Heavens

Currently available evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCT) does not support the use of nalmefene for harm reduction for people with alcohol dependence, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis (SRMA) published this week in PLOS Medicine. The study, conducted by Florian Naudet at INSERM, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Rennes, France also indicates that evidential support for the use of nalmefene to reduce alcohol consumption among this population is limited.

On Oct. 10, 2006, a mortar round hit the ammunition supply depot at the U.S. Forward Operating Base Falcon south of Baghdad. The round started a smoldering fire punctuated by whizzing skyrockets, a rain of incandescent fragments, and massive explosions that bloomed into mushroom clouds. Soldiers who videotaped the "cook-off" can be heard wondering what exactly was in the dump and how much longer the explosions would continue.

OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Dec. 22, 2015 - With the production of 50 grams of plutonium-238, researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory have restored a U.S. capability dormant for nearly 30 years and set the course to provide power for NASA and other missions.

Although in vitro fertilization (IVF) is often limited to 3 or 4 treatment cycles, new research shows the effectiveness of extending the number of IVF cycles beyond this number, according to a study in the December 22/29 issue of JAMA.

In 2013, Chang'e-3, an unmanned lunar mission, touched down on the northern part of the Imbrium basin, one of the most prominent of the lava-filled impact basins visible from Earth.

Diet Crystal Pepsi. Frito Lay Lemonade. Watermelon-flavored Oreos. Through the years, the shelves of stores have been filled with products that turned out to be flops, failures, duds, and losers.

But only briefly filled with them, of course, because products like these tend to get yanked from stores quickly, leaving most consumers to wonder: Who exactly buys these things, anyway?

Rational use of medicines remains to be one of the most challenging problems in health systems worldwide. Kazan Federal University researchers conducted a practical study to assess the impact of introducing evidence-based principles to the practice of medicine procurement in order to manage budget expenditures on medicines of a multidisciplinary health facility for the period of 2011-2014.

Cruise tourists are not influenced by extended shopping opportunities. They spend very little money during the port of call even when they are offered an increased number of spending options.

Bergen is Norway´s largest cruise harbour, hosting more than 300 cruise ships every season. The local tourist industry, media, port authorities and politicians often praise the ever increasing number of cruise arrivals to Bergen, but for no good reason, according to Professor Svein Larsen at the Department of Psychosocial Science at the University of Bergen (UiB).

(Boston) - For salt marshes, hurricanes are just another day at the beach.

These coastal wetlands are in retreat in many locations around the globe--raising deep concerns about damage to the wildlife that the marshes nourish and the loss of their ability to protect against violent storms. The biggest cause of their erosion is waves driven by moderate storms, not occasional major events such as Hurricane Sandy, researchers from Boston University and the United States Geological Survey now have shown.

AMES, IA - As the popularity of fresh culinary herbs increases, growers are looking to year-round production methods to supply distributors and local consumers. In colder climates, culinary herb growers rely on controlled indoor environments and often employ hydroponic production techniques. A new study of basil varieties grown using two popular techniques found that plant performance is more likely related to the choice of cultivar than the type of hydroponic system used.

Using new images that show unprecedented detail, scientists have found that material rotating around a very young protostar probably has dragged in and twisted magnetic fields from the larger area surrounding the star. The discovery, made with the National Science Foundation's Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) radio telescope, has important implications for how dusty disks -- the raw material for planet formation -- grow around young stars.

Japan -- Auroras are dimly present throughout the night in polar regions, but sometimes these lights explode in brightness. Now Japanese scientists have unlocked the mystery behind this spectacle, known as auroral breakup.

For years, scientists have contemplated what triggers the formation of auroral substorms and the sudden bursts of brightness. Appearing in the Journal of Geophysical Research, the current study overthrows existing theories about the mechanism behind this phenomenon.

Just under four months into the science phase of the mission, NASA's Magnetospheric Multiscale, or MMS, is delivering promising early results on a process called magnetic reconnection -- a kind of magnetic explosion that's related to everything from the northern lights to solar flares.

Tropical Depression 29W was being battered by vertical wind shear from the day it formed and just two days later it dissipated as it reached the southern Philippines. NASA's Aqua satellite captured temperature data on the storms within the remnant low pressure area after it made landfall.

Tropical Depression 29W, known locally in the Philippines as "Onyok" made landfall over Caraga / Manay, Davao Oriental, according to PAGASA and has weakened into a low pressure area.

The JRC has been looking into the risks of space weather impact on critical infrastructures. A new report explores the rail sector's vulnerability and the potential impacts, in particular through interdependencies with other infrastructures. Awareness among operators and regulators worldwide is currently limited and vulnerabilities across the rail sector need to be identified, authors say.