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

Analysing heat waves -- New index allows predicting their magnitude

2014-11-05
(Press-News.org) JRC scientists have developed a new index to measure the magnitude of heat waves, in cooperation with colleagues from five research organisations. According to the index projections, under the worst climate scenario of temperature rise nearing 4.8⁰C, extreme heat waves will become the norm by the end of the century. Heat waves like the one that hit Russia in summer 2010, the strongest on record in recent decades, will occur as often as every two years in southern Europe, North and South America, Africa and Indonesia. The Heat Wave Magnitude Index is the first to allow comparing heat waves over space and time. It takes into account both the duration and intensity of heat waves and can serve as a benchmark for evaluating the impacts of future climate change. Results also show that the percentage of global area affected by heat waves has increased in recent decades, and the probability of occurrence of extreme and very extreme heat waves is projected to increase further in the coming years. The index is based on an analysis of daily maximum temperatures, which was carried out to classify the strongest heat waves that occurred worldwide during three study periods (1980-1990, 1991-2001 and 2002-2012). In addition, a combination of models is used to project the future occurrence and severity of heat waves, under different scenarios as established in the latest Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Taking into account the disastrous effects of the 2003 and 2010 heat wave events in Europe, and those of 2011 and 2012 in the USA, results show that we may be facing a serious risk of adverse impacts over larger and densely populated areas if mitigation strategies for reducing global warming are not implemented.

INFORMATION:

Related links: Magnitude of extreme heat waves in present climate and their projection in a warming world, DOI: 10.1002/2014JD022098 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2014JD022098/pdf



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Powerful imaging for point-of-care diagnostics

Powerful imaging for point-of-care diagnostics
2014-11-05
WASHINGTON, Nov. 5, 2014—A new handheld probe developed by a team of university and industry researchers in the Netherlands and France could give doctors powerful new imaging capabilities right in the palms of their hands. The imaging system, which is described in a paper published in The Optical Society's (OSA) open-access journal Optics Express, shrinks a technology that once filled a whole lab bench down to a computer screen and a small probe about the size of a stapler. The new device combines two imaging modalities: ultrasound and photoacoustics. Ultrasound ...

Toward eliminating 'sick-building syndrome' with low-cost air purifiers

2014-11-05
If you're inside, chances are you're breathing in low levels of indoor air pollution, a mix of volatile organic compounds and other gaseous substances that can accumulate in buildings and potentially make you sick. An article in Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society, describes the latest in air-cleaning technology, including one approach based on a filter for the International Space Station. Mitch Jacoby, a senior correspondent with C&EN, writes that in recent years, scientists have been gaining a better understanding ...

Why women buy magazines that promote impossible body images

2014-11-05
COLUMBUS, Ohio – A new study reveals the secret of how some fashion and beauty magazines continue to attract devoted audiences, even though they glamorize super-thin models that would seem to taunt normal-sized women. The research suggests that some readers, rather than comparing themselves unhappily with the thin models, may derive "thinspiration": the belief that they can make themselves look just as attractive as the models they see in these magazines. But this is not any kind of positive inspiration, said Silvia Knobloch-Westerwick, author of the study and ...

Study gives insight into breast cancer recurrence

2014-11-05
Around 5,000 cases of DCIS, a condition where cancerous cells are contained within the milk ducts of the breast, are diagnosed each year in the UK, with two thirds diagnosed through breast screening. If left untreated, up to half of DCIS cases could progress into invasive breast cancer, but it is not possible to say which ones, so all women are offered treatment. This usually involves breast-conserving surgery (lumpectomy) and, to reduce the risk of the cancer returning, radiotherapy to kill any remaining cancer cells. However, even with treatment up to one in five ...

Synthetic fish measures wild ride through dams

Synthetic fish measures wild ride through dams
2014-11-05
RICHLAND, Wash. – In the Pacific Northwest, young salmon must dodge predatory birds, sea lions and more in their perilous trek toward the ocean. Hydroelectric dams don't make the trip any easier, with their manmade currents sweeping fish past swirling turbines and other obstacles. Despite these challenges, most juvenile salmon survive this journey every year. Now, a synthetic fish is helping existing hydroelectric dams and new, smaller hydro facilities become more fish-friendly. The latest version of the Sensor Fish – a small tubular device filled with sensors ...

The Peres conjecture is false!

2014-11-05
Since 1999, the conjecture by Asher Peres, who invented quantum teleportation, has piqued the interest of many scientists in the field. According to his hypothesis, the weakest form of quantum entanglement can never result in the strongest manifestation of the phenomenon. Today, a team of researchers from the University of Geneva (UNIGE), Switzerland, and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences have proven this conjecture to be false, thus solving one of the most famous problems in quantum information physics. This news was published in Nature Communications review. The physicist ...

Patients benefit from caregiver involvement in hospital discharge intervention

2014-11-05
Providence, RI— Results of a new study published in The American Journal of Managed Care show that the presence of a family caregiver during patient recruitment is associated with a greater rate of completion of a post hospital transitional care coaching intervention, particularly among men. Discharge is a crucial component of the hospitalization process. Patients' understanding and engagement in discharge plans greatly influence their experiences, health outcomes, such as hospital readmission, and overall costs. The study looked at discharges using the Care Transitions ...

Population boom, droughts contributed to collapse of ancient Assyrian Empire

2014-11-05
There's more to the decline of the once mighty ancient Assyrian Empire than just civil wars and political unrest. Archaeological, historical, and paleoclimatic evidence suggests that climatic factors and population growth might also have come into play. This is the opinion of Adam Schneider of the University of California-San Diego in the US, and Selim Adali of the Research Center for Anatolian Civilizations in Turkey, published in Springer's journal Climatic Change. In the 9th century BC, the Assyrian Empire of northern Iraq relentlessly started to expand into most of ...

No link found between movie, video game violence and societal violence

2014-11-05
Washington, DC (November 5, 2014) – Since the 1920s, scholars and politicians have blamed violence in movies and other media as a contributing factor to rising violence in society. Recently the responses to mass shootings in Aurora, CO and at Sandy Hook Elementary followed this theme as media consumption came into the equation. But can consumption of violent media really be a factor in real-world violence? A recent study published in the Journal of Communication by a researcher at Stetson University found that there were no associations between media violence consumption ...

Getting to the heart of the heart

Getting to the heart of the heart
2014-11-05
For years, a multidisciplinary team of Johns Hopkins researchers has tracked an elusive creature, a complex of proteins thought to be at fault in some cases of sudden cardiac death. As they report Nov. 5 in the online edition of Nature Communications, they have finally captured images of the complex. Those images reveal the connection between some genetic mutations and electrical abnormalities of the heart and provide a starting point for designing therapies. Sudden cardiac death is often caused by conditions that affect electrical signaling in the heart. Genetic studies ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Licensed to live

How to survive the explosion of AI slop

GDF-15 and eGFRdiff: Predicting kidney risk and survival in diabetes mellitus

Detecting cancer cells in blood: the development of microchannel devices with microcone arrays

SLAS Discovery: Advancing tools for cancer fibrosis and drug discovery

Researchers create ‘virtual scientists’ to solve complex biological problems

AI-Powered brain stimulation at home could enhance concentration, new research finds

Carbon-based molecules open new pathways for quantum sensing

Immunotherapy for leukemia may affect the bone marrow environment, cancer researchers find

World’s largest tropical peatlands revealed to be more than 40,000 years old

Pick up the pace of your daily walk to boost longevity, experts say

Normal hormone levels trigger severe depression in some women; researcher discovers mechanism

Mexican neuroscientist identifies glutamate biomarker predicting schizophrenia treatment success

Living brain tissue reveals 80% of genes behave differently than assumed

How much time did our ancestors spend up trees? Studying these chimpanzees might help us find out

Discovery of role of gut hormone in chronic diarrhoea could aid development of new tests and treatments

New discovery reveals the spinal cord’s role in bladder control

Kākāpō decline reveals threat of parasite coextinction

Astrocytes identified as hidden culprit behind PTSD

Offering self-collection kits in routine GP appointments could prevent 1,000 women a year from developing cervical cancer

European study offers clearer picture of childhood brain tumor survival

The Lancet: Three in five liver cancer cases due to preventable risk factors; obesity-linked cases on the rise, new analysis suggest

Tiny artificial cells can keep time, study finds

How aging quiets lupus and brings relief to some older patients

Research alert: Synergistic treatment approach supercharges cancer immunotherapy

White veteran high users of online portal generate and exchange more messages than certain patient minorities in the Veterans Health Administration

Web-based tool helps Michigan physicians navigate diabetes coverage and prior authorization

Most primary care patients with opioid use disorder who start treatment stay engaged

U.S.-born Latinos have higher rates of obesity compared to foreign-born Latino and white youth

Study finds veterans experiencing homelessness who gain housing are more likely to get colorectal and breast cancer screenings

[Press-News.org] Analysing heat waves -- New index allows predicting their magnitude