Fit heart can slow brain ageing, US researchers say

Keeping your heart fit and strong can slow down the ageing of your brain, US researchers say.

A Boston University team found healthy people with sluggish hearts that pumped out less blood had "older" brains on scans than others.

Heart and brain health appear to go hand in hand

Out of the 1,500 people studied, the team observed that the brain shrinks as it ages.

A poor cardiac output aged the brain by nearly two years on average, Circulation journal says.

The link was seen in younger people in their 30s who did not have heart disease, as well as elderly people who did.

End Quote Dr Angela Jefferson Lead researcher

Lead researcher Dr Angela Jefferson said: "These participants are not sick people. A very small number have heart disease. The observation that nearly a third of the entire sample has low cardiac index and that lower cardiac index is related to smaller brain volume is concerning and requires further study."

The participants with smaller brain volumes on magnetic resonance imaging did not show obvious clinical signs of reduced brain function.

But the researchers say the shrinkage may be an early sign that something is wrong.

More severe shrinkage or atrophy occurs with dementia.

Dr Jefferson said there were several theories for why reduced cardiac index - how much blood the heart pumps out relative to body size - might affect brain health.

For example, a lower volume of blood pumping from the heart might reduce flow to the brain, providing less oxygen and fewer nutrients needed for brain cells.

"It is too early to dole out health advice based on this one finding but it does suggest that heart and brain health go hand in hand," she said.

Experts say a person's cardiac index is fairly static - meaning it would be difficult to change it if it were low, without doing pretty intensive exercise training.

Dr Clinton Wright, a brain and memory expert from the University of Miami, said: "Whether lower cardiac index leads to reduced brain volumes and accelerates neurodegeneration on an eventual path to dementia is not yet clear.

"To address the health needs of our ageing population, a better understanding of the links between cardiovascular disease and brain structure and function will be required."

The Boston School of Medicine team will now continue to study the individuals in the trial to see if and how the brain changes affect memory and cognitive abilities over time.

The BBC.

BP gears up to plug 'world's biggest' oil spill

The US government has said the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is the biggest oil leak ever, as BP prepares its "static kill" operation to permanently seal its well.

The Macondo well has been temporarily sealed with a cap for just over two weeks

A new government estimate suggests BP's Macondo well leaked 4.9 million barrels of oil before being capped last month.

Scientists said only a fifth of the leaking oil - around 800,000 barrels - was captured during the clean-up.

The well broke open after an explosion on a drilling rig in April.

The new assessment of the leak is higher than previous estimates. The figure will be crucial in calculating the environmental damage done, as well as the money to be paid to the US government by BP.

The BP spill is greater than the 1979 Ixtoc I leak in the Gulf of Mexico, which gushed 3.3 million barrels.

Only the intentional release of an estimated eight million barrels of oil into the Gulf by Iraqi troops during the Gulf War in 1991 was greater.

On Tuesday, BP will do tests to establish how quickly it can move to a procedure known as "static kill". The tests were due on Monday but were delayed by a leak in a hydraulic line.

The "static kill" will see heavy drilling fluid known as "mud" will be used to force any remaining oil back into the reservoir.

A decision will then be made on whether the well can be immediately sealed with cement.

Tropical Storm Colin has formed in the Atlantic, but is not on track to hit the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the US National Hurricane Center has said.

The well initially leaked about 62,000 barrels of oil per day, higher than any previous estimate of the flow. But as the reservoir of oil became depleted, the flow slowed to about 53,000 barrels per day.

The flow ended on 15 July, when BP closed a new cap it had put on the well.

Last week, BP reported a record $17bn (£11bn) loss, having set aside $32bn to cover the costs of the spill.

'Bottom kill' crucial

The static kill, also known as "bullheading", takes place in three stages.

• First, a test determines if oil can be pushed back down the well into the reservoir
• If that goes well, the static kill is begun by pumping in mud at low pressure. This could take a day or more
• Then, engineers will have to decide whether to pump in cement at the top of the well or wait and pump in cement from the relief well into the bottom of the damaged well.

The relief well will reach the damaged well some time between 11 and 15 August.

The permanent "bottom kill" will take anywhere between a number of days and a few weeks. The final casing has been cemented in place, which is the prelude to the last bit of drilling.

An earlier effort, in May, to pump mud into the well using much of the same equipment failed because the pressure of the spewing oil and gas was too great.

Now it should prove easier because of the sealed cap on the well.

From BBC.

BMW profits driven by strong demand

German carmaker BMW has reported a surge in profits, thanks to a recovery in global markets, demand from China and strong sales of new models.

The firm made 834m euros (£692.8m; $1.1bn) between April and June, up from 121m euros a year earlier. Sales climbed by 18.3% to 15.35bn euros.

The results impressed investors, pushing the firm's share price up by 3.4% in morning trading.

BMW had already raised its 2010 sales and earnings forecasts last month.

Chief executive Norbert Reithofer confirmed the company aimed to boost full-year sales by about 10% to more than 1.4 million vehicles.

"We are aiming to achieve significantly higher group earnings in 2010 than in 2009," he said.

Asian growth

The number of BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce cars sold rose by 12.5% in the quarter.

This included a 3.6% growth in Europe and a 5.6% rise in the US.

The most spectacular growth was seen in Asia, where quarterly sales were up by 59.4% at just under 70,000 cars.

More than 45,000 of these sales were in China and Taiwan - almost double the volume seen in the same period in 2009.

"Sharp sales volume growth on major markets and a high-value model mix are the main reasons for the strong second-quarter performance," Mr Reithofer said.

He added that improved economic conditions had allowed it to charge more for its cars, which had bolstered profits.

(From BBC)

Wheat prices reach 22-month high

Wheat prices have hit a 22-month high after a severe drought and ensuing wildfires in Russia devastated crops.

WHEAT FUTURES US CENTS/BUSHEL

Last Updated at 02 Aug 2010, 19:00 GMT

price	change	%
693.25	+0.00	+0.00

More data on this commodity

Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) wheat for September delivery broke through the $7-a-bushel level in US trade for the first time since September 2008, before falling back to $6.93.

Prices have risen 50% since late June.

Concerns are growing that the rise will lead to an increase in prices of flour-related products such as bread and biscuits.

Gary Sharkey, head of wheat procurement at Premier Foods, which makes Hovis bread, told the Financial Times that the industry would be "unable to ignore a 50% rise in wheat prices".

Analysts are also worried about the possible knock-on effects.

"I think it will have an effect on both food prices and food company profits," Martin Deboo from Investec told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

The heatwave and drought have led to wildfires in several regions in Russia

"Experience of 2008's round of inflation would suggest cost side increases from wheat do get passed on to the consumer eventually," he added.

"Generally the wheat content of a loaf of bread is probably about 12-15 pence a loaf [in the UK]. So if this wheat cost increase has to be passed on then we're talking about 5p on a loaf of bread."

He added that the price of other food products could also go up.

"Animals are fed on wheat or wheat derivatives and therefore this will feed through indirectly into meat and poultry prices, so this will have a significant effect on food price inflation generally."

Digging into reserves

Source: US Department of Agriculture

Russia was the world's fourth largest wheat exporter in the 12 months to June behind the US, the EU and Canada, according to the US Department of Agriculture.

Russian Deputy Agriculture Minister Aleksandr Belyayev said that there was no need for Moscow to restrict its grain exports at the moment.

"[Restrictions] will not be imposed yet. The government is to decide, but the situation today does not demand this. It is very easy to reduce exports, but it is very hard to increase it," he said.

Russia has high levels of grain in reserves and will start using those.

But Mr Belyayev said that production levels would be lower than forecast.

"We will manage to produce 70-75 million tonnes, I think," he said.

The Ministry of Agriculture had forecast the grain crop to come in below 85 million tonnes, compared with 97 million tonnes in 2009.

Picking up the slack

Kona Haque, commodities strategist at Macquarie Bank, said that Kazakhstan and Ukraine, who have also been affected by the drought along with Russia, would see their export levels go down, but there would not be a global wheat shortage.

"The crop declines we are seeing [in the former Soviet Union] are very real, 20-25% drops in production leading to equivalent decline in exports," she said.

"But the fact remains that there are still big exportable surpluses in other parts of the world, particularly the US, that will be able to pick up some of the slack."

But she admitted that headlines of droughts and fires meant that it was inevitable that prices would go up in the short term.

"Particularly in south east Asia there are a lot grain purchasers who are scrambling to get hold of as much wheat as possible in case prices rise even further," she said.

http://www.bbc.co.uk

The nation's weather

By WEATHER UNDERGROUND, For The Associated Press Weather Underground, For The Associated Press – Sun Aug 1, 5:44 am ET

Relatively inactive weather will continue throughout the country Sunday as no major storms are expected.

A weak cold front will move through the Plains and Upper Midwest, providing rain and a few thunderstorms from the Southern Rockies through the Upper Midwest.

The afternoon sun will warm the surface and provide typical scattered showers and thunderstorms in the Southeast. Monsoon moisture will continue to produce scattered showers and thunderstorms in the Southwest as well.

In addition, a low pressure system in the Northwest will instigate areas of moderate precipitation along the Canadian border from eastern Washington through Montana.

The Southeast will rise into the 90s and 100s, while the Southern Plains will see similar temperatures. The Northern Plains will rise into the 90s, while the Northwest will see temperatures in the 70s and 80s. The Southwest will rise into the 90s and 100s.

Temperatures in the Lower 48 states Saturday ranged from a low of 35 degrees at Mineral, Calif., to a high of 118 degrees at Death Valley, Calif.

http://news.yahoo.com