WHO Maintains 2 Bln Estimate For Likely H1N1 Cases

From Reuters:

* Rough estimate of likely H1N1 cases by end is 2 billion

* No precise estimate of current infections

* High proportion of southern hemisphere flu cases are H1N1

* WHO to update on vaccine efforts this week

* WHO names African expert as H1N1 chief

By Jonathan Lynn

GENEVA, Aug 4 (Reuters) - The World Health Organisation stuck on Tuesday to its statement that about two billion people could catch H1N1 influenza by the time the flu pandemic ends.

But the estimate comes with a big health warning: no one knows how many people so far have caught the new strain, known as swine flu, and the final number will never be known as many cases are so mild they may go unnoticed.

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Has The Mystery Of The Mars 'Monolith' Been Solved?

How the experts see it: The original HiRISE satellite image supplied to Mail Online by the University of Arizona showing a close up of what appears to be a 'monolith' on Mars

From The Daily Mail:

An image of what appears to be a mysterious rocky monument on Mars has excited space junkies around the world.

The 'monolith', was snapped from 165miles away using a special high resolution camera on board the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

After being published on the website Lunar Explorer Italia, it set tongues wagging with space buffs questioning whether there was once life on the Red Planet.

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Love Songs Of Bowhead Whales: Whales Sings With 'More Than One Voice'

Bowhead whale. (Credit: Photo by John Jacobsen, University of Copenhagen)

From Science Daily:

ScienceDaily (Aug. 3, 2009) — It wasn’t that many years ago that the bowhead whale was written off as extinct in the waters around Greenland and especially in Disko Bay in northwest Greenland where University of Copenhagen has its Arctic Field Station.

But now the situation has changed and adult bowhead whales, which can grow up to 18 metres long and weigh 100 tons, have returned to the bay. This is probably because global warming has opened up the Northwest Passage, making it ice free at certain times of the year for the first time in 125,000 years. This gives bowhead whales from the northern Pacific a chance to reach Disko Bay and mate with the small local population.

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8 Tools and Gadgets to Prepare Your Home For Any Disaster

(Illustration by Gabriel Silveira)

From Popular Mechanics:

For millions of Americans living along the Gulf and Atlantic coastlines, hurricane season is an annual call to arms, a six-month stretch from June through November spent watching the skies and the local news for signs of trouble. Other regions cope with the threat of wildfires, quakes and tornadoes—and blackouts can strike anywhere. While no season is safe from disruption, late summer seems particularly inviting to the demons of disaster. Here’s a step-by-step guide to preparing your home and family.

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Launch Your Own Personal Satellite

TubeSat: My First Satellite

From Popular Science:

Ever wanted to launch your own satellite into low earth orbit, then track it on ham radio for a few weeks before it burns up on re-entry? Well, 52 years after the launch of Sputnik, you can. Interorbital Systems is offering YOU the chance (by the end of 2010) to send up a TubeSat Personal Satellite Kit for the low introductory price of just $8,000.

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Do Computers Make Planes Less Or More Safe?

In this Sunday, June 14, 2009 file photo workers unload debris, belonging to crashed Air France flight AF447, from the Brazilian Navy's Constitution Frigate in the port of Recife, northeast of Brazi. (AP Photo)

From ABC News:

A Look at Whether Increased Automation Means that Planes Will be More Dangerous.

Ben Cave was starting to get bored. The Australian had been sitting in his seat for more than three hours, and he still had two hours left before the Qantas jet was scheduled to touch down in Perth.

The Airbus A330 was flying at a cruising altitude of 11,278 meters (37,000 feet). The calm of modern jet travel, accentuated by the monotonous drone of the engines, prevailed on board the aircraft. The flight attendants were clearing away the last of the lunch trays into their trolleys, some of the 303 passengers were waiting near the toilets, and others were passing the time with stretching exercises.

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Domestic Dog Origins Challenged

Domestic dog origins challenged

From BBC News:

The suggestion that the domestic dog originated in East Asia has been challenged.

The huge genetic diversity of dogs found in East Asia had led many scientists to conclude that domestication began there.

But new research published in the journal PNAS shows the DNA of dogs in African villages is just as varied.

An international group of researchers analysed blood samples from dogs in Egypt, Uganda and Namibia.

Today's dogs are descended from Eurasian grey wolves, domesticated between 15,000 and 40,000 years ago.

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Scientists Report Original Source Of Malaria

UCI's Francisco Ayala and colleagues report in a new study that malignant malaria originates from a parasite found in chimpanzees in equatorial Africa. (Credit: Daniel A. Anderson / University Communications)

From Science Daily:

ScienceDaily (Aug. 4, 2009) — Researchers have identified what they believe is the original source of malignant malaria: a parasite found in chimpanzees in equatorial Africa.

UC Irvine biologist Francisco Ayala and colleagues think the deadly parasite was transmitted to humans from chimpanzees perhaps as recently as 5,000 years ago – and possibly through a single mosquito, genetic analyses indicate. Previously, malaria's origin had been unclear.

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Top 10 American Innovations

From Live Science:

With the recession seemingly on the wane, it is time to tap into that spirit of innovation that has always succeeded in moving America forward, President Obama said Aug. 1.

Pull up your bootstraps and invent stuff, in other words.

Historically, Americans have had no trouble leading the way in scientific and technological advancement, especially in the 20th century, and it's that leadership that has pulled the country out of tough economic times. Foster the innate potential with policies and education and this recession can be a thing of the past too, according to Obama.

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After The Boom, Is Wikipedia Heading For Bust?

From New Scientist:

Wikipedia has rapidly become one of the most used reference sources in the world, but a new study shows that the website's explosive growth is tailing off and also suggests the community-created encyclopaedia has become less welcoming to new contributors.

Ed Chi and colleagues at the Palo Alto Research Center in California warn that the changes could compromise the encyclopaedia's quality in the long term.

"It's easy to say that Wikipedia will always be here," says Chi, a computer scientist. "This research shows that is not a given."

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Living Near A Wind Farm Can Cause Heart Disease, Panic Attacks And Migraines

Turbines: Ministers want to see another 4,000 across the country, meanwhile new research shows living near wind farms could damage your health.

From The Daily Mail:

Living close to wind farms can lead to a greater risk of heart disease, panic attacks and migraines, according to a study.

The farms can cause 'wind turbine syndrome', the symptoms of which also include tinnitus, vertigo and sleep deprivation, research to be published later this year claims.

Dr Nina Pierpoint, a leading New York paediatrician, says her five-year study of people living near wind turbines in the U.S., Britain, Italy, Ireland and Canada has led her to believe that they can also trigger nightmares in children and stop their brains developing properly.

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Trees Are 'Crucial Famine Food'

From The BBC:

Trees can serve as a vital "famine food" to keep drought-hit communities alive when all other food crops fail, according to campaigners.

Food insecurity is a routine fact of life for many of the world's poorest people, Miranda Spitteler, chief executive of Tree Aid told BBC News.

She said the West needed to recognize the important role trees could play in reducing the need for conventional aid.

She also called for support for a local tree-based solution to food shortages.

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Scientists 'Grow Replacement Teeth In Mice'

From The Telegraph:

Scientists have managed to grow replacement teeth in mice from cells in a laboratory.

The team behind the research claim that it is a crucial step towards growing fully functioning "bioengineered" organs in the human body.

The scientists grew a tooth "germ", a seed-like piece of tissue which contains the cells and instructions necessary to form a tooth, which they then transplanted into the animal's jawbones.

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Newly Discovered Faults Illuminate Earthquake Hazard Along San Andreas

Image: A seismic map of the Salton Sea area reveals the grid covered by the CHIRP instrument (green lines), faults (black lines) and bomb target sites (gray boxes). The red dots represent earthquakes that have taken place in the area since 1983. (Credit: Image courtesy of University of California - San Diego)

From Science Daily:

ScienceDaily (Aug. 3, 2009) — New research by a team of scientists from Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) offers new insight into the San Andreas Fault as it extends beneath Southern California's Salton Sea. The team discovered a series of prominent faults beneath the sea, which transfer motion away from the San Andreas Fault as it disappears beneath the Salton Sea. The study provides new understanding of the intricate earthquake faults system beneath the sea and what role it may play in the earthquake cycle along the southern San Andreas Fault.

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5 Top Galactic Bodies Anyone Can See (With a Cheap Telescope)

The Great Nebula in Orion (Messier 42)

From Popular Mechanics:

Anthony Wesley beat NASA to the punch with help from one of his super powerful hand-modded telescopes when he observed the now famous black dot on Jupiter. But even a casual stargazer can catch some of the universe's five star views with an inexpensive telescope and a curious eye. Here are five celestial beauties you can see even with your $300, 75x zoom telescope.

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Scientists Uncork Potential Secret Of Red Wine's Health Benefits

Scientists have unraveled a mystery that has perplexed scientists since red wine was first discovered to have health benefits: how does resveratrol control inflammation? (Credit: iStockphoto/Ina Peters)

From Science Daily:

ScienceDaily (Aug. 3, 2009) — Scientists from Scotland and Singapore have unraveled a mystery that has perplexed scientists since red wine was first discovered to have health benefits: how does resveratrol control inflammation? New research published in the August 2009 print issue of The FASEB Journal, not only explains resveratrol's one-two punch on inflammation, but also show how it—or a derivative—can be used to treat potentially deadly inflammatory disease, such as appendicitis, peritonitis, and systemic sepsis.

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Humans 2.0: Replacing The Mind And Body

U.S. Army Sgt. Juan Arredondo, outfitted with an i-LIMB after losing his hand in Iraq, says it does things naturally. The i-LIMB has flexible hydraulic drives located directly in the movable finger joints. Credit: Touch Bionics

From Live Science:

When President Barack Obama said in his weekly radio address Saturday that innovation would be a key to the future of the nation, he probably was not thinking specifically of artificial brains or replacement eyeballs.

But other researchers already have such goals in mind and are well on their way to building Humans 2.0, the real-life Steve Austin of the "Six Million Dollar Man."

Recent breakthroughs in bionics and lab-grown body parts — along with news last month that a Swiss research team aims to recreate the intricacies of the human brain within a decade — show science is rapidly creating many of the parts needed to build a fully functional human almost from scratch.

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Five Tools To Survive the Apocalypse

Air: Filter out ammonia, chlorine or swirling toxic dust. The Advantage respirator gives a snug fit in seconds, using a harness that tightens two head-straps with a single clip. Its facepiece comes in three sizes to protect all types of people. Advantage 420 Half Mask Respirator $40; msanorthamerica.com Brian Klutch

From Popular Science:

Swine flu, nuclear tests, global warming—signs of impending doom abound. Should the unthinkable happen, the smart survivalist has two options: flee the planet or, for those of us who aren’t Richard Branson, stock up on gear that will meet your basic needs during Armageddon. If the world doesn’t end, you can always take your new gadgets camping.

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Comet Formation Theory May Not Be Set In Stone (Or Ice)

Photo: CLOUDY ORIGINS: A comet called 2001 RX14 likely originated from a hypothesized region called the Oort cloud, far outside the planetary region of the solar system. A new model of how comets wind up near the inner planets may revise estimates of the Oort cloud's properties. Mike Solontoi/University of Washington

From Scientific American:

A new model for comet production revises the theory of their origins.

A few times a year, a visitor from deep space swings by Earth's neighborhood. Usually coming in peace, these interlopers pass by close enough to be seen, then continue on their way.

The uninvited guests are comets, streaky globules of ice and dust dislodged from one of their usual haunts far from the sun and planets: the Oort cloud. Named for Dutch astronomer Jan Oort, who hypothesized its existence in 1950, the theorized cloud is thought to contain billions or even trillions of comets that range out a few thousand to tens of thousands of times as far from the sun as Earth is. Oort cloud comets are occasionally nudged onto trajectories carrying them into the inner solar system by the passing of nearby stars or other interactions with the rest of the Milky Way Galaxy.

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Dolphin Body Language 'Follows Human Verbal Communication'

Dolphins inspect a tiger cub at a safari park in Shenzhen, China. Scientists have discovered that the mammals' body language follows human rules of verbal communication. Photo: BARCROFT MEDIA

From The Telegraph:

Dolphin body language follows human rules of verbal communication, scientists have discovered.

As a general rule, the most frequently used words in human languages tend to be the shortest.

The same law applies to dolphins slapping their tails, diving, flopping sideways, and performing other movements when surface swimming, according to Spanish and British researchers.

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