Room-Temp Vaccines Can Reach Remote Areas

Scientists have developed three simple and inexpensive additives to stabilize vaccines at room temperature for a long time, an advance that will allow them to be shipped to remote areas in developing countries. Researchers from Supramolecular Nanomaterials and Interfaces Laboratory (SUNMIL) in Switzerland were able to achieve this by using minute quantities of nanoparticles, polyethylene glycol, or higher amounts of sucrose. The study addressed viral vector vaccines, the most common type of vaccine, which normally only last a few days at room temperature. At that point, the viral components of the vaccines lose their structural integrity. The researchers applied their methods to vaccines that are currently in development. They were able to stabilize a vaccine against Chikungunya for 10 days, and then successfully inoculated mice with it.

Now, Shout In 3 Languages With Japanese Megaphone

Japan’s obsession with keeping order, and its tech prowess, has reached its natural conclusion with an intelligent megaphone that can issue commands in Chinese, English and Korean. Panasonic Corp. recently unveiled the device – essentially a smartphone paired with a handheld loudspeaker – betting that police, event organizers and transport staff seeking to control crowds will be eager to get their hands on something that lets them bark orders to a disparate group of people at once. While the gadget might fall into the category of another Japanese invention in search of a problem – a net gun debuted in 2002 to control soccer fans – there’s a decent chance it might succeed. Tourism is climbing in Japan. More than 20 million people have visited this year, up 23% from a year earlier, according to the Japan National Tourism Organisation. The megaphone is able to match spoken Japanese to 300 preset expressions in English, Korean and Chinese with a press of a button. It goes on sale on December 20. A prototype on display at a showroom is already quite capable: it can tell you to get off the grass in three languages. Still, some things get lost in translation. A warning not to use drones ended up saying “the thief shocking is not permitted here”, (mistaking drone for the Japanese word for burglar, or dorobo), Panasonic says it will iron out the kinks.

Japan To Test 'Fishing Mesh' To Catch Space Junk

Space isn’t so empty these days. Earth’s orbit is cluttered with more than half a million bits of debris, mostly rocket and satellite remnants that can wreck anything in their flight path. A 106-year old Japanese fishing net maker may have a solution. Nitto Seimo Co. is working with Japan’s space agency to develop a mesh material to tether and drag bussize pieces of space junk into the atmosphere for incineration. Scientists will get their first indication of whether the metallic line will work when it’s tested in orbit next month, said project chief Koichi Inoue, an associate principal researcher at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. The experiment is part of an international cleanup effort planning to safeguard astronauts and about $900 billion worth of space stations, satellites and other infrastructure relied on for telecommunications, weather forecasting, Earth-monitoring and navigation. With debris traveling at up to 17,500 miles an hour (approx. 28,163kmph), the impact of even a marble-sixe projectile can cause catastrophic damage as portrayed in the Academy Award winning movie ‘Gravity’. “We need to take action of this massive amount of debris,” Inoue said at the JAXA campus in Tsukuba, north of Tokyo. “People haven’t been injured by the debris yet, but satellites have. We have to act.” Space faring nations around the world are pursuing different strategies for harpooning, sweeping, lassoing and dragging debris and redundant gear of varying sexes into the atmosphere for burning or into a so-called graveyard orbit, where they can’t collide with operational equipment. NASA’s Hubble Telescope has a 1cm hole in one of its dish antennas, and solar panels have been cracked and chipped by tiny debris, according to its website. “There’s a significant value to the industry of mitigating that risk,” said Ben Greene, chief executive officer of Sydney-based Electro Optic Systems Holdings Ltd, which is developing land-based laser technology to track and alter the course of space debris smaller than a flat screen TV. Nitto Seimo was asked by the space agency about a decade ago to develop a metal mesh line, said Katsuya Suzuki, a subsection chief who previously oversaw the project. JAXA wanted mesh, instead of single cable, because it would be harder to break. “it was extremely difficult,” said Suzuki. “At first, we could only make 20 or 30 cm. It took us until about 2010 until we could finally make several hundred metres.” The aluminum-containing line is designed to harness Earth’s electromagnetic forces to propel tethered objects out of orbit and into the atmosphere for destruction. Nitto Seimo may build a line as long as 10km if next month’s experiment using a 700-meter piece is successful, Suzuki said.

This Gene Limits Desire For Alcohol

Researchers have identified a gene variant that suppresses the desire to drink alcohol, an advance that could lead to development of drugs to regulate liquor consumption. The findings are based on the largest genome wide association meta analysis and replication study to date, mapping and comparing the genetic of over 105,000 light and heavy social drinkers, researchers said. The study identified a variation in the beta-Klotho gene linked to the regulation of social alcohol consumption. The less frequent variant – seen in approximately 40% of the people in this study – is associated with a decreased desire to drink alcohol. Excessive alcohol consumption is a major public health problem worldwide, causing more than 3 million deaths per year. Researchers worked on beta-Klotho and the liver hormone fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) that binds to the beta-Klotho-FGF21 receptor complex. They conducted experiments in mice to better understand the role of beta-Klotho in alcohol drinking behavior. The beta-Klotho gene directs the production of the beta-Klotho protein that forms part of a receptor complex in the brain. The study could lead to development of drugs to regulate alcohol consumption – possibly even in those with drinking problems, researchers said. A shift from heavy to moderate social drinking could have major public health benefits, such as reduced cardiovascular disease risk. The study compared the genetics of light and heavy social drinkers of European ancestry participating in nearly four dozen other large population studies worldwide. In addition to providing samples for genetic analysis, the participants answered questionnaires on their weekly drinking habits. Heavy drinking was defined as more than 21 drinks per week for women. Light drinking was considered to be 14 drinks or less per week for men and seven drinks or less per week for women.