Yale researchers have discovered the source of signals that trigger hair growth, an insight that may lead to new treatments for baldness.The researchers identified stem cells within the skin’s fatty layer and showed that molecular signals from these cells were necessary to spur hair growth in mice, according to research published in the Sept. 2 issue of the journal Cell.
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Conservationists and politicians meeting in Bonn on Friday launched a new initiative to restore 150 million hectares (580,000 square miles) of deforested and degraded forests, reports the World Resources Institute (WRI), an NGO that is involved in the effort. Supporters say the target — dubbed the Bonn Challenge — could could boost economic growth while helping fight climate change.
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Chinese scientists have completed a first of its kind study to pinpoint the sources of the Brahmaputra and Indus rivers using satellite images, and have found that the length and drainage areas of both rivers exceeded earlier estimates.Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), an official think-tank in Beijing, used remote-sensing satellite images and data from several expeditions to the Tibetan plateau to map the sources of the Brahmaputra, Indus, Salween and Irrawaddy rivers.
They located the source of the Brahmaputra, or Yarlung Tsangpo as it is known in Tibet, on the Angsi glacier on the northern side of the Himalayas, in the Tibetan country of Burang. The source of the river was earlier thought to be on the Chemayungdung glacier, further south.The CAS study has mapped the river’s length at 3,848 km, while earlier studies had estimated its length at 2,900-3,350 km. It also measured its drainage area at 712,035 sq km, with earlier estimates ranging from 520,000 sq km to 1.73 million sq km.
“Previously, the sources of the four rivers were never clearly designated, and differing accounts regarding their lengths and drainage areas confused researchers for many years due to restrictions of natural conditions and surveying and mapping technologies,” Liu Shaochuang, a researcher with the Institute of Remote Sensing Applications at CAS, was quoted as saying by the State-run Xinhua news agency.
Mr. Liu said the Indus river’s headstream was mapped near Mount Kailash in Tibet, 30 km away from where its source was earlier thought to be. He said his study calculated the river’s length at 3,600 km, exceeding earlier estimates of 3,200 km.
Mr. Liu’s team used remote-sensing images provided by the U.S. Landsat satellite and the French SPOT satellite to map the Qinghai-Tibet plateau. He said the study would be “of great significance” to environmental researchers.
It, however, remains unclear if CAS will make the studies available to Indian researchers. Chinese institutes have been reluctant to share glacial and hydrological data citing strategic reasons, and have, in the past, balked at entering into agreements with Indian institutes.
India and China will, in coming months, hold talks to renew an agreement on sharing flood-related hydrological data on the Brahmaputra. Last year, the two countries signed an agreement to share data from June 1 to October 15 until 2012, based on an earlier MoU signed in 2008.
Indian officials have also called on China to release more information about its plans to develop hydropower projects on the river’s upper and middle reaches. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said earlier this month India “trusts” China’s statements that “nothing will be done that affects India’s interest”, but would also “verify” Chinese claims.
In November, China started damming the middle reaches of the river to begin construction of a 510 MW run-of-the-river hydropower project.
The dam at Zangmu is the only one of 28 proposed hydropower projects on the river that has been approved by the Chinese government. Chinese hydropower groups have been lobbying the government to give the go-ahead for other dams.
China launched an ocean observation satellite, Haiyang-2, from the Taiyuan launching base in Shanxi province, north-eastern China. The remote sensing payload flew into orbit on top of a Long March 4B rocket, which placed the satellite in a 565-mile-high orbit with an inclination of 99 degrees.
The satellite will study dynamic ocean environments such as sea surface winds, wave height and water temperatures. It will survey maritime environment, help prevent potential disasters at sea and contribute to marine weather forecasts.
Its instruments include a microwave sensor, a radiometer and an altimeter.
Earlier Haiyang-1 satellites monitored ocean pollution and shallow waters to help in the operation of harbours and ports. A third generation of satellites is planned to combine the Haiyang-1 and Haiyang-2 missions.
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