Worldwide effects of nuclear war

A nuclear war would involve such prodigious and concentrated short term release of high temperature energy that it is necessary to consider a variety of potential environmental effects.

It is true that the energy of nuclear weapons is dwarfed by many natural phenomena. A large hurricane may have the power of a million hydrogen bombs. But the energy release of even the most severe weather is diffuse; it occurs over wide areas, and the difference in temperature between the storm system and the surrounding atmosphere is relatively small. Nuclear detonations are just the opposite--highly concentrated with reaction temperatures up to tens of millions of degrees Fahrenheit. Because they are so different from natural processes, it is necessary to examine their potential for altering the environment in several contexts.

Human evolution

Humans have always wondered how we came to be on this planet. Virtually every culture and religion has created myths to explain the creation of humans. In the early twentieth century, most scientists believed that the first humans appeared in Asia or Eastrn Europe.Then Dart discove  red the Taung skull and provided the first solidevi dence both of an African evolution of the first humanoids and a fossil link between humans and apes, substantiating one part of Darwin’s theories. 

This discovery redirected all of human evolutionary research and theory and has served as a corners tone of science’s modern beliefs about the history and origin of our species.Raymond Dartwas born in Queensland, Australia, in 1893 on a bush farm where his family was struggling to raise cattle. He excelled in school and received scholarships to study medicine, specializing in neural anatomy (the anatomy of skull and brain). In 1920 he gained a prestigious position as assistant to Grafton Elliot Smith at the Uni vers ity of Manchester, England. But their relations hipsoured and, in 1922, shortly after his thirtieth birthday, Dart was sent off to be a professor of anatomy at the newly formed University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. 

Cofee and cardiovascular disease

      In the United States, cardiovascular disease leads to one death every 33 seconds and contributes to 70%of total deaths annually. This makes identifying functional foods as potential modifiers of this disease prevalence an invaluable endeavor. 

Researchers have investigated whether greencoffeebeanextract (GCBE),which is rich inchlorogenic acid,maybe just such a disease modifier. In one study, two groups were created with 10 people ingesting a green coffee bean extract and 10 ingesting a placebo drink for fourmonths. At the end of the study, the treatment group experienced significant decreases in total plasma homocysteine levels and improvements in vasoreactivity. The ability of GCBE to make an impact on these two independent risk factors for cardiovascular disease progression is significant.