NASA looks at ocean storm air turbulence

WASHINGTON, July 7 (UPI) -- The U.S. space agency said it is funding development of a satellite data system to provide aircraft pilots with updates about severe ocean storms.

Scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo., and at the University of Wisconsin are developing a prototype system that combines satellite data and computer weather models with cutting-edge artificial intelligence techniques.

The goal is to help guide pilots away from intense storms.

"Turbulence is the leading cause of injuries in commercial aviation," said John Haynes, program manager in NASA's applied sciences program. "This new work to detect the likelihood of turbulence associated with oceanic storms using key space-based indicators is of crucial importance to pilots."

A variety of NASA spacecraft observations are being used in the project, including data from the space agency's Terra, Aqua, Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission, CloudSat and CALIPSO satellites.

The prototype system, which will identify areas of turbulence in clear regions of the atmosphere as well as within storms, is expected to be tested next year.

Tryptophan linked to quinine side effects

NOTTINGHAM, England, July 7 (UPI) -- British medical scientists have discovered the anti-malarial drug quinine can block a cell's ability to take up the essential amino acid tryptophan.

The University of Nottingham researchers said their finding might explain many of the adverse side-effects associated with quinine, such as nausea, headaches and blurred vision. The discovery also suggests dietary tryptophan supplements could be a simple and inexpensive way to improve quinine's performance.

The researchers examined the effects of quinine on a collection of 6,000 yeast mutants, each lacking exactly one of the yeast's 6,000 genes. The scientists found strains unable to make tryptophan were extremely susceptible to quinine poisoning.

The researchers note tryptophan is important as a precursor for the brain chemical serotonin, so the enhanced tryptophan deficiency induced by quinine could explain why many of quinine's side effects are localized to the head region.

The study appears in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

Satellite shows much arctic ice thinning

PASADENA, Calif., July 7 (UPI) -- Data from a U.S. satellite shows arctic sea ice thinned dramatically between the winters of 2004 and 2008, NASA scientists said.

The scientists said the data, for the first time, showed thin seasonal ice replacing thick older ice as the dominant type.

Researchers from NASA and the University of Washington conducted the survey using observations from NASA's Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite.

The scientists said they found arctic sea ice thinned about 7 inches a year, for a total of 2.2 feet, during four winters. The total area covered by the thicker, older "multi-year" ice that has survived one or more summers shrank by 42 percent.

"Ice volume allows us to calculate annual ice production and gives us an inventory of the freshwater and total ice mass stored in Arctic sea ice," said Ron Kwok of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "Our data will help scientists better understand how fast the volume of arctic ice is decreasing and how soon we might see a nearly ice-free Arctic in the summer."

The research team attributes the changes in the overall thickness and volume of Arctic Ocean sea ice to the recent warming and anomalies in patterns of sea ice circulation.

The study appears in the Journal of Geophysical Research-Oceans.

FDA strengthens Darvon, Darvocet warnings

WASHINGTON, July 7 (UPI) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says it has ordered strengthened warnings for drugs, such as Darvon and Darvocet, that contain propoxyphene.

The federal agency is requiring manufacturers of propoxyphene-containing products to strengthen the label, including the boxed warning, emphasizing the potential for overdose. The manufacturers will also be required to provide a medication guide to patients stressing the importance of using the drugs as directed.

In addition, the FDA ordered a new safety study assessing the effects of propoxyphene on the heart at higher than recommended doses.

Officials said propoxyphene has been on the market since 1957 as a widely prescribed member of a group of drugs known as opioids and is used as a treatment for mild to moderate pain.

FDA officials said they plan to work with several groups, including the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, to determine how often elderly people are prescribed propoxyphene instead of other pain relievers and the difference in the safety profiles of propoxyphene compared with other drugs.

The agency Tuesday denied a petition from the public interest group Public Citizen requesting a phased withdrawal of propoxyphene. The FDA said the benefits of using the medication for pain relief at recommended doses outweigh the safety risks at this time.

An overview of the decision is available at http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/PostmarketDrugSafetyInformationforPatientsandProviders/ucm170268.htm.

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