China's wild panda population up 17pc

BEIJING: China's population of wild giant pandas jumped nearly 17 percent over a decade - state media reported, citing an official survey - with conservation measures credited as being behind the increase.
The investigation by the State Forestry Administration (SFA) found that by the end of 2013 China had 1,864 giant pandas alive in the wild, marking an increase of 268 individuals, or 16.8 percent, the official Xinhua news agency reported Saturday. The figures compared with a previous survey carried out in 2003, Xinhua said. The SFA said conservation efforts led to the increase, according to Xinhua. Besides population, panda habitat also increased 11.8 percent to 2.58 million hectares compared with the 2003 survey, Xinhua said. China had 375 giant pandas in captivity at the end of 2013, the report said, with 166 males and 209 females.–AFP
The total figure marked a gain of 211, or 128.7 percent, compared with 2003, Xinhua said, citing SFC figures. The report also said that as of June last year there were 42 pandas, including adults and cubs, overseas in 12 countries.
China has cultivated a global fascination with pandas into its diplomacy by sending the animals to overseas zoos where they have proven a wildly popular draw. Conservation group World Wildlife Fund (WWF) welcomed the increase in the giant panda numbers. ‘The rise in the population of wild giant pandas is a victory for conservation and definitely one to celebrate,’ Ginette Hemley, WWF senior vice president of wildlife conservation, said in a release.
‘This increase in the population of wild giant pandas is a testament to the commitment made by the Chinese government for the last 30-plus years to wild panda conservation,’ Hemley added. Pandas, whose natural habitat lies in mountainous southwestern China, have a notoriously low reproductive rate and are under pressure from factors such as habitat loss. Underscoring continuing worries, however, the SFC survey showed that 223 of the wild giant pandas, or 12 percent of the population, were classified as high risk, Xinhua said.

Distinct stages to fatigue syndrome identified

Columbia city: Distinct changes in the immune systems of patients with ME or chronic fatigue syndrome have been found, say scientists.
Increased levels of immune molecules called cytokines were found in people during the early stages of the disease, a Columbia University study reported. It said the findings could help improve diagnosis and treatments. UK experts said further refined research was now needed to confirm the results.
People with ME (myalgic encephalopathy) or CFS (chronic fatigue syndrome) suffer from exhaustion that affects everyday life and does not go away with sleep or rest. They can also have muscle pain and difficulty concentrating. ME can also cause long-term illness and disability, although many people improve over time. It is estimated that around 250,000 people in the UK have the disease.–BBC
The US research team, who published their findings in the journal Science Advances, tested blood samples from nearly 300 ME patients and around 350 healthy people. They found specific patterns of immune molecules in patients who had the disease for up to three years. These patients had higher levels of of cytokines, particularly one called interferon gamma, which has been linked to the fatigue that follows many viral infections. Healthy patients and those who had the disease for longer than three years did not show the same pattern.
Lead author Dr Mady Hornig said this was down to the way viral infections could disrupt the immune system. ‘It appears that ME/CFS patients are flush with cytokines until around the three-year mark, at which point the immune system shows evidence of exhaustion and cytokine levels drop.’ This shows there are distinct stages to the disease, she said. When the cytokine response starts to settle down, the disease also appears to quieten down.
Peter White, professor of psychological medicine at Queen Mary University of London, said it was premature to draw any conclusions from the study. ‘Only one out of the 51 immune proteins studied was elevated in all cases compared with controls, something that could happen by chance alone. ‘I hope the authors will go on to re-examine their data after stratifying their samples by other factors that determine the different sub-groups that most scientists now accept make up this illness.
‘Finally, as the authors themselves suggest, we need to see these results replicated independently.’ Dr Charles Shepherd, medical adviser to the ME Association, said the research was interesting and useful, and added more support to what is already known about the abnormal immune response in people with chronic fatigue syndrome. ‘If distinctive patterns of cytokine abnormality can be linked to both stage and severity of disease, this is a finding which could be used to aid diagnosis and open the door to the use of anti-inflammatory drug treatments that would dampen down the abnormal immune system response.’