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Latest ESA Bulletin (No. 129, February 2007) now online

03-05-2007 · European Space Agency (ESA)

Global environmental change is the most fundamental challenge facing humanity. How are satellites providing the information needed for understanding the effect of increasing human activity? The two lead articles in the latest issue of ESA's magazine tackle the subject.

Keywords: latest, esa, bulletin, 129, february, 2007, online

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Latest ESA Bulletin (No. 130, May 2007) now online
05-29-2007 · European Space Agency (ESA)
Two major ESA programmes are featured in this issue of the Bulletin: 'GMES' observation satellites and Jules Verne, the first of five Automated Transfer Vehicles. Additional articles include the 'Astrolab and Celsius' missions, ESA Television and the future of the ESA Science Programme.
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Latest ESA Bulletin (No. 132, November 2007) now online
12-04-2007 · European Space Agency (ESA)
This issue of ESA's flagship magazine, the Bulletin, carries a broad range of articles: the International Space Station is now ready for this week's launch of Europe's Columbus module.
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Rosetta all set for Mars swing-by
02-19-2007 · EurekAlert!
Rosetta, the European Space Agency's (ESA) spacecraft en route to comet 67P Churyumov Gerasimenko, is gearing up for a swing-by of Mars on 25th February 2007, which will help set it on the correct path to its final destination. On arrival in 2014 Rosetta will home in towards the comet's nucleus before deploying a lander onto its surface to make in situ measurements.
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Study finds subglacial water in West Antarctica considerably more active than previously observed
02-15-2007 · EurekAlert!
The recent discovery of a subglacial water system beneath the West Antarctic ice sheet (WAIS) is causing scientists to rethink the mechanisms that control the flow of ice streams into the Ross Ice Shelf and ultimately into the Southern Ocean, according to a report in the February 15, 2007, issue of Science magazine online.
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Advance in understanding of blood pressure gene could lead to new treatments
02-04-2007 · EurekAlert!
Research by scientists at UCL (University College London) has clearly demonstrated for the first time the structure and function of a gene crucial to the regulation of blood pressure. The discovery could be important in the search for new treatments for illnesses such as heart disease, the UK's biggest killer. In a paper published online today in Nature Medicine, the team, led by Professor Patrick Vallance and Dr James Leiper, UCL Department of Medicine, reveal the role of the human gene dimethylarginine dimethylaminohydrolase (DDAH), showing that loss of DDAH activity disrupts nitric oxide (NO) production. NO is critical in the regulation of blood pressure, nervous system functions and the immune system. The role of DDAH is to break down modified amino acids (Asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) and monomethyl arginine (L-NMMA)) that are produced by the body and have been shown to inhibit NO synthase. These molecules accumulate in various disease states including diabetes, renal failure and pulmonary and systemic hypertension, and their concentration in plasma (the fluid component of blood) is strongly predicative of cardiovascular disease and death. In a healthy human body, the majority of ADMA is eliminated through active metabolism by DDAH. Scientists have hypothesised that if DDAH function is impaired, NO production is reduced, and that this could be an important feature of increased cardiovascular risk. To examine this pathway in more detail, the researchers deleted the DDAH gene in mice. These mice went on to develop hypertension, or high blood pressure. They also designed specific inhibitors (small molecules) which bind to the active site of human DDAH. These small molecule inhibitors also induced hypertension in mice, confirming the importance of DDAH in the regulation of blood pressure. Dr Leiper, UCL Medicine, said: “These genetic and chemical approaches to disrupt DDAH showed remarkably consistent results, and provide compelling evidence that loss of DDAH function increases the concentration of ADMA and thereby disrupts vascular NO signalling. “There has been considerable scientific interest in this pathway and the role of ADMA as a novel risk factor, but so far there's been little evidence to support the idea that it's a cause of disease, rather than just a marker. Genes and their pathways are crucial to our understanding of cardiovascular disease and a better understanding of DDAH-1 could lead to important new treatments. “It could help us to establish if genetic variation predisposes certain people to these diseases, or whether environmental factors exert some of their effects through modulation of DDAH activity. “Our research also shows that this pathway could be harnessed therapeutically to limit production of NO in certain situations where too much nitric oxide is a bad thing; for example, hypotension and septic shock. These are some of the biggest problems in intensive care medicine and there is a huge unmet need for drug treatments.” The study, which was carried out at UCL's Rayne Institute, was funded by grants from the British Heart Foundation, the Wellcome Trust and the Medical Research Council. Professor Jeremy Pearson, Associate Medical Director of the British Heart Foundation, said: "The unexpected finding in the 1980s that a simple gas, nitric oxide (NO), is made by cells in the blood vessel wall and is a powerful control of blood vessel relaxation led to the award of the Nobel Prize in 1998 to its discoverers. "More recently, there has been increasing evidence that impairment of NO production is likely to be an important factor in the development of heart and circulatory disease, but the mechanisms responsible are not fully understood. "This study suggests for the first time that the loss of the activity of the enzyme DDAH-1 leads to reduced NO production and may cause heart and circulatory disease. These findings are likely to be important in the search for new ways to optimise the health of our blood vessels." ### Notes for Editors 1. For more information, please contact Ruth Metcalfe in the UCL Media Relations Office on tel: +44 (0)20 7679 9739, mobile: +44 (0)7990 675 947, out of hours: +44 (0)7917 271 364, e-mail: r.metcalfe@ucl.ac.uk2. 'Disruption of methylarginine metabolism impairs vascular homeostasis' is published in the February issue of the journal Nature Medicine. Advance online publication is embargoed to 18.00 GMT (13.00 US Eastern) Sunday 4 February 2007. Journalists can obtain copies of the paper by contacting the UCL Media Relations Office.3. The study was funded by the British Heart Foundation, the Wellcome Trust and the Medical Research Council. About UCL Founded in 1826, UCL was the first English university established after Oxford and Cambridge, the first to admit students regardless of race, class, religion or gender, and the first to provide systematic teaching of law, architecture and medicine. In the government's most recent Research Assessment Exercise, 59 UCL departments achieved top ratings of 5* and 5, indicating research quality of international excellence. UCL is the fourth-ranked UK university in the 2006 league table of the top 500 world universities produced by the Shanghai Jiao Tong University. UCL alumni include Mahatma Gandhi (Laws 1889, Indian political and spiritual leader); Jonathan Dimbleby (Philosophy 1969, writer and television presenter); Junichiro Koizumi (Economics 1969, Prime Minister of Japan); Lord Woolf (Laws 1954, Lord Chief Justice of England & Wales); Alexander Graham Bell (Phonetics 1860s, inventor of the telephone), and members of the band Coldplay.
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February 2007 Story Tips
02-12-2007 · Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)
Story ideas from the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The latest tips include: "MATERIALS -- SNS's bright beginnings . . . ," "MATERIALS -- Coatings R Us . . . ," "CLIMATE -- Trees vs. temperature . . . ," "ENERGY -- Electricity from the sun . . . "
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Media event at ESOC: closest encounter between ESA's comet chaser Rosetta and Mars
02-16-2007 · European Space Agency (ESA)
ESA PR 08-2007. On Sunday 25 February, ESA's probe Rosetta, currently on a ten-year journey to comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko, will make its closest approach to the planet Mars, coming within 250 kilometres of its surface.
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ESA to present the latest Venus Express results to the media
11-20-2007 · European Space Agency (ESA)
ESA PR 33-2007. How has our knowledge of Venus evolved since ESA's Venus Express spacecraft has been observing Earth's twin? To answer this question and to present fresh new results concerning our cryptic neighbour, the European Space Agency is inviting the media to attend a press conference to be held at ESA Headquarters in Paris on 28 November.
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Rosetta warms up for Mars swing-by
11-29-2006 · European Space Agency (ESA)
This month the team working on ESA's Rosetta mission have been particularly busy. Activities are underway to set the spacecraft's trajectory and prepare the on-board instruments ready for the next major mission milestone: the swing-by of planet Mars in February 2007.
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January-February 2007 GSA BULLETIN media highlights
12-05-2006 · EurekAlert!
Geology topics of interest include: Two New Zealand supervolcanoes that erupted only days or weeks apart; remarkably detailed K-T boundary evidence from the tropical Atlantic's Demerara Rise supporting a single impact event; and human impact on continental erosion and sedimentation.
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