University of Warwick

Fresh evidence for how water reached Earth found in asteroid debris

Posted by

0


Water delivery via asteroids or comets is likely taking place in many other planetary systems, just as it happened on Earth, new research strongly suggests.

Published by the Royal Astronomical Society and led by the University of Warwick, the research finds evidence for numerous planetary bodies, including asteroids and comets, containing large amounts of water.

Fresh evidence for how water reached Earth found in asteroid debris

The research findings add further support to the possibility water can be delivered to Earth-like planets via such bodies to create a suitable environment for the formation of life.

Commenting on the findings lead researcher Dr Roberto Raddi, of the University of Warwick’s Astronomy and Astrophysics Group, said:”Our research has found that, rather than being unique, water-rich asteroids similar to those found in our Solar System appear to be frequent. Accordingly, many of planets may have contained a volume of water, comparable to that contained in the Earth.

“It is believed that the Earth was initially dry, but our research strongly supports the view that the oceans we have today were created as a result of impacts by water-rich comets or asteroids”.

In observations obtained at the William Herschel Telescope in the Canary Islands, the University of Warwick astronomers detected a large quantity of hydrogen and oxygen in the atmosphere of a white dwarf (known as SDSS J1242+5226). The quantities found provide the evidence that a water-rich exo- was disrupted and eventually delivered the water it contained onto the star.

The asteroid, the researchers discovered, was comparable in size to Ceres – at 900km across, the largest asteroid in the Solar System. “The amount of water found SDSS J1242+5226 is equivalent to 30-35% of the oceans on Earth”, explained Dr Raddi.

The impact of water-rich asteroids or comets onto a planet or white dwarf results in the mixing of hydrogen and oxygen into the atmosphere. Both elements were detected in large amounts in SDSS J1242+5226.

Research co-author Professor Boris Gänsicke, also of University of Warwick, explained:

“Oxygen, which is a relatively heavy element, will sink deep down over time, and hence a while after the disruption event is over, it will no longer be visible.

“In contrast, hydrogen is the lightest element; it will always remain floating near the surface of the white dwarf where it can easily be detected. There are many that hold large amounts of hydrogen in their atmospheres, and this new study suggests that this is evidence that water-rich asteroids or comets are common around other stars than the Sun”.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2015-05-fresh-evidence-earth-asteroid-debris.html#jCp

Vitamin pills are a waste of money, offer no health benefits and could be harmful – study

Posted by

0


Evidence from the study suggested that ‘supplementing the diet of well-nourished adults…has no clear benefit and might even be harmful’

Vitamin pills are a waste of money, usually offer no health benefits and could even be harmful, a group of leading scientists has said.

A study of nearly 500,000 people, carried out by academics from the University of Warwick and the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, USA, has delivered a damning verdict on the claims made by the vitamin supplement industry.

Evidence from the study suggested that “supplementing the diet of well-nourished adults…has no clear benefit and might even be harmful”, despite one in three Britons taking vitamins or mineral pills.

According to The Times, scientists involved in the study, which was published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, concluded that companies selling supplements were fuelling false health anxieties to offer unnecessary cures. The industry in the UK is thought to be worth more than £650 million annually.

Researchers declared ‘case closed’ on the vitamin and mineral pills after making their conclusion based on the study of half-a-million people along with three separate research papers.

Evidence from the study suggested that

Evidence from the study suggested that “supplementing the diet of well-nourished adults…has no clear benefit and might even be harmful”, despite one in three Britons taking vitamins or mineral pills.

One of the research papers involved the retrospective study of 24 previous trials. In total 450,000 people were involved in the trials and the paper concluded that there was no beneficial effect on mortality from taking vitamins.

Another examined 6,000 elderly men and found no improvement on cognitive decline after 12 years of taking supplements, while a third saw no advantage of supplements among 1,700 men and women with heart problems over an average study of five years.

The experts said most supplements should be avoided as their use is not justified, writing: “These vitamins should not be used for chronic disease prevention. Enough is enough.”

The scientists argued that the average Western diet is sufficient to provide the necessary vitamins the body needs.

Edgar Miller, of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, said: “There are some that advocate we have many nutritional deficiencies in our diet. The truth is though we are in general overfed, our diet is completely adequate.”

He added: “These companies are marketing products to us based on perceptions of deficiencies. They make us think our diet is unhealthy, and that they can help us make up for these deficiencies and stop chronic illnesses.

“The group that needs these is very small. It’s not the general population.”

Dr Miller continued: “There’s something for everything: preventing joint pains, stopping heart disease. If you’re going to spend your money on something every month, is this really the best option?”

The NHS advised recently that other than women taking folic acid to help them conceive and the elderly and children under five benefiting from vitamin D, supplementary vitamins would be surplus to that already gained through diet, The Times said.

The Health Food Manufacturers’ Association said vitamin supplements provided people with “nutritional insurance”.

In July 2011 the Advertising Standards Agency criticised Vitabiotics Ltd for an advert headlined: ‘Advanced Nutrients For The Brain’.

They ruled that the implied claims that “recent research had shown that B vitamins could help maintain brain function and performance’ were not substantiated and were “misleading”.

Young teens’ weight terror ‘common’

Posted by

0


Scales
About 10% of 13-year-old girls are “terrified” about putting on weight, the first UK study looking for warning signs of eating disorders suggests.

Doctors said they were “worried” by the high degree of weight fixation found in 13-year-old girls, years before eating disorders typically start.

Researchers say it might be possible to stop full eating disorders developing.

Their findings, in the Journal of Adolescent Health, came from interviews with the parents of 7,082 13-year-olds.

Eating disorders, such as anorexia, tend to start in the mid-teenage years, although they can begin before then.

“Start Quote

For me the results were particularly worrying”

Dr Nadia Micali

The study, by University College London and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, looked at the years before those disorders tend to start.

Interviews with the parents of 7,082 13-year-old schoolchildren showed:

  • Nearly 12% of girls and 5% of boys were “terrified” by the thought of getting fat
  • 52% of girls and a third of boys said they were “a little worried” about getting fat
  • One in three girls and one in five boys were “distressed” by their body shape
  • 26% of girls and 15% of boys had “eating disorder behaviours” such as fasting
  • Some habits, such as uncontrolled bingeing, were linked to higher weight two years later

One of the researchers, Dr Nadia Micali, told the BBC she was surprised children were so concerned about weight at such a young age.

“For me the results were particularly worrying, I wouldn’t have thought they’d be so common at this age.

“Part of me thinks it’s a shame we didn’t ask earlier, we don’t know when this behaviour starts.

“Quite a large proportion will develop full-blown eating disorders, maybe more than half.”

However, she said there might be an opportunity to help children before they develop an eating disorder if a reliable set of warning signs could be developed for parents and teachers.

In a statement the eating disorder charity Beat said it was an interesting and important study.

“This is the first time a study like this has been carried out so we have nothing to compare it to and therefore don’t know if the problem is increasing or getting worse.

“However it is striking and worrying how many young people had concerns about their weight from such a young age.

“It does not mean that they will all go on to develop eating disorders, but they could be tempted by unhealthy ways to control their weight and shape.”

The findings came through data collected from the Children of the 90s study.

Bullying

A separate analysis of those children, by a team at the University of Warwick, suggested bullying was linked to an increased risk of psychotic experiences, such as hearing voices, and paranoia.

Lead researcher Prof Dieter Wolke said: “We want to eradicate the myth that bullying at a young age could be viewed as a harmless rite of passage that everyone goes through – it casts a long shadow over a person’s life and can have serious consequences for mental health.

“It strengthens on the evidence base that reducing bullying in childhood could substantially reduce mental health problems.

“The benefit to society would be huge, but of course, the greatest benefit would be to the individual.”

Replacing IV Catheters Only When Clinically Indicated Seems Safe .

Posted by

0


Replacing peripheral intravenous catheters only when clinically indicated (for example, after accidental removal or infiltration) causes no more complications than replacing them according to standard time-based schedules, according to a Lancet study.

Researchers randomized some 3300 adult patients to have their intravenous catheters replaced every third day or only as clinically indicated. The rate of phlebitis, the primary outcome, was identical in the two groups, at 7%. Secondary outcomes, such as rates of catheter colonization and all-cause bloodstream infections, were also similar between groups.

The authors calculate that, on average, clinically indicated replacement would extend catheter use by a single day, and that one in every five patients would avoid an unnecessary procedure. They estimate that the reduction in staff time and other costs could save the U.S. $60 million in healthcare costs annually.

Source: Lancet