Hubble Captures Uranus's Rings on Edge

The images from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope shows how the ring system around the planet Uranus appears at ever more oblique tilts as viewed from Earth - culminating in the rings being seen edge-on in three observing opportunities in 2007. The best of these events appears in the far right image taken with Hubble's Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 on August 14, 2007.
The edge-on rings appear as two spikes above and below the planet. The rings cannot be seen running fully across the face of the planet because the bright glare of the planet has been blocked out in the Hubble photo (a small amount of residual glare appears as a fan- shaped image artifact). A much shorter color exposure of the planet has been photo- composited to show its size and position relative to the ring plane.


The rings were discovered in 1977, so this is the first time for a Uranus ring crossing to be observed from Earth. Earth's orbit around the Sun permits three opportunities to view the rings edge-on: Uranus made its first ring crossing as seen from Earth on May 3; it made its second crossing on August 16; and will cross for the third time on February 20, 2008. Though the last ring crossing relative to Earth will be hidden behind the Sun, most of Earth's premier telescopes, including Keck, Hubble, the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope and the Hale Telescope on Mt. Palomar, plan to focus on the planet again in the days following December 7, 2007. On December 7 the rings will be perfectly edge-on to the Sun.

For additional information, contact:


Ray Villard
Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md.
410-338-4514
villard@stsci.edu

New insights into common knee injuries

August 30, 2007 - DURHAM, N.C. - The sort of swelling that occurs when a joint is damaged by injury or degeneration is normally essential to the healing process, but when it comes to the knee, that inflammation can actually interfere with healing.

These findings in experiments with pigs may lead to treatments for injuries or osteoarthritis in the knee, according to Duke University Medical Center orthopedic researchers. There are drugs that can block the action of these immune system proteins that trigger joint inflammation.

The Duke researchers report in the September issue of the journal Arthritis & Rheumatism that two immune system proteins, interleukin-1 (IL-1) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF), block the healing of the damaged pig meniscus, an important layer of buffering tissue within the joint. When agents that counteract the effects of these two proteins were administered directly to the damaged meniscus, the repair process resumed.

new reserch suggest that Sons of fat moms are less fertile'

LONDON: Sons of obese women can be less fertile and may have sperm of poorer quality, according to a recent study.

Obesity is believed to affect a woman’s chances of pregnancy and the new study is the first to find a link between overweight and the fertility of the next generation.

A team from Aarhus University in Denmark tracked the health of more than 300 women and their sons. Although the majority of the women were of normal weight when they became pregnant, 25 had body mass indexes classed as overweight or obese.

Tests showed their sons tended to have slightly lower concentrations of sperm, as well as fewer mobile sperms, the online edition of Daily Mail reported.

It was possible that higher levels of the hormone oestrogen, associated with being overweight, might harm the development of male foetus reproductive organs, the scientists said.

However, the differences were so small that the researchers could not be sure they were not due to chance. The researchers said further studies should be carried out.

Meanwhile, an Australian scientist says that she has discovered scientific evidence that obesity is a key factor in infertility because of how it affects a woman’s eggs.


to increase fertility click hare

a unique bionic hand luchd

A highly functional bionic hand which was invented by Scottish NHS worker has been lunched in to market



the thumb & other finger can move a grip just like a human hand the bionic hand are controlled by the patients mind and muscles
it was invented by David GROW and was designed and built by Torch Bionics,which is based in LIVINGSTON
The technology has been tested by a number of people,including US Soldiers who lost limbs in the Iraq war

COMMENT: It is the first hand that actually has bending fingers just like a real hand

Dr David Gow, who pioneered the research at the Princess Margaret Hospital in Edinburgh in the 1970s and 1980s, said: "If you don't get the children very young, and fit them once they are able to crawl, they are not going to get much use out of it later in life.

Hands
The hands are capable of intricate tasks
"This is the starting point to try to make this available on the NHS. It is like nothing else in the world - Britain leads the field."

One patient who has received a Prodigit hand, Jeremy, said that the new prosthesis was "brilliant".

"It helps me do a lot of things - I can open doors, hold a book and turn the pages, and hold a bag of crisps."

His mother Margaret said the powered prosthetic had made a huge impact on her son.

Brain signals

"He used to have one hand now he has got two and that is just wonderful for him and us," she said.

"I am delighted he was able to take part in the clinical trials."

The two motors that operate the hand are contained entirely in the thumb and forefinger. This allows the hand to be fitted to patients who have half a hand.

The unit is operated by signals from the brain. The user sends a signal to move a muscle in the forearm, and electrodes detect this and pass the message on to the motors.

The team now plans to build bigger versions of the hand for use in adult patients. So far, five children, aged between two and 11, have been fitted with the Prodigit hands at Nottingham.

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