New Weapons Detail Reveals True Depth of Cuban Missile Crisis

The Cuban Missile Crisis was the closest the world has come to nuclear war, but exactly how close has been a matter of some speculation. The conflict, itself, has been analyzed and interpreted, but the number and types of nuclear weapons that were operational have not. According to fresh analysis available today in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, published by SAGE, senior experts calculate the nature of weapons capabilities on both sides, and write that the situation was even more perilous than history has previously acknowledged. The details on the number and status of weapons—known as the nuclear order of battle—has remained widely overlooked by many authors, experts, and researchers over the past five decades. Several types of US and Soviet nuclear weapons were operational, some on high levels of alert and readily available to use. This information was often omitted by authors in their writing. The three main catagories that must be analyzed are...

• Local forces, which were the Soviet and US nuclear weapons in and around Cuba;
• Regional forces, which were both the US tactical weapons in Europe that could hit targets in the Soviet Union, as well as the Soviet weapons in western USSR that were aimed at European targets;
• Global forces, which included the US strategic nuclear weapons—intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM), submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBM), and long-range bombers—that could reach the Soviet Union, and, of course, the Soviet strategic nuclear weapons that could reach the United States.

 158 Soviet nuclear warheads of five types were already in Cuba by the time the military blockade was imposed on October 24th. Still, 50 years later, it is unknown how ready they were or whether they were specifically targeted at US cities. US Joint Chiefs of Staff considered using nuclear weapons during a Cuban invasion, but by October 31st had decided against this.In Europe, the United States had approximately 500 nuclear weapons at its disposal to attack targets in the western Soviet Union. With its 550 nuclear weapons, the Soviet Union had a slightly larger arsenal to hit European targets. By reviewing these numbers, it is revealed that the crisis was more serious and more dangerous than previously thought.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121012074701.htm

Bioremediation of Toxic Metals Using Worms: Earthworms Soak Up Heavy Metal

It has recently been discovered that earthworms could be used to extract toxic heavy metals, including cadmium and lead, from solid waste from domestic refuse collection and waste from vegetable and flower markets. Three species of earthworm, Eudrilus eugeniae, Eisenia fetida and Perionyx excavates can be used to assist in the composting of urban waste and to extract heavy metals, cadmium, copper, lead, manganese, zinc, prior to subsequent processing. Since the population is rapidly increasing, there is a growing problem of how to manage organic waste and to find alternatives to landfill disposal particularly for domestic food waste and that from vegetable markets. A lot of waste is currently dumped on the outskirts of many towns and cities and is causing serious pollution, disease risk and general ecological harm. It also represents a considerable wasted resource, whereas the organic matter might be exploited usefully in growing food crops. The process of vermicomposting in this way allows such waste materials to be remediated and the compost used subsequently for use in growing human food without the risk of accumulating heavy metals in crops making it safe for everyone. How this possible one might ask? Well the worms' digestive system is apparently capable of detaching heavy metal ions from the complex aggregates between these ions and humic substances in the waste as it rots. Various enzyme-driven process then seem to lead to assimilation of the metal ions by the worms so that they are locked up in the organism's tissues rather than being released back into the compost as worm casts. The separation of dead worms from compost is a relatively straightforward process allowing the heavy metal to be removed from the organic waste.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120816133420.htm

Molecule Treats Leukemia by Preventing Cancer Cell Repair

Researchers at The Jackson Laboratory have identified a molecule that 

prevents repair of some cancer cells, providing a potential new "genetic 

chemotherapy" approach to cancer treatment that could significantly reduce 

side effects and the development of treatment resistance compared with 

traditional chemotherapy. In the process of antibody production, white blood 

cells turn on the gene known as activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID), 

which acts as a sort of molecular scissors that cut the chromosomes within 

the white blood cells. This is needed to rearrange pieces of the white blood 

cells chromosomes and produce different "flavors" of antibodies that do 

different jobs. But in some cancers this process goes wrong, with AID acting 

out of control and creating mutations and chromosome rearrangements that 

make the tumor more aggressive. Although the process of homologous 

recombination (HR) helps repair such cells and help them grow, researchers in 

the laboratory of Associate Professor Kevin Mills, Ph.D., identified a molecule 

called DIDS (for 4,4'-diisothiocyanatostilbene-2-2'-disulfonic acid) that blocks 

the DNA repair action in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), causing the 

cancer cells to die. With the help of this new treatment, it is possible to stop 

cancer before it becomes too serious and even deadly. 

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130417105935.htm

Application of Smartphone Technology to Economic and Environmental Analysis of Building Energy Conservation Strategies

Four researchers from Canada investigated how smartphones could be used in energy 'audits', designed to help householders adopt energy conservation measures (ECMs) to reduce emissions, conserve resources and reduce operating costs. Traditionally, energy audits are undertaken by trained staff who travel from house to house, burning lots of petrol on the way. Their audits tend to focus on heating and cooling, and ignore other energy-thirsty devices, such as appliances. Most of the time, households don't lack the ability to make the energy-saving changes the auditors suggest, 'but the ability to recognize which changes are possible and which have the largest potential to reduce energy use'. The vast majority of homes will also never have such an audit. So what will help? The smartphone.  It is suggested that if suitable software could be created, householders could perform their own with their smartphones. Much of the technology needed already exists: phone sensors can take pictures for reports, act as crude light meters or confirm a variety of measurements; GPS data is already available for a wide range of applications. Even existing technology could analyze users' appliances, provide the energy-efficiency rankings of similar homes, and give breakdowns of current energy use.  The biggest advantage of the smartphone-based energy auditing system is the high potential for accelerated energy and emissions savings.

 

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/11/121116124419.htm

New Clean Nuclear Fusion Reactor Designed

 A researcher at the Universidad politécnica de Madrid (UPM) has patented a nuclear fusion reactor by inertial confinement that, apart from be used to generate electric power in plants, can be applied to propel ships. Professor José Luis González Díez from the Higher Technical School of Naval Engineering of the UPM, has contributed  to solve the problem of contamination risk associated with the generation of nuclear fission power by designing this new technology for ships.  It is a fusion nuclear reactor by laser ignition of 1000 MWe that uses fuel hydrogen isotopes that can be extracted from water allowing us to save a suignificant amount of fuel. Nuclear fission is usually not preferred due to its high risk of contamination and radiation (as seen in Japan 2011) so we are now looking into nuclear fusion as an alternative. The prototype is a fusion reactor by inertial confinement, of total conversion of material into energy, whose fusion chamber can adapt to the type of fuel that wishes to be used, specially deuterium-tritium, deuterium- deuterium or hydrogen-hydrogen. Therefore, according to the fuel, the size of the chamber can be adapted as well as its shape, the outer and inner equipment, coolants, moderators, shields and equipment of ignition.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/01/130114092555.htm

A Complete Solution for Oil-Spill Cleanup

Scientists are describing what may be a "complete solution" to cleaning up oil spills -- a superabsorbent material that sops up 40 times its own weight in oil and then can be shipped to an oil refinery and processed to recover the oil. And with more and more oil refineries emergeing, creating a greater chance for an oil spill, an effective way to cleaning up the oil to avoid maximum damage is music to our ears. Current methods for coping with oil spills are low-tech, decades-old and have many disadvantages. Corncobs, straw and other absorbents, for instance, can hold only about 5 times their own weight and pick up water, as well as oil. And then they become industrial waste that must be disposed of in special landfills or burned, making for difficult situation. Their solution is a polymer material that transforms an oil spill into a soft, solid oil-containing gel. One pound of the material can recover about 5 gallons of crude oil. The gel is strong enough to be collected and transported. Then, it can be converted to a liquid and refined like regular crude oil. That oil would be worth $15 when crude oil sells for $100 a barrel. Although it is not a large profit being made, profit is still being made and the oil that is lost is now being reused rather than being wasted. This new solution will dramatically reduce the environmental impacts from oil spills and help recover one of our most precious natural resources, oil.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121003150906.htm

Chemical Lets Researchers Extract Significant Oil Deposits; Leaves Positive Environmental Footprint

Chemicals found in common household items, like toothpaste and soap, are proving to be the right formula to safely extract up to 70 percent of the oil still embedded in high-salt oil reservoirs in the United States. With controversy surrounding fracking, a team from the University of Oklahoma Institute for Applied Surfactant Research has formulated an environmentally sound compound that increases oil flow in previously pumped reservoirs. By decreasing the surface tension, oil is released from the rock so it can move with the injected water and be pushed to the production wells safely. Secondary recovery methods, such as water flooding and hydraulic fracturing, are used to recover oil left behind by previously pumped reservoirs which drive trapped oil toward the drill hole, but when the injected water reaches the production wells, most of the oil remains trapped in the rock, much like a sponge traps water.  If this new method is successful, it would enable small oil producers to recover more oil efficiently and cost effectively, while leaving the formations environmentally sound reducing the enviromental problems that rise at the hands of oil drilling.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/01/130130082252.htm

New Analysis of Drinking Water-Related Gastrointestinal Illness in U.S

The distribution system piping in U.S. public water systems that rely on non-disinfected well water or "ground water" may be a largely unrecognized cause of up to 1.1 million annual cases of acute gastrointestinal illness (AGI), involving nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, scientists are reporting. Such illnesses may become more of a problem as much of the nation's drinking water supply system continues to age and deteriorate. Since more than 100 million people in the U.S. rely on water piped into homes, schools and businesses from public water systems that get their water from wells, rather than lakes, rivers and other above-ground sources and much of that water is not disinfected at all or is not adequately disinfected to kill disease-causing viruses, more and more cases of people getting sick are being reported. Well-based water supply systems are responsible for the contamination of water and therefore for 470,000 to 1.1 million cases of AGI every year. And to make matters even worse, it is estimated that the number of reported illnesses will only rise years to come.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120912125824.htm

Biting Back: Snake Venom Contains Toxic Clotting Factors

The powerful venom of the saw-scaled viper Echis carinatus contains both anticoagulants and coagulants finds a study published in the launch edition of BioMed Central's open access journal Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases. These may be a source of potent drugs to treat human disease. This snake is responsible for most human bites and its venom causes coagulopathy which results in symptoms of blood clotting, hemorrhage and stroke. The diametric effects of snake venom on blood are of interest because of medical applications, and although snakes can be considered as dangerous to humans -- they may yet save live. Because of its abilities to inflict damage on blood, the snakes venom could be useful in the medical field to stop blood flow when it needs to be stopped.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226193845.htm

Avoiding Violent Images for an Anti-Poaching Campaign

Disturbing online videos document the illegal killing and trade of wildlife, including film of poachers who shoot elephants with AK-47 assault rifles to take only their tusks, and poachers who shoot rhinos with tranquilizer guns and remove their horns with chain saws. But the World Wildlife Fund does not focus on such imagery. A new public service campaign by the group, for example, features a print ad that shows a majestic elephant in profile, its trunk curled into an ampersand above its tusks. “I am not a trinket,” says the headline. Another print ad features a photo of a healthy rhinoceros over the headline, “I am not medicine.” It continues, “At least one rhino is killed every day due to the mistaken belief that rhino horn can cure cancer and hangovers.” So why the change in marketing? Many people are thrown off by gruesome images and tend to turn away, no matter what the message may be. So by showing the animals simple beauty, the target audience is more likely to pay attention and want to help those animals keep their beauty they are so well know for. The World Wildlife Fund is particularly eager to promote the campaign in advance of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, known as CITES, which will celebrate its 40th anniversary in March in Bangkok. So far, the campaign has been received well and is expecting to continue to be received well. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/20/business/media/world-wildlife-fund-anti-poaching-campaign-avoids-violent-images.html?ref=earth&_r=0

Oil Giants Heading to Trial in Water Pollution Lawsuit

Nearly a decade after it was first brought, a lawsuit accusing two oil giants of widespread groundwater contamination in New Hampshire is expected to go to trial for their crimes. The two oil companies  that are faced with this lawsuit are Exxon Mobil and Citgo. In 2003, New Hampshire sued 26 oil companies, claiming the gasoline additive M.T.B.E, or methyl tertiary butyl ether, caused groundwater contamination in a state where 60 percent of the population relies on private wells for drinking water. M.T.B.E. has been used in gasoline since the 1970s to increase octane and to reduce smog-causing emissions. While it was credited with cutting air pollution, it was found in the late 1990s to contaminate drinking water when gasoline is spilled or leaks into surface water or groundwater. New Hampshire is seeking more than $700 million in damages to test and monitor every private well and public drinking water system in the state and to cover cleanup costs where needed to ensure the safety of its citizens by not allowing this to happen again, and/or for the problem to worsen. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/30/us/2-oil-giants-face-trial-in-new-hampshire-water-pollution-suit.html?_r=0

11,000 Elephants Slaughtered in National Park Once Home to Africa’s Largest Forest Elephant Population

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) announced February 6 that a national park, once home to Africa's largest forest elephant population, has lost a staggering 11,100 individuals due to poaching for the ivory trade. In Gabon's Minkebe Park, which holds about 40,000 elephant,  have revealed in recent surveys in areas of  the park revealed that two thirds of its elephant population have vanished since 2004, with a majority of these losses have probably taken place in the previous five years. Many environmental agencies are worried about the depleting elephant populations due to poaching because they fear in a few years there won't be any elephants left. 

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130206141539.htm

That Cuddly Kitty Is Deadlier Than You Think

Althought cats are seen as cute, cuddily animals in the eyes of society, scientists have determined that  they are a lot dealier then people originally thought. Scientists from the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute and the Fish and Wildlife Service estimated that domestic cats in the United States — both the pets that spend part of the day outdoors and the strays and ferals that never leave it — kill a median of 2.4 billion birds and 12.3 billion mammals a year, most of them native mammals like shrews, chipmunks and voles rather than introduced pests like the Norway rat. The kill rates are two to four times higher than previous years. Cats are now the primary cause for such a high rate (higher than pestices and human activity such as automobile accidents). And to add to the damage they are causing, they are fighting with dogs and causing accidents when they dart under cars. There are roughly 80 million feral cats that are causing trouble in the enviroment. How to deal with the cats is causing trouble as well because animal advocates do not want to see posion being used yet we cant let the cats keep destroying wildlife. The solution? Adoption. 

  http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/30/science/that-cuddly-kitty-of-yours-is-a-killer.html?ref=science

Not Even Close: 2012 Was Hottest Ever in U.S.

2012, the year of a surreal March heat wave, a severe drought in the Corn Belt and a huge storm that caused broad devastation in the Middle Atlantic States, turns out to have been the hottest year ever recorded in the contiguous United States. Last year’s 55.3 degree average replaced the previous record, set in 1998, by a full degree Fahrenheit. Although one degree does not seem like much, it is in fact a huge deal. Also, 34,008 daily high records were set at weather stations across the country, compared with only 6,664 record lows, clearly uneven. Natural variability was one cause of last year’s extreme heat and drought. But of course, the record could not have been broken without global warming. Last year’s weather in the United States began with an unusually warm winter, with relatively little snow across much of the country, followed by a March that was so hot that trees burst into bloom and swimming pools opened early. Then the soil dried out in the March heat, helping to set the stage for a drought that peaked during the warmest July on record. This drought engulfed 61 percent of the nation, killed corn and soybean crops and sent prices spiraling.  Until last year, the coldest year in the historical record for the lower 48 states, 1917, was separated from the warmest year, 1998, by only 4.2 degrees Fahrenheit. That is why the 2012 record, and its one degree increase over 1998, strikes climatologists as so unusual and why it is such a big deal. 2012 also broke the record and became the second-worst on a measure called the Climate Extremes Index. 11 disasters in 2012 have exceeded a threshold of $1 billion in damages, including several tornado outbreaks; Hurricane Isaac, which hit the Gulf Coast in August, and, late in the year, Hurricane Sandy, which caused damage likely to exceed $60 billion in nearly half the states, primarily in the mid-Atlantic region. The derecho, a line of severe, fast-moving thunderstorms that struck central and eastern parts of the country starting on June 29, killing more than 20 people, toppling trees and knocking out power for millions of households also contributed to this record being broken. However for those who did not suffer tremendously from these disasters remember 2012 due to its summer heart wave in which temperatures in some states reached 109 degrees F. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/09/science/earth/2012-was-hottest-year-ever-in-us.html?ref=earth&_r=0 

Population Pressure Impacts World Wetlands

The area of the globe covered by wetlands (swamps, marshes, lakes, etc.) has dropped by 6% in fifteen years. This decline is particularly severe in tropical and subtropical regions, and in areas that have experienced the largest increases in population in recent decades. Although they cover less than 5% of Earth's land surface, these areas play a key role in human  activities, biodiversity, climate and the water cycle. Indeed, they produce one third of atmospheric methane, a major greenhouse gas. Moreover, these regions impact the transfer of continental freshwater to the sea and alter local weather by enhancing evaporation. This observation suggests that population pressure impacts hydrological cycles at the global scale. This pressure may stem from the draining of wetlands for urban development and the increase in water extraction from wetlands.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/05/120511122101.htm