Knowledge Update

New York, Jan 4 (IANS) Mothers' early and chronic depression may increase the risk of children developing social-emotional problems as well as impact their brain's empathic response to others' distress, a study has found.

The findings showed that in children of depressed mothers, the neural reaction to pain stops earlier than in controls, in an area related to socio-cognitive processing. 

As a result, these children seem to reduce mentalising-related processing of others' pain, perhaps because of difficulty in regulating the high arousal associated with observing distress in others, said lead author Ruth Feldman, Professor at Bar-Ilan University in Israel.

However, when mother-child interactions were more synchronous, that is, mother and child were better attuned to one another and when mothers were less intrusive, these children showed higher mentalising-related processing in this crucial brain area.

"It is encouraging to see the role of mother-child interactions. Depressed mothers are repeatedly found to show less synchronous and more intrusive interactions with their children and so it might explain some of the differences found between children of depressed mothers and controls," Feldman added. 

Apart from reduced empathy to others, children exposed to maternal depression may also have increased social withdrawal and poor emotion regulation, the researchers said.

For the study, the team followed mother-child pairs -- 27 children of mothers with depression and 45 controls -- from birth to age 11. 

Since 15-18 per cent of women in industrial societies and up to 30 per cent in developing countries suffer from maternal depression, it is of clinical and public health concern to understand the effects of maternal depression on children's development, the researchers noted. 

The study was published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (JAACAP). 

​New York, Jan 4 (IANS) Green innovations must be developed and spread globally 10 times faster than in the past if we are to limit warming to below the Paris Agreement's two degrees Celsius target, says a study.

"Based on our calculations, we won't meet the climate warming goals set by the Paris Agreement unless we speed up the spread of clean technology by a full order of magnitude, or about ten times faster than in the past," said lead researcher Gabriele Manoli from Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, US.

"Radically new strategies to implement technological advances on a global scale and at unprecedented rates are needed if current emissions goals are to be achieved," Manoli said.

The study used delayed differential equations to calculate the pace at which global per-capita emissions of carbon dioxide have increased since the Second Industrial Revolution -- a period of rapid industrialisation at the end of the 19th century and start of the 20th. 

The analysis showed that per-capita CO2 emissions have increased about 100 per cent every 60 years -- typically in big jumps -- since then. 

The researchers then compared this pace to the speed of new innovations in low-carbon-emitting technologies.

Using these historical trends coupled with projections of future global population growth, Manoli and his colleagues were able to estimate the likely pace of future emissions increases and also determine the speed at which climate-friendly technological innovation and implementation must occur to hold warming below the Paris Agreement's two degrees Celsius target.

"It's no longer enough to have emissions-reducing technologies," Manoli said. 

"We must scale them up and spread them globally at unprecedented speeds," he added.

The findings were published in the journal Earth's Future.

​London, Jan 4 (IANS) Irish scientists have recently identified a new human organ that has existed in the digestive system for hundreds of years.

Named as the mesentery, the organ connects the intestine to the abdomen and had for hundreds of years been considered a fragmented structure made up of multiple separate parts. 

However, researchers led by J Calvin Coffey, Professor at University of Limerick (Ireland), describe the mesentery as an undivided structure and outlined the evidence for categorising the mesentery as an organ in the paper published in the journal The Lancet Gastroenterology and Hepatology.

Mesentery is a fold of the peritoneum which attaches the stomach, small intestine, pancreas, spleen, and other organs to the posterior wall of the abdomen.

During the initial research, the researchers found that the mesentery, which connects the gut to the body, was one continuous organ. 

"Up till then it was regarded as fragmented, present here, absent elsewhere and a very complex structure. The anatomic description that had been laid down over 100 years of anatomy was incorrect. This organ is far from fragmented and complex. It is simply one continuous structure," Coffey explained.

Better understanding and further scientific study of the mesentery could lead to less invasive surgeries, fewer complications, faster patient recovery and lower overall costs.

"When we approach it like every other organ...we can categorise abdominal disease in terms of this organ," Coffey said.

According to Coffey, mesenteric science is a separate field of medical study in the same way as gastroenterology and others.

"Up to now there was no such field as mesenteric science. Now we have established anatomy and the structure," Coffey noted.

​Beijing, Jan 4 (IANS) China plans to conduct some 30 space launch missions in 2017, a record-breaking number in the country's space history, said China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.

Long March-5 and Long March-7 rockets would be used to carry out most of the space missions, the China News Service reported.

Long March-5 is China's largest carrier rocket. The successful test launch of the vehicle in November in Hainan would pave the way for space station construction, analysts said.

Wang Yu, general director of the Long March-5 program, said 2017 is a critical year for China's new generation of carrier rockets and the Long March-5 rockets would carry Chang'e-5 probe to space. 

The probe would land on the moon, collect samples and return to Earth.

On the other hand, Long March-7, the more powerful version of Long March-2, would send China's first cargo spacecraft Tianzhou-1 into the space in the first half of 2017, according to Wang Zhaoyao, director of China Manned Space Engineering Office. 

Tianzhou-1 was expected to dock with Tiangong-2 space lab and conduct experiments on propellant supplement, People's Daily reported.

China conducted 22 launch missions in 2016 and 19 in 2015. The country successfully tested its Long March-7 rocket in June 2016, and has gradually shifted to new generation rockets that reduce the use of toxic rocket fuels.

​Kathmandu, Jan 3 (IANS) Nepal's trade deficit surged by 87.44 per cent during the first five months of the current fiscal year compared to same period the last year as imports increased substantially.

​New York, Jan 3 (IANS) Apple's upcoming iOS 10.3 beta operating system is rumoured to be coming with 'Theater mode' which will be accessible via a 'popcorn-shaped' icon in control centre, a media report said.

​Tokyo, Jan 3 (IANS) Japan wants to speed up negotiations for an early signing of a free trade agreement (FTA) with the European Union, official sources said on Tuesday.

The aim is to achieve such an agreement as early as possible, before 2017 ends, added the sources.

London, Jan 3 (IANS) Digital security giant Gemalto is supplying American telecommunication giant AT&T with a remote subscription management solution that will enable its customers to deploy a secure Internet of Things (IoT) applications in the US and globally.

​New York, Jan 3 (IANS) In its Chinese New Year promotion, Apple has announced an one-day sale to offer free Beats Solo3 wireless headphones to all customers who purchase a select Mac or iPhone in some Asian markets on January 6. "The sale will begin on January 6 and will be available in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan," appleinsider.com reported on Monday. Users need to purchase an iMac, MacBook, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, or Mac Pro excluding 2016 MacBook Pro with a Touch Bar to get free Beats headphones. Eligible iPhones include the iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 6s, and iPhone 6s Plus. "In addition to the Beats Solo3 headphones, Apple is showcasing a litany of red themed accessories on its digital storefront, including iPhone cases, audio products, toys and more," the report noted.

​New York, Jan 3 (IANS) A modest increase in dietary zinc - about four milligrams - can help reduce everyday wear and tear on our DNA, says a study. While most DNA damage is harmless, some can have serious ramifications and a decrease in the body's ability to fix this wear and tear may be an important component of ageing. "We were pleasantly surprised to see that just a small increase in dietary zinc can have such a significant impact on how metabolism is carried out throughout the body," said lead researcher Janet King, Senior Scientist at Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute in California. "These results present a new strategy for measuring the impact of zinc on health and reinforce the evidence that food-based interventions can improve micronutrient deficiencies worldwide," King noted. Zinc is ubiquitous in our body and facilitates many functions that are essential for preserving life. It plays a vital role in maintaining optimal childhood growth, and in ensuring a healthy immune system. Zinc also helps limit inflammation and oxidative stress in our body, which are associated with the onset of chronic cardiovascular diseases and cancers. Around much of the world, many households eat polished white rice or highly refined wheat or maize flours, which provide energy but do not provide enough essential micronutrients such as zinc. In the absence of sufficient zinc, our ability to repair everyday wear and tear on our DNA is compromised. In the six-week study, the scientists measured the impact of zinc on human metabolism by counting DNA strand breaks. They used the parameter of DNA damage to examine the influence of a moderate amount of zinc on healthy living. The findings -- published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition -- showed that a modest increase in dietary zinc reduces oxidative stress and damage to DNA.