[One-Minute World News] from [BBC NEWS]
[Science & Environment]
Page last updated at 13:40 GMT, Wednesday, 30 December 2009
Nasa picks three in space contest
The three finalists focus on the Moon, Venus, or an asteroid
The US space agency Nasa has selected three projects as finalists for its next celestial mission.
The projects aim to either probe the atmosphere and surface of Venus, return an asteroid fragment to Earth, or send back rocks from the Moon's south pole.
The proposals are part of the New Frontiers programme, designed to carry out frequent, low-cost missions.
Nasa has provided funding for a fuller analysis of the projects, with a winner to be selected in mid-2011.
The cost of the winning project must not exceed $650m (£410m) and must be ready to launch by the end of 2018.
These limits are in keeping with the New Frontiers programme's principles of funding focused, short-term, and comparatively cheap space science missions.
The Surface and Atmosphere Geochemical Explorer, or Sage, would gather information about Venus' atmosphere during the descent of a lander, which would then scratch at the planet's surface to determine its chemical and mineral composition in detail.
The Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security Regolith Explorer, or Osiris-Rex, would initially orbit an asteroid, landing on it to collect about 60g of material that would be returned to Earth.
The Lunar South Pole-Aitken Basin Sample Return Mission would land near the Moon's southern pole, returning about a kilogram of material that scientists believe has risen from the moon's interior to the surface.
Each team has been given $3.3m (£2.1m) to further flesh out the details of their proposals over the coming year.
"These are projects that inspire and excite young scientists, engineers and the public," said Ed Weiler, associate administrator for Nasa's Science Mission Directorate.
"These three proposals provide the best science value among eight submitted to Nasa this year."
The proposal that is eventually chosen will form the third mission in the New Frontiers programme.
The first, New Horizons, was launched in 2006 and is bound for a Pluto fly-by in 2015. The second, dubbed Juno, will be the first craft to orbit Jupiter from pole to pole after it launches in August 2011.
[Europe]
Page last updated at 13:33 GMT, Wednesday, 30 December 2009
France to rethink carbon tax plan
President Sarkozy says the French must cut their energy consumption
A new carbon tax that was supposed to go into effect in France at New Year has been struck down, delivering a blow to President Nicolas Sarkozy.
France's Constitutional Council, a legal compliance watchdog, said there were too many exemptions for polluters in the tax plan.
The body said 93% of industrial emissions, other than fuel use, would be exempt from the tax.
The tax was set at 17 euros (£15) per tonne of emitted carbon dioxide (CO2).
Prime Minister Francois Fillon has said the government will now work on a new law taking account of the legal ruling.
The tax was aimed at encouraging consumers to use less oil, gas and coal. It would have meant a rise in the price of fuel for cars, domestic heating and factories.
But it did not apply to the heavy industries and power firms included in the EU's emissions trading scheme.
Most electricity in France - excluded from the carbon tax - is nuclear-generated.
According to France's Le Monde newspaper, the tax would have generated about 4.3bn euros (£3.8bn) of revenue annually.
Commenting on the ruling, French government spokesman Luc Chatel said "France has shown that it is a leader in the fight against climate change and it will remain at the forefront by presenting new legislation on 20 January".
The Constitutional Council said the "large number of exemptions from the carbon tax runs counter to the goal of fighting climate change and violates the equality enjoyed by all in terms of public charges".
It said more than 1,000 of France's biggest polluters would have been able to avoid the tax.
[Health]
Page last updated at 00:01 GMT, Tuesday, 29 December 2009
Music therapy 'may help cut tinnitus noise levels'
{Tinnitus causes ringing, buzzing, roaring, hissing or whistling}
Individually designed music therapy may help reduce the noise levels experienced by people who suffer from tinnitus, say German researchers.
They altered participants' favourite music to remove notes which matched the frequency of the ringing in their ears.
After a year of listening to the modified music, individuals reported a drop in the loudness of their tinnitus.
The researchers said the "inexpensive" treatment could be used alongside other techniques to relieve the condition.
It could significantly complement widely-used and rather indirect psychological treatment strategies
Dr Christo Pantev
Westphalian Wilhelms University
It is thought that around 1-3% of the population have chronic ringing in their ears which is significant enough to reduce their overall quality of life.
Writing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the researchers said although the cause of tinnitus remains unknown, it has been shown that the part of the brain that processes sounds is frequently disrupted in people with the condition.
The theory behind the new technique is that removing the spectrum of noise associated with tinnitus from the music reduces activity in the brain relating to that frequency, alleviating the condition.
Therapy
The 39 patients who took part in the study all had chronic tinnitus for an average of five years but had no other hearing problems.
They were split into three groups and were offered either the modified music therapy, a dummy version of music therapy or usual treatment.
Participants listened to the music for an average of 12 hours a week and by the end of the study, those who had been given the tailored music reported a significant drop in the level of the ringing they heard compared with those listening to the dummy version.
Study leader Dr Christo Pantev, from Westphalian Wilhelms University in Munster, said the approach specifically targeted the part of the brain responsible for tinnitus.
"The notched music approach can be considered as enjoyable, low cost, and presumably causal treatment that is capable of specifically reducing tinnitus loudness.
"It could significantly complement widely-used and rather indirect psychological treatment strategies."
Dr Ralph Holmes, director of biomedical research at deaf and hard of hearing charity, RNID, said he would look in detail at the findings.
"While we find it encouraging there is new investment in treatment for tinnitus, we know there is no proven 'cure'.
"This seems to be similar to tinnitus retraining therapy which is one of the most common ways of managing the condition."
[Science & Environment]
Page last updated at 13:40 GMT, Wednesday, 30 December 2009
Nasa picks three in space contest
The three finalists focus on the Moon, Venus, or an asteroid
The US space agency Nasa has selected three projects as finalists for its next celestial mission.
The projects aim to either probe the atmosphere and surface of Venus, return an asteroid fragment to Earth, or send back rocks from the Moon's south pole.
The proposals are part of the New Frontiers programme, designed to carry out frequent, low-cost missions.
Nasa has provided funding for a fuller analysis of the projects, with a winner to be selected in mid-2011.
The cost of the winning project must not exceed $650m (£410m) and must be ready to launch by the end of 2018.
These limits are in keeping with the New Frontiers programme's principles of funding focused, short-term, and comparatively cheap space science missions.
The Surface and Atmosphere Geochemical Explorer, or Sage, would gather information about Venus' atmosphere during the descent of a lander, which would then scratch at the planet's surface to determine its chemical and mineral composition in detail.
The Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security Regolith Explorer, or Osiris-Rex, would initially orbit an asteroid, landing on it to collect about 60g of material that would be returned to Earth.
The Lunar South Pole-Aitken Basin Sample Return Mission would land near the Moon's southern pole, returning about a kilogram of material that scientists believe has risen from the moon's interior to the surface.
Each team has been given $3.3m (£2.1m) to further flesh out the details of their proposals over the coming year.
"These are projects that inspire and excite young scientists, engineers and the public," said Ed Weiler, associate administrator for Nasa's Science Mission Directorate.
"These three proposals provide the best science value among eight submitted to Nasa this year."
The proposal that is eventually chosen will form the third mission in the New Frontiers programme.
The first, New Horizons, was launched in 2006 and is bound for a Pluto fly-by in 2015. The second, dubbed Juno, will be the first craft to orbit Jupiter from pole to pole after it launches in August 2011.
[Europe]
Page last updated at 13:33 GMT, Wednesday, 30 December 2009
France to rethink carbon tax plan
President Sarkozy says the French must cut their energy consumption
A new carbon tax that was supposed to go into effect in France at New Year has been struck down, delivering a blow to President Nicolas Sarkozy.
France's Constitutional Council, a legal compliance watchdog, said there were too many exemptions for polluters in the tax plan.
The body said 93% of industrial emissions, other than fuel use, would be exempt from the tax.
The tax was set at 17 euros (£15) per tonne of emitted carbon dioxide (CO2).
Prime Minister Francois Fillon has said the government will now work on a new law taking account of the legal ruling.
The tax was aimed at encouraging consumers to use less oil, gas and coal. It would have meant a rise in the price of fuel for cars, domestic heating and factories.
But it did not apply to the heavy industries and power firms included in the EU's emissions trading scheme.
Most electricity in France - excluded from the carbon tax - is nuclear-generated.
According to France's Le Monde newspaper, the tax would have generated about 4.3bn euros (£3.8bn) of revenue annually.
Commenting on the ruling, French government spokesman Luc Chatel said "France has shown that it is a leader in the fight against climate change and it will remain at the forefront by presenting new legislation on 20 January".
The Constitutional Council said the "large number of exemptions from the carbon tax runs counter to the goal of fighting climate change and violates the equality enjoyed by all in terms of public charges".
It said more than 1,000 of France's biggest polluters would have been able to avoid the tax.
[Health]
Page last updated at 00:01 GMT, Tuesday, 29 December 2009
Music therapy 'may help cut tinnitus noise levels'
{Tinnitus causes ringing, buzzing, roaring, hissing or whistling}
Individually designed music therapy may help reduce the noise levels experienced by people who suffer from tinnitus, say German researchers.
They altered participants' favourite music to remove notes which matched the frequency of the ringing in their ears.
After a year of listening to the modified music, individuals reported a drop in the loudness of their tinnitus.
The researchers said the "inexpensive" treatment could be used alongside other techniques to relieve the condition.
It could significantly complement widely-used and rather indirect psychological treatment strategies
Dr Christo Pantev
Westphalian Wilhelms University
It is thought that around 1-3% of the population have chronic ringing in their ears which is significant enough to reduce their overall quality of life.
Writing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the researchers said although the cause of tinnitus remains unknown, it has been shown that the part of the brain that processes sounds is frequently disrupted in people with the condition.
The theory behind the new technique is that removing the spectrum of noise associated with tinnitus from the music reduces activity in the brain relating to that frequency, alleviating the condition.
Therapy
The 39 patients who took part in the study all had chronic tinnitus for an average of five years but had no other hearing problems.
They were split into three groups and were offered either the modified music therapy, a dummy version of music therapy or usual treatment.
Participants listened to the music for an average of 12 hours a week and by the end of the study, those who had been given the tailored music reported a significant drop in the level of the ringing they heard compared with those listening to the dummy version.
Study leader Dr Christo Pantev, from Westphalian Wilhelms University in Munster, said the approach specifically targeted the part of the brain responsible for tinnitus.
"The notched music approach can be considered as enjoyable, low cost, and presumably causal treatment that is capable of specifically reducing tinnitus loudness.
"It could significantly complement widely-used and rather indirect psychological treatment strategies."
Dr Ralph Holmes, director of biomedical research at deaf and hard of hearing charity, RNID, said he would look in detail at the findings.
"While we find it encouraging there is new investment in treatment for tinnitus, we know there is no proven 'cure'.
"This seems to be similar to tinnitus retraining therapy which is one of the most common ways of managing the condition."
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