Science and Technology Our World – 5 December 2009 VOA ' s weekly science and technology radio magazine Art Chimes | Washington , DC 04 December 2009 MUSIC : " Our World " theme This week on Our World : Climate change and its impact on health , ahead of the Copenhagen climate conference . .. another hazard in cell phone use . .. and the challenge of getting the human body to regrow arms and legs . .. WEIGHTMAN : " Right now , I think we ' re limited to about a centimeter . And you ' ve probably seen the pictures of growing the end of a finger tip back ; we can do that now , but much past a centimeter , things just stop . " Those stories , the challenge of illegal commercial fishing , and more . I ' m Art Chimes . Welcome to VOA ' s science and technology magazine , " Our World . " On Monday , the United Nations opens its climate change conference in Copenhagen , the latest step in the quest for a solution to global warming . The meeting is attracting scientists , activists , and many political leaders , including President Obama . A U . S . target of reduced greenhouse gas emissions announced last month gives some hope to those who are looking for a consensus , but Eileen Claussen of the Pew Center on Global Climate Change says what is needed is a treaty on emissions , not just the right words . CLAUSSEN : " The political commitments leaders are bringing to Copenhagen offers a promise , but they will only be political commitments , and in the end the ultimate test of Copenhagen ' s success is whether it puts countries on a clear path to conclude a legally binding agreement in 2010 . " Meanwhile , a new report in the British medical journal The Lancet highlights an aspect of climate change that hasn ' t gotten much attention – the public health benefits of working to prevent global warming . As VOA ' s Rosanne Skirble reports , driving less , walking more , reducing our household energy use , and modifying our diets can lessen the impact of global warming . .. and improve our lives , as well . SKIRBLE : The Lancet Health and Climate Change series highlights the health benefits that derive from cutting carbon emissions in four areas : household energy use , transportation , electricity generation , and agriculture . Research was conducted by an international team of scientists led by Andrew Haines , director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine . In the household energy study , for example , the authors predict dramatic health benefits with the introduction of 150 million clean burning cook stoves in India . Haines says the initiative cuts emissions , lowers health costs and saves lives . HAINES : " By 2020 , we would avoid roughly 30 percent of the deaths from acute respiratory infections and from chronic airways disease . So overall there might be perhaps two million or so avoided deaths over that decade by introducing that cook stove program . " SKIRBLE : In the transport study , authors focused on London and Delhi , India . Both showed substantial health gains from increased walking and cycling and reduced driving . The researchers found the strategy lowered the rate of heart attacks and strokes by 10 - 20 percent and depression by five percent . The third paper in the series looks at case studies of renewable electric power generation in the European Union , China , and India , where Haines says a move to wind power or other alternative sources of energy would avert significant numbers of premature deaths . HAINES : " By 2030 we might have perhaps over 90 , 000 in India , just under 60 , 000 in China and somewhat under 10 , 000 in the EU . And the reason for that is of course the levels of air pollution in India and China are higher than those in the EU . So , if you reduce the levels of air pollution further , by moving towards these new technologies then obviously you are going to reduce the deaths further . " SKIRBLE : While the initial costs of these energy initiatives might be high , the authors conclude that their cost would be partially offset by the health gains and fuel savings . The Lancet series also addresses emission reduction strategies in the field of agriculture , which produces between 10 and 12 percent of global warming emissions . A study of the livestock industry in Brazil and England concludes that a 30 percent reduction in meat animal production matched with a 30 percent reduction in consumption of animal products would not only slow climate change but also prevent diet - related deaths . Lancet editor Richard Horton says the Lancet series seeks to strengthen the case for bold steps to reduce emissions by policy makers and negotiators in Copenhagen . Until now , he says , action on climate change has been stalled because of the perception that such efforts would mean unacceptable economic loss . HORTON : " The whole way we framed this climate change discussion politically has been wrong . And what we are saying is , reframe it about the the family and the benefits that can be delivered to the individual . And then you can begin to see an incredible political motivation for acting . " SKIRBLE : This new perspective , Horton adds , can help build public support for the otherwise unpalatable and politically difficult choices necessary to mitigate global climate change . Rosanne Skirble , VOA News , WashingtonAnd one more climate change story : the result of a 10 - year study that has implications for biodiversity in a changing climate . The study suggests that an increase in greenhouse gases may not be as bad for biodiversity as some experts have previously suggested . Biodiversity is important because different plant and animal species interact in ways that are complex , and sometimes the loss of one species can have impacts that are hard to predict . Previous experiments found that excess nitrogen - from vehicle exhausts and fertilizer , for example – resulted in a 25 percent loss of biodiversity in Central Europe . University of Minnesota forestry professor Peter Reich says the theory behind this is actually pretty simple . Nitrogen is a key nutrient that enables plants to grow . REICH : " Under rising CO 2 or nitrogen pollution , species that are better adapted to these high resouce levels are likely to become more abundant and more dominant and thus crowd out other species . " Nitrogen pollution in Reich ' s study reduced biodiversity by 16 percent . Some scientists had predicted that adding higher levels of carbon dioxide to the mix would result in an even bigger loss of biodiversity . CO 2 is , after all , like nitrogen , a plant nutrient . Instead , the open - air study found that increasing the amount of CO 2 in the air , adding to levels of nitrogen pollution typical of cities in Europe or China , didn ' t increase the loss of biodiversity , it actually cut the loss in half . The experiment was done in Minnesota , and an earlier study in California had somewhat different results . The two used different plants in different climates . And Reich says that illustrates the difficulty in tracking cause and effect in complex ecosystems . REICH : " I might argue that a study of annual grasslands in California and perennial grassland in Minnesota probably isn ' t a sufficient set of experiments to extrapolate about boreal forests across Siberia or the tropical forests in the Amazon in that we actually need a few more studies to know when and whether these interactions are likely to occur . " But interviewed in a Science magazine podcast , Reich said the results of his experiment don ' t give carbon dioxide a pass in the climate change debate . REICH : " Although this is good news for biodiversity , these findings don ' t in any way lessen the need for strong policy action to curb CO 2 emissions , given all the other ways CO 2 is impacting the planet . " Peter Reich of the University of Minnesota . His study was published this week in the journal Science . Back in September we reported on the growing controversy over a possible association between mobile phone use and cancer , especially brain cancer . Some evidence suggests there may be a link , but other studies failed to show a connection . Cell phones have been in widespread use for only a few years , and if they do cause cancer , the disease may not show up for years . So , many experts say it ' s probably best to use an earpiece or other hands - free function , rather than holding the phone right up to your head . But mobile phone use presents another hazard that ' s a lot less controversial . Using a phone while doing something else can be distracting , which is why a growing number of governments have moved to limit or ban the use of cell phones while driving . Now , new research indicates that the danger isn ' t just when you ' re talking on the phone and driving . Pedestrians who use their phone while crossing the street may be placing themselves at risk . Reporter Stasia DeMarco has more . DeMARCO : Even though crossing a city street in the broad daylight seems to most people to be a relatively safe activity , audio distractions such as a hands - free mobile phone can make pedestrians more vulnerable to accidental injuries , and more likely to be struck by a passing car than pedestrians not using these devices . That ' s one of the findings in twin studies by psychologist Art Kramer and colleagues at the University of Illinois ' Beckman Institute . Kramer says their aim was also to compare how much extra risk street - crossers face when they are listening to different forms of audio , such as portable music players . He says in order to test young people and older adults as they crossed , researchers used large computer simulations of a real world street - crossing in a lab they call " the Cave . " KRAMER : " We have a number of virtual reality facilities . one of them is a huge room with huge projectors , projecting on each of the walls . And we ' re able to take a manual tread mill , put it into the Cave [ and ] have it control the visual graphics of a street scene in which we can control the number of lanes of traffic , the amount of traffic , the speed of the automobiles , and the gap between the automobiles . " And we simply had people crossing the street either the way we normally would , without a cell phone or so forth , listening to music on an iPod or talking on a hands - free cell phone , as people often do . " We asked the question , whether people would have more difficulty getting across the street , whether they would get run over more often - something you are not allowed to do in the real world , of course , and you can in a virtual reality world . " DeMARCO : Kramer says both young and older subjects experienced heightened difficulty crossing the street safely while engaged in conversation on a hands - free cell phone . KRAMER : " The students got run over a bit more , the older adults even a bit more than that and had a tough time getting across the street in a timely fashion . And that was true [ while using ] the hands - free cell phone , but not [ while ] listening to music . We had an iPod and our subjects could select whatever music they enjoyed listening to . " DeMARCO : Kramer believes the reason listening to a music player was less hazardous for pedestrian street - crossers than talking on their mobile phones is a difference in the cognitive skills required by each of these activities . KRAMER : " And the difference between these two conditions , we speculate , has to do with the difficulty and intensive nature of listening to a conversation and coming up with a coherent answer in the cell phone case . But , of course , in the iPod case , you don ' t have to listen very intensely to still appreciate the music . " DeMARCO : Kramer says he hopes the research will help raise public awareness that phone - toting pedestrians who talk in the crosswalk are putting themselves - and others around them - at higher - than - normal risk . This study was published in the journal Accident Analysis & Prevention . For VOA News , I ' m Stasia DeMarco . Time again for our Website of the Week , when we showcase interesting and innovative online destinations . ORTM Mauritania ( : 08 fade and hold under ) That clip is from the shortwave broadcasts of ORTM in Mauritania . Shortwave radio , I ' m sorry to report , has been in decline for years now . It ' s hard to compete with MP 3 players , FM radio , and the Internet . But there ' s still enough to keep David Goren interested . He ' s a radio producer and engaged shortwave hobbyist , and he posts some of what he hears on Shortwaveology . com . GOREN : " It ' s still a lifeline , and I think one reason why I started Shortwaveology now is , even though the heyday of shortwave radio listening has passed , it ' s still happening , and it ' s sort of an interesting moment to look at the history of it , and to look at what remains and why . " Goren ' s site features a podcast , clips from some interesting stations , and selections from some of his own radio work on shortwave themes , from the presumed spy stations that broadcast nothing but numbers , to the electronic hash of data transmissions , to VOA ' s legendary jazz host , the late Willis Conover . For David Goren and a lot of other current and former shortwave listeners , there is a certain magic in the voices and music that scratch their way through thousands of kilometers of space into your radio . GOREN : " It ' s not always dependable . It fades in and out . It varies based on the weather , on sunspots . But what I think that does is that adds a feeling of mystery . " Mysteries of shortwave radio explored at Shortwaveology . com , or get the link from our site , VOAnews . com . MUSIC : Llanera aircheck from Radio Tachira , San Cristobal , Venezuela ( 1999 ) You ' re listening to Our World , the weekly science and technology magazine from VOA News . I ' m Art Chimes in Washington . Eleven nations have signed a treaty aimed at curbing illegal fishing . As we hear from VOA food and agriculture correspondent Steve Baragona , illegal , unreported and unregulated fishing threatens fish populations worldwide and confounds efforts to rebuild the stocks of the many food fish whose numbers have declined . BARAGONA : The new treaty is the first to specifically target ports of call . Countries that sign the treaty will require ships coming into port to document their fishing activities , and fishing vessels will be inspected . Sierra Leone ' s fisheries minister , Haja Afsatu Kabba , says that will make it harder for violators to find a friendly port . KABBA : " If you go to country X , country Y , country A , country B , [ they will ask , ] ' Where did you catch this fish ? Where is the certification ? How was it validated ? Which port states ? ' Then they see the irregularities . You are not able to . So it is really effective . Because it ' s like an on - the - spot check . " BARAGONA : Sierra Leone was one of eleven countries that signed the new treaty as soon as it was approved by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization last week ( Wednesday , Nov . 25 ) . So far , signatories include South American , African , Asian , and European nations , and the United States . Many of the requirements are already in place in developed nations such as the United States , according international fisheries affairs chief Dean Swanson with the US oceans agency NOAA . He says developed and developing countries often have opposing viewpoints on fisheries issues – but not on this one . SWANSON : " The developing countries , many of whom don ' t have the ability to patrol , nor the capacity to enforce whatever rules they apply there , are sick and tired of fishing vessels engaging in what they see as theft of their resources . " BARAGONA : Swanson says the treaty provides developing countries with technical and financial assistance so their ports can meet the treaty ' s enforcement standards . That way violators can ' t shop around for a port with lax should help stop violators who shop around for ports with lax administration . The treaty doesn ' t go into effect until 25 nations have signed on . Swanson says many countries enthusiastically supported the treaty negotiations , so he is optimistic that will happen soon . Steve Baragona , VOA News , Washington . And finally today . .. limb regeneration . It sounds like science fiction , but actually lots of creatures – including salamanders , starfish , and skates – have the ability to completely re - grow a lost or damaged limb or tail . Scientists are studying this ability in a diverse group of species to learn which genes control limb re - growth , why we humans have lost this useful talent , and how we might someday get it back . VOA ' s Julie Taboh has the story . TABOH : Randy Dahn is a research scientist at the Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory , a non - profit biomedical research facility near Bar Harbor , Maine . Dahn and his colleagues are studying primitive vertebrates such as skates , which are closely related to sharks and sting rays . They amputate the animals ' fins and then study the genetics of how they re - grow them . DAHN : "" So once we understand , we can compare and contrast how all these different groups accomplish this feat and then we can then apply that knowledge to higher vertebrates like humans and mice . " TABOH : The research builds on decades of study of how animals like salamanders re - grow their limbs . Dahn says scientists already have a pretty good understanding of how the animals ' tissues interact with each another during this process . But the real challenge he says , is to understand what ' s happening at the molecular level : DAHN : " So right now we ' re trying to figure out what genes drive this process and once we understand that , we can understand why humans fail to regenerate their limbs and then hopefully - through genetic trickery - restore that ability . " TABOH : Regenerative medicine was the topic of a recent symposium at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington , D . C . One of the guest speakers at the event was Dr . Roy Aaron , an orthopedic surgeon and director of the Center for Restorative and Regenerative Medicine at Brown University in Providence , Rhode Island . Dr . Aaron says that while amphibians , such as the Mexican salamander , can regenerate an entire limb , no mammals are currently capable of doing that . AARON : " Mammals form a little mass called the Blastima , and then it scars , and quiets down , and doesn ' t grow . " TABOH : Aaron points out that humans do have the ability to re - integrate certain organs , such as the liver and skin , when they have been surgically transplanted into their bodies . But he says accepting grafted tissue is not nearly as complicated a process as re - growing a body part as complex as an entire limb : TABOH : Another guest speaker at the Walter Reed symposium , Major General George Weightman , is the associate director of the Institute for Regenerative Rehabilitation at Wake Forest University ' s Baptist Medical Center . Weightman shares the view of others in the field that limb regeneration is an extraordinarily complex process : WEIGHTMAN : " If you think about it , there ' s bone , there ' s bone marrow inside the bone , there ' s cartilage , there ' s tendon , there ' s blood vessels there ' s nerves , there ' s muscles , there ' s skin , and how do you get them all not only to grow together and to recognize each other in the same environment , but how to function as a limb ? " TABOH : Weightman predicts that as scientists learn more about growing individual tissues , their first goal will be to re - grow single fingers before they attempt to re - grow a whole limb : WEIGHTMAN : " You ' ve probably seen the pictures of growing the end of a finger tip back ; we can do that now , but much past a centimeter , things just stop . " TABOH : And Weightman says even if we do figure out how to keep the process going , the question then will be whether the regeneration is carried out in the lab or on the amputee ' s limb : WEIGHTMAN : " So the question is whether we ' ll be able to grow a limb , and then put it in a bioreactor , and then transplant it on a person ; that ' s one strategy . Another strategy would be basically to put , if you will , a magic goop on the end of an amputee that recognizes where it is and what the needs are to generate that limb . TABOH : And when do our experts predict human limb regeneration will become possible ? Research scientist Randy Dahn is optimistic : DAHN : " I think a reasonable goal is to understand some of the underlying molecular basis in the next five - to - ten years and I think it ' ll be a fairly rapid transition then to testing these ideas in mice and chickens , which are closely related to humans . I don ' t want to put a number on it , but certainly well within our lifetimes . " TABOH : But Brown University ' s Roy Aaron believes it ' s going to take several lifetimes before limb regeneration becomes a medical reality . He says technological advances and improved surgical efforts are currently the main focus of regenerative medicine : AARON : " Some of the new work in prosthetics ; micro - processor controlled with linkages to the nervous system are way ahead of the biological opportunities of regeneration . " TABOH : Julie Taboh , VOA News , Washington . MUSIC : " Our World " themeThat ' s our show for this week . We ' d like to hear from you . You can email us at ourworld @ voanews . com . Or write us at – Our World Voice of America Washington , DC 20237 USAOur program was edited by Rob Sivak . Felicia Butler is the technical director . And this is Art Chimes inviting you to join us online at voanews . com / ourworld or on your radio next Saturday and Sunday as we check out the latest in science and technology in Our World Listen : Our World – 5 Dcember 2009 MP 3