Pentagon considers NASA's nuclear-powered drones

NASA long duration Global Hawk. Furture UAVs could be powered by nuclear batteries staying airborne for months at a time.

NASA scientists are working on new-generation nuclear-powered unmanned aircraft capable of staying in the air for up to several months.

While being able to tackle a wider range of more complicated tasks compared to their existing analogues, the new drones will not require a costly air base network for refueling and technical maintenance.

What's more, on February 14 President Barack Obama signed the Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act that allows the use drones in U.S. airspace by both state-owned and private companies.

The CIA has often resorted to drones in its war on global terrorism. In the past decade, U.S. drones flew various missions in Afghanistan, Pakistan and other "hot spots".

Unlike manned warplanes, they offer considerable advantages and help avoid a diplomatic scandal that normally erupts whenever pilots are taken prisoner.

In October 2009, the CIA reported that more than a half of 20 most dangerous Al Qaeda leaders were eliminated with the help of drones.

Despite being an effective anti-terror tool, drones have become a nightmare for local residents. Civilian deaths inflicted by drone strikes have repeatedly strained relations between America and Pakistan, one of its key allies in the crackdown on terrorism.

According to a report published by the Washington-based Brookings Institution in 2009, ten times as many civilians as suspected terrorists died in U.S. drone attacks.

Pakistan's patience expired in November 2011 after a drone strike erroneously targeted Pakistani troops, prompting Islamabad to shut NATO supply routes to Afghanistan.

The above Reauthorization Act approved by the Senate and signed into law by President Obama shows that no lessons have been learnt from that incident.

While providing virtually unlimited opportunities for the use of drones in search and rescue effort as well as in battling wildfires, the document gives the "green light" for drone-based domestic spying.

A tandem of the Sandia National Laboratories and Northrop Grumman company is said to be the closest ever to creating nuclear-powered highly-maneuverable missile-carrying drones that can fly for months on end without refueling.

Analysts are warning that the improved drone technology has some major drawbacks to consider.

Drones are not easy to control and the intended proliferation of drones in the skies over the US and other countries may affect the safety of passenger planes and other manned aircraft.

Human rights activists are also ringing alarm over civil liberties violations arising from drone spying.

Genetic study links body clock receptor to diabetes

A study published in Nature Genetics today has found new evidence for a link between the body clock hormone melatonin and type 2 diabetes.

The study found that people who carry rare genetic mutations in the receptor for melatonin have a much higher risk of type 2 diabetes.

The findings should help scientists to more accurately assess personal diabetes risk and could lead to the development of personalised treatments.

Previous research has found that people who work night shifts have a higher risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Studies have also found that if volunteers have their sleep disrupted repeatedly for three days, they temporarily develop symptoms of diabetes.

The body's sleep-wake cycle is controlled by the hormone melatonin, which has effects including drowsiness and lowering body temperature.

In 2008, a genetic study led by Imperial College London discovered that people with common variations in the gene for MT2, a receptor for melatonin, have a slightly higher risk of type 2 diabetes.

The new study reveals that carrying any of four rare mutations in the MT2 gene increases a person's risk of developing type 2 diabetes six times.

The release of insulin, which regulates blood sugar levels, is known to be regulated by melatonin. The researchers suggest that mutations in the MT2 gene may disrupt the link between the body clock and insulin release, leading to abnormal control of blood sugar.


Professor Philippe Froguel, from the School of Public Health at Imperial College London, who led the study, said: "Blood sugar control is one of the many processes regulated by the body's biological clock.

This study adds to our understanding of how the gene that carries the blueprint for a key component in the clock can influence people's risk of diabetes.

"We found very rare variants of the MT2 gene that have a much larger effect than more common variants discovered before. Although each mutation is rare, they are common in the sense that everyone has a lot of very rare mutations in their DNA. Cataloguing these mutations will enable us to much more accurately assess a person's risk of disease based on their genetics."

In the study, the Imperial team and their collaborators at several institutions in the UK and France examined the MT2 gene in 7,632 people to look for more unusual variants that have a bigger effect on disease risk.

They found 40 variants associated with type 2 diabetes, four of which were very rare and rendered the receptor completely incapable of responding to melatonin. The scientists then confirmed the link with these four variants in an additional sample of 11,854 people.

Professor Froguel and his team analysed each mutation by testing what effect they have on the MT2 receptor in human cells in the lab. The mutations that completely prevented the receptor from working proved to have a very big effect on diabetes risk, suggesting that there is a direct link between MT2 and the disease.

More information: A. Bonnefond et al. 'Rare MTNR1B variants impairing melatonin receptor 1B function contribute to type 2 diabetes' Nature Genetics, published online 29 January 2012.

Risk of heart attack in patients

Risk of heart attack in patients

Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) patients face a two-fold increased risk of suffering a Myocardial Infarction (MI, heart attack) versus the general population, which is comparable to the increased risk of MI seen in diabetes patients, according to results of a new study presented today at EULAR 2010, the Annual Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism in Rome, Italy.

In this Danish, nationwide, 10 year study, RA and diabetes patients were directly compared to assess their individual risk of having an MI over time. In those patients that developed RA, the Incidence Rate Ratio (IRR) of experiencing a MI was increased to 1.65 (95% Confidence Interval (CI) 1.46-1.86), comparable to the increased risk of MI seen in patients developing diabetes mellitus (IRR 1.73 95% CI (1.68-1.79)). Data was further analysed to examine increased risk in certain age groups and researchers found that the risk of MI was increased six-fold in women with RA younger than 50 years (IRR 6.01 95% CI (3.62-9.99)) comparable to diabetic women in the same age range (IRR 6.13 95% CI (4.99-7.54)). Overall, the risk of MI in patients with RA and diabetes was similar for male patients at IRR 1.66 (1.39-1.98) and 1.59 (1.53-1.66) respectively.

“While we already know that RA is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease, our data highlight that the increased risk of a heart attack faced by RA patients is of a similar magnitude as that faced by diabetes patients, who in contrast to RA patients are routinely considered for intensive cardiovascular risk management,” said Dr. Jesper Lindhardsen, Department of Cardiology, Gentofte University Hospital, Hellerup, Denmark, and lead author of the study. “This study underlines the importance of implementing EULAR recommendations advocating early detection and management of cardiovascular risk factors, as well as providing sufficient RA treatment in order to reduce the significant burden associated with cardiovascular disease co-morbidity and mortality.”

The study, which was supported by the Danish Rheumatism Association, analysed data from the entire Danish population (n=4,614,840, minimum 10 years old) and monitored for incidence of diabetes and RA between 1997 and 2006 (or the date of patients first MI, whichever came first). A total of 10,547 people developed RA and 132,868 developed diabetes. IRR was calculated and analysed by multiple Poisson regression, a statistical technique utilised for modeling and analyzing several variables in a patient population.

Email: eularpressoffice@uk.cohnwolfe.com

About EULAR
The European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) is the organisation which represents the patient, health professional and scientific societies of rheumatology of all the European nations.

In line with The European Union of Medical Specialists (UEMS), EULAR defines rheumatology as including rheumatic diseases of the connective tissue, locomotor and musculoskeletal systems.

The aims of EULAR are to stimulate, promote, and support the research, prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of rheumatic diseases. To this end, EULAR fosters excellence in education and research in the field of rheumatology. It promotes the translation of research advances into daily care and fights for the recognition of the needs of people with rheumatic diseases.

EULAR 2010 is set to be the biggest rheumatology event in Europe with over 15,000 scientists, physicians, allied health professionals, and related audiences in attendance from over 100 countries. Over the course of the congress, almost 300 oral and more than 1600 poster abstract presentations will be featured, with 300 invited speaker lectures taking place in more than 140 sessions.

To find out more about the activities of EULAR, visit: http://www.eular.org/