Health & Science

Global warming’s freeze effect

The last thing on the minds of Americans shivering in Atlanta or shoveling out in Boston this winter is global warming. But some leading climatologists say higher Arctic temperatures may be causing the freakish cold spells and record-breaking blizzards that have plagued much of the U.S. and Europe over the past two winters. Their clue: While it’s been freezing in moderate latitudes, temperatures in northeastern Canada and Greenland have been as much as 20 degrees above normal. That strange flip-flop in temperatures, says The New York Times, is related to “the most striking change in the terrain of the planet in recent decades”: the Arctic Ocean’s loss of 30 percent of its surface ice since 1979. Ordinarily, that ice helps preserve the extreme cold that makes air at the pole much denser than it is at less-chilly, lower latitudes, creating a pressure barrier between the two regions that works “like a fence,” says Michelle L’Heureux, a researcher with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Warmer Arctic temperatures weaken that boundary, allowing the stream of bone-chilling air that normally circles the Arctic zone in a polar vortex to escape southward, while warm air rushes up to take its place. Some scientists point out that the barrier has been intermittently breached before, and that two exceptional winters aren’t enough to prove anything. But if the atmospheric fence against frigid Arctic air has been seriously compromised, brutally cold, snowy winters may be the new normal in much of the U.S. and Europe.

Stopping cancer in its tracks

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Treating cancer would be a simple matter of removing a single tumor if cancer cells didn’t have the deadly tendency to spread, or metastasize, throughout the body. Now researchers at the University of East Anglia think they’ve discovered a way to stop them from doing just that. In a new study, they found that many cancer cells contain a faulty version of a gene we all carry called WWP2. The rogue gene attacks a natural inhibitor protein that otherwise would keep malignancies in check. By blocking the gene in the lab, researchers were able to boost levels of the inhibitor, which kept cancer cells from metastasizing. The study’s authors hope an improved understanding of that process will allow them to translate their experimental findings into practical treatments. “The challenge now is to identify a potent drug that will get inside cancer cells and destroy the activity of the rogue gene,” lead author Andrew Chantry tells ScienceDaily.com. He says such a drug, which would target most types of cancer, could be available within the next decade.

The power of self-control

Your parents were right: Learning to be a well-behaved child pays off in adulthood. To prove that prevailing wisdom, researchers in New Zealand tracked more than 1,000 people from toddlerhood into their early 30s. They found that the more self-control the subjects exhibited as youngsters, the healthier, wealthier, and happier they were as grown-ups. To measure self-control, says WebMD.com, the study authors interviewed children and the adults closest to them every two years to assess how they handled frustration, whether they frequently acted without thinking, and whether they could stick to a given task until finished. A 3-year-old able to consistently complete puzzles, for instance, received higher marks than one who routinely became distracted, cried, or lashed out at other children. Follow-up studies at age 32 found that those who scored low as children were more likely to be overweight, drug dependent, and beset with credit problems. The study’s authors say their findings are significant because, unlike other factors such as IQ and poverty, self-control can be taught and enhanced with practice over time. No matter what a child’s circumstances, they conclude, “good parenting can improve self-control and improve life success.”

Kites say ‘back off’ with plastic

Many bird species decorate their nests to advertise for prospective mates. But for the first time, scientists have observed birds using decorations to communicate a very different sort of message: This is my home—stay away or else. In a recent study in Spain, researchers observed that among small birds of prey called kites, those with the most offspring claimed the best territory and adorned their nests with the most plastic. By contrast, very young, old, or weak birds used little or no ornamentation. Raiding kites almost never challenged highly decorated nests for food or lodging, while they attacked bare nests up to six times an hour. But even kites seem to know when their decorative zeal has gone overboard. When researchers tried adding plastic to nests, birds removed it to avoid having to pass “a social test in which your peers are checking whether or not you are lying” about just how tough you are, lead author Fabrizio Sergio, an ecologist at Doñana Biological Station, tells The New York Times. The kites also almost always rejected transparent and green plastics in favor of white, perhaps because of its better visibility. In light of these findings, Sergio says, ornithologists should rethink how birds’ nests “convey information about the builders.”