Scientists have managed to develop stereo mammograms that can help increase detection of breast cancer by 23-percent while the false alarms percent decreases with 46. We all know that mammograms aren’t very comfortable and apparently not always that accurate, so it looks like this new method in the works is welcomed.
“It’s a major issue in the field now, more and more, how to address the imaging needs of women with significant breast density,” says American Cancer Society screening specialist Robert Smith. “We and women and everyone else is kind of left wondering what would be best under what circumstances.”
According to a recent study made by radiologists from Mayo Clinic, say they can now see behind dense tissue that would normally block potential problem areas. One of the key factors in beating breast cancer is an early detection, and that’s why this is definitely an exciting new development.
Phoenix probe, Nasa’s spacecraft sent the first pictures from Mars. It landed in the northern polar region of Mars, and began its three months months of examining a site where is considered of having frozen water. The first images from the Mars Pheonix Probe showed the space probe in good condition after its 10-months journey in which it travelled 640 million kilometres.
“Over the next few days, we’ll be getting the whole scene filed in,” said the Phoenix mission’s chief scientist, Peter Smith. “We’ve only looked at one little sliver of the Martian surface, but it’s exactly what we wanted, and we couldn’t be more excited.” Read the rest of this entry »
Today’s problems involving transportation for equipment and personnel led to a wider use of the GPS. This is the reason why Chinahas in plan to have a working GPS ystem (which will include an encrypted channel as well) covering all of Asiain less than 2 years.
In spite of the 2010 deadline specified, Japanese officials state that there has been no talk about inter operability between the two nations’ satellite systems so far. At the Toulouse Space Show, ICGNSS (International Committee on Global Navigation Satellite Systems) proved that China’s Compass/Beidou system is fully compatible with US GPS, European Galileo or Russian Glonass global navigation
systems.
However a problem may arise from the fact that three satellites from the Japanese Quazi Zenith Satellite Systems involved in Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, mightinterfere with China’s project. The ICGNSS states that over 120 navigation satellites will be orbiting Earth after these Chinese and European ones will be added together.
Enterprising startups (Sungevity for example) exploit the growing interest in solar power for either public or private use. In spite of its advantages, this system has proven itself to be costly on installation, slow and with a few unwanted side effects. Installing a solar panel usually involves damaging the structural
integrity of the roof by drilling holes and affixing racks using bolts, all in a time intensive process. Aside the hassle of the installer, it also comes with headaches for the customer because of the large bills to be payed.
Trying to find a more efficient installation approach, DRI Energy (solar power roofing contractor) has come up with a logical answer. DRI uses a strong adhesive to hold the panels in place instead of damaging the building with nuts and bolts, proving this method to be cost efficient and fast.
Due to obvious commercial benefits other companies will probably follow DRIs example leading to the spread of this type of alternative energy.
Sunny weather is melting the Arctic ice
In: Bioscience & Medicine, Energy & Environment Wednesday Apr 23,2008
The extremely sunny weather last year has lead to a loss of Arctic ice in a degree that has never been seen before.
“In a warmer world, the thinner sea ice is becoming increasingly sensitive to year-to-year variations in weather and cloud patterns,” says NCAR’s Jennifer Kay, the lead author of the study. “A single unusually clear summer can now have a dramatic impact.”
Findings based on observations from instruments on NASA’s “A-Train” satellites indicate that less ice means less solar radiation reflected back into space leading to a more pronounced melting than before.
Unfortunately, every year sets a new record in the extent of shrinking, as today there’s 43% less ice coverage than in 1979. Melting increases the sea-surface temperature leading to further melting, from the bottom as well, thus creating a spiral effect.
Research concluded that there are other factors besides solar radiation that act as a potent force to melt sea ice, like changes in wind patterns or shifts in ocean circulation patterns, yet the extent is not precisely determined.