PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Official statement by ACS: Release of National Climate Assessment demands action

2014-05-07
(Press-News.org) WASHINGTON, May 7, 2014 — Yesterday's release of the third National Climate Assessment (NCA) should serve as a claxon call for policymakers and the general public to take action to address and mitigate the observable and documented adverse climate disruption impacts being observed in every region and key economic sector of the United States.

These impacts, which have been observed and measured, are wreaking havoc with our society. This is a not a theoretical assessment; this report cites changes we are all observing and with which we are living. The future climate trends outlined in the report are even more dire. We should all be deeply concerned.

Of the report's five major findings, the fifth describes the disturbing probable outcome of climate disruption currently being observed:

"Climate change threatens human health and well-being in many ways, including through more extreme weather events and wildfire, decreased air quality, and diseases transmitted by insects, food and water."

ACS has long held the position that climate change is real and serious and that our nation needs strong policies and actions to protect against further adverse impacts, and we need to address the impacts we are already observing.

For 14 years, ACS has held a climate change policy position, which has been strengthened and updated routinely as new scientific analyses became available. The current public policy statement can be found by clicking on this link.

To assist its members, policymakers and the general public understand the science behind our climate, the ACS created an online Climate Science Toolkit of scientific information and resources.

INFORMATION: The American Chemical Society is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. With more than 161,000 members, ACS is the world's largest scientific society and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.

To automatically receive news releases from the American Chemical Society, contact newsroom@acs.org.


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

A lab in your pocket

A lab in your pocket
2014-05-07
When you get sick, your physician may take a sample of your blood, send it to the lab and wait for results. In the near future, however, doctors may be able to run those tests almost instantly on a piece of plastic about the size of credit card. These labs-on-a-chip would not only be quick—results are available in minutes—but also inexpensive and portable. They could be used miles from the nearest medical clinic to test for anything from HIV to diabetes. But as powerful as they may be, they could be far better, says Shiyan Hu, an associate professor of electrical and ...

Pushing the boundaries of stem cells

2014-05-07
(NEW YORK – May 7) Adults suffering from diseases such as leukemia, lymphoma, and other blood-related disorders may benefit from life-saving treatment commonly used in pediatric patients. Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have identified a new technique that causes cord blood (CB) stems cells to generate in greater numbers making them more useful in adult transplantation. The study, published in the May issue of The Journal of Clinical Investigation, looked at ways to expand the number of hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) in the laboratory required ...

NASA telescopes coordinate best-ever flare observations

NASA telescopes coordinate best-ever flare observations
2014-05-07
VIDEO: Watch the movie to see the wealth of colorful NASA observations of an X-class flare on March 29 -- the most comprehensively observed flare, ever. BROADCAST QUALITY: http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011500/a011522/.... Click here for more information. On March 29, 2014, an X-class flare erupted from the right side of the sun... and vaulted into history as the best-observed flare of all time. The flare was witnessed by four different NASA spacecraft and one ground-based ...

Glutamate imaging better than MR spectroscopy in first 3 hours after ischemic stroke

2014-05-07
Leesburg, VA, May 5, 2014—Glutamate imaging reveals ischemic lesions in the first 3 hours after stroke that are not distinguishable in T1-weighted and T2-weighted imaging. Researchers using chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST), an emerging MRI technology, have found that using glutamate with CEST shows high spatial resolution in vivo. The finding has the potential to speed diagnosis—and, therefore, treatment—in the critical first hours after a stroke. "I have been interested in glutamate imaging since its inception," said researcher Zhuozhi Dai of Second Affiliated ...

New study examines premature menopause and effects on later life cognition

2014-05-07
Premature menopause is associated with long-term negative effects on cognitive function, suggests a new study published today (7 May) in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (BJOG). The average age of menopause is around 50 years in the Western World. Premature menopause refers to menopause at or before 40 years of age, this could be due to a bilateral ovariectomy, (surgically induced menopause)or non-surgical loss of ovarian function (sometimes referred to as 'natural' menopause). The study, based on a sample of 4868 women, used cognitive tests ...

Image-guided peritoneal dialysis catheter placement significantly reduces complications

2014-05-07
Leesburg, VA, May 7, 2014— Patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis catheter placement via fluoroscopy and ultrasound-guidance experienced significantly fewer complications at 1 year post-insertion than did patients whose catheters were placed laparoscopically. The first of two study groups received catheters using fluoroscopy and ultrasound guidance under conscious sedation by interventional radiologists. In the second group, the catheters were inserted using laparoscopy under general anesthesia by surgeons. "Our results showed that the overall complications at 1 ...

Iterative reconstruction techniques reduce radiation dose for pediatric brain CT

2014-05-07
Leesburg, VA, May 7, 2014—A study conducted at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School found that estimated radiation doses are substantially lower for pediatric CT exams of the brain that used an adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction technique (ASIR) compared to those that did not use ASIR. The researchers found that the brain and salivary gland doses were much lower for ASIR-enabled exams compared to those without ASIR technique. However, no differences in the estimated organ doses were found for the thyroid gland, skeleton, and eye lenses across ...

Nonscreened patients with breast cancer need more treatment than screened patients

2014-05-07
Leesburg, VA, May 6, 2014—Screening 40- to 49-year-old women for breast cancer has additional benefits beyond the proven decrease in mortality rate. Patients screened with mammography are statistically less likely to undergo chemotherapy, avoiding the associated toxic morbidities. Screening mammography also helps identify a subset of patients at increased risk of breast cancer by diagnosing high-risk lesions. The majority of high-risk lesions identified in a retrospective chart review were found in screened patients. Identifying patients at high risk may allow for the ...

Overestimation of radiation exposure may keep women from critical screening

2014-05-07
Leesburg, VA, May 5, 2014—Misinformation and misunderstanding about the risks associated with ionizing radiation create heightened public concern and fear, and may result in avoidance of screening mammography that can detect early cancers. In a study to determine the baseline understanding of the radiation associated with mammography among patients presenting for initial or follow-up imaging, women were asked to rate the amount of radiation received in a single mammogram as being significantly less, slightly less, about the same, slightly more, or significantly more compared ...

EARTH Magazine: Naturally occurring methane found in groundwater in New York

2014-05-07
Alexandria, Va. – Since hydraulic fracturing operations began in the Marcellus Shale region, debate has raged over whether drilling operations are causing high levels of methane in drinking-water wells. But few systematic scientific studies have been published to date, so it's unknown if high methane levels are natural or the result of contamination from nearby gas wells. Now, a new study is adding some much-needed baseline data for methane levels in groundwater in New York. The results suggest that at least in some cases methane occurs at naturally high levels in groundwater. Read ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

New register opens to crown Champion Trees across the U.S.

A unified approach to health data exchange

New superconductor with hallmark of unconventional superconductivity discovered

Global HIV study finds that cardiovascular risk models underestimate for key populations

New study offers insights into how populations conform or go against the crowd

Development of a high-performance AI device utilizing ion-controlled spin wave interference in magnetic materials

WashU researchers map individual brain dynamics

Technology for oxidizing atmospheric methane won’t help the climate

US Department of Energy announces Early Career Research Program for FY 2025

PECASE winners: 3 UVA engineering professors receive presidential early career awards

‘Turn on the lights’: DAVD display helps navy divers navigate undersea conditions

MSU researcher’s breakthrough model sheds light on solar storms and space weather

Nebraska psychology professor recognized with Presidential Early Career Award

New data shows how ‘rage giving’ boosted immigrant-serving nonprofits during the first Trump Administration

Unique characteristics of a rare liver cancer identified as clinical trial of new treatment begins

From lab to field: CABBI pipeline delivers oil-rich sorghum

Stem cell therapy jumpstarts brain recovery after stroke

Polymer editing can upcycle waste into higher-performance plastics

Research on past hurricanes aims to reduce future risk

UT Health San Antonio, UTSA researchers receive prestigious 2025 Hill Prizes for medicine and technology

Panorama of our nearest galactic neighbor unveils hundreds of millions of stars

A chain reaction: HIV vaccines can lead to antibodies against antibodies

Bacteria in polymers form cables that grow into living gels

Rotavirus protein NSP4 manipulates gastrointestinal disease severity

‘Ding-dong:’ A study finds specific neurons with an immune doorbell

A major advance in biology combines DNA and RNA and could revolutionize cancer treatments

Neutrophil elastase as a predictor of delivery in pregnant women with preterm labor

NIH to lead implementation of National Plan to End Parkinson’s Act

Growth of private equity and hospital consolidation in primary care and price implications

Online advertising of compounded glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists

[Press-News.org] Official statement by ACS: Release of National Climate Assessment demands action