[sunnykerr]

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[sunnykerr]

Powerful cosmic blast as black hole shreds star Astronomers have spied a star's swan song as it is shredded by a black hole. Researchers suspect that the star wandered too close to the black hole and got sucked in by the huge gravitational forces. The star's final moments sent a flash of radiation hurtling towards Earth. The energy burst is still visible by telescope more than two-and-a-half months later, the researchers report in the journal Science. The Swift spacecraft constantly scans the skies for bursts of radiation, notifying astronomers when it locates a potential flare. These bursts usually indicate the implosion of an ageing star, which produces a single, quick blast of energy. But this event, first spotted on 28 March 2011 and designated Sw 1644+57, does not have the marks of an imploding sun. What intrigued the researchers about this gamma ray burst is that it flared up four times over a period of four hours. Astrophysicist Dr Andrew Levan from the University of Warwick, and his colleagues suspected that they were looking at a very different sort of galactic event; one where a passing star got sucked into a black hole. The energy bursts matched nicely with what you might expect when you "throw a star into a black hole", Dr Levan told BBC News. Gasless centres Black holes are thought to reside at the centres of most major galaxies. Some black holes are surrounded by matter in the form of gas; light is emitted when the gas is dragged into the hole. However, the centres of most galaxies are devoid of gas and so are invisible from Earth. These black holes only become visible when an object such as a star is pulled in. If this happens, the star becomes elongated, first spreading out to form a "banana shape" before its inner edge - orbiting faster than the outer edge - pulls the star into a disc-shape that wraps itself around the hole. As material drops into the black hole it becomes compressed and releases radiation that is usually visible from Earth for a month or so. Events like these, termed mini-quasars, are incredibly rare - researchers expect one every hundred million years in any one galaxy. The researchers used some of most powerful ground-based and space-based observatories - the Hubble Space Telescope, the Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Gemini and Keck Telescopes.

Source

I know it makes no sense. There's even an artist's rendition of what that might look like on the site, and you know it's not based on reality...

So it makes no sense at all. But I find it so, so very sad.

[quaist]

I find it sad, too, but also very scary...

Wind farm forced to close after complaints over the noise Residents living near the 23 turbines won an order making the operators turn off the generators after claiming their lives were being made a misery. The unprecedented banning order only lasted a few days and was designed to force the power company to make provisions to reduce the problem. If they do not come to an arrangement with the locals then the ban could be reimposed. It is believed that the closure, which cost Scottish and southern Electricity thousands of pounds, could lead to similar action being taken by residents living near other wind farms. The £55 million turbines at Athany in the Scottish Highlands ground to a halt after complaints from residents that their lives are being made a misery by the constant whirring of the blades. People living close to the wind farm complained to the council that their complaints were being ignored. Highland Council imposed the ban, saying the company breached planning controls by failing to deal with excessive noise from the development which came on stream in July last year and generates 40MW of power. Gordon Moonie, Highland Council’s principal planner, confirmed that it was the first time the authority had issued a notice of this type. He said he was unaware of any other council taking similar action. “This temporary stop notice was introduced under a 2006 Act and it hasn’t been used very often, but it is quite an effective way of dealing with a breach of planning control," he said. "In a sense it affects the company where it hurts – in their pocket." Mr Moonie revealed that the problems with Achany had been ongoing for about a year, with constant complaints to planners about noise. “We were getting complaints from the local people and the community and we weren’t getting any action from SSE, so we decided that the best way forward was to serve this temporary stop notice,” he said. “It means that the wind farm has to cease operating and we can then get around the table and agree a way forward that is in everyone’s interest.” According to the stop notice, SSE breached planning controls by failing to provide a scheme for mitigating noise levels prior to the development coming on stream. They also failed to comply with a request to measure noise levels at two local properties just over a mile from the wind farm when specifically asked to do so following complaints from the householders. A spokesmam for SSE said: "A temporary stop notice was issued by the Highland Council on the Achany wind farm on 6th June. "Following a meeting with SSE, the notice was lifted on 10th June." Wind farm forced to close after complaints over the noise - Telegraph

To be honest, I don't know how to rate that. I can imagine that constant noise can turn lives into nightmares, but if we shut down all or most wind farms because of that, I don't know how we should ever be able to go without nuclear energy...

[sunnykerr]

I've only ever seen wind turbines away from populated areas, so I don't really know how to even begin to address that. Of course, we tend to have more open spaces around these parts...

But if the noise levels can be adjusted, than they probably should work to do that.

[quaist]

Originally Posted by sunnykerr (View Post) But if the noise levels can be adjusted, than they probably should work to do that.

If this can be done, I don't get why they didn't do that in the first place when they're building up those wind farms near populated areas.

I'm not exactly well-informed about where all these wind farms are located worldwide, but I do know that I've heard of that noise problem once in a while.

[sunnykerr]

I've never heard of the noise problem but, like I said, they're not near population centres here. And, for the rest of the world... I guess I'm just ignorant of some stuff sometimes. I don't mind owning up to that.

But I wouldn't be surprised that a company wouldn't think of working to be better neighbours unless they're made to. It wouldn't be the first time.

Of course, that's assuming the noise volumes can be brought down. Who knows?

It sounds to me, though I know none of the particulars, like putting the wind turbines there was a decision the city imposed on its constituents. And now the people aren't pleased and the city didn't anticipate this problem because they were more worried about job creation and new companies coming in and so forth.

So now they may have a problem that has no solution.

[quaist]

Originally Posted by sunnykerr (View Post) I've never heard of the noise problem but, like I said, they're not near population centres here. And, for the rest of the world... I guess I'm just ignorant of some stuff sometimes. I don't mind owning up to that.

I just got in contact with those issues because a few years ago, our government planned to build up a wind farm in the mountains, which got dismissed by the Alpinist association because wind farms hold the probable risk of putting animals in danger..

Linked to the whole nuclear energy debate topic, questions were being raised how we'd plan on getting away from nuclear plants whereas noone wants to have alternative power generation practically nowhere.

[Comfortably Numb]

People will complain about anything. They probably work for oil companies or something. It's wise to look into alternative fuels.

[sunnykerr]

Well, depends how much noise we're talking about, no?

[Comfortably Numb]

Yeah. I have driven by a wind farm you can hear them. It might be annoying to hear that all day long.

[sunnykerr]

I really do think the city tried to pass a fast one on its residents and got caught with side effects they hadn't anticipated because none of the people who made that decision leave anywhere near the site they chose to have the turbines.

[Comfortably Numb]

LINK

Orexigen Halts Development of Diet Pill in U.S. Amid Appeal By Catherine Larkin - Jun 3, 2011 Orexigen Therapeutics Inc. (OREX) slid the most in four months in Nasdaq trading after the drugmaker said it will halt U.S. development of the diet pill Contrave because of uncertainty in the regulatory process. The La Jolla, California-based company fell $1.06, or 33 percent, to $2.12 at 4 p.m. in Nasdaq Stock Market composite trading. The drop was the biggest decline since a 73 percent plunge on Feb. 1 after the Food and Drug Administration said a large study on heart risks would be required before Contrave could be approved. “Is this drug absolutely dead in the water?” Charles Duncan, a senior biotechnology analyst at JMP Securities in New York, said in a telephone interview today. “No, but I do think it should be discounted by 90 percent.” Orexigen said in a statement today that it will appeal the FDA’s decision, look at selling Contrave in international markets and pursue partnerships for new products with closely held companies. Orexigen and partner Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. of Osaka, Japan, had been in a race with Vivus Inc. (VVUS) and Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ARNA) to introduce the first new obesity medicine in the U.S. in more than a decade. Orexigen adjusted its strategy after the FDA denied the company’s proposal to sell the medicine for people with lower cardiovascular risk until data from the larger study could be reviewed, a move the company called “unprecedented.” Orexigen plans to engage the FDA’s formal dispute resolution process within the next 30 days and expects a response from the agency 30 days later. Benefits Versus Risks “The agency has always been clear with companies developing weight-loss products that we will weigh the drug’s potential benefits with the potential risks,” Erica Jefferson, a spokeswoman for the FDA, said today in an e-mail. Contrave increases blood pressure, a risk also seen with Abbott Laboratories’ now-withdrawn diet pill Meridia, she said. The agency pulled Meridia from the market last year after it was tied to heart attacks and strokes in a large outcomes study. Two Contrave tablets taken two times a day helped twice as many patients in studies lose at least 5 percent of their weight compared with a placebo after 56 weeks, meeting one of two FDA guidelines for how effective diet pills must be to get approval. The product is a combination of two approved drugs that target different parts of the brain influencing appetite and cravings. Advisory Committee The FDA is planning to ask an advisory committee to review general requirements for cardiovascular safety and diet pills. The agency told Orexigen that the meeting won’t be held until early next year, after which all products under development may be “measured by a different bar” for approval, Orexigen Chief Executive Officer Michael Narachi said. “All bets are off” until that meeting takes place, Narachi told investors and analysts today on a conference call. Orexigen’s decision doesn’t affect Vivus’s plans to submit the additional data requested by the FDA on its drug Qnexa in the fourth quarter, said Timothy Morris, the chief financial officer for Mountain View, California-based Vivus, in an e-mailed statement. Arena, which is developing a medicine called lorcaserin with Tokyo-based Eisai Co., is also “moving forward to do what’s needed” to bring its drug to patients, said David Schull, an outside spokesman for the company, in an e-mail. Vivus fell 29 cents, or 3.4 percent, to $8.25 in Nasdaq trading. San Diego-based Arena dropped 3 cents, or 2.1 percent, to $1.38. About 68 percent of American adults are overweight, raising their risk of diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and cancer, according to a 2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Almost 34 percent are obese, measured as a ratio between weight and height. Xenical, from Basel, Switzerland-based Roche Holding AG, was approved in 1999 and is the only chronic medicine approved for weight loss in the U.S. To contact the reporter on this story: Catherine Larkin in Washington at clarkin4@bloomberg.net.

I love the idea of a pill solving weight problems, but I think we have quite a few on the market that are really harming people.

[sunnykerr]

I like the idea in the sense that I am lazy and like an easy answer.

But I have a mother who has Parkinson's disease and so I am quite aware that taking medication to solve a problem usually creates two more that you need to take medication to solve, which create two more, etc.

And weight loss, let's face it, is a life-long issue. It's not like you could take one pill (for however long) and be done with it.

[Comfortably Numb]

By the way Sunny - I love this title .


Weight loss is such a touchy issue. To do it in a healthy way is alot of hard work. Some people aren't able to lose weight to where they are happy with themselves. We all want that quick fix.

[sunnykerr]

I'm not even sure what the original reference is to, to be honest, but I love the movie Dying Young and that's where I got the title from.

As for weight lost, it is a super touchy issue. Sometimes, weight gain has physiological reasons. Certain medications lead to weight gain. Glandular issues can lead to weight gain (and weight loss).

And sometimes there's just bad habits to redress.
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And yet other times there's a plethora of emotional and psychological issues to understand. And no pill in the world will fix the issue when weight gain or loss is a symptom of an underlying issue.