had happened since 2001 when 35 male sea lions were killed in the Galapagos Islands. Back then, the animals’ genitals and teeth had been removed.

Now, a new attack in the exotic islands has resulted in 53 sea lions dead, including 13 pups, 25 youngsters, 9 males and 6 females. The animals were found with their heads caved in and in a state of decomposition about 1,000km off the coast of Ecuador. Unlike in the previous incident, this time no signs of mutilation or cuts were found on them.

Having already discarded that the animals were killed for their genitals, teeth or skin, the authorities are now trying to determine the motive of the massacre.

The Galapagos Islands, the first place ever to be designated as a World Heritage site, is home to one of the world’s most known animal and plant paradises.

Last year the UNESCO warned that the islands were in danger due to an increase in tourism and to invasive species migrating to the region.

Original Source (s):

El Mundo
BBC

Picture Credit (s):

BBC Mundo

Does sensory deprivation make people more suggestible?

Published January 27th, 2008 in Science, Body & Mind and Human World. 2 Comments

Ever wonder what would happen if you were left alone in the dark for days? This is exactly what six volunteers have done for a BBC Horizon documentary. The experiment is set out to determine whether this technique, known as sensory deprivation, makes people more suggestible. For two days, psychologist Ian Robbins has monitored six subjects confined to a cell in a nuclear bunker.

As the hours go by without hearing, seeing anything and not knowing what time it is, the volunteers become increasingly disoriented. Among them is Brian Keenan, someone familiar with the experience after having been held in captivity for four years in Lebanon. Thirty hours after the start of the experiment, he has begun hallucinating. And so have others. Some of the volunteers are noticing strange presences, such as other people in the room, mosquitoes or musical instruments getting louder and louder.

Once the subjects are released and given the psychological tests, several of them show very high levels of suggestibility. The tests included reading out the colors of a card whose letters were printed in a different color. The results shed some light on what happens to people who are exposed to solitary confinement for months or even years.

Sensory deprivation, a subject not exempt from controversy, is allegedly used as an interrogation strategy at Guantanamo Bay. Moreover, thousands of inmates around the world are exposed to a certain degree of solitary confinement.

Professor Robbins points out that the evidence gathered in such situations is unreliable because at some point people start combining the views of the interrogators with their own.

Original Source (s):

BBC

French court convicts oil company for spill

Published January 19th, 2008 in Science, Oceans, Earth and Animals. 1 Comment

birds.jpgOn 12 December 1999 tanker Erika broke in two about 75km off the coasts of Brittany leaking 20,000 tons of heavy fuel oil into the sea. Two weeks later, the spill was spread by a storm contaminating 400 km of coastline. France’s worst oil disaster killed more than 150,000 seabirds. The 26-member crew was successfully rescued by helicopter.

In February 2007, 15 defendants were put on trial. Among them were Rina, the Italian company that certified Erika seaworthy, and French oil company Total.

Now, in a historic and the first ruling of its kind in France, a Paris court has convicted Total of “maritime pollution” even though the company did not own the ship. Despite denying responsibility, Total will have to pay about 200 million euros in damages and has been fined about 400,000 euros. Rina has also been fined about 400,000 euros because it certified the vessel was in good state when it was not. One of the ship owners, Giuseppe Savarese, will also have to pay about 80,000 euros.

Total is considering appealing the verdict on the grounds that international oil pollution conventions do not usually permit charges on parties other than ship owners or their insurers, which are exposed to greater liability.

The four-month trial reflects the complexity of international shipping and maritime safety regulations.

Original Source (s):

El Mundo
The New York Times

Picture Credit (s):
BBC News Online

Celebrities urged to check scientific claims

Published January 8th, 2008 in Science and Body & Mind. 2 Comments

Next time you see a celebrity giving advice about medical treatments or backing scientific research and campaigns, think twice before following his or her advice.

Little scientific awareness on the part of many stars and their quite often nonsense scientific claims has led the educational charity “Sense About Science” to launch a campaign urging celebrities - or their agents - to contact them before making public any statements that may contribute to scientific misinformation.

The charity has recently published a leaflet, “Science for Celebrities“, with examples of misleading claims by various celebrities followed by corrections from experts. The document will be distributed to VIP restaurants, clubs and management agencies across the UK.

Because stars are in the public eye, their opinions shape and have an impact on how people view certain issues. Is it therefore a matter of public interest that celebrities assume their responsibility of being properly informed before joining particular campaigns and endorsing products that are presented as being scientifically grounded when in fact they are not.

So if you are a celebrity about to make a statement on a science-related issue, you now have the chance to check your facts before making them public. The initiative is backed by over a thousand scientists from many disciplines, who are just a phone call away and committed to promoting accurate information on health, lifestyle issues and science in general.

Original Source (s):

Sense About Science
El Mundo

UK scientists to mimic human brain

Published December 31st, 2007 in Science and Innovation. 1 Comment

The BBC has just reported that British scientists at the University of Manchester are set out to build the first machine capable of mimicking the complex interactions of the human brain. The computer, nicknamed the “brain box“, will cost 1million pounds, well over $1 million. With it, researchers hope to learn how to engineer fail-safe electronics.

Scientists believe that biological systems can be of great help to understand and create improved and more reliable computer systems. But how would scientists go about doing this?

The human brain, unlike a computer system, has been shown to keep functioning despite the failure of component neurons - in the case of a computer, it would be computer parts.

Apparently, the key to the success of the project is what scientists refer to as “spikes”. These are bursts of activity in the human brain caused by groups of neurons working together. Such spikes are in turn responsible for generating the characteristic wave patterns that show on electroencephalograms.

Using many microprocessors, researchers hope that the new machine can model the interactions between networks of neurons. So by learning more about how the brain works at the spike pattern level, it might be possible to create computers that keep functioning despite failure of component parts.

Original Source (s):
BBC

The quest for a Unified Theory of Everything

Published December 29th, 2007 in Science, Space and Innovation. 7 Comments

Since the beginning of time, physicists have tried to uncover the mysteries of the Universe. Over the course of many decades a large number of laws and theories have emerged, some of which have successfully provided explanations for different physical phenomena. For instance, Einstein’s work - his theories of Special and General Relativity - has shed some light on the large-scale world. Other formulations, like those of quantum mechanics, have opened up windows to the realm of the very small.

But where scientists do not seem to have it all figured out yet is when it comes to the so-called Holy Grail of physics: a Unified Theory of Everything. Attempts have long been done to come up with a framework that unifies all known physical forces. In fact, it was Albert Einstein who first started the quest for unification by trying to bring together his newly formulated theory of Relativity with that of electromagnetism. Unfortunately, he died before realizing his dream. But he did lay the foundations from which other physicists have continued his work.

The last decades have seen a growing interest in the development of a theory of unification. Among the attempts put forward is String Theory. This is a framework of highly complex mathematics, but whose beauty has drawn attention from physicists and mathematicians across the world. One of String Theory’s leading scientists is Brian Greene of Columbia University. His book, entitled “The Elegant Universe”, introduces the reader to the inner workings of vibrating strings of energy that live in the realm of the very small. The author also explains how the concept of “strings” eventually evolves to give rise to what is now known as M-theory. It is an exceptional tool for educators and for those who would like to gain an insight into fascinating and multi-dimensional worlds and yet lack the mathematical background to understand the difficult mathematical formulas inherent in the theory.

If you are more of a visual person, you may as well watch “The Elegant Universe” video online. The 3-hour long documentary does an excellent job at presenting the theory itself and at bringing in the viewpoint of those who oppose to it – because no theory is ever exempt from controversy and because in science there is no such thing as absolute truth. Differences in opinion apart, the documentary is mind-boggling, and it shows how elegant and interesting the seemingly boring world of physics can really be.

Global astronomy celebrations in 2009

Published December 26th, 2007 in Science, Space and Human World. 1 Comment

The United Nations has finally declared 2009 the International Year of Astronomy (IYA 2009). The decision comes in the 62nd General Assembly and after years of talks between Italy and the promoters of this initiative - UNESCO and the International Astronomical Union.

The IYA2009 marks the 400th anniversary of the first use of the telescope by Galileo, whose astronomical discoveries triggered a revolution that ushered mankind into an era of ever greater scientific, technological and human advancement.

The numerous activities and events planned for 2009 seek to unite humankind in the search for our common cosmic origin, but most importantly they also come as an opportunity for the world to embrace science and in particular astronomy and reach out to the most disadvantaged communities across the world. With a large network of 99 countries and 14 organizations signed up to participate in IYA2009, the initiative promises to be an example of international effort and cooperation.

The International Astronomical Union is presided by astrophysicist Catherine Cesarsky, the first woman ever to have been elected for such a position.

Original Source (s):
IAU Press Release

Europe launches GPS project

Published December 13th, 2007 in Science, Space and Innovation. 0 Comments

After many disagreements, finally Europe’s long-sought GPS service will be realized by 2013, or at least that is what the 27 European transportation Ministers have claimed.

The green light to Europe’s GPS comes after a long-lasting crisis prompted by the breaking down earlier this year of the private consortium in charge of most of Galileo’s development and implementation. The initiative would have been declared dead had Ministers not reached an agreement before January 2008.

The 3.4bn-euro venture will now be financed from the EU budget, but it is not clear yet whether a private group could operate the network once Galileo’s 30 satellites are in orbit 26,000km above the Earth.

Although some EU member states had for a long time opposed to the terms of the initiative and demanded a more prominent role, there has finally been unanimous backing for the much delayed project. Spain only endorsed it after allowed to host a ground center dedicated to civil protection. Meanwhile, Italy and Germany – the latter one bears the greatest financial burden of Galileo - will be home to ground stations supporting the 30 satellites scheduled for launch by the end of 2011-12.

The EU has no previous experience in creating a project of the scope of Galileo. So it comes as no surprise that some critics have raised concerns about the costs of the service and claimed that its benefits do not justify its cost. There are also doubts as to whether the project will increase employment and cut dependence on its American counterpart. In response to all the criticism casting a shadow on Galileo, advocates have argued that if you aim to be a somebody in the space industry, then you should not rely on another country’s military technology.

Despite all the cons, Europe has decided to follow on the steps of the United States, which launched its GPS service decades ago. These kinds of services are usually seen as a sign of strength among the world’s powers. Galileo promises to improve navigation, the internet services, the security of economic activities and transactions and electricity.


Original Source (s):
BBC

UN calls for human solidarity

Published November 29th, 2007 in Science and Climate & Weather. 8 Comments

The UN Development Program has just released the Human Development Report 2007/2008. To the title “Fighting climate change: Human solidarity in a divided world”, the 370-page document sends a clear message to the world: climate change is the 21st Century’s defining human development challenge. What we now decide to do about it will have a grave impact on the future course of human development. The report stresses that the world is missing a sense of urgency, human solidarity and collective interest and urges everyone to reflect on it.

It also points out that in the next decade, mankind will be facing challenges at many different levels. Climate change will not only be about our environment, but about the “state” of our entire planet. We will have to meditate on issues such as human rights, poverty and inequality throughout the world and across future generations.

The UNPD report demands that governments stop pretending to care about global warming when in fact their energy policies tell otherwise. Recognition on the part of the governments that climate change is a present reality is the starting point to tackle what the document calls “the gravest threat ever to have faced humanity”. Additionally, the report warns that the world has less than ten years to avoid the most damaging climate change effects.

From a fundamental stand-point, the paper argues that the way we think of progress is one of the greatest challenges 21st Century nations will be confronted with. The economic model that drives growth and the levels of consumption reached by industrialized societies is ecologically unsustainable. Therefore, countries will have to devise an economic and social model in line with the environmental reality as well as to come to terms with the fact that rising prosperity and climate security are not mutually exclusive. Overcoming this latter fear will be key to the future of all species on Earth.

Another important aspect is the reaching of international agreements and a demonstrated commitment by all nations to decrease the current level of greenhouse gas emissions.

The document, too, provides extensive analysis of climate change impact on the poor. Increased floods and droughts will make the dividing gap between poor and rich nations ever larger. As inequality increases, it will become even harder for developing nations to address climate change effects. Ironically, in today’s world it is the poor who bears the burden of global warming even though it is not them but the rich who are contributing to it. Once again, this argument serves to highlight that the greatest of the responsibility must be borne by developed countries.

The report inexorably concludes that it is “now” the time to act. Otherwise, “tomorrow” could be too late. Climate change comes as an opportunity for mankind to come together in common interest in response to a problem that threatens, among other things, to halt progress.

Original Source (s):

Find the full or a summary of the Report here

Spain, the greatest European greenhouse gas emitter

Published November 25th, 2007 in Science and Climate & Weather. 3 Comments

Climate Change Spain2005 was not a good year for the world’s 41 most industrialized countries, according to the latest estimates by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. The study, which comes three days after the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released the IV Report on global warming, speaks by itself. Greenhouse emissions by developed nations have risen to an all-time high.

Within Europe, while some countries (France, Britain, Finland and Sweden) are on the right path to meet their 2012 emission targets as agreed under the Kyoto Protocol, others have yet to take the steps to meet their commitments.

For instance, not only is Spain not excluded from the list, but it’s actually the highest European country on it. Spain faces one of the greatest challenges given that its emissions have been increasing in recent years. Compared to the 1990 benchmark, Spain’s emissions in 2005 were 53.5% higher, well above the 15% increase allowed by the Kyoto agreement. Although such figures were already known, the UN has just made them official.

The Spanish Minister of Environment, Cristina Narbona, believes that it is too soon to make a proper assessment of the situation. And although the 2005 numbers will not have any consequences since the Kyoto Protocol only takes into account the average emissions in the 2008-2012 period, they are yet indicative of how well national policies aimed at tackling climate change, if any, are working.

Outside Europe, 2005 was a bad year for both the United States and Australia. The two industrialized Kyoto holdouts emitted 16.3 % and 25.6 % more than in 1990 respectively.

The UNFCCC has partly blamed the increase in emissions on the continued growth of both industrialized and developing countries.

Source (s):

El Mundo
National greenhouse gas inventory data for the period 1990-2005

Picture Credit (s):
Público

UN warns climate change is here

Published November 18th, 2007 in Science and Climate & Weather. 4 Comments

Climate Change_MeltingTwo weeks before initiating a round of talks in Indonesia to re-negotiate the Kyoto Protocol, delegates from 130 countries have met in Valencia (Spain) this week and developed a 20-page report summarizing the many compromises required by governments before it is too late to reverse global warming.

The text, which puts together the most significant conclusions of three reports on climate change published earlier this year by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, urges countries to start combating climate change now.

Also the document calls on the United States and China, the world’s two greatest greenhouse gas emitters, to change their stance on this global scale problem and embrace the new policy guidelines.

The Kyoto Protocol was negotiated in 1997 and will expire in 2012. It forces 36 countries to reduce their carbon emissions by 2012. But the United States and China have not really played the game. While both of them are signatories to the treaty, the United States has never ratified it. China’s case is different. As a developing country, it was not bound by the protocol’s emissions cap.

The meeting in Bali next month will test policymakers’ commitment to reduce carbon emissions and to regulate human activity responsible for the rise in temperatures of the Earth. The world will be paying close attention to their willingness to compromise because much of what is then decided will determine what lies ahead for the future of mankind and the whole of the planet.

Both former Vice-President Al Gore and the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change share the 2007 Nobel Prize in the Peace Category awarded earlier this year.

Summary of the report

Original Source (s):
CNN article
New York Times

Picture Credit (s):
ABC News

Excess weight linked to cancer in women

Published November 11th, 2007 in Science and Body & Mind. 2 Comments

breastcancerLast week Earth & Sky’s Executive Producer, Deborah Byrd, addressed in her blog a report that warned of the increased risk of cancer linked to excess weight.

This week a new study published online by the British Medical Association and the BBC has reported that obesity (BMI above 29.9) and overweight (BMI between 24.9 and 30.0) power certain types of cancer in women. Such a report has also warned that age is another factor that plays an important role in the development of cancer among the female population. The work found that for example, excess weight increases the risk of breast cancer after menopause and the risk of bowel cancer before menopause.

Researchers pointed out that there is a lack of awareness of the relationship between being overweight and cancer. Usually, people associate excess weight with a general health risk. And although it is true that excess weight makes a negative impact in a person’s overall health state, it may also be held responsible for serious medical conditions. Some of the latest results have strengthened the idea that life-style choices make a big impact on cancer risk.

Lead researcher Dr. Gillian Reeves said that carrying excess weight accounts for about 6,000 out of a total of 120,000 new cases of cancer diagnosed in middle-aged and older women in the UK each year. Of those 6,000 new cases of cancer, breast and womb cancers account for two thirds.

The reports links obesity to the following list of cancers: womb, esophagus, bowel, kidney, leukemia, breast, multiple myeloma, pancreatic, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and ovarian.

Figures indicate that around 23% of women in the UK are obese whereas 34% are overweight. In the US, for instance, the prevalence of obesity among adults aged 20-74 years has increased from 15% to 32.9% since the mid-seventies to 2004.

Calculate your Body Mass Index (BMI), for adults

Calculate your BMI, for children and teens

Find out more about cancer on Cancer Research UK

Original Source (s):

BBC Article

Picture Credit (s):

Long Island Hospital

New discovery raises hopes for malaria treatment

Published October 31st, 2007 in Science, Innovation, Body & Mind and Human World. 3 Comments

malaria_vaccine_18107.jpg A new finding could bring scientists one step closer to a possible treatment for malaria, a disease that claims most lives in third world countries and sub-Saharan Africa.

The work has been reported by a team of researchers at Edinburgh University, in the US, Mali and Kenya who studied a population of 567 African children.

The results have shown that blood type O people are two-thirds less likely to experience two conditions characteristic of severe malaria - unrousable coma and life-threatening anaemia - than those with A, B or AB blood types.

Researchers observed that red cells in O group blood prevent malaria worsening through a mechanism called “reduced rosetting”. This knowledge could prove valuable in developing drug treatments or a vaccine aimed at mimicking the effect of red cells in the O blood group.

Besides providing an insight into the mechanism through which group O reduces the risk of dying from malaria, the results suggest that different diseases might have imposed different pressures on blood type evolution in the global human population.

The results have been published in the journal PNAS.

Original Source (s):
PNAS Abstract
BBC

Picture Credit (s):
Earthtimes

Hundreds of massive black holes uncovered

Published October 28th, 2007 in Science and Space. 1 Comment

An international team of astronomers led by Emanuele Daddi of the Commissariat a l’Energie Atomique in France has unveiled hundreds of one of the most mysterious objects present in the Universe: black holes.

The discovery was made possible using NASA’s Spitzer and Chandra X-ray telescopes, which were set out to probe 1,000 dusty galaxies lying 9 to 11 billion light-years away – the early Universe.

The finding accounts for a large number of the missing population of active massive black holes – also referred to as quasars or Active Galactic Nucleus (AGN) - that has eluded astronomers for decades. Quasars are high-energy objects surrounded by a doughnut-like cloud of dust and gas and powered by the rapid growth of a supermassive black hole at the galaxy’s core. Such an obscured environment makes them very hard to detect.

At first glance, astronomers uncovered very active star birth activity in the galaxies being studied, but there was no reason to believe that the galaxies hosted quasars. Nevertheless, a closer look revealed that hundreds of galaxies were giving off infrared-light and hiding active quasars.

The discovery represents the first direct evidence that most far-away massive galaxies spend their adolescence growing quasars at their centers. Although astronomers were aware that there should be more of these black holes in the young universe, they did not think that the new observations would raise the number to hundreds of millions, twice as much as it was known up-to-date.

The work digs deeper into the evolution of massive galaxies. Now astronomers believe that simultaneous star and black hole formation takes place until galaxies grow too large and their black holes prevent star formation.

The discovery is not fully consistent with theoretical work, which had suggested until now that collisions and mergers between galaxies were key to triggering quasar activity. The new observations suggest that active quasars may be present in undisturbed galaxies as well.

The results will be published in the November 10 issue of the Astrophysical Journal.

goods_multipanel1.jpg

Picture/Illustration Credit (s):
NASA/JPL-Caltech/T.Pyle (SSC); X-ray: NASA/CXC/Durham/D.Alexander et al.; Infrared: NASA/JPL-Caltech/CEA/E.Daddi

Original Source (s):
Durham University Press Release
Harvard Press Release

A potential malaria vaccine by 2010

Published October 17th, 2007 in Science, Innovation and Body & Mind. 1 Comment

mosquito2.jpgSpain’s Pedro Alonso leads a team of experts currently working on a vaccine in the war against malaria, a disease carried by mosquitoes that kills more than a million people each year.

Dr. Alonso lives and works in Mozambique, a region where Malaria is widespread. In 1996, he founded the Manhiça Health Research Center located in an impoverished rural area far from the technologically advanced societies and research facilities present in developed nations.

Today his team has published a paper in The Lancet reporting that an effective vaccine for malaria could be licensed by 2010. The trial vaccine has been tested in more than 2000 children between the ages of one and four. In trials, the vaccine has decreased the risk of developing severe malaria by 58%, thus providing the best results yet of several other trial vaccines currently under development.

Also today it has been learned that the vaccine, which has been tested on 220 children of 2, 3 and 4 months of age for three months, has cut the risk of developing the disease within this group by 65%.

According to Alonso, the vaccine has shown to be safe and effective. Nevertheless, further tests and trials will be necessary before a license be granted. During the study, the vaccine was well-tolerated by children with only few serious side-effects.

A main concern raised by most scientists is, however, the potential cost and availability of vaccines and treatments for malaria. The African continent is the most severely hit by malaria. Although this vaccine is not 100% effective, Alonso has stressed that even a moderately effective one would make a significant impact on the lives of many African children, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. With or without a vaccine, scientists believe that other existing measures such as bed-nets and the spraying of houses are indispensable in the mid and long-term fight against malaria.

Alonso’s team hopes the vaccine is ready by 2010.

malaria600.jpg


Original Source (s):
El País Article
BBC Article

Picture Credits:
New York Times
USGS

The Church gazes into the skies

Published October 7th, 2007 in Science and Space. 6 Comments

Since the dawn of time, humankind has looked up at the sky in awe and wonder. Also for long has there been public dispute between scientists and the Church over the role of astronomy in our society and the larger world.

For the second time in seven years the Vatican has hosted a five-day astronomy conference on “the formation and evolution of disc galaxies” featuring 200 scientists from 26 countries including the United States, Italy, Britain, Russia, Germany and Japan.

Vatican CastleThe meeting, which has taken place from October 1-5 at the Papal University in Rome, is a way for the Vatican to show that not only is the Church not afraid of science, but that it is also possible to observe the whole of God’s creation through ever more sophisticated telescopes and the most modern astronomical techniques and instrumentation.

The papal summer residence, located in Castel Gandolfo (Italy), is home to the headquarters of the Vatican Observatory, one of the world’s oldest astronomical research institutions. In the Castel’s library are more than 22,000 volumes and a unique collection of ancient works by Copernicus, Galileo, Newton, Kepler, Brahe, Clavius, and Secchi. Also there is a rare meteorite collection that has provided insightful knowledge of the early years of our Solar System.

An ocean across from Europe, the Steward Observatory at the University of Arizona (Tucson, USA) hosts the Vatican Observatory Research Group (VORG), which serves as the Vatican’s arm for research and has one of the largest and most modern facilities for observational astronomy in the world. Its creation in 1981 was sparked by Rome’s significant development and population growth, which inevitably led to a lack of proper observational conditions.

The origin of the Catholic Church’s interest in astronomy can be traced to about four centuries ago. Back then, Pope Gregory XIII established a committee to study and assess the implications inherent in the Pope’s reform of the calendar in 1582. This is the year that the Gregorian calendar replaced the Julian calendar, which had been used ever since the days of Julius Caesar.

A period of the Catholic Church’s history that has drawn much criticism from the scientific community is its attack in the 17th century of Galileo’s ideas that the Earth revolves around the Sun, and not the other way around. At that time, Catholic theologians argued that Galileo’s theories went against scripture, for what he was eventually tried for heresy and sentenced to house arrest. Mankind had to wait until the reign of Pope John Paul II for the Church to lift the ban on Galileo’s ideas.

Nevertheless, such a revolutionary heliocentric theory had already been put forward by Copernicus a century before. Also, history has it that Greek astronomer and mathematician Aristarchus - who laid significant foundations for the scientific study of the heavens - was the first to propose a heliocentric model of the Solar System.


Source (s):
Vatican’s Conference Site
BBC Article

Picture Credits:
Vatican’s Conference Site

On-going Ebola outbreak in Congo

Published September 30th, 2007 in Science and Human World. 2 Comments

More than a decade ago, the city of Kikwit in DR Congo (Africa) was struck by a major Ebola outbreak that killed 200 people. A few weeks ago, about 400 km west of Kikwit, in the country’s West Kasai province, another outbreak drew attention from several NGOs and the World Health Organization.

Ebola - Medical Teams on the fieldThe WHO issued an alert on 11 September urging medical teams to travel to Congo to attempt to contain the deadly virus. The Ministry of Health of Congo with the help from international doctors continue working on the ground to conduct diagnosis of suspected Ebola cases. Strict controls in hospitals and affected areas have been put in place in order to minimize the risk of infection among health care personnel and villagers. The Congolese government has also declared several villages under quarantine.

Authorities say that the current outbreak, the first major resurgence in years, might have killed at least 174 people although only seventeen of them were confirmed to have died of Ebola. In the past months, about 400 hundred people have fallen ill.

According to the WHO, Ebola is fatal in around 50-90% of the cases. There is neither a cure nor a treatment for it. The virus was first discovered in the rain forests of Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo) and Sudan back in 1976. Also known as a hemorrhagic fever, it is characterized by a number of symptoms that include a sudden onset of fever, intense weakness, sore throat and headache. This is often followed by vomiting, diarrhea and even both internal and external bleeding. The virus has an incubation period of 2 to 21 days and in early stages, its symptoms are very similar to those of typhoid and shigella. Several different species of Ebola have been identified.

The virus is spread by direct contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other body fluids of infected persons. Funerals and burial ceremonies where the grievers come in direct contact with the deceased person have been reported to play a key role in the transmission. Other documented cases include having contact with infected primates such as monkeys, chimps, gorillas and forest antelopes (both dead and alive).

Ebola - Information Campaign In an attempt to prevent the disease from spreading across Congo, a number of measures have been put in place. Social mobilization experts are working with media and communications teams to begin the broadcasting of radio spots aimed at informing the local communities about the prevention of Ebola and about how to recognize its early symptoms. The Congolese government hopes that such communications strategies combined with the work of medical experts on the ground help to contain the outbreak.

Original Source (s):

WHO Press Release
CNN.com Article
BBC Article, 22 September 2007
BBC Article, 10 September 2007

Picture Credits:
WHO - World Health Organization

Is there Intelligent Design behind the Universe?

Published September 19th, 2007 in Science and Human World. 20 Comments

Charles Darwin One of the old-age questions is how the Universe came into existence and life developed in it. Some people believe that there could be an intelligent design behind the cosmos, but is that true? An answer to this conundrum has been provided today by a scientist at the University College Dublin in Ireland.

During his lecture, geneticist Steve Jones, a professor with the University College London, spoke to the title “Why Creationism is Wrong and Evolution is Right”. He pointed out that creationism seems to be resurging in the form of a new concept called “intelligent design”. Both ideas rest on the belief that the whole of the Universe - including humankind - has been designed by a high power being. Advocates of these two schools of thought argue that some systems, such as life forms, are too complex to have managed to evolve on their own. The schools differ, however, in that creationism is a religious belief and intelligent design has, arguably, a scientific basis.

Professor Jones further explained that there is concern within the biology community today about the return of an explanation for the origin and development of life in the Universe that is unsupported by evidence and that claims that life on Earth simply appeared by natural means with no evolutionary process involved. The untestable nature of the claims that both creationism and intelligent design make has consequently led many biologists just to dismiss both beliefs.

There is a history of heated debate on the origin of life on Earth and the diversity of species. Indeed, many people who do not see how Darwin’s theory of evolution successfully explains this have opted for either intelligent design or creationism. Professor Jones pointed out that Darwin’s theory of evolution is the prevalent belief on a global scale and that polls have shown that, for instance, most Americans believe in creationism.

In his talk, Steve Jones argued against supernatural explanations by elaborating on the theory of evolution. He laid out some evidence by referring to the changes in the HIV virus after infecting people. He also provided new evidence in favor of the idea that men are close relatives to chimps. He explained that women are closer to chimpanzees than men are because the X chromosome has changed less than the Y chromosome since humans and chimps split from a common ancestor. Jones concluded that unsupported theories that appeal to the existence of a higher power discredit religion more than science.

Professor Jones is the recipient of the 1997 Royal Society’s Michael Faraday Prize, the UK’s top award for communicating science to the public.

Original Source (s):
University College Dublin Press Release
UCD Conway Institute of Biomolecular and Biomedical Research
Guardian Unlimited (2006 article)

Picture Credits:
Tulane University

About

Aitana Vargas has experience working as a journalist for a variety of media platforms including CNN International and the BBC. She lives in Madrid, Spain.

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