Science Matters
Created | Updated Jul 15, 2005
A weekly round-up of science news
International Whaling Commission
The IWC meeting during June was contentious, we saw Japans intentions for increasing the numbers of whales it killed in a previous edition. Things started well for those who favour conservation, Japan called a vote on creating whale sanctuaries in the southern Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, they were against the creation of the sanctuaries saying the meaning behind them was unscientific. Japan also brought forward a Revised Management Scheme that would have effectively meant the resumption of commercial whaling, this was also voted against, although Caribbean and African countries did also support the resumption of commercial whaling.
Japan also lost the vote which would have stopped the monitoring of killing methods as well as losing a vote to keep the IWC ballots secret. Delegates were concerned at how the voting seems to come down to whether you were for or anti-Japan. With new delegates from land-locked countries such as Austria and Mali who have no personal involvement in whaling.
Australia called a motion for Japan to switch to non-lethal methods of research, which was passed. However Japan made clear it would continue its own methods of research and would bring more countries to the next meeting to help support its side. Conservationists wonder how the vote can go against Japan and let the country will still be able to kill whales in a whale sanctuary. Many have called for a stronger adherence to the rules, but the many loopholes allow countries to go ahead and act as they wish; it is hoped that the convention and the IWC itself maybe re-examined to aid resolution between the countries involved.
Solar Sail Launched
Cosmos 1 is a spacecraft with 8 sails made of Mylar film which are only 5 micrometres thick. The plan was that after launch from a Russian submarine in the Barents Sea, the sails would unfurl and the light would exert a force which would boost its altitude.
Sadly for this brave privately funded attempt the launch failed at the first firing stage and the craft was reported lost. Keep watch on the Planetary Society’s Solar Sail Project for future attempts.
UK Tsunami threat
The UK Government has produced a report which says the risk of a tsunami to the UK is very low. They do mention the risk from the collapse of part of the Cumbre Vieja volcano on La Palma in the Canary Islands. However they do not mention the risk from the submerged US ship the Richard Montgomery, which ran aground during WW2, which is full of explosives and lies in the Thames estuary. This wreck is monitored but there are no intentions of salvaging it, even though any explosion would be extremely damaging to nearby residential areas including Southend-On-Sea, and Sheerness. There was also no mention of the tsunami in the Bristol Channel in the 17th century, if it happened once, it can happened again. Although I do appreciate our risk is much less than Asia and the west coast of US.
Arctic Warming
The Arctic is warming faster than any other region on Earth. The permafrost, which is normally always frozen is starting to thaw. The Arctic Lakes are now draining as the disappearing permafrost turns into porous soil, allows them to leak away. The white ice usually reflects the sunlight, now the earth is showing the ground is heating up even more. Threatening the unique life in the Arctic.
Plastic Bags
Now Japan is to tax plastic shopping bags, they compose 10% of Kyoto cities plastic waste. Irelands tax reduced plastic bag waste by 90% and Taiwans was reduced by 69%. Hopefully more countries will follow this measure making people think and re-use.
US hides truth on climate change.
A senior administration official has resigned after accusing the White House of doctoring reports to downplay the links between climate change and human activity. The full complaint by Rick Piltz can be seen in PDF format here.
Gene patent
There is a mutation of the BRCA2 gene which is common to Ashkenazi Jews. This gene predisposes woman to breast cancer. An American company has applied for a patent for worldwide monopoly rights ‘for diagnosing a predisposition to breast cancer in Ashkenazi-Jewish women’. Valuable research - yes, but as a patent it will not allow doctors to test for the mutation in Ashkenazi Jews thus preventing those women from getting treatment.
Quick News
Companies or countries which leave a mess in Antarctica will now be responsible for cleaning it up, or for paying a fine to let someone else clean it up.
Mercury Thermometers are now banned for general use in Europe to prevent the annual 25 tonnes of toxic waste which they create.
The Chinese Government are not allowing scientists to research into bird flu or to test for it.
Dolphin babies do not sleep for the first month of their lives, so their mums cannot either, challenging the thought that sleep is essential for the healthy development of the brain and body.
Hurricanes can cause small earthquakes and even cause the earth to start vibrating.
Space Snippets
Cassini has spotted what could be a hydrocarbon lake on Titan, one of Saturn’s Moons. Find the full story on the Cassini website.
The Deep Impact Spacecraft has seen an outburst of something like ice from the comet Tempel 1. The impactor craft has been released successfully into the comet on July 4th, keep up with events at the Deep Impact website.
Its been a year since Cassini arrived at Saturn, see the best pictures and vote on your favourite here.
Hubble has found a star called Fomalhaut and with its dust ring it looks just like the Eye of Sauron!
If you have any questions about science then why not try The Science Explained Forum – where the resident science experts aim to explain everything in a friendly manner.
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