science friday: Scientists image gravity waves through atmosphere / antibiotic use in infants linked to diseases later in adult life / Immune system genes may change with the season

Scientists image gravity waves through atmosphere

Shayne Jacopian
RedOrbit
Tue, 12 May 2015 00:49 UTC

Whether it’s a drunk camper diving carelessly into a river, or a mass of air rising over a mountain, the rule is the same: What goes up must come down.

With respect to the latter, the rising and falling of air also generates gravity waves. While such atmospheric changes usually only have a regional impact on the lower atmosphere, these ripples can stretch all across the globe in the upper atmosphere and their impact is far more dramatic.

For the first time, researchers have found a way to observe what happens when gravity waves rise towards into the upper atmosphere. A team of researchers at the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research led by Senior Scientist Hanli Liu improved upon the Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model, pushing it to a resolution fine enough to pick up small gravity waves at their source.

Previously able to clearly view only phenomena that were 2,000 kilometers across, they are now able to view gravity waves when they are still relatively small—only 200 kilometers across—and accurately model how this activity appears later in the upper atmosphere.

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http://www.sott.net/article/296374-Scientists-image-gravity-waves-through-atmosphere

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Infant antibiotic use linked to adult diseases

Date:

May 13, 2015

Source:

University of Minnesota, Academic Health Center

Summary:

A new study has found a three-way link among antibiotic use in infants, changes in the gut bacteria, and disease later in life.

A new study led by researchers at the University of Minnesota has found a three-way link among antibiotic use in infants, changes in the gut bacteria, and disease later in life. The imbalances in gut microbes, called dysbiosis, have been tied to infectious diseases, allergies and other autoimmune disorders, and even obesity, later in life.

[…]

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/05/150513140929.htm

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Immune system genes may change with the season

Dani Cooper
ABC Science, Australia
Wed, 13 May 2015 00:28 UTC

Our mood, metabolism and sex lives are dependent on the seasons, and now it seems, so is our immune system.

In a study published today, British and German researchers find almost a quarter of human genes are more or less active depending on the season.

The researchers say the discovery could help explain why people tend to be healthier in summer and diseases known to be seasonal such as cardiovascular disease and rheumatoid arthritis are more evident in winter.

“It helps explain why so many diseases, from heart disease to mental illness, are much worse in the winter months, but no one had appreciated the extent to which this actually occurred,” says senior author Professor John Todd of the University of Cambridge.

[…]

http://www.sott.net/article/296372-Immune-system-genes-may-change-with-the-season

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