New Science News for March 30th

Concentrating better but at what cost?

Apparently nearly 4 million Americans (most children and young adults) are taking amphetamine like stimulants to deal with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). These stimulants doe manage to help the person concentrate more, but there are concerns that over prescription of the drugs could lead to dependency and possibly “rare but dangerous side effects”. According to New Scientist researchers and doctors are calling for a review of the way ADHD is treated.

“ADHD is a socially and educationally debilitating condition, and places children at higher risk of serious accidents. The success of stimulants such as methylphenidate in treating ADHD is unprecedented in psychiatry. Unlike antidepressants, which work well in only about half of those who take them, methylphenidate is highly effective in most children and young adults with ADHD. Against these benefits, we now have 25 cases of sudden death from heart problems, and reports of hallucinations in up to 5 per cent of those taking the drugs.” More can be found at http://www.newscientist.com/channel/opinion/mg19025451.800


Getting bored in class, might the teacher know soon!

A new piece of equipment is being developed for people with autism to let them know if the person they are talking to is getting bored. The device will be able to tell boredom by analysing the facial expressions of the listeners. At the moments students are safe as the device requires considerable computing power and a digital camera.
“If the wearer seems to be failing to engage the person listening, the computer vibrates”
More can be read at: http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19025456.500


Total Solar Eclipse

Well the solar eclipse that happened on Wednesday was pretty well blocked by clouds; however it could have been watched on line through a website partly run by NASA. Apparently some 90,000 people watched the webcast of the total eclipse that swept across the Atlantic, the Sahara and Turkey. More details and links to two video clips of the eclipse can be found at http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn8919

What killed the dinosaurs?

It has long been held that a giant asteroid that collided with the Earth was responsible for killing off these giant reptiles. However one palaeontologist claims climate change is to blame for the major extinctions that have happened during Earth’s lifetime. He even suggests that we are in the midst of an extinction now. Arguments have broken out between palaeontologists around the world. More details can be read in the New Scientist magazine.

Bleed to death and die or get burnt and live?

This might well seem to be a tough question, but it is one that has to asked in modern warfare. Soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan might well have to make this decision. Gunshot wounds tend to kill the victim if the bleeding isn't stopped quickly, normal bandages can take upto 10 minutes to stop the lose of blood, however a new treatment is being carried around by US Marines and other service men in Iraq and Afghanisatan.

The treatment is a calcium based powder called QuickClot that speeds up the clotting process at the wound. The powder is poured into the wound and absorbs some of the water in the blood; this causes the concentration of clotting agents to increase. Wounds treated with QuickClot can seal wounds in less than 2 minutes. The side effect however is possible 2nd Degree burns! As the powder absorbs the water a chemical reaction happens and energy is released in the form of heat. However the burn at least has happened because your life has probably been saved. The Manufacturers, Z-Medica, claim that QuickClot has already saved over 100 lives!

More details at: http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?hbxmail=nl&id=mg18925435.800

Moon suffering from Quakes.

Research has discovered that the moon is Seismically Active after all.

Seismometers were deployed on the moon by the various Apollo missions that landed there during the 1970's and it is data from these that has shown the moon quakes. Apparently there are four types of Quake found on the moon, 1) Deep quakes caused by tidal affects (gravity pulling on the lunar rocks), 2) Vibrations caused by meteor impacts, 3) Thermal quakes, caused by sudden expansion of the rocks when the sun shines onto them and 4) Shallow quakes. I

t is these Shallow Quakes that are causing a problem, the source of them is unknown and they can apparently reach a level of 5.5 on the Richter Scale. The other problem found is the length of the moon quakes. On Earth a quakes lasts a very short period of time, on the moon quakes can last for more than 10 minutes. This is possibly long enough to cause problems in the buildings that will be used to house the astronauts when they return to the moon.

More details at: http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2006/15mar_moonquakes.htm?list855910