Tuesday March 24, 2009

Average vitamin D levels declining

Life Extensions, March 23, 2009
In the March 23, 2009 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, authors from the University of Colorado School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University and Harvard report a decline in levels of vitamin D among Americans over a ten year period.
Adit A. Ginde, MD, MPH of the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine in Aurora and associates compared serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels from 18,883 participants in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), conducted from 1988 to 1994, with levels from 13,369 participants in NHANES 2001-2004. They found that the average vitamin D level of 30 nanograms per milliliter observed in the Third NHANES population dropped to 24 nanograms per milliliter in the NHANES 2001-2004 population. The percentage of those with levels below 10 nanograms per milliliter increased from 2 to 6 percent, and those with levels above 30 nanograms per milliliter, an amount that is considered by some authorities to be the minimum for optimal health, decreased from 45 to 23 percent.
“Vitamin D insufficiency has been associated with increases in cardiovascular disease, cancer, and infection,” the authors observe in their introduction to the article. “Vitamin D supplementation appears to mitigate the incidence and adverse outcomes of these diseases and may reduce all-cause mortality.” Nevertheless, current recommended levels for supplementation reflect a focus on bone health rather than overall optimal health, and ignore the growing incidence of vitamin D insufficiency.
"Increased intake of vitamin D (1,000 international units per day or more)—particularly during the winter months and at higher latitudes—and judicious sun exposure would improve vitamin D status and likely improve the overall health of the U.S. population,” the authors conclude. “Large randomized controlled trials of these higher doses of vitamin D supplementation are needed to evaluate their effect on general health and mortality."
http://www.lef.org/whatshot/2009_03.htm#Average-vitamin-D-levels-declining

Vitamin D Deficiency Makes Young Girls' Muscles Weak

by David Gutierrez, NaturalNews.com

(NaturalNews) Insufficient blood levels of vitamin D may cause adolescent girls to have weaker muscles, according to a new study in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

The research team was composed of scientists from Longsight Health Centre in Manchester, the University of Manchester, Saint Mary's Hospital for Women & Children in Manchester and Novotec Medical GmBH in Pforzheim, Germany.

"We know vitamin D deficiency can weaken the muscular and skeletal systems, but until now, little was known about the relationship of vitamin D with muscle power and force," lead researcher Kate Ward said. "Our study found that vitamin D is positively related to muscle power, force, velocity and jump height in adolescent girls."

The researchers measured vitamin D blood levels from 99 girls between the ages of 12 and 14, all of them students at the same inner city, multi-ethnic Manchester school. They found that 75 percent of the participants had vitamin D levels lower than optimal, although none were yet exhibiting any symptoms of deficiency.

Deficiency of vitamin D is well known to lead to hampered calcium absorption, which can cause the weakening of bones and lead to fractures and osteoporosis. Newer research suggests that it may also increase the risk of cancer, heart disease and autoimmune disorders.

The researchers also measured each participant's muscle strength and force through a variety of jumping exercises. They found a direct correlation between vitamin D blood levels and the girls' performance on the muscle strength tests.

"These data highlight the importance of vitamin D status on muscle function in adolescent girls. Sub-optimal force might have implications for long-term bone development," the researchers wrote.

Scientists and medical professionals believe that vitamin D deficiency is widespread, particularly among darker skinned people living far from the equator, whose bodies cannot synthesize enough of the vitamin from the weak winter sunlight. Recent studies suggest that as many as 55 percent of apparently healthy U.S. adolescents might be vitamin D deficient.
http://www.naturalnews.com/025914.html

'D' missing link in too many diets

Report: Too much time indoors unhealthy, reduces key vitamin

March 24, 2009
BY MONIFA THOMAS Health Reporter, SUN TIMES
We're not getting enough vitamin D, according to a new report.
Blood levels of vitamin D in Americans have plunged in recent years, researchers say -- probably because people spend more time indoors, get too little sun and use a lot of high-protection sunscreen.
Vitamin D in Americans have plunged in recent years, probably because people spend more time indoors, get too little sun and use a lot of high-protection sunscreen, researchers say.
(Richard A. Chapman/Sun-Times file)

The number of people who get adequate amounts of vitamin D fell by almost half in the years 2001 to 2004 from 1988 to 1994, researchers from Harvard and the University of Colorado, Denver, reported Monday in the Archives of Internal Medicine -- a finding that a government health official, Mary Frances Picciano, called "exaggerated."
By getting less sun and using more sunblock, people could be trading a lower risk of skin cancer for a higher risk of osteoporosis and fractures, heart disease, infections and some cancers, said Dr. Adit Ginde, who led the study.
People get vitamin D from the sun, from vitamin supplements and from milk and other foods with added vitamins.
The study found that 70 percent of whites, 97 percent of blacks and 90 percent of Hispanics in the United States had less than 30 nanograms of vitamin D per milliliter of blood -- the level considered adequate for health -- during the years 2001 to 2004, based on data gathered by the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics.
Ginde and Keri Gans, a dietitian for the American Dietetic Association, suggested that people consult their own doctors, get their blood levels tested and consider taking supplements of 1,000 international units (IUs) a day of vitamin D.
http://www.suntimes.com/lifestyles/1492177,CST-NWS-vitamind24.article#

Increased magnesium and calcium intake linked with lower diabetes risk

Life Extensions, March 20, 2009
A report published in the March, 2009 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition revealed the finding of a large prospective study of Chinese women of an apparent protective effect of calcium and magnesium against type 2 diabetes risk.
For the current investigation, researchers at Vanderbilt University and Shanghai Cancer Institute evaluated data from 64,191 participants in the Shanghai Women's Health Study, which included women aged 40 to 70 living in Shanghai, China. Surveys conducted at the beginning of the study and at the first biennial follow-up interview collected information on dietary intake and other factors. Over the 6.9 year follow-up period, 2,270 reported cases of diabetes were confirmed.
Analysis of dietary questionnaire responses determined calcium and magnesium intake. For those whose intake was among the highest 20 percent at a median of 649.6 milligrams per day, a 27 percent lower risk of diabetes was observed compared with those whose intake was among the lowest fifth at 277.5 milligrams. Magnesium was also associated with a protective effect. Subjects whose intake of magnesium was highest at a median of 318.1 milligrams per day experienced a 20 percent average lower risk compared with those in the lowest category. Calcium and magnesium from milk sources appeared to be more protective than plant sources.
Although they did not have information on the vitamin D intake of the participants, the authors remarked that the protective effect associated with dairy products could be due to their vitamin D as well as its calcium content. Vitamin D combined with calcium has been shown to be associated with a reduction in the risk of type 2 diabetes in previous research.
"Our findings support the hypothesis that calcium and magnesium play a protective role in the development of type 2 diabetes," the authors conclude.
http://www.lef.org/whatshot/2009_03.htm#Average-vitamin-D-levels-declining

Fruit extract shows promise as weight-loss aid
Last Updated: 2009-03-23 15:06:43 -0400 (Reuters Health)
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - An extract derived from a West African fruit may help overweight people shed pounds and lower their cholesterol, a new study suggests.
The extract comes from Irvingia gabonensis, also known as African mango, a fruit commonly eaten in West Africa. Lab research has shown that extracts from the plant's seed may inhibit body fat production, through effects on certain genes and enzymes that regulate metabolism.
For the current study, researchers at the University of Yaounde in Cameroon randomly assigned 102 overweight adults to take either the plant extract or a placebo twice a day for 10 weeks. The study participants did not follow any special diet and were told to maintain their normal exercise levels.
By the end of the study, the extract group had lost a significant amount of weight -- an average of roughly 28 pounds -- while the placebo group showed almost no change.
At the same time, they showed declines in "bad" LDL cholesterol and blood sugar levels.
Dr. Julius E. Oben and his colleagues report the findings in the online journal Lipids in Health and Disease. The Fairfield, California- based Gateway Health Alliances, Inc. supplied the Irvingia gabonensis extract and partially funded the research.
The study is the first well-controlled clinical trial of the extract's effectiveness as a weight-loss aid, the researchers note. But the findings, they write, suggest that Irvingia gabonensis could offer a "useful tool" for battling the growing worldwide problem of obesity and its related ills.
A few patients on the extract reported side effects, including headaches, sleep problems and gas, but the rates were similar in the placebo group.
The findings, Oben's team concludes, should "provide impetus for much larger clinical studies."
SOURCE: Lipids in Health and Disease, online March 2, 2009.
http://www.reutershealth.com/archive/2009/03/23/eline/links/20090323elin007.html

Omega-3 not healthy enough to eat into fish stocks, claims study

Nutraingredients.com, 23-Mar-2009

A new research paper on the production of fish-derived fatty acids has concluded that the continued promotion of omega-3s for their health benefits is irresponsible in the face of depleting fish stocks.
Published last week in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, the study predicts the collapse of all commercially exploited fish stocks by around 2050.
According to the authors led by David Jenkins, a medical scientist, the health benefits of omega-3 are insufficiently substantiated to justify the scale of promotion the fish-derived lipids are receiving. These “overdramatized” health benefits are putting pressure on fish stocks, they claim.
“Our concern is that fish stocks are under extreme pressure globally and that studies are still urgently required to define precisely who will benefit from fish oil,” said Jenkins, a doctor at St Michael’s Hospital and a professor at the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine’s Department of Nutritional Sciences.
Health benefits – where’s the proof?
Omega-3, particularly the longer chain eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) have been linked to numerous health benefits, including heart health and mental health.
However, according to the researchers, the science is inconclusive and should not be used to promote the consumption of additional omega-3.
“The evidence for the comprehensive benefits of increased fish oil consumption is not as clear-cut as protagonists suggest […] Insufficient attention has been paid to individual studies and meta-analyses that fail to establish a benefit to health of omega-3 fatty acids,” they state.
Systematic meta-analyses of studies examining omega-3 benefits are indeed lacking. However, this is primarily a result of the constraints of study methodologies rather than a lack in conclusive findings of the benefits of omega-3s. Results can often not be compared and confirmed through systematic reviews or meta-analyses because the studies completed to date are too differing – conducted in different populations and using different measures.
However, although there is a general consensus that more science is needed, the studies that have been published to date provide a strong body of evidence – particularly for the heart health benefits of omega-3 – and this has been recognized internationally.
“There have been 16 international organisations that have made recommendations (for a daily intake of omega-3 EPA and DHA) based on scientific evidence in the last 20 years. Their average recommendation is 560mg,” said Dr Alex Richardson, a leading omega-3 researcher at the University of Oxford, UK, and director of Food and Behaviour Research (FAB), a UK-based charity.
According to Robert Orr, president and CEO of leading omega-3 supplier Ocean Nutrition, “the real misunderstanding is how important these EPA and DHA omega-3s are to the diet”.
“We have a massive dietary deficiency going on in the western world of EPA and DHA, and neither the regulators nor the food manufacturers nor the consumers fully appreciate the level of this dietary deficiency and it impact on health,” he told NutraIngredients-USA.com last year.
Supplies dwindling
According to the new paper, entitled ‘Are dietary recommendations for the use of fish oils sustainable?’, insufficient attention has been paid to the potential environmental impact of increased fish consumption.
The researchers claim there is now “little doubt about the gravity of the fisheries crisis”, adding that fish farming is not likely to solve the problem because wild fish are needed to feed the farmed fish.
However, according to the Global Organization for EPA and DHA (GOED), an omega-3 trade association, omega-3 production is not a major contributor to the depletion of fish stocks.
Only around 6-10 percent of the total 1m tons crude fish oil produced per year is refined to produce omega-3 for human consumption, the group told NutraIngredients-USA.com. The figure from the International Fishmeal and Fish oil Organisation (IFFO) is even smaller, placing human consumption at less than 3 percent.
Alternative sources
The study suggests that alternative sources of omega-3 should be promoted in order to ease the pressure on fish stocks.
These include algal-sourced DHA – which is currently produced by Martek BioSciences – as well as shorter-chain alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), derived from plant sources such as flaxseed.
Additionally, some of the leading agricultural firms – including Monsanto, DuPont and BASF – are advancing with work on obtaining the longer chain omega-3 from plants via genetic engineering.
“Until renewable sources of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids – derived from plant, algae, yeast, or other unicellular organisms – become more generally available, it would seem responsible to refrain from advocating to people in developed countries that they increase their intake of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids through fish consumption,” write the researchers.
Source: Canadian Medical Association Journal, March 17, 2009
Are dietary recommendations for the use of fish oils sustainable?
Authors: David J.A. Jenkins MD DSc, John L. Sievenpiper MD PhD, Daniel Pauly Dr rer nat, Ussif Rashid Sumaila Dr Polit, Cyril W.C. Kendall PhD, Farley M. Mowat OC DLitt
DOI: 10.1503/cmaj.081274
http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/Research/Omega-3-not-healthy-enough-to-eat-into-fish-stocks-claims-study

Death link to too much red meat
Scientists have produced new evidence suggesting eating lots of red and processed meat damages health.
They found big meat eaters had a raised risk of death from all causes over a 10-year period.
In contrast, a higher intake of white meat was associated with a slightly reduced risk of death over the same period.
The US study, featured in Archives of Internal Medicine, was based on more than 500,000 people.
“ The need is for a major reduction in total meat intake ”
Dr Barry Popkin
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
The researchers, from The US National Cancer Institute, found those whose diet contained the highest proportion of red or processed meat had a higher overall risk of death, and specifically a higher risk of cancer and heart disease than those who ate the least.
People eating the most meat were eating about 160g of red or processed meat per day - approximately a 6oz steak.
Those who ate the least were only getting about 25g per day - approximately a small rasher of bacon.
Conversely, those who ate the highest proportion of white meat had a lower risk of overall death, and a lower risk of fatal cancer or heart disease than those who ate the lowest proportion.
The researchers calculated that 11% of deaths in men and 16% of deaths in women during the study period could have been prevented if people had decreased their red meat consumption to the level of those in the lowest intake group.
Cancer compounds
The researchers said cancer-causing compounds were formed during high-temperature cooking of meat.
“ No one's saying that people should avoid bacon or burgers completely, but evidence tells us that cutting down on these foods can reduce the risk of dying from cancer and other diseases ”
Ed Yong
Cancer Research UK
Meat is a major source of saturated fat, which has been associated with breast and colorectal cancer.
In addition, lower meat intake has been linked to a reduction in risk factors for heart disease, including lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
The latest study adds to a growing body of research linking high red and processed meat consumption to an increased risk of ill health.
Recent UK research found one in ten people has tried to cut down on processed meats, such as bacon, in the wake of previous reports linking them to cancer.
Writing in the same journal, Dr Barry Popkin of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, stressed there were health benefits to eating some red meat.
But he added: "The need is for a major reduction in total meat intake, an even larger reduction in processed meat and other highly processed and salted animal source food products and a reduction in total saturated fat."
Dr Mark Wahlqvist, a nutrition expert from Australia's Monash University, said eating small amounts of red meat - around 30g a day - provided a good source of key nutrients.
He said: "Fresh, lean red meat of these amounts is likely to be of more benefit than harm."
Ed Yong, of the charity Cancer Research UK, said two large studies had now linked eating lots of red or processed meat to some cancers.
"No one's saying that people should avoid bacon or burgers completely, but evidence from large studies like this tells us that cutting down on these foods can reduce the risk of dying from cancer and other diseases."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7959128.stm

Music therapy 'restores vision'
Listening to pleasant music could help restore impaired vision in stroke patients, UK research suggests.
Up to 60% of stroke patients develop impaired visual awareness - a condition known as "visual neglect".
They lose the ability to track objects in their visual field on the side opposite to where their brain has been damaged by the stroke.
The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences study suggests music can help ease the problem.
“ Music appears to improve awareness because of its positive emotional effect on the patient, so similar beneficial effects may also be gained by making the patient happy in other ways ”
Dr David Soto
Imperial College London
It is caused by damage to areas of the brain critical for the integration of vision, attention and action - not the areas responsible for sight.
In extreme cases, patients with visual neglect may eat only the food on the right side of their plate, or shave only half of their face.
The latest study looked at three patients who had lost awareness of half of their field of vision.
They completed tasks under three conditions: while listening to music they liked, music they did not like, and in silence.
All three patients could identify coloured shapes and red lights in their depleted side of vision much more accurately while they were listening to music of their choice.
Big difference
One patient could point out light in 65% of cases when listening to his favourite music, but in only 15% of cases when listening to unpleasant music, or silence.
The researchers believe pleasant music generates positive emotions, which may help produce more efficient signalling in the brain, increasing its capacity to process stimuli.
Brain scans confirmed that listening to pleasant music activated areas linked to positive emotional responses, and that activity was coupled with the improvement in patients' performance on the tasks.
Lead researcher Dr David Soto, from Imperial College London, said: "Visual neglect can be a very distressing condition for stroke patients. It has a big effect on their day-to-day lives.
"Our findings suggest that we should think more carefully about the individual emotional factors in patients with visual neglect and in other neurological patients following a stroke.
"Music appears to improve awareness because of its positive emotional effect on the patient, so similar beneficial effects may also be gained by making the patient happy in other ways."
Joanne Murphy, of the Stroke Association said: "This is very interesting research that indicates that a positive emotional state can help a stroke survivor with an obstacle such as visual neglect.
"We would welcome further research into this and other conditions which could help benefit the 150,000 people affected by stroke each year."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7959732.stm

Border plants to be killed to reveal smugglers

By DANE SCHILLER Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle

March 24, 2009, 12:11AM

The U.S. Border Patrol plans to poison the plant life along a 1.1-mile stretch of the Rio Grande riverbank as soon as Wednesday to get rid of the hiding places used by smugglers, robbers and illegal immigrants.
If successful, the $2.1 million pilot project could later be duplicated along as many as 130 miles of river in the patrol’s Laredo Sector, as well as other parts of the U.S.-Mexico border.
Although Border Patrol and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency officials say the chemical is safe for animals, detractors say the experiment is reminiscent of the Vietnam War-era Agent Orange chemical program and raises questions about long-term effects.
“We don’t believe that is even moral,” said Jay Johnson-Castro Sr., executive director of the Rio Grande International Study Center, located at Laredo Community College, adjacent to the planned test area.
“It is unprecedented that they’d do it in a populated area,” he said of spraying the edge of the Rio Grande as it weaves between the cities of Laredo and Nuevo Laredo, Mexico.
Border Patrol agent Roque Sarinana said the pilot project aims to find the most efficient way to keep agents safer and better protect the nation’s border. “We are trying to improve our mobility and visibility up and down the river,” Sarinana said.
Criminals have grown adept at using the dense foliage to elude capture, he said.
“They can come over almost undetected,” he said.
Should the Border Patrol project prove efficient, cane removal could become part of its arsenal of tools that have been used along various parts of the U.S.-Mexico border, including walls, fencing and look-out towers.
Members of the Laredo City Council have raised concerns about the spraying program and called on Mexico President Felipe Calderon to intervene.
Mexican officials are raising concerns the herbicide could threaten the water supply for Nuevo Laredo.
A U.S. government outline of the project indicates the Border Patrol is going to test three methods to rid the 1.1-mile bank of river of carrizo cane, which has thick stalks that form tight, isolated trails that can be dark and all but invisible from higher up on the bank.
One method calls for the cane to be cut by hand and the stumps painted with the herbicide, Imazapyr.
Another involves using mechanical equipment to dig the cane out by the roots. It is unclear if herbicides would be necessary in this scenario.
The third and most controversial removal method calls for helicopters spraying Imazapyr directly on the cane — repeatedly — until all plant life in the area is poisoned.
The Border Patrol said that after using the herbicide, it plans to make the river’s edges green again by planting native plants.
Johnson-Castro said he has no issue with removing the cane, a non-native plant brought by the Spaniards centuries ago. The challenge, he said, is how it is done.
“We are saying it is one hell of a big deal,” he said.
Laredo Mayor Raul Salinas said he believes federal officials when they say testing shows the chemical is not dangerous, but that he also realizes opponents of the project have concerns to evaluate.
“It is a complicated situation because we have to think about protecting our border,” said Salinas, a retired FBI agent. “But let’s do it in a sensible, reasonable way to make sure humans won’t be harmed, nor the vegetation, nor the animals, nor the environment.”
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6335446.html

Study links DDT, obesity in women

Friday, March 20, 2009
By Jeff Alexander, Muskegon Chronicle
WEST MICHIGAN -- The daughters of women who eat Lake Michigan fish laced with the toxic remnants of DDT are at greater risk of becoming obese, according to a new study.
Researchers at Michigan State University have discovered that prenatal exposure to a derivative of DDT -- an insecticide commonly used until it was banned in the 1970s -- may play a role in the obesity epidemic in women.
Scientists studied the adult daughters of 250 West Michigan mothers who ate Lake Michigan fish to gauge their offsprings' exposure to DDE, a breakdown product of DDT.
The study, published in this month's edition of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, found that women with intermediate levels of DDE in their bodies gained an average of 13 pounds of excess weight. Women with higher levels of DDE gained more than 20 pounds of excess weight.
"What we have found for the first time is exposure to certain toxins by eating fish from polluted waters may contribute to the obesity epidemic in women," said Janet Osuch, a professor of surgery and epidemiology at MSU's College of Human Medicine and one of the lead authors of the study.
Osuch said prenatal exposure to toxins is increasingly being looked at as a potential cause for the rise in obesity seen worldwide.
The federal government banned DDT in 1973 after studies showed the chemical killed songbirds and drove bald eagles to the brink of extinction by disrupting the birds' reproductive cycle. The chemical and its byproducts are still found in some species of fish and other marine life.
Lake Michigan fish are far cleaner now than in the 1970s, but DDT and DDE are persistent compounds that accumulate in the fatty tissue of fish and humans.
The state of Michigan recommends that women and children limit consumption of most species of Lake Michigan fish to one meal per month. Studies have shown that removing all fat and skin from fish can reduce exposure to persistent toxins.
Osuch said the study's findings can have a huge effect on how researchers treat -- and try to prevent -- obesity.
"This line of research can transform how we think about the causes of obesity and potentially help us create prenatal tests to show which offspring are at higher risks," Osuch said.
The mothers who were studied were part of a larger group of Michigan fish eaters along Lake Michigan who were recruited in the early 1970s. In 2000, Osuch and research partners approached the group and began to identify daughters aged 20 to 50 years old.
"These findings not only apply to the offspring of women in our (group) but to any woman who has been exposed to high levels of DDE when she was growing in her mother's womb," Osuch said.
http://www.mlive.com/news/chronicle/index.ssf?/base/news-16/1237544111171580.xml&coll=8

Stroke Survivors Improve Balance With Tai Chi

ScienceDaily (Mar. 24, 2009) — Stroke can impair balance, heightening the risk of a debilitating fall. But a University of Illinois at Chicago researcher has found that stroke survivors can improve their balance by practicing the Chinese martial art of tai chi.
Christina Hui-Chan, professor and head of physical therapy at UIC, has studied and used tai chi as a way to improve balance and minimize falls among healthy elderly subjects. Now she and a colleague have seen similar results in a group of stroke survivors.
The study used 136 subjects in Hong Kong who had suffered a stroke more than six months earlier. Participants were randomly assigned to a tai chi group or a control group that practiced breathing, stretching and other exercises that involved sitting, walking, memorizing and reasoning.
Tai chi consists of constant coordinated movement of the head, trunk and limbs requiring tremendous concentration and balance control. Participants learned a simplified form that had been shown to be beneficial to arthritis patients.
Patients were trained in small groups by physical therapists in a weekly class, then practiced at home three days a week for one hour. They received 12 weeks of training but were able to learn the technique in as little as eight. The goal was to make the patients as independent in their treatment as possible, Hui-Chan said.
They were then tested for their ability to maintain balance while shifting weight, leaning in different directions, and standing on moving surfaces to simulate a crowded bus. In these tests the tai chi group out-performed the control exercise group. The two groups performed about the same on another test, which was not focused solely on balance but involved sitting, standing, walking, and returning to sit down.
"The tai chi group did particularly better in conditions that required them to use their balance control," Hui-Chan said. "In only six weeks, we saw significant improvements. The ability to shift your weight is very important because all reaching tasks require it."
While learning tai chi is not easy, Hui-Chan has found that most people can learn the art if taught by a trained instructor. Many Chinese practice tai chi in morning group exercises, and Hui-Chan thinks the experience can work for Americans and other western nationalities.
"It can be taught at community centers, YWCAs or YMCAs, or in parks in the summer," she said.
Hui-Chan said that benefits of tai chi include improved strength and cardio fitness. Group classes also provide a healthy social gathering for isolated seniors at a fraction the cost of physiotherapy or personal training.
Hui-Chan conducted the research with former doctoral student Stephanie Au-Yeung while at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. The findings, now accessible online, will appear in a forthcoming issue of the journal Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090323110458.htm

New 'Green' Pesticides Are First To Exploit Plant Defenses In Battle Of The Fungi

ScienceDaily (Mar. 24, 2009) — Exploiting a little-known punch/counterpunch strategy in the ongoing battle between disease-causing fungi and crop plants, scientists in Canada are reporting development of a new class of "green" fungicides that could provide a safer, more environmentally-friendly alternative to conventional fungicides.
They will report on the first pesticides to capitalize on this unique defensive strategy March 23 in Salt Lake City, Utah, at the 237th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society.
Developed with sustainable agriculture in mind, the new fungicides — called "paldoxins" — could still do the work of conventional pesticides, helping to protect corn, wheat and other crops. These crops increasingly are used not just for food, but to make biofuels. The new fungicides also could help fight the growing problem of resistance, in which plant pests shrug off fungicides, the researchers suggest.
Most fungicides today are made based on chemicals that can kill potentially beneficial organisms and have other adverse environmental effects. The new materials are more selective, stopping fungi that cause plant diseases without harming other organisms. They work in a unique way, disrupting a key chemical signalling pathway that the fungi use to breakdown a plant's normal defenses. As a result, the plants boost their natural defenses and overcome fungal attack without harming people and the environment, the researchers say.
"Conventional fungicides kill constantly," explains study leader Soledade Pedras, Ph.D., a professor of chemistry at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada. "Our products only attack the fungus when it's misbehaving or attacking the plant. And for that reason, they're much safer."
Researchers have known for years that many plants have a defense mechanism that involves production of natural chemicals, called phytoalexins, to kill disease-causing fungi. The fungus, however, fights back. It releases enzymes that detoxify, or destroy, the phytoalexin, leaving the plant vulnerable to the fungi's attack.
To take advantage of that punch-counterpunch strategy, Pedras and her colleagues proposed the development of new anti-fungal agents to block the fungi's destruction of phytoalexins. They termed these new agents paldoxins, short for phytoalexin detoxification inhibitors.
Pedras discovered those agents after screening broccoli, cauliflower, mustard greens and other plants in the so-called "crucifer family." They discovered the most powerful phytoalexin in a flowering plant called camelina or "false flax." In laboratory tests, camelina phytoalexins blocked detoxifying enzymes produced by a wide variety of fungi.
"We found that many fungi couldn't degrade this chemical," says Pedras. "So that's what we used to design synthetic versions that were even stronger than the original."
The researchers now have developed six different synthetic versions of the paldoxins, which are essentially potent inhibitors of fungal enzymes.
The researchers have successfully tested the synthetic paldoxins in the lab on several crucifer plants, including rapeseed plants and mustard greens. Pedras' group plan field tests of their new fungicides on other important crop varieties. In the future, a similar strategy will be applied to grasses such as wheat, rye, and oat. These grassy plants tend to be more difficult to protect with fungicides than broccoli and related veggies, the researchers say.
If studies continue to show promise, the paldoxins could be marketed quickly, within a few years, Pedras says. The new fungicides could be applied like conventional pesticides.
The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the University of Saskatchewan funded the study.

Polar Meltdown Triggers International Arctic Landgrab

Nations scramble to claim their share of the petroleum riches trapped deep within the Arctic seabed as global warming loosens that ocean's icy grip on its bounty

Scientific American -  March 13, 2009
As a nuclear-powered icebreaker crunched through 10 feet of August ice at the North Pole, Russian sailors readied two deepwater submersibles for their two-and-a-half-mile descent. Dubbed Mir 1 and Mir 2 (mir meaning “world”), the subs were aptly named—their deployment was about to catch the world’s attention. A hole opened in the ship’s wake, and the subs were lowered. At the bottom of the Arctic Ocean, one sub took seabed samples, the ostensible purpose of the mission, while the other deposited a titanium capsule containing a Russian flag, symbolically claiming this undersea turf for its homeland.
Moscow’s 2007 stunt was mocked widely for its ostentatious flouting of diplomatic etiquette but had its intended effect: other countries were rattled. Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper scurried to the Arctic for a sovereignty tour, and the Danish science minister released preliminary findings that the North Pole was, in fact, Danish.
Russia’s action helped to kick off what has become a fierce political struggle over who owns the Arctic. Russia, Canada, Denmark (through its independent territory of Greenland), Norway and the U.S. all have some sovereignty in the far north—and they are all hoping for more. Nearly a quarter of the planet’s undiscovered oil and natural gas lie above the Arctic Circle, and recent estimates suggest most of it lurks offshore. When these riches were capped year-round by solid ice, nobody gave them much thought. But now that global warming is eliminating ice and changing coastlines, the five coastal nations are eager to start drawing lines on the seafloor.
But rights to polar resources won’t be determined by planting flags in a frontier-style land rush. Rather existing treaties will parcel out new territory based on submarine geology. That legal framework puts a whole new emphasis on mapping and exploring the ocean floor at the edge of what is technically possible, because those efforts will determine what areas a given country can exploit later. When the murk settles, the Arctic will likely hold on to only two small basins as the common heritage of humankind. The rest will be at the mercy of new ownership.
Deep Concerns
The rules for claiming seabed resources stem from the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Also known as the Law of the Sea Treaty, this agreement grants countries sole rights to an area within 230 miles of their coastlines, measured typically from the low-tide mark. There is one exception: if the submerged margin of the continent juts beyond this so-called exclusive economic zone, a country may extend its claim to seabed resources accordingly.
Although roughly 15 percent of the world’s oceans overlie continental margins, these bands suffer from the logistical drawbacks of land and deep sea: inconveniently deep water and uncomfortably complex terrain. An influx of mapping grants from Arctic coastal nations has spurred an all-out assault on these data black holes, unprecedented in its scale and speed.
As the border of a continent extends underwater from the shoreline, the submerged shelf resembles coastal land beside it. This shallowly submerged extension of the land is known as the continental shelf. Deep underneath the open sea lies the other major topographic surface of the sea­floor, the relatively flat abyssal plain.
Both the continental shelf and the abyssal plain have been surveyed more or less extensively. The sloping transition zone between them, however, represents a belt of ignorance. Generally, the flat shelf breaks at around 350 feet below sea level, where an abrupt drop signals the start of the continental slope, followed at two or three miles deep by a more level segment called the continental rise. It is the meeting point between the continental rise and the abyssal plain that marks the margin’s outer edge. This boundary can make or break a territorial claim over seabed resources but is often masked by thick sediment layers or other confounding features.
Mixed Messages
International treaties, steeped in ­precedent, do not always mesh with cutting-edge research. Newly returned from riding along on the U.S. Coast Guard’s Healy icebreaker as it surveyed the Chukchi Sea ­northwest of Alaska, Vermont Law School professor Betsy Baker reports a failure of science and law to communicate. “There are a number of terms in the law that are scientifically ambiguous,” she says. “How do you define a ‘natural prolongation’? And where is the ‘foot of a slope’?” In the Arctic, unusually broad continental shelves and long submarine peninsulas complicate the issue.
“You can read these phrases in different ways, but inside Denmark and Greenland there is good agreement on the resulting formulas,” says Flemming G. Christian­sen, deputy director of the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland.
Every nation has 10 years from the date it ratifies UNCLOS to present its case for an extended territorial claim to a commission of scientists designated to evaluate the evidence and make a recommendation. Ultimately, however, it is up to the member countries to settle disputes among themselves. Out of the five coastal Arctic nations, Russia and Norway have already submitted claims. Canada and Denmark have until 2013 and 2014, respectively. Only the U.S. won’t be submitting any claims to the commission, at least not for now, because it has yet to ratify the treaty.
“A small number of senators resist ceding any sovereignty, afraid the big, bad U.N. is going to divvy up Arctic resources,” Baker says. That reluctance may soon change, however. In a sweeping Arctic national security directive issued during his last days in office, former president George W. Bush called on the U.S. Senate to ratify the treaty as “the most effective way to achieve international recognition and legal certainty for our extended continental shelf.”
No nation is likely to start investing in expensive resource exploration and extraction if it could be evicted by a neighboring country’s extended seabed claim under UNCLOS, so the outer shelves will not see development for another 30 years or so, Baker points out. The challenges of drilling at three-mile depths should not be underestimated either, because existing platforms cannot be used. The ocean floor will have to house recovery complexes, and the hydrocarbons may have to be transported to land via pipeline. On an ever shifting ice pack, only the strongest reinforced rigs or drill ships can survive, and should a spill occur, cleanup would be almost impossible.
Eager Investors
Ongoing treaty negotiations have not deterred those willing to gamble on a rich return. The Arctic’s undiscovered but technically recoverable oil is on the order of 90 billion barrels, according to a U.S. Geological Survey report released late in 2008. The same study cites 1,670 trillion cubic feet of unexplored natural gas, most of which lies in the Arctic Ocean closest to Russia. The U.K.-based oil company BP has signed a $17-billion exploration deal with Russia in the hope of replacing the declining output of its current fields in the North Sea.
Norway’s state-owned Statoil has cold-weather expertise with which it hopes to exploit deposits in the Barents Sea, and Canada-based Imperial Oil is among a handful of companies bidding on Canadian claims in the Beaufort Sea. “Seismic [surveys] will help us determine where we might want to drill, but ultimately we won’t know if we’ve picked the wrong place until we’ve actually created a well,” says Glen McCrimmon, Imperial’s geoscience manager for the area.
Aside from already valuable commodities such as oil and natural gas, an alternative source of fossil energy may lie trapped in the Arctic seafloor. Gas hydrates—a mixture of ice and methane—are found only under high pressure and at cold temperatures, and they are expected to make up a significant portion of the energy mix once existing oil fields dwindle, says David Scott, manager of the Northern Resources Development Program for Natural Resources Canada. The Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation has bankrolled much of the research into depressurizing these deposits, many of which lie a mile under the ocean surface.
Even with the best geophysical data, there will still be political questions. The largest feature that demands negotiating is the Lomonosov Ridge, a chain of undersea mountains that transects the Arctic Ocean, extending 1,240 miles from Siberia through the North Pole to Greenland and Canada’s Ellesmere Island. Lomonosov is likely a slice of the Siberian continental shelf that broke off northward about 63 million years ago, when the Eurasian Basin opened up on the Arctic Ocean floor, but its current ties to Russia are disputed. Russia, Canada and Denmark may all end up claiming portions of the ridge—and the rich resources connected to it.
“It is possible that the Lomonosov Ridge is attached to all three” countries, says Jørn Skov Nielsen, deputy minister of minerals and petroleum for the Greenland Home Rule Government. “Our geological investigation may find that the North Pole area is part of Greenland’s shelf.”
“It’s hard to imagine the ridge is continuous for such a long distance,” contends Benoit Beauchamp, director of the Arctic Institute of North America in Calgary, Alberta. “But it’s not rocket science to find out. Just expensive and hard to access under the ice.”
Playing Nice
Although some questions will ultimately come down to a judgment call, amicable solutions are not a fantasy. Crews of ­American, Russian, Canadian and Danish research vessels demonstrate an impressive degree of collaboration and collegiality. Breaking ice for one another, they jointly search for data that often cannot be shared from one ship to the next. “For any national product with high national interest, we must keep things classified,” Christiansen says. “But if we support one another in data collection, we will likely make the same sorts of arguments in submitting our claims.”
It’s not just scientists who have a precedent of cooperation to follow. At the other end of the world, the Antarctic Treaty freezes all territorial claims indefinitely and bans exploitation of the region’s mineral resources until 2048. Of course, the Arctic has been populated and developed for too long for sovereignty to be retracted, but political alliances for the glob­al good are possible. In the meantime, geologists don’t question the economic motivation of their windfall of short-term grants—they just work the field and hope it lasts.
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=polar-meltdown-triggers-landgrab

Bee habitats proposed for Berkeley parks

Carolyn Jones, San Francisco Chronicle
Monday, March 23, 2009
If you thought Berkeley was buzzing with eco-activity before, just wait until Tuesday.
The City Council is poised to transform all the city's parks and open spaces into habitats for bees. If the council approves the resolution, all future landscaping would be "pollinator-friendly" flowering native plants intended to attract bees, bats, butterflies, moths, hummingbirds, beetles and flies.
"I think it's fantastic. This is exactly what we're trying to promote," said Jaime Pawelek, a researcher in urban bee ecology at UC Berkeley's Department of Environmental Science Policy and Management. "The Bay Area is a leader in the environmental movement - hopefully the rest of the country will follow this."
But those who like to eat at the parks or roll in the grass, such as young kids, aren't so sure. After all, more bees means more bee stings.
"Maybe they could put the bees in parks where kids never go," said Charles Cobb, who was playing with his two children at Codornices Park last week. "It seems like a good idea, but I'd worry about having them too close."
The city's proposing that the bee landscaping be planted at least 30 feet from children's play areas, barbecues, garbage cans and picnic tables. Staff would also post signs in the parks explaining the importance of bee habitats.
"Thirty feet is not enough," said Kristen Burmester, who was at Codornices Park with her two youngsters. "If you had a kid who was allergic to bees, it would cut out all parks. And I wonder about population control."
City officials proposed the idea about six months ago, after reading news reports about the global decline of pollinators, particularly bees. Pollinators are essential for plant reproduction, especially food sources such as fruit and nut trees, berries and many vegetables.
Pesticides and habitat reduction are the main culprits behind the bees' decline, Pawelek said. But an increase in native flowering plants would be a big help for bees and other pollinators.
"It's extremely important, if we ever want to eat an apple or pear again," she said. "If we lose bees, we'll just be eating rice and corn, which are wind pollinated."
Park users should not worry about stumbling across a hive and being attacked by a swarm of irate bees, she said. Most native bees live alone in the ground or hollow tree trunks, and only the females can sting.
Furthermore, they're more likely to fly away or simply buzz loudly if they're irritated. Stinging is not their first choice, she said.
"They're actually afraid of us," she said. "I've been handling bees for years and never been stung."
Former City Councilwoman Betty Olds was among those who first championed municipal bee advocacy. A former bee keeper, she said she was concerned about the species' decline and wanted to help.
Mayor Tom Bates was also an early supporter.
"I read about the bees declining and thought, 'This is terrible. What can we do?' " he said. "Making our parks pollinator-friendly is totally possible and economically feasible, and a good way to help bees in our city."
The landscaping plan will not cost any more than the city's regular landscaping budget, according to city staff.
Lars Henri, who was with his 3-year-old at Codornices Park, said he loved the idea.
"Bring on the bees," he said. "Definitely more people will get stung. Bees are vital to the world, and we need them."
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/03/23/BA5416KTE8.DTL&type=printable

A quarter of the world's land area is degrading, reveals study

TIMES OF INDIA   22 Mar 2009, 1654 hrs IST, ANI

WASHINGTON: A new study has determined that almost a quarter of the world's land area is degrading, often in very productive areas.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Health--Science/Science/A-quarter-of-the-worlds-land-area-is-degrading-reveals-study/articleshow/4300511.cms

No correlation between wealth and happiness: Study

TIMES OF INDIA  20 Mar 2009, 1156 hrs IST, PTI

MELBOURNE: Australians are the most prosperous people in the world, enjoying good health, freedom of choice, political liberty, civil rights and

high income, a new study has revealed.

Ranking countries on the basis of their prosperity, Dubai-based Legatum Institute noted that there was no direct correlation between wealth and happiness.

While it was true that income was a good indicator of wellbeing in very poor countries, earnings did not link with happiness in rich countries, the think tank was quoted as saying by 'The Age' newspaper today.

Various studies have downplayed money as a predictor of how we feel about our lives. The finding, though, does not come as any surprise to Melbourne lawyer and academic Mirko Bagaric.

"Once we're above the poverty line, money makes only a small contribution to our level of happiness - and once we reach about the average level of income it makes virtually no difference to our level of contentment," Bargaric says.

"The things that are conducive to happiness are fit and healthy bodies, realistic goals, self-esteem, optimism, an outgoing personality, a sense of control, close relationships, challenging work and active leisure punctuated by adequate rest and a faith that entails communal support, purpose and acceptance," he adds.