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Long working hours linked to alcohol addiction: studyUpdated: 2011-08-08 13:45(Xinhua)WELLINGTON - A New Zealand study has found that people who work at least 50 hours a week can be up to three times more at risk of alcohol problems than people who work fewer hours.The study, conducted by the University of Otago, used data that followed more than 1,000 people born in Christchurch in 1977 through to age 30.Study leader Dr Sheree Gibb said it aimed to examine whether working hours were related to alcohol problems in early adulthood.Data from more than 1,000 participants at ages 25 and 30 showed a significant association between longer working hours and alcohol- related problems.Longer working hours were associated with higher levels of alcohol problems including frequent alcohol use and alcohol abuse or dependence.People who worked 50 hours or more on average a week were 1.8 to 3.3 times more likely to have alcohol-related problems than those who were not working, and about 1.2 to 1.5 times more likely to have alcohol-related problems than those who worked 30 to 49 hours a week.The higher risk of alcohol abuse for those who worked longer hours was evident in both men and women, according to the study.Gibb said the finding could suggest a need for consideration of policies and programs targeting individuals who worked long hours, with the aim of reducing rates of alcohol-related problems.The article had been accepted for publication by the UK-based journal Addiction.（239 words）NASA launches Juno robot to explore Jupiters birthUpdated: 2011-08-07 13:53(Agencies)Comments(0)PrintMailLarge Medium Small0 CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - An unmanned Atlas 5 rocket blasted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Friday, sending a robotic scout on its way to Jupiter to sniff out details about how the solar system formed.The rocket carrying NASAs Juno spacecraft lifted off at 12:25 pm (1625 GMT), the first step in a five-year, 445-million mile (716-million km) journey to the largest planet in the solar system.Launch was delayed almost an hour while United Launch Alliance, a Boeing-Lockheed Martin joint venture that builds and flies Atlas and Delta rockets for NASA, the military and commercial customers, fixed a technical problem with ground support equipment that supplies a helium purge to the rocket.Upon arrival in July 2016, Juno is to spend a year in an unprecedented polar orbit around the giant planet, measuring its water content, mapping its magnetic fields and searching for signs of a solid core.With more than twice the mass than all its sibling planets combined, Jupiter is believed to hold a key piece to the puzzle of how the planets formed some 4.65 billion years ago from the gas and dust left over after the birth of the sun.Were really looking for the recipe for planet formation, said Juno lead scientist Scott Bolton, with the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas.Were going after the ingredients of Jupiter by getting the water abundance as well as very precise measurements of the gravity field that will help us understand whether theres a core of heavy elements or a core of rocks in the middle of Jupiter, he said.The measurements will help scientists discriminate among theories about what the early solar system looked like and how Jupiter, believed to be the first planet to form, was created.To make its observations, Juno will soar as close as 3,100 miles (5,000 km) above Jupiters cloud tops, the first spacecraft to fly inside the planets radiation belts.With its sensitive electronics housed in a vault of titanium, Juno should last through 33 orbits around Jupiter, which is about a year on Earth. Its last maneuver will be a suicidal plunge into the planets thick atmosphere, which will incinerate the probe to avoid possible contamination of Jupiters water-bearing moons. （376 words）Now that NASA has retired its shuttle fleet, the US space spotlight could shift toward the robotic probes and observatories have brought the biggest leaps toward understanding the cosmos.The Juno mission is the second in NASAs lower-cost, scientist-led New Frontiers program, and it was accomplished on schedule and within its $1.1 billion budget.The spacecraft was built by Lockheed Martin Astronautics of Denver, Colorado.In addition to launching science probes and other satellites, United Launch Alliance is in the process of certifying its Atlas 5 rockets to fly astronauts to the International Space Station, one of several possible commercial rockets contending to replace NASAs now-retired space shuttle fleet. （489 words）Childhood hardship linked to adult disease riskUpdated: 2011-08-04 11:10(Agencies)Comments(0)PrintMailLarge Medium Small0 NEW YORK - Children who are abused, lose a parent, or suffer other hardships may be at increased risk of chronic health conditions later in life, according to an international study. Looking at over 18,000 adults from 10 countries, the study found that those who said theyd faced childhood adversities like abuse, the death of a parent, or a parents alcohol or drug abuse, had higher risks of heart disease, arthritis, asthma, diabetes and other conditions.The same pattern was seen among people who said theyd suffered from depression, anxiety or other mental health conditions before the age of 21, the study, published in the Archives of General Psychiatry, said.The findings do not prove that serious stresses in childhood directly cause poor physical health later on, but there are a number of reasons the two could be connected, said lead researcher Kate Scott from New Zealands University of Otago.Early adverse experiences can shape peoples behavior and lifestyle, she told Reuters Health by email, noting that some people may end up smoking, drinking or over-eating as a way of dealing with the stresses of those childhood experiences, and the memories of them.Similarly, young people with depression or other mental health disorders may learn to use smoking or drinking as a way to self-medicate.So both early-life adversities and mental disorders may independently influence health-related behavior, Scott said, adding that its also possible that lasting and severe childhood stress may have more direct biological effects.When the stress is ongoing, such as in long-term childhood maltreatment, then there can be health consequences of those (stress hormones) being consistently elevated, she added.Her team found that participants who reported at least three childhood adversities had higher risk of all six physical health problems that the study assessed. In particular, they had twice the risk of heart disease, compared with men and women who reported no adversities.Similar findings were seen among adults who said theyd had mental health conditions before age 21 - especially depression, post-traumatic stress disorder or panic disorders.Their risks of heart disease, asthma, arthritis and chronic back pain or headaches were anywhere from 43 percent to 66 percent higher than risks in adults who reported no early mental health disorders.Current psychological status did not appear to account for the link. The study participants were screened for those, and there was still a connection between early mental health problems and later physical health problems.The study has its limitations, including the reliance on peoples memories and self-reports of health problems. It also only looked at relative risks, rather than actual numbers of given conditions.For any one individual, the increase in physical health risks could be modest - but across a society, that could translate into a large impact, since these mental and physical health problems are all common, Scott said. （475 words）Home / China / Sci-Tech Experimentalfast neutron reactorgenerates powerUpdated: 2011-07-21 20:42(Xinhua)Comments(0)PrintMailLarge Medium Small0 BEIJING - Chinas first experimental fast neutron reactor began, for the first time, generating electricity that goes into the grid, general manager Sun Qin of the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) announced Thursday.The success of the program, dubbed as China Experimental Fast Reactor, is regarded as the first stage for the country to develop its fast neutron breeder reactor, according to a press release by the CNNC.The experimental fast neutron reactor, with a nuclear heat power of 65 megawatts and a power-generating capacity of 20 megawatts, is among a few experimental, power-generating fast reactors in the world, according to the company.The reactor is similar, in terms of layout and reference, to a large fast reactor power plant, while its safety requirements have reached those of a fourth-generation nuclear power plant.Fast neutron reactor is a major type of fourth-generation nuclear power plant, and it sets the direction for the development of the fourth-generation nuclear power plants, said Xu Mi, chief expert for the experimental fast neutron reactor.According to the chief expert, a fast reactor can make better use of the nuclear energy by increasing the utilization rate of uranium to 60 percent, from the 1 percent of utilization rate of a traditional pressurized water reactor.In addition, Xu said, the new, fast-reactor technology can minimize the radiative discharge. The development and spread of the new technology is helpful for China to develop a sustainable nuclear power industry and set up an advanced fuel-recycling system, he noted.After over 20 years of study of the fast-reactor technology, the CNNC is now engaged in developing commercial fast reactors with a capacity of a million megawatts or larger, according to the expert.The fast-reactor program has been jointly organized by the Ministry of Science and Technology, the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense, and the CNNC, while the China Institute of Atomic Energy has carried out the program in collaboration with hundreds of universities, research institutions and enterprises.In May of 2009, the experimental neutron fast reactor conducted its heat debug operation, and the reactor reached its first nuclear criticality on July 21, 2010.（369 words）Baidu, Microsoft will provide English-language search serviceUpdated: 2011-07-08 11:02By Chen Limin (China Daily)Comments(2)PrintMailLarge Medium Small0 BEIJING - Google Inc may face a new challenge in China as Microsoft Corp, its main rival in the United States, and Baidu Inc, Chinas biggest search engine, are joining forces against it in the worlds largest Internet market.A photo illustration shows the websites of search engines Baidu and Bing on computer screens in Shanghai July 5, 2011.Photo/AgenciesMicrosoft will provide English-language results from its Bing search engine on Baidu within this year, the two companies said in a news release on Monday. The announcement comes at a time that Googles market share in China is falling and Baidu is trying turn that to its advantage to dominate the countrys search market. Zhang Dongchen, Baidu assistant president, said about 10 million English-language searches are made on Baidu every day, mainly by professionals and university students in China. By cooperating with Microsoft, he said the two companies can provide the best search experience for users. Marsha Wang, spokeswoman for Google China, declined to comment. While Baidu dominates online searches in China, it has long lagged behind Google in English-language searches. The cooperation with Microsoft may help it make up for this and complicate Googles development in China, analysts said. It will strengthen Baidus position in the search market in China and for Microsoft, Baidus large traffic also provides a platform for it to promote itsel