Make Way for North Atlantic Right Whales

Nova Scotia

With only 350 North Atlantic right whales left in the world, scientists and mariners alike are working towards finding ways to protect the population from further decline.

Their small numbers mean the whales tend to stick together, within a relatively small geographical area of the sea near Nova Scotia. While it has been illegal to hunt these whales since 1935, until recently their curious nature attracted them to passing ships, which would accidentally strike and kill several the curious 70 ton animals who had surfaced to take a look around.

Luckily, last year the International Maritime Organization adopted a proposal made by Canada's UN ambassadors to designate the Roseway Bay as an "Area to Be Avoided," or ATBA for short. Each year between June and December when the whales return to in Nova Scotia from their summer vacations in the south, ships weighing 300 tons and larger are asked (not forced) to go around the Roseway Bay. Despite its voluntary nature, most ships are obeying, and some shipping companies are enforcing official policies. Going around the whale pods only adds about 8.6 minutes to a 16-hour voyage between Halifax and New York, with negligible additional fuel costs.

Thanks to the willing participation of ships in the night, we really can save the whales!

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/07/10/rightofway/

Sailor Saved from Hurricane Cristobal

Canada

A Canadian helicopter team was able to airlift a 66 year old Connecticut man to safety about 250 kilometres southeast of Halifax. His boat had capsized in the rough seas caused by tropical storm Cristobal. After activating his emergency locator beacon, a Cormorant helicopter, a Hercules airplane, two coast guard vessels and a frigate were sent to rescue him. A search-and-rescue technician was lowered into the water from the Cormorant and was able to lift the the sailor into the chopper. Both the technician and the sailor are in good condition.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/07/23/cristobal-sailor.html

Fewer Children Affected by Lead-Poisoning

France

Having been first investigated in the 1980s, lead poisoning is condition brought on by the ingestion of lead-containing materials or inhalling dust that contains traces of lead. Once the lead is in the blood stream it can result in neurological damage and in extreme cases prove fatal. A French scientific journal reported that lead poisioning effected over 85,000 children in 1999, with hundreds of new cases every year. The French National Health Watch Institute and other organizations came together to study the development of the disease and to monitor the lead-poisoning tests being administered to children.

The resulting report is full of good news!

Lead-poisoning tests in recent years have shown a marked diminution of the average quantities of lead found in the tested children. This improvement is probably the result of combined factors: refurnishing of buildings that once had lead-based paint, the phasing out of lead carbonate usage, water treatment facilities lowering the concentrations of metals in municipal water supplies, and factory innovations which result in fewer traces of metal found in food.

To continue this trend, France is now specifically targeting the children of those workers exposed to lead to insure they are tested at a young age and that preventative measures can be taken. Their strategy includes campaigns to increase public awareness of at-risk families, including those living in geographic areas where the risk of exposure is higher. Doctors and scientists are also now working on a lead-poisoning detection test that would detect even smaller amounts of lead in the blood stream. Together these strategies should keep this upward trend going!


the story, for all you francophones:
http://news.doctissimo.fr/saturnisme-vers-un-depistage-plus-systematique_article4056.html

Tobacco Plants Turn Over a New Leaf, Help Fight Cancer

For as bad a rap as tobacco gets in the health media, recent studies showing it's positive role helping to FIGHT cancer as opposed to causing it may make this a cash crop for good instead of evil. Scientists have used tobacco plants as sort of incubator to grow enough of the tumor-like proteins to trigger a response from the immune system. The proteins were then taken from their tobacco-leaf petri dishes and injected back into the volunteers. Once the cells are back in the patient's system, the body can "recognize it as a potential danger and send out armies of disease-killing cells to seek and destroy tumors harboring it."This inexpensive process resulted in 11 out of 16 volunteers with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma experiencing an essentially side-effect free immune response, successfully supplementing their ongoing chemotherapy treatments.


more info can be found at the original link:http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=cancer-vaccine-tobacco-plants&sc=rss

and if you too were unfamiliar with Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (which about 18,000 Americans are diagnosed with annually), this article explains... and illustrates why a vaccine is such good news!http://www.webmd.com/cancer/non-hodgkins-lymphoma/understanding-non-hodgkins-lymphoma-basics

Gratuitous Happy Story

I usually try to do more than just copy and paste a link to a great story, but in this case I'm going to make an exception. For one thing, this video speaks for itself, and for another, despite all appearances, I am lazy!

For background information, visit http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25797678/

To skip right to the video, visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adYbFQFXG0U

Sandworm's Superpincers Inspire Spaceworthy Synthetics

What can a tiny bug teach us about space travel? Lots, if you ask Chris Broomell, a molecular biologist from the University of California Santa Barbara.

The sandworm burrows through the sand it lives in using a pair of 'jaws'. While the jaws themselves are made of protein about as strong as a human fingernail, Broomell and his team has discovered that the pincers are fortified with histidine: an amino acid that acts as a sort of superglue. The 'glue' bonds molecules together within the protein, and resulting in a thatched material three times harder and stiffer than current man-made polymers.

By using the make-up of the insect's pincers as a model, scientists and engineers hope to create polymers with organic molecules that can bind to metal ions. Even more good news is that by changing the ratios of materials, they can be made heavier or lighter, tougher or softer, all without producing toxic by products. The result may be the development of more resistant materials for building spacecraft and airplanes, without making them heavier.

For more info and a closeup of the inspirational bug itself, check out:

http://space.newscientist.com/article/dn14365-worm-pincers-may-inspire-better-spacecraft-materials.html?DCMP=ILC-hmts&nsref=news6_head_dn14365

Daring Pilot Rescues Parachutist ith Risky Maneuver

A former British soldier who has asked not to be named as he was only "doing his job" became a hero this weekend when he left the controls of a small plane he was flying to disentangle a struggling parachutist.

The parachutist was last of a 6-man team of British soldiers to jump from the plane in a parachuting contest in Germany. His chute failed to deploy normally, and the lines became tangled around parts of the aircraft. According to observers, "We saw a body dangling helplessly from the plane as it was coming into land," and "We were watching the plane when I noticed there was a man dangling upside-down. He was completely caught up."

The anonymous pilot left the plane's controls for about 30 seconds to lean out and cut the parachutist free. Once liberated, the parachutist was able to land safely. The plane also landed without further incident.

To read more about this daring rescue, visit http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1036449/Hero-pilot-leaves-plane-fly-cuts-free-parachutist-tangled-landing-gear.html