How Marine Mammals Hold Their Breath Underwater

【Unlocking Word Meanings】

　今日の単語・フレーズ

Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article. 

1. mammal [MAM-uh l] (n.) – a warm-blooded animal that has hair or fur on the skin and can produce milk for its young

Example: Marine mammals can produce milk for their babies.

2. repel [ri-PEL] (v.) – to keep away or to cause to move away

Example: Disturbances from humans repel the dolphins in the sea.

3. evolve [ih-VOLV] (v.) – to gradually develop

Example: Some experts think that humans have evolved from the apes.

4. anatomical [an-uh-TOM-i-kuh l] (adj.) – relating to the study of bodily structure or anatomy

Example: Each mammal has different anatomical structure.

5. transfusion [trans-FYOO-zhuh n] (n.) – a process of transferring blood or other fluid into the blood vessel of a person or animal

Example: The patient needs to have blood transfusion after losing so much blood.

【Article】

　ニュース記事

Read the text below.

Scientists have discovered the secret to how marine mammals manage to hold their breath for a long time underwater. The mystery on how mammals can store oxygen in their bodies has long been puzzling the scientists.  The research, which was published on the Science journal, involved a team of researchers who focused on the myoglobin [mahy-uh-gloh-bin] in mammals. Myoglobin is a kind of protein that allows our muscles to store oxygen. In this study, the research team used muscle samples from three kinds of mammals: land-based, semi-aquatic, and marine mammals. The researchers specifically studied the electrical charge on the surface of myoglobin. They found that the presence of the protein is greater in marine mammals than land-based mammals.   Scott Mirceta, the lead researcher, said that the myoglobin molecules have a strong positive charge, which makes the molecules repel each other. Thus, the proteins are prevented from sticking together, allowing a much higher concentration of myoglobin. With higher myoglobin concentration, marine mammals can store more oxygen in their muscles. This discovery helps scientists understand how mammals have evolved over the years. The results also allow experts to know the anatomical changes that occurred during the land-to-water transitions among mammals. With the newly discovered data, scientists could determine how many times the marine mammals can dive. The study can also help experts better understand the evolution of deep diving. In addition, the study may be able to benefit the medical industry. Experts can use the study’s discoveries to develop oxygen-carrying liquids that can deliver oxygen to tissues when blood transfusion can no longer be done.

【Viewpoint Discussion】

　ディスカッションテーマ

Enjoy a discussion with your tutor.  

Discussion A

         Do you think the study on how marine mammals breathe underwater is important? Please explain your answer.

         In your opinion, how can studying the evolution of marine mammals benefit the humans?

Discussion B

         What are the disadvantages of using animals in research or experiments? Please explain your answer.

         Do you think scientists should continue conducting research that involves animals? Why or why not?

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Fiction, Global Warming, and the Writer

Any writer worth his or her syntax how should be considering how global warming and the resulting change in our climate impacts the story and plot.
 
This includes the positions taken by deniers and the political debate that swirls around the topic.
 
I'm not going to take a stand on this other than to say that researchers have determined that the less a person knows about global warming and climate change, the more likely they are to deny the science behind the phenomenon. They are something like the old 19th Century "Know-nothing" political party in the U.S. which took the position toward slavery and their rapidly changing economy, "If I keep my head in the sand, maybe it will go away."  It didn't, as you know.
 
Unfortunately, it looks we're just at the beginning of the impacts.  Consider these three releases from August 1st of this year, and think of how these results can impact your characters and your story lines.

*  *  *  *  *

 

Climate Change Occurring Ten Times Faster

Than at Any Time in Past 65 Million Years

Aug. 1, 2013 — The planet is undergoing one of the largest changes in climate since the dinosaurs went extinct. But what might be even more troubling for humans, plants and animals is the speed of the change. Stanford climate scientists warn that the likely rate of change over the next century will be at least 10 times quicker than any climate shift in the past 65 million years. 
The planet experienced a 5 degree Celsius hike in temperature 20,000 years ago, as Earth emerged from the last ice age. This is a change comparable to the high-end of the projections for warming over the 20th and 21st centuries.
 
The geologic record shows that, 20,000 years ago, as the ice sheet that covered much of North America receded northward, plants and animals recolonized areas that had been under ice. As the climate continued to warm, those plants and animals moved northward, to cooler climes.
 
Some of the strongest evidence for how the global climate system responds to high levels of carbon dioxide comes from paleoclimate studies. Fifty-five million years ago, carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was elevated to a level comparable to today. The Arctic Ocean did not have ice in the summer, and nearby land was warm enough to support alligators and palm trees.
 
Record-setting heat
Researchers reviewed results from two-dozen climate models to describe possible climate outcomes from present day to the end of the century. In general, extreme weather events, such as heat waves and heavy rainfall, are expected to become more severe and more frequent.
 
For example, the researchers note that, with continued emissions of greenhouse gases at the high end of the scenarios, annual temperatures over North America, Europe and East Asia will increase 2-4 degrees C by 2046-2065. With that amount of warming, the hottest summer of the last 20 years is expected to occur every other year, or even more frequently.
 
By the end of the century, should the current emissions of greenhouse gases remain unchecked, temperatures over the northern hemisphere will tip 5-6 degrees C warmer than today's averages. In this case, the hottest summer of the last 20 years becomes the new annual norm.
 
Story Source: N. S. Diffenbaugh, C. B. Field. Changes in Ecologically Critical Terrestrial Climate Conditions. Science, 2013.
 

Cool Heads Likely Won't Prevail in a Hotter, Wetter World:

Climate Change Will Likely Exacerbate Violence

Aug. 1, 2013 — Should climate change trigger the upsurge in heat and rainfall that scientists predict, people may face a threat just as perilous and volatile as extreme weather -- each other.
 
Researchers from Princeton University and the University of California-Berkeley report in the journal Science that even slight spikes in temperature and precipitation have greatly increased the risk of personal violence and social upheaval throughout human history. Projected onto an Earth that is expected to warm by 2 degrees Celsius by 2050, the authors suggest that more human conflict is a likely outcome of climate change.
 
The researchers analyzed 60 studies from a number of disciplines -- including archaeology, criminology, economics and psychology -- that have explored the connection between weather and violence in various parts of the world from about 10,000 BCE to the present day. During an 18-month period, the Princeton-Berkeley researchers reviewed those studies' data -- and often re-crunched raw numbers -- to calculate the risk that violence would rise under hotter and wetter conditions.
 
They found that while climate is not the sole or primary cause of violence, it undeniably exacerbates existing social and interpersonal tension in all societies, regardless of wealth or stability.
 
"We attained a huge amount of the data that was available and we used the same method on all of the data so that we could directly compare studies," the lead researcher said. "Once we did that, we saw that all of the results were actually highly consistent -- previously they just weren't being analyzed in a consistent way."
 
The researchers examined three categories of conflict:

1. "personal violence and crime," which includes murder, assault, rape and domestic violence;
2. "intergroup violence and political instability," such as civil wars, riots, ethnic violence and land invasions; and
3. "institutional breakdowns," which are abrupt and major changes in governing institutions or, in extreme cases, the collapse of entire civilizations.

Extreme climatic conditions amplified violence in all three categories, regardless of geography, societal wealth or the time in history. An aberrant climate coincided with incidents including spikes in domestic violence in India and Australia; increased assaults and murders in the United States and Tanzania; ethnic violence in Europe and South Asia; land invasions in Brazil; police using force in the Netherlands; civil conflicts throughout the tropics; the collapse of ancient empires; and wars and displacement in Middle-Ages Europe.

"We find the same pattern over and over again, regardless of whether we look at data from Brazil, Somalia, China or the United States," Miguel said. "We often think of modern society as largely independent of the environment, due to technological advances, but our findings challenge that notion. The climate appears to be a critical factor sustaining peace and wellbeing across human societies."

And the climate does not have to deviate much to upset that peace and wellbeing researchers concluded.  These are pretty moderate climate changes, but they have a sizable impact on those societies.

"There's a large amount of evidence that environmental conditions actually change a person's perception of their own condition, or they also can change the likelihood of people using violence or aggressive action to accomplish some goal," lead researcher Solomon Hsiang ended. 

Story Source: Solomon M. Hsiang, Marshall Burke, and Edward Miguel. Quantifying the Influence of Climate on Human Conflict. Science, 1 August 2013
 

More Accurate Model of Climate Change's Effect On Soil

Aug. 1, 2013 — Scientists from UC Irvine and the National Center for Atmospheric Research discovered that in cases of increased carbon input to soil (such as carbon dioxide or nutrient fertilization), microbes actually released the added carbon to the atmosphere, and does not store it as traditional thinking assumes. Story Source: William R. Wieder, Gordon B. Bonan, Steven D. Allison. Global soil carbon projections are improved by modeling microbial processes. Nature Climate Change, 2013

The volume of serious research on climate change is difficult to keep up with as new studies are released almost daily.  It's not unusual that two, three, four, or more studies as released on a single day.

Looking for a good, well researched, and accepted primer on global warming and climate change?  Consider this selection from our friends at Powell's Books, the largest independent bookstore.

 

Global Warming for Beginners (For Beginners)
by Ph.d. Dean Goodwin

US Calls for Reduction of Nuclear Weapons

【Unlocking Word Meanings】

　今日の単語・フレーズ

Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article. 

1. warhead [WAWR-hed] (n.) – a missile, bomb, or any kind of nuclear explosive

Example: The soldiers launched many nuclear warheads that killed thousands of people.

2. slash [slash] (v.) – to reduce or lessen by a large amount

Example:  The government slashed the budget for military programs due to the low national income.

3. stockpile [STOK-pahyl] (n.) – a large supply of stored materials for future use

Example:  During the war, the old man kept a stockpile of weapons in his house.

4. strike a balance [strahyk uh BAL-uhns] (idiom) – to reach an agreement

Example: The challenge for government is how to strike a balance between freedom and rights.

5. move on [moov on, awn] (phrasal v.) – to stop discussing, doing, or thinking about something and begin something new and different

Example:  After undergoing therapy, the soldier was finally able to move on from his bad experiences during the war.

【Article】

　ニュース記事

Read the text below.

US President Barack Obama called for the further reduction of US and Russian nuclear weapons in his first speech in the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. President Obama asked European nations to cut back on their tactical warheads. According to him, the US could still keep itself and its allies secure while slashing its nuclear weapons by one-third. He added that the world is not a truly safe place as long as nuclear weapons exist. In 2010, the US and Russia signed a joint agreement to reduce their nuclear stockpiles to a maximum of 1,550 warheads and 700 launchers. Obama claimed that the US is on its way to achieving this goal but admitted that a lot of work still has to be done. Furthermore, the US is seeking to create a new international agreement on the peaceful use of nuclear power. The US government also plans to close its prison camp at Guantanamo [gwahn-TAH-nuh-moh], to strictly control military plane technology, and to strike a balance between privacy and national security. The government made these efforts in order to move on from the mindset of war. However, Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin expressed doubts on Obama's intentions. Rogozin said he cannot take the speech seriously since the US is currently building up its missile defense systems. German Chancellor Angela Merkel likewise criticized the US for its recently exposed surveillance programs. To address Merkel’s criticism, Obama replied that the US monitoring activities fall within certain limits. The president has also claimed that the government had prevented 50 possible threats and saved many lives because of its surveillance.

【Viewpoint Discussion】

　ディスカッションテーマ

Enjoy a discussion with your tutor.  

Discussion A

         Do you agree with Obama’s statement that the world will never be safe as long as nuclear weapons exist? Why or why not?

         How do you think can we achieve global peace and security? Please explain your answer.

Discussion B

         Do you think another war will happen in the near future? Why do you say so?

         What do you think are the motivations behind wars? Please explain briefly.

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"Write drunk, edit sober."

Tennessee Williams in his cups.

A often cited quote from Ernest Hemingway, known for his drinking.

Why have so many writers been alcoholics and addicts?

A new book, The Trip to Echo Spring: Why Writers Drink, by Olivia Laing, just published in England by Canongate and to be published in America in December by Picador, explores the lives of many well known authors.

To order The Trip to Echo Springs from Powells Books, the world's largest single site new and used bookstore, click on the image below:

Trip To Echo Spring: Why Writers Drink
by Olivia Laing

Oldest People Owe their Long Life to Genes

【Unlocking Word Meanings】

　今日の単語・フレーズ

Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article. 

1. resident [REZ-i-duhnt] (n.) – a person who stays in a certain place for a long time

Example: Most residents in our town have been living here for more than two decades now.

2. homogeneous [hoh-muh-JEE-nee-uh s, -JEEN-yuh s, hom-uh-] (adj.) – same or alike

Example: Homogeneous genes have the same characteristics.

3. verify [VER-uh-fahy] (v.) – to make sure that something is true, accurate, or justified

Example: Recent experiments have verified the scientist’s hypothesis.

4. horrendous [haw-REN-duhs, ho-] (adj.) – extremely unpleasant

Example: She is suffering from horrendous illness due to unhealthy lifestyle.

5. promote [pruh-MOHT] (v.) – to encourage something to occur

Example: Experts promote a healthy diet for longer life.

【Article】

　ニュース記事

Read the text below.

Dr. Tom Perls, a researcher from the Boston University Medical Center, claims that the genes may contribute to a human’s ability to live longer than the average life span. According to the Guinness Book of World Record, a resident of Kyotango, Japan named Jiroemon Kimura was the oldest living person until his death last June this year. Other women from the 19th century are also still living today, such as the 115-year-old Misao Okawa who also lives in Japan. People who have lived past their 110th birthday are called supercentenarians. With a few verified cases of supercentenarians today, Perls believes that a key genetic feature made these people reach a very old age. Perls says that supercentenarians seem to be homogeneous, meaning they have some kind of a common characteristic. Another significant result of Perls’ study is that women, because they have two X chromosomes, generally live longer than men. According to Perls, these X chromosomes seem to protect women against diseases. Also, women who got pregnant naturally and in a full term after the age of 40 tend to live up to 100 years old. For women, having two X chromosomes may also contribute to long life because these chromosomes somehow prevent women from getting sick. Aside from these genetic factors, Perls also found that having a healthy lifestyle has a mixed effect to old people. Ironically, the study showed that 20% of the people aging 103 years and above have horrendous habits such as smoking and drinking. With the said results, Perls suggested that not all supercentenarians can be role models. Instead, people should look for role models who promote longevity by eating healthy foods and maintaining a good social lifestyle.

【Viewpoint Discussion】

　ディスカッションテーマ

Enjoy a discussion with your tutor.  

Discussion A

•       Why do you think experts want to know why and how people can live longer?

•       Aside from genetic factors, what other things do you think cause longer life? Please explain your answer.

Discussion B

•       How do you think can people live their lives to the fullest?

•       Do you think people need to live very long in order to experience a satisfying life? Explain your answer.

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Fathers Work Less Hours in the UK

【Unlocking Word Meanings】

　今日の単語・フレーズ

Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article. 

1. prolong [pruh-LAWNG, -LONG] (v.) – to extend or lengthen the time allotted for a task or an event

Example: Additional tasks prolong one’s working hours in the office.

2. drastic [DRAS-tik] (adj.) – very serious or extreme

Example: The drastic decrease in working hours caused the quality of work to fall.

3. average [AV-er-ij, AV-rij] (n.) – the result of the sum of numbers divided by the number of members in the set

Example: The average of 10, 30, 50, and 70 is 40.

4. probability [prob-uh-BIL-i-tee] (n.) – a possibility of something happening

Example: The high probability of closing the company is worrying the employees.

5. assume [uh-SOOM] (v.) – to take or accept a responsibility

Example: Being married means he has to assume the responsibilities of a husband.

【Article】

　ニュース記事

Read the text below.

Fathers who used to work longer in the UK are now working fewer hours, according to a recent research. Married men with dependent children normally prolong their working hours up to 60 hours a week. But results from NatCen Social Research and University of East Anglia’s (UEA) research show that three out of 10 men who live with a wife and children work only about 48 hours a week. However, the survey shows a drastic change in the fathers’ working hours. From 40% in 2001, the percentage of men who work 48 hours per week went down to 31% in 2011. The percentage of men working for 60 hours or more per week has also decreased from 13% to 10%. In addition, more men with families no longer work at night and on weekends. On average, full-time working fathers in two-parent households have lessened their working hours from 47 to 45 per week. The research also reported that more mothers in the UK are now working longer to earn more for the family. Twenty nine percent of the mothers in the survey are now working full-time compared with the 26% ten years ago. Part-time working mothers with full-time working partners are also working more hours per week, from 17.7 to 18.2 hours. According to Margaret O’Brien, professor of child and family studies at UEA, these changes suggest a higher probability that fathers now spend more time at home and assume a greater role in the family.

【Viewpoint Discussion】

　ディスカッションテーマ

Enjoy a discussion with your tutor.  

Discussion A

         What do you think are the advantages of fathers spending more time at home? Please explain your answer.

         Do you agree that mothers should also work to help earn for the family? Why?

Discussion B

         Why do you think parents should spend more time with their children?

         In your opinion, what are the disadvantages of children lacking supervision from parents? Please explain further.

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