Article 1: Space junk at tipping point: Study
Source: The Straits Times, 3 September 2011
Clouds of space junk orbiting the Earth have reached a dangerous "tipping point", threatening to smash satellites and endanger astronauts, US scientists warned in a study this week. "The current space environment is growing increasingly hazardous to spacecraft and astronauts," said Donald Kessler, chair of the committee that wrote the report and retired head of NASA's Orbital Debris Program Office. "NASA needs to determine the best path forward for tackling the multifaceted problems caused by meteoroids and orbital debris that put human and robotic space operations at risk." NASA is currently tracking over 22,000 pieces of debris and estimates there are millions more that are too small to track. Among those are at least 500,000 particles of up to 10 centimeters (four inches) in diameter, which can still cause damage when traveling at such high speeds. Computer models have shown that the "debris has reached a 'tipping point,' with enough currently in orbit to continually collide and create even more debris, raising the risk of spacecraft failures," the National Research Council said in a statement Thursday. Efforts to limit the amount of space debris suffered a major setback in 2007 when China tested its anti-satellite missiles on a weather satellite which was blown to pieces. More debris was formed two years later when two satellites accidentally collided in orbit. Cleaning up the spent rockets and abandoned equipment is not simply costly -- it is also complicated by the fact that the United States is prohibited by international law from collecting objects belonging to other nations.
I feel that the space junk is seriously posing a big threat to the space industry. There are thousands of satellites in operation as of now, which all amount to a large sum of money. Imagine what it would be like if all the satellites were destroyed? The whole world would be in chaos as we would not have any means of telecommunication, no means of knowing the weather forecast, space research would be brought to a halt. The loss of billions of dollars would then cripple many countries, especially countries which have invested greatly in the space industry, such as the United States of America (USA) and Russia. The impact on these two global superpowers would then affect other countries, possibly resulting in an economic crisis. Moreover, this will also affect our everyday lives. Lessons may not be able to continue and businesses will be interrupted without the access to the "indispensable" Internet. We would also have difficulty communicating with people when the handphone network is lost. Although this problem can be fixed within a few months to maybe a couple of years, the fact is that we would be helpless during this period of time. People, especially the younger generation, have been living in this technological era and are very dependent on it. We would not be able to adapt to use less advanced methods such as letter-writing, or looking at the hard-copy of the street map for directions instead of relying on the usage of GPS to guide us. Given that this disaster has fortunately not happened for the time being, we should not take things for granted and that countries all over the world should address this problem immediately before it gets worse. Otherwise, it would be too late for regrets.
Article 2: Smallpox vaccine modified to target cancer cells
Source: The Straits Times, 3 September 2011
A genetically modified smallpox vaccine was able to target and shrink tumours in some cancer patients while leaving healthy cells unharmed, in the first study to show the potential of using a virus to fight human malignancies. Almost two dozen patients with advanced cancers were injected with varying amounts of the virus, called JX-594, and six participants in the highest dose group had their tumours stabilise or shrink, according to the report released on Thursday by the journal Nature. Seven patients in that group, or 87 per cent, had evidence of viral replication in their tumours, but not in normal tissues. Dr John Bell, one of the study's authors and a cancer research scientist at Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, said the next step is a Phase 2b trial of the viral therapy in 120 patients with primary liver cancer, known as hepatocellular carcinoma. He said earlier trials of JX-594 showed really strong activity in liver cancer. Since some kinds of liver cancer are caused by viruses - like hepatitis B - the theory is that those tumour cells may be more susceptible to a second virus. The trial demonstrated that a virus injected into the blood stream could infect and spread within tumours without harming other cells, said Dr Bell. The results were from the first of three testing stages generally required for regulatory approval. "It's never been shown before that we could do this in humans," Dr Bell said in an interview. "We even see in some patients a modest therapeutic benefit." Researchers used the same strain of virus that's used in the smallpox vaccine, called vaccinia virus, because of its natural ability to replicate itself in cancer cells, the report said. They then modified it to enhance its cancer-fighting properties. While vaccinia virus is similar to smallpox, it does not contain smallpox and cannot cause the disease, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The approach differs from so-called cancer vaccines, such as Merck & Co's Gardasil shot that targets a virus that causes cervical cancer or Dendreon's Provenge, which stimulates an immune response against prostate cancer cells. The therapy, developed by closely-held San Francisco-based Jennerex, will be tested in a broader trial, said Dr Bell, who co--founded Jennerex and is its chief scientific officer. If successful, the method could help patients whose cancer has spread beyond one area. "The big problem with cancer is not people showing up with one tumour you can excise with a scalpel, the problem is metastatic disease that you can't even see where it is," he said. "By putting the virus in the blood system, it allows the virus to go around and potentially find all the fertile ground for it to grow in, all the places tumours are, and once it does that, it can affect them all and destroy them." Some patients in the trial had side effects such as mild to moderate flu-like symptoms that lasted less than a day, according to the report. Cancer Research United Kingdom's Professor Nick Lemoine, who is also director of Barts Cancer Institute, said: "Viruses that multiply in just tumour cells - avoiding healthy cells - are showing real promise as a new biological approach to target hard-to-treat cancers." This new study is important because it shows that a virus previously used safely to vaccinate against smallpox in millions of people can now be modified to reach cancers through the bloodstream - even after cancer has spread widely through the patient's body.
This article would interest many people, including me. This is one of the many breakthroughs to cure cancer and every time, we are one step closer to getting rid of this dreaded disease from our lives. However, I am quite doubtful about using a virus as treatment to fight cancer cells. If something goes wrong, the virus might end up attacking the patient instead and by then, no amount of medicine or cure would save the patient. Sickness is a norm in this world; besides finding and researching to obtain different cures for the countless diseases, we should learn to embrace it as we cannot escape from this reality that all will die. We should not worsen this by introducing cures that are not 100% proven to be effective and safe. This is for the benefit of mankind. Although the risk is present, I still have hope towards the scientists that we can succeed. Look at the technology we have invented. If mankind can create warfare weaponry to utterly annihilate a nation, then why can't we defeat just a miniscule, mutated cell? Cancer has baffled man for years. There will be a day when cancer is no longer a threat, but will be just a minor illness such as flu or fever. Who knows, we might even make use of cancer for other purposes in the future.
Article 3: Men who sleep light at higher risk of high blood pressure: Study
Source: The Straits Times, 3 September 2011
Older men who are light sleepers are at increased risk for developing high blood pressure, according to a study that adds to the growing body of research about the importance of a good night’s rest. Men who spent the least amount of time in slow-wave sleep, marked by synchronized brain waves and a deep sleep from which it’s hard to wake up, were 83 percent more likely to develop hypertension during the three-year study. The findings remained consistent even after the researchers took weight, race and age into account, according to the report in Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association. Men are more likely to have high blood pressure than women, and poor sleep quality may help explain why, according to the researchers led by Susan Redline, a professor of sleep medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston. The findings add to previous reports that show deep sleep is important for learning and memory and may play a role in diabetes, cardiovascular disease and changes in metabolism. “People should recognize that sleep, diet and physical activity are critical to health, including heart health and optimal blood pressure,” Redline said in a statement. “Our study shows for the first time that poor quality sleep, reflected by reduced slow-wave sleep, puts individuals at significantly increased risk of developing high blood pressure,” she said. “Although the elderly often have poor sleep, our study shows that such a finding is not benign.” Men who had less slow-wave sleep during the study also got fewer hours of rest, woke up more frequently and had worse sleep quality. The study included 784 men, on average 75 years old, who didn’t initially have high blood pressure. Additional studies are needed to see if changes in slow-wave sleep patterns can improve a person’s health, the researchers said.
After reading this article, I admit that I did not have any reaction to it at all. In fact, I was rather nonchalant about it as it did not concern me. However, as I reflected on it a second time, I felt that it was actually a warning to me. Although the article addresses older men, but even at such a young age, I have already been sleeping light, less than the daily requirement of 8 hours. If I continue to develop this bad habit, I may end up being addressed to in the future. As such, this can be considered an advice for me to try to sleep earlier so as to cultivate a good habit. Rest is well for the mind as well as the body. We always hear elders telling us that sleep, apart from the three basic necessities – air, food and water – is the most important thing for us to grow healthily. I did not believe them when I was young as I had all the time in the world to sleep. I did not take this opportunity to rest enough. As such, now I desire to sleep early but am unable to due to the immense amount of homework piling up and waiting to be done. Furthermore, even as a teen, I am prone to develop all the "after-effects" of not having enough sleep; the only difference is the age gap, and that older men are more vulnerable. Therefore, I advise everyone who reads this to have a good night's sleep and to develop this habit at an early age. Start now – that is the road to health.
