Knowledge Update

​Sydney, Nov 7 (IANS) The year 2015, which is on record the hottest year globally, could become the new normal by 2040 if carbon emissions continue to rise at their current rate, researchers have warned.

However, with immediate and strong action on carbon emissions, it is still possible to prevent record-breaking seasons from becoming the new average -- at least at regional levels, the study said.

Only days ago, the historic Paris Agreement came into force, which aims to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius and as close to 1.5 degrees Celsius as possible to prevent dangerous tipping points in the climate system.

As of now, the Paris Climate Change Agreement has been joined by only 97 countries, including India, accounting for just over two-thirds of the world's greenhouse gas emissions.

According to lead author Sophie Lewis from the Australian National University (ANU), no matter what action we take, human activities have already locked in a "new normal" for global average temperatures that would occur not later than 2040.

"If we continue with business-as-usual emissions, extreme seasons will inevitably become the norm within decades and Australia will be the canary in the coal mine that will experience this change first," Lewis added.

For the study, using the National Computational Infrastructure supercomputer at ANU to run climate models, the researchers explored when new normal states would appear under the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change's four emissions pathways.

The ANU study coincides with the UN climate change conference in Marrakech, the first meeting of the Paris Agreement's governing body.

The Marrakech conference gives developed countries the opportunity to present their roadmap to mobilise the pledged $100 billion in annual support to developing countries by 2020.

The team of researchers also examined seasonal temperatures from December to February across Australia, Europe, Asia and North America.

The results revealed that while global average temperatures would inevitably enter a new normal under all emissions scenarios, this was not the case at seasonal and regional levels.

"It gives us hope to know that if we act quickly to reduce greenhouse gases, seasonal extremes might never enter a new normal state in the 21st Century at regional levels for the Southern Hemisphere summer and Northern Hemisphere winter," Lewis said, in the paper published in the Bulletin of American Meteorological Society.

New York, Nov 7 (IANS) Children born to mothers who were undernourished during pregnancy are more likely to suffer early ageing of the heart, a research has showed.

The animal study found that moderately reducing a mother's food intake can make it more likely that the baby's organs will show increased disease susceptibility and early ageing. 

These changes in the heart could contribute to decreased quality of life, decreased exercise capability, and increased vulnerability to other diseases such as diabetes and hypertension -- major risk factor for heart disease and stroke, the study said. 

Understanding the effect of maternal nutritional stress on ageing of the offspring will allow for interventions early in life, to prevent later-life heart problems, said a team of researchers led by Geoffrey Clarke from the University of Texas at San Antonio, US.

For the study, the team used MRI scanning to analyse the hearts of male and female baboons whose mothers ate 30 per cent less than the normally fed baboons. 

They found that the offspring of baboons, which ate less, showed signs of reduced heart function that comes with age. 

By five years of life, equivalent to 20 human years, the structure and function of the heart were already impaired.

"Women's health during pregnancy is of fundamental importance to the lifetime health of their babies. Society must pay attention to improving women's nutrition before and during pregnancy to prevent these adverse outcomes in babies," said Peter Nathanielsz, Director at the University of Wyoming in the US.

The study was published in The Journal of Physiology.

​Marrakesh (Morocco), Nov 7 (IANS) The Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Patricia Espinosa, announced on Sunday that 100 parties formally joined the Paris Agreement on climate change.

​San Fransico, Nov 6 (IANS) A review of the way carbon offset credits have been used internationally to reduce carbon emissions suggests that the programme needs independent monitoring as it is now subject to inaccurate self-reporting.

​Dubai, Nov 6 (IANS) Two United Arab Emirates (UAE) companies announced on Saturday that they launched the first commercial-scale carbon capture, utilisation storage (CCUS) facility in the Middle East and North Africa.

​Taipei, Nov 5 (IANS) Taiwanese tech giant HTC will open hundreds of virtual reality gaming arcades in Taiwan, China, Europe and the US by end 2017 under its "Viveport Arcade" programme. The company is developing virtual reality games for its VR devices and hopes the gaming arcades will serve to promote its virtual reality Vive headset, the Taipei Times reported Saturday. The programme will begin in Taiwan and China and then be extended to the US and Europe at an unspecified date. HTC is hoping to expand its Viveport programme to internet cafes, movie theatres and virtual reality centres by offering a wide range of games and experiences at affordable prices. Last week, HTC opened a virtual reality centre called Viveland in Taipei, where the public can try its products without having to buy them first for a fee ranging from $5 to $13. This year, HTC also teamed up with internet cafes in China to promote the use of virtual reality in the country. The Taiwanese company, which has so far focused on developing and producing mobile phones, will compete with other manufacturers of virtual reality headsets in a still limited market.

​Beijing, Nov 6 (IANS) German automaker Volkswagen has planned to introduce 15 models of new energy vehicles in China that are locally produced, the company said on Sunday. These models will be released in the next three to four years to address the environmental protection needs in Chinese market, an official of the Volkswagen Group China said in Tianjin city, where a joint venture project of the company is under construction, Xinhua news agency reported. China is Volkswagen's largest market worldwide. Volkswagen Group China and its two joint ventures delivered 2.85 million automobiles in the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong in the first three quarters, up 10.7 per cent year on year.

​Cupertino (California), Nov 6 (IANS) Tech giant Apple has enhanced its iOS accessibility features for users with hearing impairments, according to a report by Appleinsider. Features like Bluetooth-based AirPod-style streaming, Live Listen, have been enhanced, focusing on conversations in loud environment for hearing impairments. Apple first introduced MFi support for Bluetooth hearing aids in iOS 7 and iPhone 4s. Its latest software expands support for direct streaming of phone calls, FaceTime conversations, movies and other audio to supported hearing aids, without the need for a middleman device known as a "streamer". New iOS 10 hearing aid also features integrated device battery life and independent base, treble, right and left volume controls, and supports audiologist-designed presets for handling sound from concerts or restaurants, the report said. In addition to supporting audio originating on the phone, the new Live Listen feature also allows users to relay focused audio picked up by the iPhone's mic, enabling clearer conversations when in a loud environment.

​New York, Nov 6 (IANS) Poor self-regulation among teens is strongly associated with when one sleeps in relation to their body's natural circadian rhythm, finds a study.

According to the study, published in the journal Pediatrics, daytime sleepiness and being a night owl appear to be more strongly associated with poor self-regulation.

"The results of this study suggest it is not how long you sleep that has the biggest impact on self-regulation, but when you sleep in relation to the body's natural circadian rhythms and how impaired you are by sleepiness," said Judith Owens, Director of the Sleep Center at Boston Children's Hospital, US.

The researchers analysed 2,017 surveys completed by 7th to 12th graders from 19 middle and high schools, where students completed questionnaires about sleep and self-regulation, including cognitive aspects, behavioural aspect and emotional aspects.

Nearly 22 per cent of the students reported sleeping less than seven hours on school nights.

Sleep duration, daytime sleepiness and chronotype were clearly interconnected -- night owls slept less on school nights and were subsequently sleepier in the daytime, as were those who slept for fewer hours.

But when the researchers examined all three aspects of sleep and adjusted for age, socio-demographic factors and mental health conditions like attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), depression and anxiety, it was daytime sleepiness and "night owl" tendencies that independently predicted impaired self-regulation -- while sleep duration did not.

Sleepier adolescents reported significantly worse self-regulation, as did teens who tended to be "night owls" rather than "morning larks".

The findings held for all types of self-regulation but were most robust for cognitive and emotional aspects.

"The misalignment or mismatch between early school start times and teens' circadian rhythms -- which normally shift later with puberty -- may worsen self-regulation or so-called executive functioning," Owens added.

​London, Nov 6 (IANS) Music therapy may help to reduce depression in children and adolescents with behavioural and emotional problems, finds a study.

The researchers involved 251 children and young people for the study and found that children and young persons, aged 8-16 years, who received music therapy had significantly improved self-esteem and significantly reduced depression compared with those who received treatment without music therapy.

The study published in Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry also found that young people aged 13 and over who received music therapy had improved communicative and interactive skills, compared to those who received usual care options alone. Music therapy also improved social functioning over time in all age groups.

For the study, the children were divided into two groups -- 128 underwent the usual care options, while 123 were assigned to music therapy in addition to usual care. All were being treated for emotional, developmental or behavioural problems.

"This study is hugely significant in terms of determining effective treatments for children and young people with behavioural problems and mental health needs," said Sam Porter, Professor at the Bournemouth University, Britain.

"The findings contained in our report should be considered by healthcare providers and commissioners when making decisions about the sort of care for young people that they wish to support," he said. 

"Music therapy has often been used with children and young people with particular mental health needs, but this is the first time its effectiveness has been shown by a definitive randomised controlled trail in a clinical setting," said Ciara Reilly, Chief Executive of Every Day Harmony.