Nanotechnology?

Nanotechnology?

Nor Azaruddin Husni bin Haji Nuruddin Fellow Kanan 01/11/2011 | The Star

On 23 Sept 2011, I was invited to attend "Bengkel Kajian Hala Tuju Strategik Nanoteknologi Kebangsaan" at G-Tower, Kuala Lumpur. The title has opened up my interest to participate in the workshop because it is relevant to my Phd(s) research areas on the Development and Characterization of Nanocomposites under Polymer Engineering as well as on Islamic World Views on Science and Technology under Islamic Philosophy. I hope by this attending this workshop, I will be able to contribute some ideas for the development of Nanotechnology for Malaysia. The email I received from MOSTI, indicated the workshop was scheduled to start at 8.30am, however it was only started at 9.00am. The paper on "Nanotechnology Made In Malaysia from 1 Small Part to 1 Big Success" entails the national's strategic policy and support, to be given to the various sectors as market players. It also defines the implementation approach and policies that will support and nurture the vibrant development of nanotechnology in the country. Nanotechnology is also an aspiration for Malaysia to be the top ten nanotechnology nation in this world. It will transform the nation to create the new source of economic growth for our country and the well being of the future generations. Nanotechnology may be the right technology appearing at the right time. In general, Nanotechnology is the engineering of functional systems at the molecular scale. In its original sense, 'nanotechnology' refers to the projected ability to construct items from the bottom up, using techniques and tools being developed today to make the complete, high performance products. Country like USA, Japan, Korea, Germany and the UK have invested huge financial resources to harmless the potential of nanotechnology for the nation future. In determining the strategic direction of science and technology, the efforts to combine science and technology with religion are also important, especially in bringing together the role of science and Islam. In this workshop, we were briefed that in a market driven approach, few sectors will be given priority as jumpstarting Malaysia's Entry into the nanotechnology business. These areas are oil and gas, palm oil, electronic, ICT and agriculture food. Despite of many advantages about nanotechnology, a consideration about disadvantage on nanotechnology should take into account. First about disruption of the basis of economy is a strong possibility. The purchaser of a manufactured product today is paying for its design, raw materials, the labor and capital of manufacturing, transportation, storage, and sales. Additional money usually a fairly low percentage goes to the owners of all these businesses. If personal nanofactories can produce a wide variety of products when and where they are wanted, most of this effort will become unnecessary. This raises several questions about the nature of a post-nanotech economy. Will products become cheaper? Will capitalism disappear? Will most people retire or be unemployed? Second, Nano-built products may be vastly overpriced relative to their cost, perpetuating unnecessary poverty. By today's commercial standards, products built by nanofactories would be immensely valuable. A monopoly would allow the owners of the technology to charge high rates for all products. The price of a product usually falls somewhere between its value to the purchaser and its cost to the seller. Molecular manufacturing could result in products with a value orders of magnitude higher than their cost. It is likely that the price will be set closer to the value than to the cost; Thirdly, Society could be disrupted by the availability of new "immoral" products. New products and lifestyles may cause significant social disruption. For example, medical devices could be built into needles narrower than a bacterium, perhaps allowing easy brain modification or stimulation, with effects similar to any of a variety of psychoactives. Fourthly, Nanotech weapons would be extremely powerful and could lead to a dangerously unstable arms race. Molecular manufacturing raises the possibility of horrifically effective weapons. As an example, the smallest insect is about 200 microns; this creates a plausible size estimate for a nanotech-built antipersonnel weapon capable of seeking and injecting toxin into unprotected humans. The human lethal dose of botulism toxin is about 100 nanograms, or about 1/100 the volume of the weapon. As many as 50 billion toxins carrying devices theoretically enough to kill every human on earth. Fifth, Collective environmental damage is a natural consequence of cheap manufacturing, as are health risks. Molecular manufacturing allows the cheap creation of incredibly powerful devices and products. How many of these products will we want? What environmental damage will they do? The range of possible damage is vast, from personal low-flying supersonic aircraft injuring large numbers of animals to collection of solar energy on a sufficiently large scale to modify the planet's albedo and directly affect the environment. Competing nanotech programs increase the danger the existence of multiple programs to develop molecular manufacturing greatly increases some of the risks listed above. Each program provides a separate opportunity for the technology to be stolen or otherwise released from restriction. Each nation with an independent program is potentially a separate player in a nanotech arms race. The report highlighted several "potential military uses of nanotechnology that occurs between 2005-2010" with "potential for causing health hazards or environmental pollution" including:- Nanomaterials (e.g., nanotubes) in uniforms and equipment that could break off and enter the body and environment. Nanoparticles as surface coatings that may erode and be inhaled by military staff and the general population. Artificial blood cells injected to enhance human athletic performance could cause overheating of the body, bio-breakdowns, and their excretion could add to the environmental load. Large quantities of smart weapons with intelligent, target-seeking ammunition could lead to unexpected injury to combatants and civilians, destruction to infrastructure, and environmental pollution. In 2011 the nanotechnology market could hit the US$1 trillion mark and so the possible negative effects of nanotechnology, such as those mentioned, could easily be overlooked. The problems of health vs. wealth were summed up in a March 2004 paper prepared for the Health and Safety Commission (HSC) in the UK. The Health and Safety Executive's chief scientist, Paul Davies, wrote: "In the absence of complete and robust evidence of the risks HSC/E must work with stakeholders to promote and assure risk management of this technology without unnecessarily stifling innovation and wealth creation." What is the Ministry of Science Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) approach towards addressing this issues? What is the Islamic approach on nanotechnology and will/can nonotechnology change the Islamic syariah law?

NATIONAL PARK/T a m a n N e g a r a.

T a m a n N e g a r a. Two words in Bahasa Melayu, the national language of Malaysia, which conjure images of giant green garden filled with exotic flowers and creatures. The word 'taman' means both 'park' and 'garden' in malay while 'negara' means 'nations'-together they translate simply as 'National Park'.

Even though there are certainly many other national parks elsewhere in Malaysia, Taman Negara remains the patriarch of them all, with the pedigree to back it up.

T a m a n N e g a r a is indeed one the oldest rainforests in the entire world, estimated at 130 million years old. The abundance and diversity of nature is phenomenal in Taman Negara, one of the world's most complex and rich ecosystems. A veritable treasure of the planet.

Enjoy your explorations and protect our Mother Nature's Treasure!

Laili Basir (Founder)

History

Park Entrance

Guides & Licensing

About Gunung Tahan

Park History

Taman Negara is the oldest protected area in the country. Originated from the legislation of Pahang in 1925, which set aside 130,000ha of land designated as Gunung Tahan Game Reserve. Then declared as King George V National Park in 1938 by the Sultans of 3 states Pahang, Trengganu and Kelantan. To preserve the land's indigenous nature in perpetuity, it was gazette separately by each state's Enactments in 1938-1939. The park was renamed Taman Negara after the nation gain independence in 1957.No commercial exploitations is permitted, except for subsistence hunting by the aboriginals (the Orang Asli people).

Dark history of Taman Negara was almost happened in 1971 by the proposal of Malaysian National Electricity Board to build a dam on the Sungei Tembeling. The idea was abandoned in 1978, but was revived again in 1982, only to be discarded in 1983 through the effort of Malaysian Nature Society, who lobbied the federal government. The dam would have flooded some 13,00ha, and would meant the excision of 32,600ha from the park.

Geography

Taman Negara is the largest and the oldest protected area in the country. It covers 4,343 sq km; the central coordinates are 04°30' North latitude and 102°59' East longitude. The altitude ranges from 60m to 2187m at the summit of Gunung Tahan. This huge area shared among three states: Pahang 2,477 sq km (57%), Kelantan 1,043 sq km (24%) and Trengganu 853 sq km (19%).

In spite of being so far from the coast, most of the area (57%) lies below 305m above sea level. The Kuala Tahan park headquarters is one of the the lowest point at 120m above sea level. There are several hills in the park above 1,000m elevation, including the highest mountain in Peninsular Malaysia, Gunung Tahan at 2,187m, but there are no impressive high-altitude granite formations

Geology

The rainforest landscape has been geologically stable through out. Thus without any major geophysical upheaval, the forest has evolved relatively uninterrupted since primordial times.

The geology is sedimentary rocks, mainly sandstone and shale, with some scattered limestone outcrops and caves. Steeply tilted and folded sandstone outcrops are expose along the Sungei Tembeling, especially at Kuala Tahan and Kuala Keniam. Limestone outcrops are found at scattered locations, the highest of which is Gua Peningat (723m).

Rivers

The Taman Negara park basin is drained by the Sungai Tahan, which originates at the foot of Gunung Tahan massif, and by the Sungai Keniam and Sungai Sepia. The pristine rivers in Taman Negara boasting waterscapes from mirror-still reflections to wild rapids and scenic waterfalls. With exotic names such as Tembeling, Tahan, Trenggan and Relau, these sungai or rivers including the tributaries and streams together number in the hundreds. Their waters range from crystal clear to coffee brown from the natural soil sediments. Rainforest rivers like these, which flow from peat soil virgin mountain forest catchments with no major human settlement or cultivation alongside, are now rare in the world.

Flora and Fauna

Malaysia is one of the 12th mega biodiversity areas in the world and Taman Negara's tropical rainforest indeed is one of the world's most complex and rich ecosystem. The park is home to about 14,000 species of plants and trees more than other forest in the world. There are more than 2,400 species of flowering plant, 200 species of mammals, 350 species of birds, 67 species of snakes, 55 species of frogs, 80 species of bat, 30 species of rats and 109 species freshwater fishes (15 species endemic to Taman Negara).

The vegetations is primary rainforest and can be classified into four main groups:

· Lowland dipterocarp forest

· Hill dipterocarp forest

· Montane oak forest

· Montane ericaceous forest

The tualang trees (kompassia excelsea), the tallest tree in South East Asia are mostly found on the plains along with a variety of hardwoods such as meranti (shores spp.) and keruing (dipterocarps spp.). Epiphytes such as ferns and rare species of orchids are abundant here, while oaks, laurel and conifers are found on the intermediate slopes.

Cultural Heritage

Bronze aged artefacts have been recovered from Tembeling valley, between the Sungai Yong and Sungai Sepia. Archaeologist consider this to be one of the richest prehistoric sites in the country. The latest findings is at Gua Bewah and Gua Taat which is believed dating back to the Neolithic Age (400 BC).

Leptospirosis

Leptospirosis: An infectious disease caused by a particular type of bacteria called a spirochete transmitted by rats as well as by skunks, opossums, raccoons, foxes, and other vermin. Leptospirosis occurs worldwide but is most commonly acquired in the tropics. About 100 cases of leptospirosis are reported each year in the US. The disease is becoming a greater risk as more people travel to undeveloped areas of the world. (Athletes who participated in the Eco-Challenge-Sabah 2000 multisport expedition in Borneo, Malaysia, in August 2000 contracted leptospirosis after coming in contact with the Segama River.).

Symptoms begin from 2 to 25 days after, initial direct exposure to the urine or tissue of an infected animal. This can even occur via contaminated soil or water. Veterinarians and farm workers are at particularly high risk.

The illness typically progresses through three phases. The first phase of symptoms includes headaches, muscle aches, eye pain with bright lights, followed by chills and fever. Watering and redness of the eyes occur and symptoms seem to improve by day 5 to 9. The second phase of illness begins after a few days of feeling pretty well. The initial symptoms recur with fever and aching with stiffness of the neck. Some patients develop serious inflammation of the nerve to the eye, brain, spinal column (meningitis), or other nerves. The final third phase, from 2 to 4 weeks after the initial infection, features recurrent fever and muscle aching.

Leptospirosis with liver disease is called Weil's syndrome and is characterized by yellowing of the eyes (jaundice) from liver disease. Patients with Weil's syndrome can also develop kidney disease and have more serious involvement of the organs affected.

Treatment involves high doses of antibiotics which are most effective when initiated early in the course of the illness. Doxycycline and penicillin are examples of antibiotics commonly used.

Sumber: http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=23870

Melioidosis

Melioidosis: An infectious illness, also called Whitmore's disease, that is most frequent in Southeast Asia and Northern Australia and is caused by a bacteria called "Pseudomonas pseudomallei" found in soil, rice paddies and stagnant waters. Humans catch the disease by inhalation of contaminated dust or when soil contaminated by the bacteria comes in contact with abraded (scraped) skin.

Melioidosis most commonly involves the lungs where the infection can form a cavity of pus (abscess). The bacteria can also spread from the skin through the bloodstream the brain, eyes, heart, liver, kidneys, and joints.

The common symptoms of melioidosis are not specific. They include headaches, fever, chills, cough, chest pain, and loss of appetite. Melioidosis can also cause encephalitis (brain inflammation) with seizures (convulsions).

The diagnosis is by a microscopic evaluation of a sputum (spit) sample in the laboratory. A blood test may detect early acute cases of melioidosis.

The treatment of melioidosis involves antibiotics and depends on the location of the disease:

• Mild illness: Antibiotics such as chloramphenicol, doxycycline, sulfisoxazole, or trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole.
• More severe illness: A combination of chloramphenicol, doxycycline, and co-trimoxazole.
• Very severe illness (as with persistent blood infection): Intravenous antibiotics including chloramphenicol.
• If sputum cultures remain positive for 6 months: Surgical removal of the lung abscess with lobectomy is considered. Antibiotic treatments may be necessary from 3 to 12 months.

Melioidosis can remain latent (in hiding) for years and emerge when a person's resistance is low.

The alternative name for melioidosis is, as mentioned, Whitmore's disease. This is in honor of Major Alfred Whitmore (1876-1946), an English surgeon in India.

Sumber: http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=7367

Global Warming!!!

Ker Than

for National Geographic News

Published July 7, 2010

It doesn't seem to make sense.

The eastern United States is broiling in a dangerous heat wave, with temperatures in some cities shooting above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius). Yet this week Earth is farther away from the sun than the planet will be at any other time during 2010.

How can that be?

The answer, astronomers say, is that the distance between our planet and the sun has little do with Earth's surface temperature—and therefore almost no bearing on heat waves, blizzards, or other extreme weather.

(Related: "Global Warming Likely Causing More Heat Waves, Scientists Say.")

Word of the Day: Aphelion

Tuesday was Earth's aphelion, when our planet's elliptical orbit took it approximately 94.5 million miles (152 million kilometers) from the sun.

By contrast, at perihelion—when Earth is closet to the sun—our planet will be about 91.4 million miles (147 million kilometers) away.

This difference in distance between Earth and the sun at aphelion and perihelion is relatively small, and it amounts to only about a 7 percent difference in sunlight reaching Earth, explained Ricky Patterson, an astronomer at the University of Virginia.

(Related: "Rare Whales Appear off Scotland, Heat Wave Blamed.")

Heat Wave Encouraged by Earth's Tilt

"Most people think that the seasons are caused by the Earth coming closer and farther away from the sun," but that's incorrect, Patterson said.

Rather, it's Earth's tilt along its rotational axis that has the biggest effect on surface temperature. Right now the Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward the sun, making it summer.

"Sunlight is striking the Northern Hemisphere head on, but only glancingly in the Southern Hemisphere," which is currently in midwinter, Patterson said.

(Kids game: Weather Word Search.)

Overall, Earth's average global temperature is about 4 degrees Fahrenheit (2.3 degrees Celsius) higher at aphelion than at perihelion, he said.

That's because "there is more land in the Northern Hemisphere and more ocean in the Southern Hemisphere, and it is easier and quicker to heat up the land."

Real Heat Wave Culprit: Ridges in the Sky

So if the Earth-sun distance isn't responsible for the current heat wave, what is?

It usually boils down to a combination dry surface conditions, clear skies, and "ridges" of high pressure in the atmosphere, explained David Robinson, a climatologist at Rutgers University in New Jersey.

The ridges can linger in a region for several days, warming the air and clearing away clouds. Fewer clouds means more sunlight reaches the ground, and if the surface is already hot and dry, the extra heat just adds to the misery.

"At first, such a system might not be all that hot when it moves into a region," Robinson said in an email. "However, with each successive day, the July sun warms the air mass and brings on the heat."

Heat waves end when the high-pressure ridges weaken and another weather system pushes them out, he said.

Robinson added that people should resist blaming any individual heat wave on global warming.

"We're talking weather with these systems, not climate," he said. "Any particular heat wave, or even hot summer, cannot be associated with human-induced warming."

Global Warming

What Causes Global Warming?

Scientists have spent decades figuring out what is causing global warming. They've looked at the natural cycles and events that are known to influence climate. But the amount and pattern of warming that's been measured can't be explained by these factors alone. The only way to explain the pattern is to include the effect of greenhouse gases (GHGs) emitted by humans.

To bring all this information together, the United Nations formed a group of scientists called the International Panel on Climate Change, or IPCC. The IPCC meets every few years to review the latest scientific findings and write a report summarizing all that is known about global warming. Each report represents a consensus, or agreement, among hundreds of leading scientists.

One of the first things scientists learned is that there are several greenhouse gases responsible for warming, and humans emit them in a variety of ways. Most come from the combustion of fossil fuels in cars, factories and electricity production. The gas responsible for the most warming is carbon dioxide, also called CO2. Other contributors include methane released from landfills and agriculture (especially from the digestive systems of grazing animals), nitrous oxide from fertilizers, gases used for refrigeration and industrial processes, and the loss of forests that would otherwise store CO2.

Different greenhouse gases have very different heat-trapping abilities. Some of them can even trap more heat than CO2. A molecule of methane produces more than 20 times the warming of a molecule of CO2. Nitrous oxide is 300 times more powerful than CO2. Other gases, such as chlorofluorocarbons (which have been banned in much of the world because they also degrade the ozone layer), have heat-trapping potential thousands of times greater than CO2. But because their concentrations are much lower than CO2, none of these gases adds as much warmth to the atmosphere as CO2 does.

In order to understand the effects of all the gases together, scientists tend to talk about all greenhouse gases in terms of the equivalent amount of CO2. Since 1990, yearly emissions have gone up by about 6 billion metric tons of "carbon dioxide equivalent" worldwide, more than a 20% increase.

Effects of Global Warming

The planet is warming, from North Pole to South Pole, and everywhere in between. Globally, the mercury is already up more than 1 degree Fahrenheit (0.8 degree Celsius), and even more in sensitive polar regions. And the effects of rising temperatures aren’t waiting for some far-flung future. They’re happening right now. Signs are appearing all over, and some of them are surprising. The heat is not only melting glaciers and sea ice, it’s also shifting precipitation patterns and setting animals on the move.

Some impacts from increasing temperatures are already happening.

• Ice is melting worldwide, especially at the Earth’s poles. This includes mountain glaciers, ice sheets covering West Antarctica and Greenland, and Arctic sea ice.
• Researcher Bill Fraser has tracked the decline of the Adélie penguins on Antarctica, where their numbers have fallen from 32,000 breeding pairs to 11,000 in 30 years.
• Sea level rise became faster over the last century.
• Some butterflies, foxes, and alpine plants have moved farther north or to higher, cooler areas.
• Precipitation (rain and snowfall) has increased across the globe, on average.
• Spruce bark beetles have boomed in Alaska thanks to 20 years of warm summers. The insects have chewed up 4 million acres of spruce trees.

Other effects could happen later this century, if warming continues.

• Sea levels are expected to rise between 7 and 23 inches (18 and 59 centimeters) by the end of the century, and continued melting at the poles could add between 4 and 8 inches (10 to 20 centimeters).
• Hurricanes and other storms are likely to become stronger.
• Species that depend on one another may become out of sync. For example, plants could bloom earlier than their pollinating insects become active.
• Floods and droughts will become more common. Rainfall in Ethiopia, where droughts are already common, could decline by 10 percent over the next 50 years.
• Less fresh water will be available. If the Quelccaya ice cap in Peru continues to melt at its current rate, it will be gone by 2100, leaving thousands of people who rely on it for drinking water and electricity without a source of either.
• Some diseases will spread, such as malaria carried by mosquitoes.
• Ecosystems will change—some species will move farther north or become more successful; others won’t be able to move and could become extinct. Wildlife research scientist Martyn Obbard has found that since the mid-1980s, with less ice on which to live and fish for food, polar bears have gotten considerably skinnier. Polar bear biologist Ian Stirling has found a similar pattern in Hudson Bay. He fears that if sea ice disappears, the polar bears will as well.

Global Warming Solutions

The evidence that humans are causing global warming is strong, but the question of what to do about it remains controversial. Economics, sociology, and politics are all important factors in planning for the future.

Even if we stopped emitting greenhouse gases (GHGs) today, the Earth would still warm by another degree Fahrenheit or so. But what we do from today forward makes a big difference. Depending on our choices, scientists predict that the Earth could eventually warm by as little as 2.5 degrees or as much as 10 degrees Fahrenheit.

A commonly cited goal is to stabilize GHG concentrations around 450-550 parts per million (ppm), or about twice pre-industrial levels. This is the point at which many believe the most damaging impacts of climate change can be avoided. Current concentrations are about 380 ppm, which means there isn't much time to lose. According to the IPCC, we'd have to reduce GHG emissions by 50% to 80% of what they're on track to be in the next century to reach this level.

Is this possible?

Many people and governments are already working hard to cut greenhouse gases, and everyone can help.

Researchers Stephen Pacala and Robert Socolow at Princeton University have suggested one approach that they call "stabilization wedges." This means reducing GHG emissions from a variety of sources with technologies available in the next few decades, rather than relying on an enormous change in a single area. They suggest 7 wedges that could each reduce emissions, and all of them together could hold emissions at approximately current levels for the next 50 years, putting us on a potential path to stabilize around 500 ppm.

There are many possible wedges, including improvements to energy efficiency and vehicle fuel economy (so less energy has to be produced), and increases in wind and solar power, hydrogen produced from renewable sources, biofuels (produced from crops), natural gas, and nuclear power. There is also the potential to capture the carbon dioxide emitted from fossil fuels and store it underground—a process called "carbon sequestration."

In addition to reducing the gases we emit to the atmosphere, we can also increase the amount of gases we take out of the atmosphere. Plants and trees absorb CO2 as they grow, "sequestering" carbon naturally. Increasing forestlands and making changes to the way we farm could increase the amount of carbon we're storing.

Some of these technologies have drawbacks, and different communities will make different decisions about how to power their lives, but the good news is that there are a variety of options to put us on a path toward a stable climate

Strong Quake Kills 300; Destroys Homes On Tibet Plateau

14 April, 2010 17:12 PM

By Lucy Hornby and Yu Le

BEIJING, April 14 (Reuters) - A magnitude 6.9 earthquake on Wednesday killed about 300 people in the mountainous Tibetan Plateau in southwest China and left more than 8,000 injured as houses, schools and offices collapsed.

A series of quakes and aftershocks caused low, brick buildings in Qinghai Province's ethnically Tibetan Yushu county to collapse, residents and state media said. Troops have been dispatched to the area.

About 300 had been killed in the county seat, also known as Jyeku, state television said, citing the deputy secretary-general of the Yushu government, Huang Limin.

The Tibetan plateau is regularly shaken by earthquakes, but casualties are usually minimal because so few people live there.

Many residents of the remote area could be left without shelter in temperatures that hover near freezing in Yushu, and even colder in the high mountain villages. Government officials told state media the majority of houses had been badly damaged.

"I see injured people everywhere. The biggest problem now is that we lack tents, we lack medical equipment, medicine and medical workers," Zhuohuaxia, a local spokesman, told the Xinhua news agency.

Xinhua reported that the early morning quake had caused some schools and part of a government office building to cave in. Some vocational school students and primary school students were trapped in the rubble, it said, although residents said students at some schools had been able to flee to the playgrounds.

The widespread collapse of school buildings when other surrounding buildings stayed standing, caused anger and accusations of corruption after the devastating May 2008 earthquake in Sichuan Province, which killed 80,000 people.

"A lot of one-storey houses have collapsed. Taller buildings have held up, but there are big cracks in them," resident Talen Tashi told Reuters.

People from the Yushu prefecture highway department were frantically trying to dig out colleagues trapped in a collapsed building, department official Ji Guodong said by telephone.

"The homes are built with thick walls and are strong, but if they collapsed they could hurt many people inside," Zhuo De told Reuters by phone from the capital of Qinghai province after contacting his family in Yushu.

The quake was centered in the mountains that divide Qinghai province from the Tibet Autonomous Region.

The foothills to the south and east of the area are home to herders and Tibetan monasteries of Yushu county, while the area to the north and west is arid and desolate.

The quake was centred 150 miles (240 km) north northwest of Qamdo in Tibet and 235 miles (375 km) south southeast of the mining town of Golmud in Qinghai, and had a depth of 6.2 miles (10 km), the United States Geological Service said.

A magnitude 5.0 quake struck the same region late on Tuesday night, and aftershocks of magnitude-6 and over rattled the town Wednesday morning, sending fearful residents into the streets.

© REUTERS 2010

Genetic Mutation May Cause Parkinson's Disease

04 April, 2010 12:47 PM

LOS ANGELES, April 3 (Bernama) -- U.S. researchers have uncovered a link between genetic mutation and Parkinson's disease, according to a study available here on Saturday.

China's Xinhua news agency reported that the study, published in the latest issue of The Journal of Neuroscience, said that the researchers at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine made the discovery in experiments using genetically engineered mice.

The mutation eliminates the normal function of a gene called LRRK2, resulting in inherited (familial) Parkinson's, the most common form of the disease, according to the researchers

LRRK2 regulates the transmission of dopamine, a neurotransmitter, and controls motor performance.

The mice created and used by the researchers feature a key element of Parkinson's disease -- age-dependent reduction of dopamine -- which is believed to cause the motor function problems, such as tremors, rigidity, and involuntary movement experienced by people with Parkinson's.

"While the mice are not at the stage where they experience the typical symptoms of Parkinson's, like tremors or reduced movement, we are able to study the potential root cause of the disease in these mice," said Zhenyu Yue, an associate professor of neurology and neuroscience at the center.

"Importantly, as we have developed assays that allow us to measure the enzymatic activity of LRRK2 in the brain, the mouse models provide valuable tools in the preclinical development of drug compounds that target aberrant LRRK2 activity. This research may translate to non-familial Parkinson's disease as well," Yue added.

-- BERNAMA

APEC

About APEC

What is Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation?
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, or APEC, is the premier forum for facilitating economic growth, cooperation, trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific region .

APEC is the only inter governmental grouping in the world operating on the basis of non-binding commitments, open dialogue and equal respect for the views of all participants. Unlike the WTO or other multilateral trade bodies, APEC has no treaty obligations required of its participants. Decisions made within APEC are reached by consensus and commitments are undertaken on a voluntary basis.

APEC has 21 members - referred to as "Member Economies" - which account for approximately 40.5%¹ of the world's population, approximately 54.2%¹ of world GDP and about 43.7%² of world trade.

APEC's 21 Member Economies are Australia; Brunei Darussalam; Canada; Chile; People's Republic of China; Hong Kong, China; Indonesia; Japan; Republic of Korea; Malaysia; Mexico; New Zealand; Papua New Guinea; Peru; The Republic of the Philippines; The Russian Federation; Singapore; Chinese Taipei; Thailand; United States of America; Viet Nam.

Purpose and Goals
APEC was established in 1989 to further enhance economic growth and prosperity for the region and to strengthen the Asia-Pacific community.

Since its inception, APEC has worked to reduce tariffs and other trade barriers across the Asia-Pacific region, creating efficient domestic economies and dramatically increasing exports. Key to achieving APEC's vision are what are referred to as the 'Bogor Goals' of free and open trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific by 2010 for industrialised economies and 2020 for developing economies. These goals were adopted by Leaders at their 1994 meeting in Bogor, Indonesia.

Learn more about the Bogor Goals in the 1994 Leaders' Declaration.

Free and open trade and investment helps economies to grow, creates jobs and provides greater opportunities for international trade and investment. In contrast, protectionism keeps prices high and fosters inefficiencies in certain industries. Free and open trade helps to lower the costs of production and thus reduces the prices of goods and services - a direct benefit to all.

APEC also works to create an environment for the safe and efficient movement of goods, services and people across borders in the region through policy alignment and economic and technical cooperation.


<sup>1 Sources:
The APEC Region Trade and Investment 2008

2 Sources:
The APEC Region Trade and Investment 2008
World Trade [Trade in goods and services (exports + imports)]</sup>

Global Warming & The greenhouse effect

Global Warming

Definition

The temperature of the Earth is controlled by the balance between the input from energy of the sun and the loss of this back into space. Certain atmospheric gases are critical to this temperature balance and are known as greenhouse gases. The energy received from the sun is in the form of short-wave radiation, i.e. in the visible spectrum and ultraviolet radiation.On average, about one-third of this solar radiation that hits the Earth is reflected back to space. Of the remainder, some is absorbed by the atmosphere, but most is absorbed by the land and oceans. The Earth’s surface becomes warm and as a result emits long-wave ‘infrared’ radiation. The greenhouse gases trap and re-emit some of this long-wave radiation, and warm the atmosphere. Naturally occurring greenhouse gases include water vapour, carbon dioxide, ozone, methane, and nitrous oxide, and together they create a natural greenhouse or blanket effect, warming the Earth by 35°C. Despite the greenhouse gases often being depicted in diagrams as one layer, this is only to demonstrate their ‘blanket effect’, as they are in fact mixed throughout the atmosphere.

source : Global Warming - A Very Short Introduction by Mark Mas

The greenhouse effect

When sunlight reaches Earth's surface some is absorbed and warms the earth and most of the rest is radiated back to the atmosphere at a longer wavelength than the sun light. Some of these longer wavelengths are absorbed by greenhouse gases in the atmosphere before they are lost to space. The absorption of this longwave radiant energy warms the atmosphere. These greenhouse gases act like a mirror and reflect back to the Earth some of the heat energy which would otherwise be lost to space. The reflecting back of heat energy by the atmosphere is called the "greenhouse effect".

The major natural greenhouse gases are water vapor, which causes about 36-70% of the greenhouse effect on Earth (not including clouds); carbon dioxide CO2, which causes 9-26%; methane, which causes 4-9%, and ozone, which causes 3-7%. It is not possible to state that a certain gas causes a certain percentage of the greenhouse effect, because the influences of the various gases are not additive. Other greenhouse gases include, but are not limited to, nitrous oxide, sulfur hexafluoride, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and chlorofluorocarbons.

source : http://timeforchange.org/cause-and-effect-for-global-warming

Earth Hour To Highlight Climate Change

17 Mac, 2010 19:35 PM

Mongolia To Join Earth Hour To Highlight Climate Change

ULAANBAATAR, March 17 (Bernama) -- Mongolia, for the first time, will join a global initiative to highlight climate change. The lights will go out in towns and cities around the world this month as part of the global initiative, Mongolian news agency Montsame reported Wednesday.

More than 1,100 cities and towns in some 100 countries from Mongolia to Madagascar, Nepal to New Zealand, will switch off their lights for an hour this Saturday (March 27) at 8.30pm (GMT) as part of the conservation group Worldwide Fund for Nature's (WWF) Earth Hour.

WWF-UK head of campaigns, Colin Butfield, said: "This year's Earth Hour hopes to attract some one billion people.

"By signing up to switch off their lights, individuals, businesses, towns and cities can join a global phenomenon and show world leaders that we care about climate change."

This year's event, hailed as the biggest yet, will ripple across the earth as communities dim the lights in 25 time zones, including on some of the world's most iconic landmarks.

Countries and regions taking part for the first time include Madagascar, Nepal, Saudi Arabia, Mongolia, Cambodia, Czech Republic, Paraguay, Ecuador and the US Commonwealth of the Northern Marina Islands in the Pacific Ocean.

The Earth Hour event first took place in Sydney in 2007 with some two million people switching off their lights.

-- BERNAMA

Competent Professionals with Adab

Dr. Mohd Sani Badron Fellow Kanan 16/02/2010 | The Star

Crass materialism and anti-intellectualism which manifest in any society betray the following fact: that the emphasis of its imbalance educational system is simply on the physical, material and quantitative aspects of man. In Islam, the objective of education emphasizes rather on the mind and soul, which define and refer to the reality of human being. Man is educated with an eye to raising the level of his adab, culture and civilization. The purpose of education should not merely to improving student's economic and social position in terms of career and vocation, nor merely giving the individual a leg up the economic and social ladder. Teachers' purpose should not be for students to adjust to the environment, but rather for them to improve themselves and their surrounding environment, leading to amelioration of culture and civilization. In this light, the teaching and learning of skills alone does not necessarily constitute education in its true sense, even if such training is usually easier and more easily measurable. For that matter, even the teaching and learning of the human, natural or applied sciences alone does not necessarily constitute education if it is merely cramming students' memory with details. There is a big difference between learning (ta‘allum) and education (ta'dib). In ta'dib, the knowledge and sciences (‘ilm)-that which is to be instilled into education's recipient-must be purposive or beneficial knowledge. This ensures that knowledge is being put to good use in society. As such, in Islamic education, concomitant action is emphasized as much as true knowledge, so that human conduct is guided to conform to revealed truth. According to Dr Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas, in Islam, "there is no worthwhile knowledge without action accompanying it; and no worthwhile action without knowledge guiding it." It is adab that which should direct the use of any professional knowledge; it is adab that which bring the light of Islam, as religion and civilization, to illuminate the technicalities of any specialization pursuit. In such an educational framework, narrowly trained professionals envisaged to be produced by mere learning, are replaced with competent professionals with adab. To a certain extent, there is a parallel here with a stream of Western tradition espoused by John Stuart Mill (d. 1873), who called for philosophic professionals, who "would demand principles and be capable of apprehending them." According to Mill, "Men are men before they are lawyers, or physicians, or merchants, or manufacturers; and if you made them capable and sensible men, they will make themselves capable and sensible lawyers or physicians" or any other professional. In order that education helps people to learn to be as intelligent as they can be; this involves thinking and exercising critical judgment, which rescues them from stupidity, ignorance and torpor. According to Charlie Dunbar Broad (d. 1971), a philosopher of science specialized in philosophical aspects of psychology, progress in knowledge of social system is contingent upon deliberative alteration of the emotional constitution of mankind by removing superstitious beliefs and the like. Indeed, such instruction which renders intellectual discipline, would lead to considerable advantages. Among others: ritually, there will be less superstition; socially, less disorder; organizationally, less disrespect for superiors; politically, less faction and wanton opposition to legitimate government; and, bureaucratically, less rash and capricious judgment of public affairs. However, while Mill's philosophy of education does not go beyond intellectual development, Islamic education in term of ta'dib covers both, intellectual as well as moral development. Ta'dib renders mental discipline, and at the same time, impresses ethical habits, as education so conceived should also help people to learn to be as ethical as they can be. Some Western thinkers, likes Yves René Marie Simon (d. 1961), have made similar assertion, that the education of ethics may increase human moral conception, and advance his moral conscience on good and evil. Examples of the global advancement of human conscience are on the issues of the treatment of prisoners of war, the problem of destitution, the issue whether aggressive war can be justified, child labour, and so on. Be that as it may, the progress of moral consciousness requires, among others, the teaching and learning of a reasoned account of the nature and the grounds of rights actions. This demands the principles of the morally commendable or reprehensible; and the well nurtured capability of apprehending those principles. Such definition of ethics requires well-defined ethical concepts as well as the justification or appraisal of moral judgment-and the discrimination between right and wrong actions or decisions-which must be adequately, articulately and coherently set forth. In reference to that, the competent judgment of contemporary scholars such as Abdul Khaliq, Mohamed Ahmed Sherif, and Muhammad Abul Quasem, just like that of those Orientalists such as Majid Fakhry and Richard Walzer, is that al-Imam al-Ghazzali's ethical thought stands out to be the best. Al-Ghazzali's ethical view is the best in terms of being an articulate, a far-reaching as well as fundamental synthesis of the currents in Islamic thought. This includes the contributions by Qur'anic exegetes, traditionists, theologians, philosophers, and Sufis. As it is, the ethical thought of al-Ghazzali is mostly contained in his works Mizan al-‘Amal and Ihya' ‘Ulum al-Din. A comparative study would find that the former is more methodical while the latter more comprehensive, in their respective presentations of a positive moral theory of a high order.

Knowledge with Purpose

Md. Asham B. Ahmad Fellow 16/03/2010 | The Star

Knowledge and action are two fundamental elements making up the conceptual structure of Islam. Islam is a conscious and willing submission to God. It is a submission that is made ‘knowingly' and ‘freely', without any compulsion. As such, the submission is not possible without knowledge. Islam does not concede to a dichotomy between knowledge and action, or between theory and practice. The term ‘Islam' also describes an act, i.e., the act of submission. It means Islam does not simply happen to someone; it comes into being from one's volition. And volition also does not arise without knowledge. The action of every Muslim is subject to the rules of the shari'ah correctly understood as the path to salvation prescribed by God through His Messenger. ‘Islam' is also the name of a particular religion, and that means the above-mentioned submission is not subjective or formless; it is the submission which is made willingly and consciously according to the way prescribed by the religion called Islam. Since nobody can be a proper Muslim without knowledge and understanding, knowledge-seeking becomes the first and foremost obligation of every Muslim, male and female. Islam teaches that knowledge must be sought and disseminated with correct intention, to seek Divine Pleasure and Guidance. Studying religious sciences is not necessarily a religious deed because the aim of the seeker could be worldly, and when that is the case the whole effort becomes blameworthy. The following is al-Ghazali's reminder to all knowledge-seekers: "if in your quest for knowledge your aim is to gain something for yourself and to surpass your fellows, to attract men's attention to yourself and to amass this-worldly vanities, then you are on the way to bring your religion to nothing and destroy yourself, to sell your eternal life for this present one; your bargain is dead loss, your trading without profit." To have a correct and sincere intention is indeed not a simple matter. It entails knowledge of the nature of ultimate reality, and a definite commitment to a particular way of life in conformity with that knowledge. Every research activity is carried out within a certain framework that is based on certain assumptions and aligned with some purposes. The credibility of the finding depends upon the validity of the assumptions and the soundness of the purposes, which means-upon verification-one would finally come to the conclusion either they conform or not to what is regarded as ultimately real and true. If the researcher concentrates solely on the immediate objective of research (that is limited to knowing the nature of a particular object of knowledge as it is) to the extent of being heedless to the ultimate aim of knowing (which is the culmination of all other purposes, transcending immediate concerns and needs) his research will lead him nowhere. The purpose of knowing ultimately is the purpose of existence itself. Without the knowledge of the purpose of knowing, knowledge and sciences may only serve secular aims and objectives, where no amount of research can satisfy man, because the knowledge gained from it does not give him any clue as to the meaning and purpose of his life, which is ultimately the foundation of his actions and behaviours, including knowledge-seeking itself. Therefore Islam makes distinction between knowledge that is useful and that that is not. Knowledge is useful and worthwhile in so far as it is related to the most basic problem of life namely the problem of human identity and destiny. This is the most basic problem because the answer to it is what everybody seeks to know, and without it this life becomes meaningless. The answer, therefore, should be final, free from doubt and possibility of error because life is too short and unexpectable, and we cannot take the risk of living our life based on an answer that is subject to revision and correction. This knowledge is also known as the knowledge of the reality of things. To this kind of knowledge certainty is a necessary condition, and by that we mean: (i) the object of knowledge is disclosed to the knower in such a way that no doubt remains along with it; and (ii) no possibility of error or illusion accompanies it; the mind cannot even entertain such a supposition. Certainty, to quote Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas, is the permanent state of the soul having to do with the knowledge of permanent realities. It would not be attained and experienced if the justification for believing ‘A', for example, contains the possibility of error. Is it possible to attain certainty? Can man, with all the potentialities that he owns, ever attain certainty? A Muslim will definitely answer in the affirmative. He is taught that realities of things are firmly established and that objective knowledge about them is possible and verifiable. If certainty is impossible then knowledge is also impossible, and if knowledge is impossible accountability and justice would also be impossible. The knowledge of the nature of the ultimate realities is knowledge that does not change with the change of time and nations. It is knowledge about what is real and true about existence in general. It is what every thinking human being would want to know about his self, and about the world around him. He would like to know, for example, whether God exists or not, and if He does what His name is and what His Attributes are. What he holds as an answer to this question will determine the way he is going to live his life. This kind of knowledge will have a significant implication to one's life because it is ultimately the basis of one's ethical judgement and action, hence, no error or doubt should be tolerated. There must be certain implication to life for example, in believing that God does not exist, or that He does yet He does not possess knowledge or power. Uncertainty about this matter is a tragedy because how would one make decision in such a state of mind? We cannot tolerate erroneous belief because every belief has got its practical consequence. There is nothing that can be categorized as ‘purely practical', if what is meant by that an activity that has nothing to do with any theory, assumption, or belief. All the horrors committed during the World War II is based upon certain theory, assumption, or belief; the Japanese thought that their emperor was a living god, while the Nazis believed in the supremacy of their nation over other nations.

World's Largest Recorded Earthquake

World's Largest Recorded Earthquake

9.5 Magnitude - May 22, 1960 near Valdivia, Chile

"The Great Chilean Earthquake"

The World’s largest earthquake with a instrumentally documented magnitude occurred on May 22, 1960 near Valdivia, in southern Chile. It has been assigned a magnitude of 9.5 by the United States Geological Survey. It is referred to as the "Great Chilean Earthquake" and the "1960 Valdivia Earthquake.

The United States Geological Survey reports this event as the "largest earthquake of the 20th Century". Other earthquakes in recorded history may have been larger, however this is the largest earthquake that has occurred since accurate estimates of magnitude became possible in the earnly 1900's.

Local Damage from Ground Motion and Tsunamis

The earthquake occurred beneath the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Chile. Ground motion from this earthquake destroyed and damaged many buildings. The Chilean government estimated that about 2,000,000 people were left homeless. It was fortunate that the earthquake occurred in the middle of the afternoon and was preceded by a powerful foreshock. That foreshock frightened everyone from their buildings, placing them outside when the main earthquake occurred.

Most of the damage and deaths were caused by a series of tsunamis that were generated by the earthquake. These waves swept over coastal areas moments after the earthquake occurred. They tore buildings from their foundations and drowned many people.

There are many different casualty estimates for this earthquake. They range from a low of 490 to a high of "approximately 6000". Most of the casualties were caused by tsunamis in Chile and from ground motion. However, people as far away as the Philippines were killed by this event.

Tsunami Damage

This is one of the few earthquakes that has killed large numbers of people at distant locations. Tsunamis generated by the earthquake traveled across the Pacific Ocean at a speed of over 200 miles per hour. Changes in sealevel were noticed all around the Pacific Ocean basin.

Fifteen hours after the earthquake a tsunami with a runup of 35 feet swept over coastal areas of Hawaii. Many shoreline facilities and buildings near coastal areas were destroyed. Near Hilo, Hawaii, 61 people were reported killed by the waves.

In California, many small boats were damaged as the waves swept through marinas. At Crescent City, a wave had a runup of about 5 feet and caused damage to shoreline structures and small boats.

Waves up to 18 feet high hit the island of Honshu, Japan about 22 hours after the earthquake. There it destroyed more than 1600 homes and left 185 people dead or missing. Another 32 people were killed in the Philippines about 24 hours after the earthquake. Damage also occurred on Easter Island and Samoa.

Subsidence and Uplift

The United States Geological Survey reports that there was about five feet of subsidence along the Chilean coast from the south end of the Arauco Peninsula to Quellon on Chiloe Island. This left a number of buildings below waterlevel at high tide. As much as ten feet of uplift occurred at Isla Guafo.

Tectonics

This was a megathrust earthquake that occurred at a depth of about 20 miles where the Nazca Plate is subducting beneath the South American Plate. It produced a 500 mile long rupture zone extending from Talca, Chile to the Chiloe Archipelago. Numerous large earthquakes have occurred in this area before and after the May 22, 1960 event.


Damage in Hawaii

(Quoted from: Tsunami in Hawaii. Lander, James F., and Lockridge, Patricia A., 1989, in: United States Tsunamis 1690-1988: U.S. Dept. of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.)

"A devastating earthquake (magnitude 8.6) off the coast of central Chile generated a tsunami affecting the entire Pacific Basin. In general the wave action along Hawaiian shores was quiet, resembling that of the tide, although it had a shorter period and a greater range. It killed 61 and seriously injured 43.

In Hilo Bay, however, the third wave was converted into a bore that flooded inland to the 6 m contour. Nearly 240 hectares (600 acres) inland of Hilo harbor were inundated, and all the deaths and $23.5 million of the damage occurred in this area. (The estimates of damage in Hawaii vary from $75 million in Talley and Cloud (1962), to $20 million in Wall (1960). A total of about $24 million for Hawaii is given by the Hawaiian office of Civil Defense.)

In nearly half of this area total destruction occurred. In the area of maximum destruction, only buildings of reinforced concrete or structural steel, and a few others sheltered by these buildings, remained standing--and even these were generally gutted. Frame buildings either were crushed or floated nearly to the limits of flooding. Dozens of automobiles were wrecked; a 10-metric ton tractor in a showroom was swept away; heavy machinery, mill rollers, and metal stocks were strewn about. Rocks weighing as much as 20 metric tons were plucked from a sea wall and carried as far as 180 m inland. Damage elsewhere on the Island of Hawaii was restricted to the west and southern coasts, where about a dozen buildings, mostly of frame construction, were floated off their foundations, crushed, or flooded. There was half a million dollars of damage on the Kona coast alone. Six houses were destroyed at Napoopoo.

On Maui the damage was concentrated in the Kahului area on the north coast. A warehouse and half a dozen houses were demolished, and other warehouses, stores, offices, and houses, and their contents were damaged. A church floated 6.1 m away from its foundation. Other buildings were damaged at Paukukalo, just outside and west of the harbor.

At Spreckelsville and Paia, east of Kahului, houses were damaged, and one house at each place was demolished. Additional damage occurred at Kihei on the south coast and Lahaina on the west coast. On the island of Molokai there was some damage to houses, fish ponds, and roads, and a beachhouse was demolished on the Island of Lanai. The islands of Kauai and Oahu escaped with only minor damage. Fifty houses at Kuliouou, an eastern suburb of Honolulu, were flooded, and $250,000 in damage was done. Elsewhere on Oahu no damage was reported, even where there was inundation of areas occupied by houses. On Kauai, so far as is known, the only damage consisted of one frame building being floated off its foundation on the south coast. "

Damage in California

(Quoted from: Tsunami on West Coast of United States. Lander, James F., and Lockridge, Patricia A., 1989, in: United States Tsunamis 1690-1988: U.S. Dept. of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.)

"The largest wave height in California was measured at the Crescent City tide gage was 1.7 m. Waves of 1.5 m were observed at Stenson Beach. The amplitude was more than 1.4 m at Santa Monica. The amplitude at Port Hueneme was 1.3 m and 1.2 m at Pacifica. The tsunami was recorded widely along the Pacific coast with amplitudes less than 1 m. Two vessels valued at $30,000 were lost at Crescent City.

Major damage was reported in the Los Angeles and Long Beach harbors. An estimated 300 small craft were set adrift and about 30 sunk including a 24 m yacht which smashed into bridge piers partially disabling the bridge. The Yacht Center lost 235 boat landing slips and 110 more were destroyed at the Colonial Yacht Anchorage and Cerritos Yacht Anchorage for a loss of $300,000. A skin diver, Raymond Stuart, was missing and presumed drowned at Cabrillo Beach, but no death certificate was found. In the harbor currents estimated to be 22 km/hr snapped and washed out pilings.

Many thousands of liters of gasoline and oil spilled from the overturn of the boats prompting fears of a fire. Several buoys and navigational aids were swept away at Terminal Island. The Coast Guard landing including the tide gage was washed 5.6 km to sea but was rescued. A mess boy fell 6 m from the bridge of the first ship to attempt to leave the harbor the next day. The ship returned to harbor so his injuries could be treated at the hospital. The accident was blamed on rough seas.

At San Diego, ferry service was interruped after one passenger-laden ferry smashed into the dock at Coronado knocking out eight pilings. A second ferry was forced 1.5 km off couse and into a flotilla of anchored destroyers. More than 80 m of dock were destroyed. A 100 ton dredge rammed the concrete pilings supporting the Mission Bay bridge tearing out a 21 m section. A 45 m bait barge smashed eight slips at the Seaforth Landing before breaking in half and sinking. The currents swept 12 and 30 m floats from the San Diego Harbor Masters Pier on Shelter Island and swept away two sections of dockage at the Southwest Yacht Club at Point Loma.

At Santa Monica the water fell so low that the bottom of the breakwater was nearly exposed. Eight small craft snapped mooring lines but were taken in tow. One surge swept more than 91 m up the beach flooding a parking lot just off the Pacific coast Highway.

At Santa Barbara a drifting oil exploration barge repeatedly rammed the new dredge causing at least $10,000 in damage. An additional $10,000 was done elsewhere including damage to 40 small craft set adrift there."

http://geology.com/records/largest-earthquake/