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

EARTH: North Star loses mass but still shines bright

2012-05-04
(Press-News.org) Alexandria, VA – The North Star, the Pole Star, the Guiding Star, Polaris: Its many names reflect the many centuries humans have gazed northward to it for guidance. However, recent studies have shown that the North Star is losing mass at a significant rate. Will Polaris, steadfast beacon for early sailors and adventurers alike, vanish from the night sky?

Hilding Neilson of the Argelander Institute of Astronomy at the University of Bonn in Germany thinks that he and his colleagues have unlocked the answer to the North Star's decreasing mass. Although the North Star's peculiar alignment with the Earth's North Pole makes it seem motionless, the North Star actually pulsates, varying daily in size and luminosity. Neilson and his colleagues say that the lengthening of these pulses may hold the key to Polaris's enhanced mass loss. Why? Read more and find out online at http://www.earthmagazine.org/article/north-star-loses-mass-still-shines-bright.

Check out this story and more in the May issue of EARTH Magazine, available online now at http://www.earthmagazine.org. Shed some light on life-bearing planets with Earthshine; determine whether M.Y. is an abbreviation or a unit of time; and, travel to Santorini, Greece, all in this month's issue of EARTH.

###

Keep up to date with the latest happenings in Earth, energy and environment news with EARTH magazine online at http://www.earthmagazine.org/. Published by the American Geosciences Institute, EARTH is your source for the science behind the headlines.

The American Geosciences Institute is a nonprofit federation of 50 geoscientific and professional associations that represents more than 250,000 geologists, geophysicists and other earth scientists. Founded in 1948, AGI provides information services to geoscientists, serves as a voice of shared interests in the profession, plays a major role in strengthening geoscience education, and strives to increase public awareness of the vital role the geosciences play in society's use of resources, resiliency to natural hazards, and interaction with the environment.

END



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

New guidelines deliver concise messages for implementing cardiovascular prevention

2012-05-04
The latest cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention guidelines have been overhauled to produce a user friendly document with concise messages that awards greater weight than ever before to evidence from clinical trials and observational population studies. The "European Guidelines on Cardiovascular Disease Prevention in Clinical Practice (version 2012)" ¹ were launched at the EuroPRevent2012 meeting in Dublin, Ireland. "In the past, implementation of prevention guidelines could undoubtedly have been better. So in a radical departure we've designed the guidelines in a ...

A fish a day keeps the doctor away?

2012-05-04
Most people, whether healthy or having cardiovascular disease (CVD), would benefit from regular consumption of oily fish, concluded speakers at the EuroPRevent 2012 meeting. While eating whole fish undoubtedly offers the optimum approach for increasing omega-3 intakes in both primary and secondary prevention, delegates heard, supplements have a major role to play in increasing omega-3 intakes for people who do not like fish. The EuroPRevent 2012 meeting, held 3 May to 5 May 2012 in Dublin, Ireland, was organised by the European Association for Cardiovascular Prevention ...

Regular jogging shows dramatic increase in life expectancy

2012-05-04
Undertaking regular jogging increases the life expectancy of men by 6.2 years and women by 5.6 years, reveals the latest data from the Copenhagen City Heart study presented at the EuroPRevent2012 meeting. Reviewing the evidence of whether jogging is healthy or hazardous, Peter Schnohr told delegates that the study's most recent analysis (unpublished) shows that between one and two-and-a-half hours of jogging per week at a "slow or average" pace delivers optimum benefits for longevity. The EuroPRevent2012 meeting, held 3 May to 5 May 2012, in Dublin, Ireland, was organised ...

Carnegie Mellon and McGill researchers challenge post-marketing trial practices

2012-05-04
PITTSBURGH—Current research ethics focuses on protecting study participants, but according to bioethicists from Carnegie Mellon University and McGill University, these efforts fail to prevent problems that undermine the social value of research. Published in Science, CMU's Alex John London, and McGill's Jonathan Kimmelman and Benjamin Carlisle argue that current research ethics frameworks do not flag drug trials that, while not putting patients at risk, produce biased evidence. As an example, they point to phase IV research — when pharmaceutical companies test drugs ...

OHSU study shows how mitochondrial genes are passed from mother to child

2012-05-04
HILLSBORO, Ore. - Research conducted at the Oregon National Primate Research Center at Oregon Health & Science University helps answer some long-standing questions about how certain disease-causing gene mutations are inherited. The research specifically focused on gene mutations in cell mitochondria that can cause several diseases, including forms of cancer, diabetes, infertility and neurodegenerative diseases. With this new information, we now better understand how and when these mutations are passed to children to improve diagnosis and prevention. The research will ...

EA Worldwide Acquisitions MD Josh Cote Hosts Entrepreneur Seminar in Birmingham

2012-05-04
Entrepreneur and Managing Director of EA Worldwide Acquisitions, Josh Cote has been announced the host of the seminar offering workshops on business management and business growth. RSM Tenon, a consultancy firm specialising in Entrepreneurship, reveals the UK has a strong culture of entrepreneurship and despite the tough economy there is strong optimism amongst entrepreneurs who remain determined to succeed. Two thirds of those surveyed by RSM Tenon are looking to grow their business by 10% this year and one in five plans to expand by 25%. 'The level of ambition of ...

Study reveals dynamic changes in gene regulation in human stem cells

2012-05-04
LA JOLLA, CA – May 3, 2012 – A team led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute and the University of California (UC) San Diego has discovered a new type of dynamic change in human stem cells. Last year, this team reported recurrent changes in the genomes of human pluripotent stem cells as they are expanded in culture. The current report, which appears in the May 4, 2012 issue of the journal Cell Stem Cell, shows that these cells can also change their epigenomes, the patterns of DNA modifications that regulate the activity of specific genes—sometimes radically. ...

Cardiovascular safety concerns over smoking-cessation drug misleading

Cardiovascular safety concerns over smoking-cessation drug misleading
2012-05-04
A popular smoking cessation medication has been under a cloud of suspicion ever since the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) published a study in July 2011 reporting "risk of serious adverse cardiovascular events associated with varenicline." Varenicline, also known as Chantix, blocks the pleasant effects of nicotine on the smoker's brain and lessens nicotine withdrawal symptoms. UCSF researchers, however, question the way the previous study was conducted, and their new analysis, scheduled to be published May 4 in BMJ, reaches a very different conclusion. "We ...

CNIO researchers describe new functions of cohesin relevant for human disease

2012-05-04
Cohesin is a ring-shaped protein complex involved in the spatial organization of the genome and in mitotic chromosome structure. Vertebrate somatic cells have two versions of cohesin that contain either SA1 or SA2, but their functional specificity has been largely ignored. Researchers of the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO) under the direction of Ana Losada have identified new functions of cohesin SA1 that are relevant for two human diseases, cancer and Cornelia de Lange Syndrome (CdLS). These results are published in two papers that appear this week back-to-back ...

'Rank' of suffering may stop people seeking help for depression and anxiety

2012-05-04
People's judgements about whether they are depressed depend on how they believe their own suffering "ranks" in relation to the suffering of friends and family and the wider world, according to a new study. Research from the Department of Psychology at the University of Warwick finds that people make inaccurate judgements about their depression and anxiety symptoms – potentially leading to missed diagnoses as well as false positive diagnoses of mental health problems. This is of particular concern as vulnerable individuals surrounded by people with mental health problems ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

TFLN-based RGB multiplexer for energy-efficient laser beam scanning

On a Florida bombing range, endangered woodpeckers get a second chance

Study identifies gene clusters in rhizobia linked to robust legume growth

Remapping the evolutionary tree of butterflies

Employees who spot problems help the bottom line, so why do leaders give more power to bootlickers?

Could living near water mean you’ll live longer?

Alcohol withdrawal syndrome linked to worse surgical outcomes, higher costs

US POINTER trial: Structured lifestyle intervention delays cognitive decline

Detecting a potential behavioral biomarker for Parkinson’s disease in mice

Expectations about pain influence the experience in different ways

Landmark sleep study links objective sleep patterns with 172 diseases—regularity matters more than duration

Breaking research at ADLM 2025: AI poised to revolutionize Lyme disease testing, treatment

CD4+ T cell-mediated immune drift in biologic treatment of inflammatory skin diseases

Spotlight on technology to protect older Australians from respiratory infections

There’s something in the air

New insights could help phages defeat antibiotic resistant bacteria

New system dramatically speeds the search for polymer materials

Safety of JN.1-updated mRNA COVID-19 vaccines

Type 2 diabetes and financial outcomes

A financial toll on patients with type 2 diabetes

Safflower yellow pigments in coronary heart disease: Mechanisms, applications, and future perspectives

TraMA: new RNA-based measure predicts mortality risk and tracks aging

From WebMD to AI chatbots: How innovation has empowered patients to take control of their health

Unravelling antileishmanial mechanisms of phytochemicals: From mitochondrial disruption to immunomodulation

Association for Molecular Pathology announces 2025 award recipients

When light collides with light

Study finds that white students visit college advisers the least, but benefit most in terms of graduation rates and GPA

Science by the millions: How everyday people are revolutionizing global biodiversity research with tech

A bolt is born! Atmospheric events underpinning lightning strikes explained

Using alcohol to reduce the costs of industrial water electrolysis

[Press-News.org] EARTH: North Star loses mass but still shines bright