Sun's 'quiet period' explained 13 August 2010

Solar physicists may have discovered why the Sun recently experienced a prolonged period of weak activity.

The most recent so-called "solar minimum" occurred in December 2008.

Its drawn-out nature extended the total length of the last solar cycle - the repeating cycle of the Sun's activity - to 12.6 years, making it the longest in almost 200 years.

During a solar minimum the Sun is less active, producing fewer sunspots and flares.

The new research suggests that the longer-than-expected period of weak activity may have been linked to changes in the way a hot soup of charged particles called plasma circulated in the Sun.

The study, conducted by Dr Mausumi Dikpati of the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado and her US colleagues, is published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.

The Sun's activity strengthens and weakens on a cycle that typically lasts 10.7 years. Since accurate records began in 1755, there have been 24 such solar cycles.

The 23rd cycle, which ended in December 2008, was both longer than average and had the smallest number of sunspots for a century. Sunspots are areas of intense magnetic activity that are visible as dark spots on the star's surface.

Currents of fire

The new research suggests that one reason for the prolonged period of weak activity could be changes in the Sun's "conveyor belt".

Similar to the Earth's ocean currents, the Sun's conveyor transports plasma across its surface to the pole. Here, the plasma sinks into the heart of the Sun before rising again at the equator.

During the 23rd cycle, these currents of fire extended all the way to the poles, while in earlier cycles they only extended about two thirds of the way.

Dr Roger Ulrich of the University of California, Los Angeles, a co-author of the study, said the findings highlighted the importance of our monitoring of the Sun.

The research team used sophisticated computer simulations to show how changes in the conveyor might have affected cycle duration. They found that the increased length of the conveyor and its slower rate of return flow explained the prolonged 23rd cycle.

However, Dr David Hathaway, a solar physicist from Nasa's Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama, who was not involved in the latest study, argued that it was the speed and not the extent of the conveyor that was of real importance.

The conveyor has been running at record high-speeds for over five years. Dr Hathaway said: "I believe this could explain the unusually deep solar minimum."

The Sun's conveyor transports plasma across its surface to the pole, where it sinks before rising at the equator
taken from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-10967292

China examines milk powder 'premature puberty' reports 12 August 2010

Beijing parent Wang Gang recently discovered his 13-month-old daughter had been diagnosed with premature breast growth, China Daily reports

China's government is investigating reports that a brand of powdered milk caused infant girls to grow breasts. It is being alleged that hormone-tainted milk from Synutra International caused several cases of premature puberty in Hubei province. The Chinese firm, whose shares fell by up to 35% on the news, strongly denies its products were tainted. Food safety problems involving milk powder and other products have alarmed Chinese consumers in recent years. Two years ago, the chemical compound melamine was found in milk products made by 22 Chinese firms. Hundreds of thousands of children were poisoned and six died.

Powder samples

A panel of nine experts on endocrine, paediatric and food safety issues had been assembled to investigate the tainted milk allegations, the health ministry announced on Thursday. The ministry was directly investigating the claimed premature puberty cases at the request of Hubei province and would publish its conclusions soon. Samples taken from the market where the milk powder was purchased, as well as from the homes of the infant girls, were already being tested. China Daily, the country's leading state-owned English-language newspaper, reported the cases un Hubei this week, quoting from a report by the Beijing-based Health Times newspaper. At least three infants in Hubei were found to have abnormal levels of the hormones estradiol and prolactin, which stimulates the production of breast milk, Health Times reported. The infants' parents feared that their conditions were linked to their milk powder, produced by Synutra, and a leading children's doctor in the region was quoted by Health Times as calling for the powder to be analysed. On Tuesday, the father of a 13-month-old girl in Beijing told China Daily his daughter had been diagnosed with symptoms of premature puberty.

'Unwavering product quality'

The chairman of Synutra, Liang Zhang, has said that there is "no scientific evidence" to support the allegation that Synutra products were responsible for the cases.

"While we offer our sympathy to any families experiencing health challenges, we firmly believe that our products are not involved in the claims recently made, and we feel this media event will pass," he said in a statement.

"We firmly believe they will illustrate our unwavering product quality and commitment to consumer safety."

A food safety expert for the World Health Organization, Dr Peter Ben Embarek, said China's test results were expected within days and that the agency would then examine them.

"At first look, it looks very surprising," he told the Associated Press, adding that this was the first time he had ever heard of such a case.

taken from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-10955585

Holiday Homework

Malaysia men guilty in 'Allah' row church attack 13 August 2010

Two Malaysian men have been found guilty of setting fire to a church in January in a row over non-Muslim use of the word "Allah". The two had claimed their burn injuries were sustained at a barbecue. But a judge in the capital, Kuala Lumpur, said this was a fabrication and jailed them for five years. The attack on the Metro Tabernacle Church in Kuala Lumpur was the first of a series of attacks on houses of worship following the "Allah" row. Eleven churches, one Sikh temple, three mosques and two Muslim prayer rooms became targets of arson and other incidents.Raja Muhammad Faizal Raja Ibrahim, 24, and Raja Muhammad Idzham Raja Ibrahim, 22, were both convicted of mischief by fire.

Judge S M Komathy Suppiah said that their crime struck at the very foundations and tenets of a civilised society. Religious tensions in multi-ethnic Malaysia increased after a court ruled in December 2009 that a Roman Catholic newspaper could use the word "Allah" in its Malay-language edition to describe the Christian God. The government has appealed against the ruling. Christian groups say they have been using the term in reference to God in the Malay language for decades. But some Muslim groups are suspicious of their motives, saying that the use of the word Allah is a ploy to encourage Muslims to convert to Christianity, something that is illegal in the country. Malay Muslims make up almost two-thirds of the country's population, but there are large Hindu and Christian communities.

taken from:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-10961282

More than 10,000 set human domino record 13 August 2010

It is amazing! A total of 10,276 people in China's Inner Mongolia have broken the world record for the biggest human domino chain, toppling a record set a decade earlier in Singapore by more than several hundred. The participants in the city of Ordos sat cross-legged and fell backwards in a line that snaked across an enormous square in a record which took an hour and 20 minutes on Thursday. The group of mainly high school students spent more than twelve hours over three days to train for the event. The previous record had been set in 2000 by 9,234 Singaporean students. The ceremony in the Inner Mongolian city of Ordos kicked off with Chinese basketball star and former NBA player Mengke Bateer passing a basketball to the first domino in line, who then all fell backward in turn. The human dominoes were a success with new record is 10,276 people and is also a new Guinness World record. This event also shows that anything could be accomplished if you have the heart to do it.

References
http://news.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/Asia/Story/A1Story20100813-231996.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1302457/More-10-000-Chinese-students-smash-human-domino-World-Record.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-10962757