Between 1985 and 2006, nine out of 11 epidemic years, and 12 out of 15 non-epidemic years could be linked to sea surface temperatures. “For this region of India and for this window of time in recent decades, the tropical South Atlantic appears to play a dominant role on rainfall, and through rainfall on malaria,” says Prof Pascual, one of the authors of the study from the University of Michigan.

Malaria is transferred to humans by biting Anopheles mosquitoes. As the insects breed in water, the more puddles or patches of lying water, the more places they have to lay their eggs. So the heavier the monsoon rains, the higher the population of mosquitos.

The study found that abnormally cold July ocean temperatures caused fewer thunderstorms out at sea. This in turn predicts stronger monsoon rainfall and more rain over India. Changes in sea surface temperatures can give up to four months warning of heavy monsoons and the malaria epidemics that are linked with them.

At the moment, epidemics in the area are predicted by rainfall, which has a lead time, the period before an epidemic appears, of one month. Increasing this time could improve malaria prevention methods such as insect control strategies or stockpiling anti-malarial drugs.

Looking ahead

Cycles of malaria have also previously been linked to El Nino events. This is a band of warm waters that develops in the eastern Pacific Ocean every three to four years. It is coupled with high air pressure in the western Pacific, known as the Southern Oscillation. This natural climate interaction causes heavy rainfall in countries on the west of the Pacific like Columbia, and severe droughts in countries on the east such as SE Asia or South Africa.

“The Colombian government uses ENSO as an indicator that allows them to plan ahead for epidemic risk,” says Dr Annemarie ter Veen, Senior Advisor at the Royal Tropical Institute who was not involved in the study. The scientists hope that monitoring sea surface temperatures could be used as a guide in other malaria epidemic regions, such as Africa or South America.

Picture courtesy of Rsabbatini 

This responsive pattern in humans is similar to what has already been identified in some mammals and birds. The research, conducted by scientists at University College London, suggests that humans use the same basic vocal communication used by animals to work out the size, attractiveness and even intentions of other individuals. “Based on previous research, animals who want to be aggressive use low pitched voices and sounds that are rough in quality,” explains Yi Xu, lead author of the study. “Animals who want to express submission and appeasement use high pitch and pure-tone-like sounds.”

Xu and his colleagues used digitally modified male and female voice recordings varying in pitch and formant spacing, a measure related to the length of the vocal tract, which is linked to the voices’ sound frequency. The voice was also presented as normal, breathy or tense in character. A group of male and female volunteers were asked to rate the attractiveness of a voice recording from the opposite sex saying “good luck with your exams”.

The results showed that males preferred female recordings with a high pitched, breathy voice and higher sound frequencies, which suggest a smaller body size. Females on the other hand preferred to hear male voices with low pitch and low frequency sounds, which correlates to a larger body size. “This perception of large body size in males reflects their strength and capability to provide their family with more support, ” says Xu. “Small body size in females seems to reflect happiness, appeasement and submissiveness towards males,” he explains.

To the researchers’ surprise, female listeners also preferred breathy male voices. Xu suggests this might soften the aggressiveness associated with a larger body size in males.

The findings indicate that although humans have developed highly complex language to communicate, we may still use an instinctive strategy similar to animals to improve our success in survival and reproduction.

Image Courtesy Rachael Ashe

Reference

Xu Y., Lee A., Wu W.L., Liu X., Birkholz P. & Alain C. (2013). Human Vocal Attractiveness as Signaled by Body Size Projection, PLoS ONE, 8 (4) e62397. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0062397.s014

Co-founders of Uncharted Play, Jessica O. Matthews and Julia Silverman first came up with the idea of developing the energy harnessing football in 2008. After receiving their final funding from a Kickstarter campaign in March 2013, they are now ready to share it with the world.

According to the World Bank Institute, 20 per cent of the world’s population are without reliable access to electricity. Almost all of these 1.4 billion people are living in the developing world. “The Soccket is one way to fight energy poverty and encourage people to play at the same time,” says Victor Angel, Vice President for Product Development at Uncharted Play. Angel and his team are working together with NGOs in developing countries like Nigeria, Brazil and South Africa, and hope to provide disadvantaged communities with both power and a football to play with.

Simon Trace, CEO at the sustainable development corporation, Practical Action thinks the Soccket is a fun and interesting piece of technology. “Although it probably won’t provide a huge amount of energy for very many people, the idea of bringing attention to the energy crisis through things like the Soccket is excellent ,” he says.

How does it work?

Embedded in the centre of the ball is a gyroscopic mechanism similar to a swinging pendulum. As the Soccket is in motion, the moving weight is constantly being pulled down by gravity. This then generates kinetic energy, which is converted into electrical energy and stored inside the ball. This energy can later be accessed through an external plug as a power source. Apart from the energy harnessing mechanism inside the ball, the internal shell is made up of high-density foam known as Polyurethane, which makes it airless, thereby preventing it from going flat. The stored energy can power an LED lamp for up to three hours after 30 minutes of play, and has enough power to charge a phone or battery.

Over the past two years the team at Uncharted Play have gone through various steps to improve the ball. “We shrunk the internal mechanism to be the size of a fist,” says Angel. “One of the most challenging components was to find an ideal weight and density of the external shell as it needs to be as light as a regular soccer ball, but at the same time deflation proof, durable and water resistant.” Now, the Soccket only weighs about 30 grams more than an average football.

In the form of a “buy one-give one” model, the Soccket will be sold in western markets (for around £65 including the LED lamp). The profits will then be used to distribute the balls at little or no cost in developing countries like Mexico and Nigeria through development organizations such as Children International. Apart from its power-generating properties, the Soccket is also being used in educational programmes. NGOs such as InstitutoPromundo in Brazil use the ball to explain concepts of energy conservation to communities in urban shantytowns known as favelas.

The team at Uncharted Play is working on creating more innovative technologies in the near future. “We are currently developing portable flashlights which will allow people to share the power of one Soccket.” They are also looking into making it more sustainable by using biodegradable materials to make the external shell of the ball.

Geckos are natures acrobats, and have the unique ability to stick to and move across almost any type of surface with ease, be it rough, dirty, slippery or even over-hanging. Biologists discovered that the animals have millions of tiny hairs on their toes that work like glue. Although the force between each hair and the surface is miniscule, the sum of millions of these tiny forces allows the animal to stick-fast to even the smoothest of walls and ceilings. The hairs attach and detach themselves from the surface allowing the gecko to scuttle along. This switch is triggered by applying different pressure on the tiny hairs, or by changing their actual shape.

“The main focus of our work is to understand and develop ways to incorporate such a unique switchability in man-made adhesive systems. So we material scientists mimic the hairs on the surface of an artificial material such as rubber,” says Dr Dadhichi Paretkar, the main author of the study.

In 2007, the researchers created adhesive materials that could be switched on and off by pressure triggers. Now, they have perfected how to do this by adjusting the shape of the artificial fibres.

Dr Paretkar is confident that their new adhesive will open up new avenues in biomedical procedures. “Imagine a surgeon interested in repairing a torn membrane of an ear-drum. In its initial state it is desired that the adhesive patch does not stick anywhere prior to reaching the damaged spot. Once reached, though, we would like it to stick and hold up the torn membrane.” He explains that the glue could be switched on and off by using applied pressure, or even temperature in the future.

The adhesives are ready for the non-medical market and are receiving growing interest from industry. But, there is room to improve the technology. “Our adhesives are not yet optimal to function on rough and contaminated surfaces,” says Dr Paretkar. Once they achieve this, the technology could be used for the likes of interior decoration.

At the moment, we often struggle to hang pictures without making holes or leaving other permanent marks on walls. But with an adhesive that could be switched on and off, putting a picture up could be a simple matter. Taking it down would then be as easy as applying a bit of pressure on the frame, leaving no sign of its previous existence on the wall.

The lab is currently using a rubber-like material for the adhesives. It is biocompatible, which means that it is not toxic and can be used with living tissue. However, the team is looking to repeat the same results in a biodegradable material, which would simply decompose in the body with time leaving no side effects. This would make it possible to use the adhesive in delicate medical procedures, such as the repair of torn eardrums. A biodegradable material would also be both sustainable and recyclable.

References:

Paretkar D., Kamperman M., Martina D., Zhao J., Creton C., Lindner A., Jagota A., McMeeking R. & Arzt E. (2013). Preload-responsive adhesion: effects of aspect ratio, tip shape and alignment, Journal of The Royal Society Interface, 10 (83) 20130171-20130171. DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2013.0171

Image courtesy of Dr Dadhichi Paretkar

Until now scientists have only really been able to study planet formation at this early stage using computer simulations.

The new finding, if confirmed, will significantly enhance our understanding of how planets form and will provide a real-life candidate to test different theories of planet formation.

“If our interpretation is correct then this is the first time we have taken an image of a young planet that is actively forming and still embedded in the disk of gas and dust that surrounds its young host star,” explains Dr Sascha Quanz from the Institute for Astronomy at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, who led the observations.

The new planet would be classed as a ‘gas giant’ similar to Jupiter. These are large planets that are not primarily composed of rock or any type of solid material. It would be ten times further away from its host star, HD 100546, than Earth is from the Sun.

Current theories suggest that these giant planets are formed by capturing the gas and dust that are left behind once a star is produced.

Other potential forming planets have been identified in the past but these were in a later stage of development and had moved further out of the disks of dust that orbit around a star.

“Our planet candidate is hence in a younger evolutionary stage,” explains Dr Quanz.

Researchers will now carry out follow-up investigations in order to confirm the planet’s existence. “Given the data we have, the new planet is the most likely explanation, but we cannot rule out that it is something else just yet,” explains Dr Quanz.

“Eventually, if we continuously observe the object over the coming few years, we should be able to see the orbital motion of the planet around its star. This would be the ultimate proof that the object is physically bound to its star, orbiting it, and hence it must be a young planet.”

The charity is the driving force behind Parkinson’s Awareness Week, which runs from 15-21 April.

Parkinson’s disease is estimated to affect 1 in every 1000 people in the UK, and ten times this number in the over 60s. With an ageing global population, these numbers are predicted to rise in the future.

Like other neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s or dementia – it affects the brain and causes brain cells to die. The neuronal damage in the brain causes symptoms such as tremors, rigidity and a slowness of movement.

Although we can treat the symptoms of the disease, there is no cure as the underlying cause is still unclear. Researchers at Parkinson’s UK Brain Bank are looking at tissue from the brains of Parkinson’s patients, with the hope that it will reveal more about what causes these neurodegenerative diseases.

Elements reporters Rachael Stubbins and Rebecca Winkels visited the UK Brain Bank, part of Imperial College London, to find out more about the work being carried out.

Then, Becky Summers reports on a new hormone combination that may help to treat obesity. Next, Theresa Taylor joins us for the latest science news before Rebecca Winkels talks to a scientist about the importance of brain research for the development of treatments for Parkinson.

Finally, our Elements presenters have to take one of our infamous quizzes on scientific and medical myths.

Image Credit: Trygve.u

Health investments to date

The UK has had universal access to public healthcare for over six decades. The country, alongside the majority of others in the list, has also made important advances in immunisation and cancer screening, and has introduced an important smoking ban. Despite these achievements, the UK has slipped behind other nations in the GBD rankings.

Download data here

In a measure of premature deaths, the UK dropped from 10^th to 14^th out of the 19 countries in the study (see Figure 1). The report shows that a rising number of people in the UK, mainly 20-54 years of age, are dying earlier than expected. Experts attribute this primarily to an increase in drug and alcohol abuse among British youth.

Slip in the ranks

People in the UK are living longer, but so are those in countries that spend a similar amount on health care. As disability numbers have increased, Brits are spending their later years with more health problems. The major causes of disability are mental and behavioural disorders such as depression and anxiety, and drug and alcohol abuse. The figure below illustrates the top causes for burdens of disease, where smoking takes the lead.

                                                Download data here

Same killers

The report shows that the leading causes of death in the UK have changed very little in the last 20 years (see Figure 3). Despite increased awareness through government campaigns, the UK’s poor performance is due in part to a failure to tackle leading killers such as heart disease, stroke and lung disease. The study authors suggest that the NHS has not made sufficient efforts in prevention and early intervention.

Positive outcomes

On a brighter note, the data show that on average the UK has significantly lower premature death rates from diabetes, liver cancer, chronic kidney diseases and even road injuries.

“The UK has done very well in the past 20 years in many areas,” says Edmund Jessop, from the UK Faculty of Public Health. He explains that the number of deaths has reduced and many aspects of diet have improved, adding: “The UK has stronger tobacco control than does any other country in Europe, and we continue to enjoy some of the safest roads in Europe.”

Men over the age of 55 have also seen a positive outcome, with significantly faster drops in death rates in comparison to other nations.

Next steps

The UK health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, claims that up to 30,000 deaths a year could be prevented if England performed as well as neighbouring EU countries.

“For too long we have been lagging behind and I want the reformed health system to take up this challenge and turn this shocking underperformance around.”

Mr Hunt suggests more people should go for regular health checks to spot diseases earlier. He also wants to improve organisation of NHS services to avoid patients getting lost in the system. Jessop added that ministers should introduce tighter health policies such as plain packaging for cigarettes, minimum unit pricing for alcohol and a ban on trans fats.

Image courtesy Debora Cartagena

Researchers combined data from many different sources, from medicine to economics and the social sciences, to produce a detailed map of the world’s major diseases. It shows the main health problems for each region and where these are rising or falling.

The map also helps to understand the difference between risk factors and mortality rate, the number of actual deaths in a population.

Dr Ali Mokdad, co-author of the paper says: “Smoking is a risk factor, cancer is the disease you may get from it, and therefore the cause of your death.” These risk factors may not be the direct cause of death themselves, but are behaviours which increase the likelihood of getting a disease.

The study, led by the Institute for Health and Metric Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington, highlights some encouraging trends in terms of death rates. “We came to realise that child mortality is lowering, which is a great success,” Dr Mokdad says. “In general, as human beings we are living much longer. Life expectancy is increasing all over the world.”

Despite this the global population generally living longer, the study highlights some major negative health trends. More young people and middle-aged adults are suffering from long-term diseases and injuries than in the past decades. “In many countries of the world we are experiencing a shift from infectious diseases burden to chronic diseases burden,” Mokdad says.

In western countries the main risk to health are long-term diseases associated with blood pressure, smoking and obesity. To help you look at how your country is doing, the IMHE website provides a summary of the health situation for each country in the study.

“We want policy makers to understand and deal with risks patterns,” Mokdad says. “For instance, if a country needs to reduce mortality from cardiovascular diseases, it should put in place measures against blood pressure, smoking and obesity.”

David Heymann, Head and Senior Fellow at the Centre on Global Health Security, comments on the study: “Many countries like to benchmark themselves with their neighbours, and in this respect the study is a useful tool. But it is also valuable for governments to understand what’s going on in their own countries.” According to him, this can help governments decide how best to spend their healthcare budget.

Current systems require high pressure to get the fuel into the combustion chamber. This pressure is created through a pump or a pressure tank which the spaceship or satellite needs to carry around. “This increases the weight of the system and makes it harder to handle from the ground,” says Dr Rickmers, one of the scientists involved in the project and head of a research group at the Center of Applied Space Technology and Microgravity in Bremen.

Existing systems use a flammable liquid called hydrazine as a propellant. “However, hydrazine is highly toxic and suspected to cause cancer which is why we are now trying to replace it,” says Dr Rickmers.

Beetle as a model

The researchers were looking at ways to reduce the pressure needed by the system to operate. They use a principle similar to the defense mechanism of the bombardier beetle and apply it to the spacecraft. The half-inch-long bugs shoot a boiling substance made from two chemicals at predators when they are under attack.

The two chemicals, hydroguinones and hydrogen peroxide, are secreted by special glands and kept in two separate chambers in the abdomen of the beetle and mixed when the beetle is threatened. This produces a vigorous chemical reaction, lots of energy is released which results in a rapid rise in both pressure and temperature. The hot mixture is released as a spray at a rate of up to 500 pulses per second.

“This means the beetle does not need any external pressure for the release of the spray, which is what we are trying to achieve with the development of the new propulsion system for space vehicles,” says Dr Rickmers.

Advantages of the new system

Applying the same technique to spaceships could eliminate the need for external pressuring and reduce the weight and volume of the whole system. For spacecraft, this means reduced costs to get into orbit or extra room to equip satellites with better technical features, such as more sophisticated cameras. It would also mean they could travel further as more propellant can be stored on board.

“Another very important advantage of the system we are working on will be that it uses green propellants,” Dr Rickmers adds. “These are less toxic and so less safety measures will be needed to use them. This decreases the amount of preparation time for future missions and this in turn reduces the costs.”

Rickmers and his colleagues hope the first prototype of the system will be ready to launch in the next three years.