GOLLYGEE!

Theme by Anders Norén

Year: 2014 (page 11 of 11)

02.13.2014

are mammograms worth it?

A new study published in the British Medical Journal suggests perhaps they are not. From the New York Times:

[The study] found that the death rates from breast cancer and from all causes were the same in women who got mammograms and those who did not. And the screening had harms: One in five cancers found with mammography and treated was not a threat to the woman’s health and did not need treatment such as chemotherapy, surgery or radiation.

…

Researchers sought to determine whether there was any advantage to finding breast cancers when they were too small to feel. The answer is no, the researchers report.

Many of the cancers found by mammography posed no threat to women’s health and led to costly interventions that may not have been necessary. The study is not expected to change mammography guidelines though.

01.26.2014

how zebrafish get their stripes

A report in this week’s PNAS details how zebrafish get their stripes. Yellow cells are chasing black cells and lead to the formation of the striped patterns we observe. Check out the video to see the cells in action. You can read more about the phenomenon at PNAS.

01.08.2014

the polar vortex

Winter and Icicles

Scientific American states that the polar vortex is really just typical winter weather:

In the 1980s, Willis said, cold periods like this were much more usual. In the recent past, they have become less frequent. This is perhaps why the cold seems out of the ordinary.

New York climatologist Wysocki said that since the last couple of winters have been fairly mild, this one, which he called “typical,” might seem worse in contrast.

“I’m sure if people sat down and really thought about it, they’d think, ‘I’ve experienced this weather before, and this is nothing new. It’s just been a while since I’ve had it, that’s all,'” he said.

One of the reasons this winter has such fluctuations between hot and cold, without a clear signal dominating, is that there is not an El Niño or La Niña in the Pacific Ocean. Such climate phenomena will often set the tone for a winter, pushing a certain pattern, like snow or cold temperatures, to dominate in different parts of North America, said Wysocki.

“We don’t have a strong [Pacific Ocean] signal, which means all bets are off for this winter. It’s just going to be an average winter,” he said.

Maybe we are possibly becoming less used to dealing with typical winter temperatures as the globe warms.

Newer posts »