Tag: antarctic

New measurement confirms: The ozone is coming back

Enlarge / Each year’s ozone hole is a little bit different. (credit: NASA ) The Montreal Protocol, which went into effect in 1989, is a rare instance of a global agreement to solve a global problem: the release of vast quantities of ozone-destroying chemicals into the atmosphere. In the decades since, however, changes in ozone have been small and variable, making it hard to tell whether the protocol is making any difference. But evidence has been building that the ozone layer is recovering, and a new paper claims to have directly measured the ozone hole gradually filling back in. CFCs and ozone During the 1970s and ’80s, evidence had been building that a class of industrial chemicals, the chloro-flurocarbons (CFCs), were damaging the ozone layer, a region of the stratosphere rich in this reactive form of oxygen. Ozone is able to absorb UV light that would otherwise reach the Earth’s surface, where it’s capable of damaging DNA. But the levels of ozone had been dropping, and this ultimately resulted in a nearly ozone-free “hole” above the Antarctic. Read 14 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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New measurement confirms: The ozone is coming back

‘Water Bear’ protein could shield human DNA from radiation

Tardigrades, aka ‘water bears, ‘ are microscopic organisms that survive in harsh environments from the antarctic to oxygenless space . They are so robust that Japanese scientists froze a group of them for 30 years and successfully revived two specimens. But to understand what makes these tiny creatures so impervious, another group of researchers took a closer look at their genes. By mapping the entire genome of a particularly stress-tolerant tardigrade species, Ramazzottius varieornatus , they found a protein that protects DNA from being irradiated — which could be used to shield humans. As the University of Tokyo researchers describe in the science journal Nature , they took a sample group of human DNA and watched it deteriorate when bombarded with X-rays. But when they allowed some of those to create that tardigrade protein, they only showed half the damage as the control group. Further, those protected cells were still capable of reproducing. As in all specific studies, it’s too early to state how this will translate into treatment, prevention or any dramatic transhumanist strengthening of our species. But the scientists believe more of these proteins, and new applications, are likely lying in wait for more research to uncover. Via: Gizmodo Source: University of Tokyo newsroom

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‘Water Bear’ protein could shield human DNA from radiation

Lovecraft sketch shows the author’s vision for Mountains of Madness

Still trying to wrap your head around H.P. Lovecraft’s mysterious Elder Things and collection monsters who lived below the ice of the Antarctic? Well, now you can see exactly what these mysterious beasts looked like from the author’s point of view, thanks to a few pages of recently discovered doodles right out of Lovecraft’s notes. Read more…        

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Lovecraft sketch shows the author’s vision for Mountains of Madness